Method and apparatus for redundancy in an ATM using hot swap hardware underlying a virtual machine

• US 9,983,956 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2016
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Munson, Nicholas J., Twigg, David W., Farinella, III, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): McCarthy, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US14/997,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20160132404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 862 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1402 Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/805 Real-time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• 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 for providing redundancy in an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) is provided. Application software may be run on top of a virtual environment such as a virtual machine and/or a virtual disk environment. Should a software component fail, the virtual environment will “crash” but the ATM hardware and operating system will remain intact. If the software is fatally flawed—e.g., due to a faulty “upgrade” the older version may be “rolled back” from a previously stored virtual environment.

Claims

1. A continuous-operation money withdrawal system comprising:

an automatic teller machine (ATM) comprising;

at least one ATM computer comprising;

at least one central processing unit;

at least one memory;

at least one ATM device interface;

at least one ATM device connected to the device interface and including at least one of;

a touchscreen;

a biometric sensor;

a contactless chip scanner;

a wireless transceiver;

a phone scanner; and

a smart card reader; and

at least one ATM software program running on the at least one computer, the at least one software program running on the at least one ATM computer comprising at least two ATM virtual environments, wherein a failure in at least one of the at least two virtual environments does not cause a failure of the automatic teller machine to provide at least one ATM function including at least one of;

displaying account information;

withdrawal of cash from the ATM; and

depositing of at least one document into the ATM;

wherein at least one of the at least two ATM virtual environments comprises at least one ATM virtual machine;

wherein the failure in the at least one of the at least two ATM virtual environments triggers replacement of the at least one of the at least two ATM virtual environments by another of the at least two ATM virtual environments;

wherein the at least one ATM virtual machine comprises at least two ATM virtual disks;

wherein the failure in the at least one ATM virtual environment triggers replacement of at least one of the at least two ATM virtual disks by another of the at least two virtual disks;

wherein the at least one software program is restarted in the at least one virtual environment utilizing the other of the at least two virtual disks;

wherein the computer tolerates removal of a portion of the computer and of the at least one device;

wherein the memory includes machine-readable instructions for causing the processing unit to perform at least one process enabling, via the touchscreen, a customer presenting to the interface a payment instrument to, during the failure in the at least one of the virtual environments, perform, via the interface, the ATM function;

wherein, the at least one process includes;

the replacement of the at least one of the ATM virtual environments by the other of the ATM virtual environments; and

the replacement of the at least one of the ATM virtual disks by the other of the virtual disks;

wherein the payment instrument includes at least one of;

a chip;

an RFID tag;

a smart card; and

a phone; and

wherein the memory includes instructions enabling the ATM function during the removal, the tolerating including the enabling.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one computer tolerates the attachment of at least one device to the automatic teller machine.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one software program tolerates the attachment of the at least one device to the automatic teller machine.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one software program allows the attachment and incorporates the at least one device to the automatic teller.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one software program acknowledges the attachment of the at least one device to the automatic teller machine.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the at least one software program acquires at least one driver in response to the attachment of the at least one device to the automatic teller machine.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one software program signals at least one other software program concerning the attachment of the at least one device to the automatic teller machine.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one computer tolerates the attachment of at least one additional portion of the computer to the at least one computer.