Initiating A Service Call For A Hardware Malfunction In A Point Of Sale System

• US 20090192815A1
• Filed: 01/30/2008
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Canada, Tracy M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a POS system, the POS system having a POS controller domains, the POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider, that include: detecting, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, a hardware error within the POS controller domain, the hardware error described by hardware error data; notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data; generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

Claims

1. A method of initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the method comprising;

detecting, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, a hardware error within the POS controller domain, the hardware error described by hardware error data;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

7. A Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) controller for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a POS system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the POS controller comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of;

detecting, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, a hardware error within the POS controller domain, the hardware error described by hardware error data;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

8. The POS controller of claim 7 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

9. The POS controller of claim 7 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

10. The POS controller of claim 7 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

11. The POS controller of claim 7 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

12. The POS controller of claim 7 wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

13. A computer program product for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the computer program product disposed in a computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of;

detecting, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, a hardware error within the POS controller domain, the hardware error described by hardware error data;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

19. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the computer readable medium comprises a recordable medium.

20. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the computer readable medium comprises a transmission medium.