Point of sale (POS) docking station system and method for a mobile barcode scanner gun system with mobile tablet device or stand alone mobile tablet device

• US 9,881,292 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2017
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Retail Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Retail Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: Hicks, Bruce J., McWhirter, Brian K.
• Primary Examiner(s): ST CYR, DANIEL
• Application Number:
  US15/419,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20170140363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• Field of Search: 705 17, 235385, 235383
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10762 Relative movement
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/109 adaptations to make the hand-held scanner useable as a fixed scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/009 the reader being an RFID reader

Abstract

A mobile scanner gun system processes a POS sale transaction and performs real-time daily store level inventory management. The system includes a main body portion extending toward a handle portion and forms an interior cavity and an aperture with a lens. A plurality of Universal Serial Bus (USB) mobile input devices are attached to the mobile scanner gun, including a barcode scanner and payment card input devices including a “Magnetic Stripe Reader” (MSR) and a “Europay, MasterCard and Visa” (EMV) reader, both with USB access to a PIN Entry Device (PED) and a “Near Field Communications” (NFC) reader through a specialized universal serial bus wiring harness. The specialized universal series bus wiring harness is adapted to be attached to and communicate with the mobile tablet device for communicating with a system integrated therein that enables store level real-time inventory management and a fully functioning POS capability for selling merchandise in a retail sales environment. A main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) having a previously programmed Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) controlling all MSR, EMV or NFC operations through the corresponding payment card input devices of each. When a customer payment card is swiped through the MSR slot or dipped into EMV reader or tapped on the NFC reader for payment card processing, customer payment is processed through the proper secured bank card processing network.

Claims

1. A mobile scanner gun system for processing a retail store point of sale (POS) transaction and performing real-time daily store level inventory management functions, comprising:

a. a main body portion extending toward a handle portion forming a mobile scanner gun;

b. said main body portion having a top wall, side walls, a front wall and a back wall constructed to form an interior cavity, wherein said front wall includes an aperture with a lens recessed therein;

c. a plurality of Universal Serial Bus (USB) mobile input devices being in communication with said mobile scanner gun, including a barcode scanner, Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) and/or Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) payment card readers which have direct universal serial bus (USB) access to a personal identification number (PIN) Entry Device (PED) located within fixed POS docking station and a Near Field Communications (NFC) reader through a specialized universal serial bus wiring harness;

d. said handle portion having a trigger member in communication with said scanner engine for initiating a scan of a barcode;

e. said top wall of said main body portion having an attachment means thereon, wherein said attachment means is adapted to receive a mobile tablet device housing having both MSR and EMV payment card reader slots and being adapted to receive and house therein said mobile tablet device having an application software providing wireless secure communicative capability with a POS store systems server in a retail store, which is connected to a corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system;

f. a specialized universal series bus wiring harness adapted to be attached to and communicate with said mobile tablet device for communicating with a system integrated therein that enables store level real-time inventory management and a fully functioning POS capability for selling merchandise in a retail sales environment, said specialized universal serial bus wiring harness being removable from said top wall of said main body portion and adapted to be readily docked in different base housings including portable housings and fixed docked workstation housings thereby providing portability and interchangeability;

g. a Main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) having a previously programmed Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) controlling all MSR, EMV or NFC operations and actions of said MSR input device when a customer payment card is swiped through the MSR slot or an EMV reader and by inserting a customer payment card into the EMV reader slot or an NFC reader and by “

tapping”

a customer payment card against the NFC reader for processing customer payment through the proper secured bank card processing network;

h. activating said MSR, EMV or NFC operations causing said EEPROM of the Main PCB to communicate with said mobile tablet device, launching said application software to ready said mobile tablet device for receiving customer payment card data;

i. said POS store systems server contacting a bank card authorization processor approving said purchase, communicating formatted customer data securely to said POS store systems server and respective payment card industry (PCI) certified bank card processing network and communicating to the mobile tablet device that the customer payment card has been approved for scanned merchandise purchased;

whereby said system allows said customer to purchase a product from any retail store employee having said mobile scanner gun system receiving full product details, price, electronic and physical coupons, promotions, customer loyalty data and rewards, and to charge the purchase in a friendly, efficient, informative atmosphere without having the need to bring the product to a central checkout station and waiting in queue to check out.

2. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein an e-mail address of said customer is entered and a receipt is e-mailed to the customer if requested, and / or a hard copy of the receipt is transmitted to a central printer.

3. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said EEPROM'"'"'s previously programmed instruction set is present within said Main PCB and is integrated with said mobile tablet device and processes commands issued by mobile applications to command either said barcode scanner or said MSR to acquire required data.

4. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said wireless communication may be in the form of Wi-Fi through a plurality of links located within the retail establishment and beyond or wireless cellular data plan through a standard cellular carrier.

5. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said applications comprise an inventory management application in communication with the ERP inventory management applications for managing real-time daily store level inventory management functions from a mobile device within any store location.

6. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said applications comprise a mobile POS application for processing customer check-out of purchases without consideration to the location of the inventory as the mobile POS application can initiate store and warehouse transfers, ship to customer location and special order from the vendor.

7. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said attachment means comprises a rotating attachment means comprising a base mount universal receiver with rotational coupling means adapted to interchangeably mount the mobile tablet device on said top wall through said specialized universal serial bus wiring harness and communicate with the mobile tablet device.

8. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said scanner input device has two drivers, including 1) a native device driver and 2) a keyboard input driver, said scanner input device being in communication with said trigger for initiating said scan of said barcode.

9. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said attachment means comprises a base mount universal receiver with rotational coupling means for mounting said mobile tablet device further comprising a sliding mechanism via tongue and groove mating between said mobile tablet device upper receiver and said pistol grip base housing of said mobile scanner gun system.

10. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 1, wherein said mobile tablet device housing comprises a rubberized frame for housing said mobile device.

11. A mobile scanner gun system for use with a mobile tablet device having USB payment card readers including a “

Magnetic Stripe Reader”

(MSR), “

Europay, MasterCard and Visa”

(EMV) reader and a “

Near Field Communications”

(NFC) reader and application software providing wireless secure communicative capability with a store systems server in a retail store, which is connected to a corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for processing a retail store point of sale (POS) transaction and real-time daily store level inventory management functions, comprising;

a. a main body portion extending toward a handle portion forming a mobile scanner gun;

b. said main body portion having a top wall, side walls, a front wall and a back wall constructed to form an interior cavity, wherein said front wall includes an aperture with a lens recessed therein;

c. a plurality of Universal Serial Bus (USB) mobile input devices being in communication with said mobile scanner gun, including an MSR with a MSR slot, an EMV reader with an EMV slot and / or a Near Field Communications (NFC) reader through a specialized universal serial bus wiring harness;

d. said handle portion having a trigger member in communication with said scanner engine for initiating a scan of a barcode;

e. said top wall of said main body portion having an attachment means thereon, wherein said attachment means comprises a base mount universal receiver adapted to interchangeably mount a mobile tablet device housing further adapted to receive and house therein said mobile tablet device through a specialized universal serial bus wiring harness and communicate with said mobile tablet, said universal receiver and specialized universal serial bus wiring harness being removable from said top wall of said main body portion and adapted to be readily docked in different base housings including portable housings and fixed docked workstation housings thereby providing portability and interchangeability;

f. a Main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) having a previously programmed Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) controlling all MSR, EMV, personal identification number (PIN) Entry Device (PED) or NFC operations and actions of said payment card input devices when a customer payment card is swiped through the MSR slot with or without the use of PIN Entry Device (PED) or by inserting a customer payment card into the EMV reader slot with or without the use of a PIN Entry Device (PED) or by “

tapping”

a customer payment card against the NFC reader for processing customer payment through the proper secured bank card processing network;

g. activating said MSR, EMV or NFC operations causing said EEPROM of the Main PCB to communicate with said mobile tablet device, launching said application software to ready said mobile tablet device for receiving customer payment card data;

whereby said system allows for capability for a customer to purchase a product from any retail store employee having said mobile scanner gun system receiving full product details, price, electronic and physical coupons, promotions, customer loyalty data and rewards, and to charge the purchase in a friendly, efficient, informative atmosphere without having the need to bring the product to a central checkout station and waiting in queue to check out.

12. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said application software provides communication with said corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system server to obtain detailed information for daily inventory management purposes for tasks including physical inventory, cycle counting, inventory receiving, store to store transfers, return to vendor and product re-ticketing.

13. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said application software communicates with said store system'"'"'s server to obtain detailed information of said product scanned, its inventory, selling price, electronic and physical coupons, customer loyalty data and promotions available, and displaying product data on a display screen of said mobile tablet device.

14. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said POS store systems server contacts a bank card authorization processor approving said purchase and communicating to the mobile tablet device that the customer payment card has been approved for scanned merchandise purchased.

15. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said corporate ERP system adjusts the allocation of said product inventory visible chain-wide.

16. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein comprising a previously programmed Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) controlling all actions of said barcode scanner and said gun trigger for activating a scan operation of an item of interest to a customer by an employee of a retail establishment, wherein:

1 said scan operation is adapted to cause said EEPROM of a Main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to communicate with said mobile tablet device, launching said application software to ready said mobile tablet device for receiving a scanned barcode;

2 said application communicates with said corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to obtain detailed information for daily inventory management purposes for such tasks as physical inventory, cycle counting, inventory receiving, store to store transfers, return to vendor and product re-ticketing;

3 said EEPROM'"'"'s previously programmed instruction set present within said Main PCB is integrated with said mobile tablet device and processes commands issued by mobile applications to command either said barcode scanner or said MSR to acquire required data.

17. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said wireless communication may be in the form of Wi-Fi through a plurality of links located within the retail establishment and beyond or wireless cellular data plan through a standard cellular carrier.

18. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said applications comprise a mobile POS application for processing customer check-out of purchases without consideration to the location of the inventory as the mobile POS application can initiate store and warehouse transfers, ship to customer location and special order from the vendor.

19. A mobile scanner gun system as recited by claim 11, wherein said attachment means comprises a rotating attachment means comprising a base mount universal receiver with rotational coupling means adapted to interchangeably mount the mobile tablet device housing on said top wall through said specialized universal serial bus wiring harness and communicate with the mobile tablet device.

20. A system providing a non-transitory computer readable electronic storage medium storing one or more programs comprising instructions executable by a portable multifunction device having a touch screen display and Internet capability to cause the device to:

display an icon connected to an inventory management application associated with a corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that provides store level access on a mobile scanner gun system to the ERP system through a point of sale (POS) application;

display an icon connected to the POS application that can process customer sales transactions within the store without limitation to a physical location of inventory within a retail chain;

enabling the portable multifunction device to be operative to establish a connection between the portable multifunctional device and the mobile scanner gun system mountable thereon;

wherein when triggered, the system provides relevant inventory information and POS transaction capability;

as well as the ability to process a payment card transaction through a magnetic stripe reader (MSR) slot with or without the use of a PIN Entry Device (PED) or a Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) slot with or without the use of the PED or tapping on a near field communications (NFC) reader.