Systems, methods and apparatus for receipt printing and information display in a personal identification number delivery system

• US 8,160,217 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2009
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EWI Holdings Inc. (Albertsons Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EWI Holdings Inc. (Albertsons Cos., Inc.)
• Inventors: New, Darren
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, STELLA L
• Application Number:
  US12/573,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20100146421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.12, 379/91.01, 379/114.2, 705/16, 705/43
• US Class Current: 379/93.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus for providing a personal identification number (PIN) in the form of a receipt displayed and/or printed by a client terminal are disclosed. A method includes storing, at the client terminal, receipt templates, received from a server, for plural prepaid services from a plurality of prepaid service providers. The method further includes receiving, at the client terminal, a request for a PIN associated with one or more of the plural prepaid services. Requested PINs and other information associated with one or more of the plural prepaid services is then displayed and/or printed, in accordance with one or more of the receipt templates associated with the plural prepaid services, upon the receipt and dispensed by the client terminal. Related systems and apparatus are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A non-transitory processor readable medium including instructions for execution on one or more processors of a client terminal to:

receive, from a server, a plurality of receipt templates, wherein one or more of the plurality of receipt templates include a PIN field;

store the plurality of receipt templates in a memory;

receive a request for a PIN associated with a first of the plural prepaid services from a first of the plural prepaid service providers; and

initiate printing the requested PIN upon a receipt dispensed by the client terminal in accordance with a first of the receipt templates associated with the first of the plural prepaid services.

2. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

initiate sending, from the client terminal, a PIN request to the server in response to the request for a PIN; and

receive, at the client terminal, the requested PIN.

3. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

initiate dispensing an additional requested PIN from the client terminal by printing an additional receipt, wherein additional information is printed upon the additional receipt in accordance with a second of the receipt templates associated with a second of the prepaid services provided by a second of the prepaid service providers.

4. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

receive, at the client terminal, product catalog data containing information identifying one or more of the plural prepaid services; and

store the product catalog data in the memory.

5. The medium of claim 4 including instructions to:

initiate display upon a screen of the client terminal, one or more prompts relating to information required to be provided in connection with purchase of one of the plural prepaid services, wherein the prompts are associated with one or more of the prepaid services defined in the product catalog.

6. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

receive, at the client terminal, at least certain of other information provided by the server; and

initiate displaying, upon a screen of the client terminal, at least a portion of the other information.

7. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

store in the memory a plurality of report templates associated with the plurality of prepaid service providers; and

initiate printing, at the client terminal and in accordance with one of the report templates, a report pertaining to operation of the client terminal.

8. The medium of claim 1 including instructions to:

receive, at the client terminal, a configuration file downloaded from the server wherein the configuration file includes one or more receipt templates from one or more of the plural prepaid service providers;

store a checksum for the configuration file at the client terminal upon completion of downloading of the configuration file;

initiate communication of the checksum to the server; and

receive, from the server, an updated configuration file when the checksum does not sufficiently match the configuration checksum.