Virtualized ATM

• US 9,904,915 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2013
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: McCracken, Heather, Smith, Martin, Taylor, Norman G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUBIN, BLAKE J
• Application Number:
  US13/962,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20150046325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,664 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/211 Software architecture within ATMs or in relation to the ATM network

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for operating an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). The method includes the steps of receiving access to a virtualized operating system and ATM application at an ATM and performing a customer transaction at the ATM using the access to the virtualized operating system and ATM application. A recovery program may be provided to control the ATM if a communication link fails between the ATM and a server providing the access.

Claims

1. A method of operating Automated Teller Machine (ATM), comprising the steps of:

receiving access to a virtualized operating system and ATM application at an ATM through a thin-client of the ATM;

executing a recovery program on the ATM that is constantly running and monitoring network access of the ATM to the virtualized operating system for recovery processing;

loading the thin-client during each boot of the ATM, recording port assignments to devices of the ATM by the thin-client, and reporting by the thin-client the port assignments and devices to the virtualized operating system for processing by the ATM application; and

performing a customer transaction at the ATM using the access to the virtualized operating system and ATM application utilizing the port assignments to the devices associated with the ATM and taking control of the ATM by the recovery program when the network access experiences a failure during the customer transaction and causing, by the recovery program, any media dispensed by a dispenser of the ATM and unremoved by a customer during the customer transaction with a configured period of elapsed time to be retracted back into a purge bin of the ATM.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of receiving access to the virtualized operating system and application comprises the sub-steps of:

receiving a first portion of an operating system and ATM application at the ATM from a remote server via a communication link, whereby the first portion of the operating system and application comprises a portion of the operating system and ATM application that is currently required by the ATM;

executing the received first portion in memory at the ATM until the ATM requires a second portion of the operating system and ATM application;

requesting a second portion of the operating system and ATM application;

receiving the second portion of an operating system and ATM application at the ATM from a remote server via the communication link; and

executing the received second portion in memory at the ATM.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

the sub-step of receiving a first portion of an operating system and ATM application comprises the sub-step of receiving the first portion of the operating system and application as a plurality of memory pages; and

the sub-step of executing the received second portion in memory at the ATM optionally comprises the sub-step of over-writing memory pages containing the first portion of the operating system and ATM application currently stored in memory with the received plurality of memory pages corresponding to the received second portion of the operating system and ATM application.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of:

obtaining processing control by the recovery program, for use when the communication link fails, in an area of memory different to an area of memory over-written by received portions of the operating system and application.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of receiving portions of the operating system and the application comprises:

refreshing the recovery program as part of the plurality of memory pages received each time a new portion of the operating system and ATM application is received at the ATM.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

receiving user inputs from the customer at the ATM;

monitoring events occurring at the ATM; and

providing, via a communication link, at least one of the received user inputs or the monitored events to a remote server executing the operating system and ATM application;

whereby

the step of receiving access to the virtualized operating system and ATM application further comprises the steps of;

receiving, at the ATM, display data, device specific data and routing information for the device specific data from the remote server responsive to said inputs or events;

presenting the display data to the customer;

conveying the device specific data to a device at the ATM based on the routing information; and

implementing, at the device, one or more functions in response to the device specific data.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the display data, device specific data, and routing information is implemented using a client associated with a virtual desktop infrastructure.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

the operating system and ATM application includes (i) a conventional (off-the-shelf) operating system, (ii) an ATM platform that extends and enhances the operating system to manage devices that are specific to an ATM, and (iii) an ATM application that allows customers to perform transactions at an ATM and service engineers to exercise devices at the ATM.

9. A method of operating an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), comprising the steps of:

determining if a communication link between an ATM and a remote server that provides the ATM with access to a virtualized operating system and ATM application is in a non-communicative state through a thin client of the ATM;

loading the thin client during each boot of the ATM, recording port assignments to devices of the ATM by the thin client, and reporting by the thin client the port assignments and devices to the virtualized operating system for processing by the ATM application; and

if the communication link is in a non-communicative state, operating the ATM without requiring communication with the remote server through a recovery program that is constantly executing on the ATM and utilizing the port assignments to the devices associated with the ATM and taking control of the ATM by the recovery program when the communication link experiences a failure during a customer transaction and causing, by the recovery program, any media dispensed by a dispenser of the ATM and unremoved by a customer during the customer transaction within a configured period of elapsed time to be retracted back into a purge bin of the ATM.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step of determining if a communication link is in a non-communicative state includes the step of pinging an IP address of the server.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step of operating the ATM without requiring communication with the remote server includes the sub-step of:

transferring control of the ATM to the recovery program executing in local memory at the ATM.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving the recovery program from (i) the remote server or (ii) local non-volatile storage at the ATM.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

(i) receiving the recovery program from the local storage prior to the customer transaction and executing that recovery program in an area of memory not used by the received portions of the operating system and ATM application.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

subsequent to a communication link being in a non-communicative state, initiating a reconciliation process with the server when the communication link is re-established.

15. An Automated Teller Machine (ATM) for performing customer transactions using access to a virtualized operating system and ATM application, comprising:

a user interface for receiving customer input;

a network connector connectable, via a network, to a remote server that provides the ATM with access to a virtualized operating system and application; and

at least one processor and associated memory;

wherein

a customer transaction is performed by the ATM accessing the virtualized operating system and application through a thin client of the ATM utilizing port assignments to devices associated with the ATM and wherein a recovery program is constantly running on the ATM and monitoring the ATM network access to the virtualized operating system, and wherein during each boot of the ATM, a thin client is loaded into memory of the ATM and executed by the at least one processor, the thin client records the port assignments to the devices of the ATM and reports the port assignments and the devices to the virtualized operating system for utilization during the customer transaction, wherein the recovery program is configured to and take control of the ATM when the network access experiences a failure during the customer transaction and cause any media dispensed by a dispenser of the ATM within a configured period of elapsed time and unremoved by a customer during the customer transaction to be retracted back into a purge bin of the ATM.