Automated banking machine diagnostic system and method

• US 6,676,018 B1
• Filed: 04/17/2003
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Diebold Incorporated (Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mercina, Paul, Varadarajan, Udhaya Kumar, Subramanian, Siva Kumar, Moorthy, Madhusudhanan, Handoo, Sharad, Ara, Arjumand, Ramamoorthy, Suresh, Paramasivam, Sathiya Moorthy, Vijayakumar, Rajesh Kumar, Trelawney, George Neville
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Caputo, Lisa M
• Application Number:
  US10/417,847
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 235/381, 235/379, 705/17, 705/21
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/207 Surveillance aspects at ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/211 Software architecture within ATMs or in relation to the ATM network

Abstract

A diagnostic server software component for an automated banking machine is provided. The diagnostic server is operative to periodically retrieve diagnostic messages from a nonvolatile memory of the machine and store the diagnostic messages on the hard drive of the machine. The software is further operative responsive to communication from an external computing device to send diagnostic messages stored on the hard drive to an external computing device. The software may further be operative to route transaction diagnostic messages between the machine and a remote host banking system. The software may retrieve the diagnostic messages directly from a specified memory address of the nonvolatile memory. The software may periodically communicate with terminal control software of the machine to cause the terminal control software to retrieve the diagnostic messages from the nonvolatile memory.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a) periodically accessing a first plurality of diagnostic messages stored in a first data store of an automated banking machine, wherein the first data store is located in an NVRAM wherein the first plurality of diagnostic messages includes at least one message associated with a cash dispenser of the machine;

b) storing a second plurality of diagnostic messages in a second data store of the machine, wherein the second data store is located on a hard drive of the machine, wherein the second plurality of diagnostic messages are representative of at least a portion of the first plurality of diagnostic messages accessed from the first data store;

c) receiving a first communication from a computing device located externally from the machine;

d) accessing the second plurality of diagnostic messages stored in the second data store responsive to the first communication; and

e) transferring a third plurality of diagnostic messages to the computing device, wherein the third plurality of diagnostic messages are representative of at least a portion of the second plurality of diagnostic messages accessed from the second data store.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the first plurality of diagnostic messages are periodically accessed from the first data store responsive to a time duration parameter associated with the machine.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

f) receiving a second communication from the computing device;

g) modifying the time duration parameter responsive to the second communication.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

f) receiving a second communication from the computing device, wherein in step (a) the first plurality of diagnostic messages stored in the first data store is accessed at least once responsive to the second communication.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

f) receiving a second communication from the computing device;

g) deleting at least a portion of the second plurality of diagnostic messages stored in the second data store responsive to the second communication.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (b) the second data store includes a data file stored on the hard drive.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the first plurality of diagnostic messages includes at least one error message associated with the operation of the cash dispenser.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the first plurality of diagnostic messages includes at least one status message associated with the cash dispenser.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the machine includes a terminal control software component, wherein the terminal control software component is operative to cause the cash dispenser to dispense cash, wherein in step (a) the at least one of the first plurality of diagnostic messages is produced responsive to the operation of the cash dispenser.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

f) routing a plurality of transaction messages between the terminal control software and a host system located remotely from the machine.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein in step (f) the plurality of transaction messages includes at least one transaction message associated with a dispense of cash from the cash dispenser, further comprising:

g) dispensing cash with the cash dispenser responsive to the at least one transaction message associated with the dispense of cash.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the terminal control software is operative to access the first plurality of diagnostic messages from the first data store, and further comprising:

h) periodically sending a second communication to the terminal control software, wherein the second communication corresponds to a command for the terminal control software to retrieve the first plurality of diagnostic messages from the first data store;

wherein in step (a) the first plurality of diagnostic messages are retrieved from the first data store by the terminal control software responsive to the second communication, wherein prior to step (b) further comprising;

i) intercepting a third communication from the terminal control software, wherein the third communication includes the first plurality of diagnostic messages.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in step (i) the third communication is not routed to the host system.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein step (g) includes communicating with the terminal control software through at least one first TCP/IP port.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein step (f) includes communicating with the terminal control software through at least one first TCP/IP port and communicating with the remote host system through at least one second TCP/IP port.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (a) the machine includes a terminal control software component, wherein the terminal control software is operative to cause the cash dispenser to operate, wherein in step (a) the at least one of the first plurality of diagnostic messages is produced responsive the operation of the cash dispenser, wherein in step (a) the NVRAM is accessed using a diagnostic server software component running on the machine while the terminal control software operates on the machine.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein step (c) includes communicating with the diagnostic server software component through a parallel port of the machine.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein in step (b) the diagnostic server software component stores the second plurality of diagnostic messages in the second data store of the machine.

19. Computer readable media bearing instructions which are operative to cause at least one computer in the machine to cause the machine to carry out the method steps recited in claim 1.

20. A method comprising:

a) storing a first plurality of diagnostic messages in a nonvolatile RAM of an automated banking machine, wherein the first plurality of diagnostic messages are representative of diagnostic messages, wherein at least one of the first plurality of diagnostic messages is associated with a cash dispenser of the machine;

b) accessing the first plurality of diagnostic messages stored in the nonvolatile RAM of the machine, wherein the first plurality of message includes a first portion and a second portion;

c) determining that the first portion of the first plurality of diagnostic messages has been previously stored on a hard drive of the machine;

d) storing on the hard drive the second portion of the first plurality of diagnostic messages and not the first portion of the first plurality of diagnostic messages;

g) receiving a first communication from a computing device located externally from the machine;

h) accessing at least a portion of the diagnostic messages stored on the hard drive of the machine; and

i) sending a second communication to the external computing device, wherein the second communication includes data representative of the diagnostic messages stored on the hard drive of the machine.

21. Computer readable media bearing instructions which are operative to cause at least one computer in the machine to cause the machine to carry out the method steps recited in claim 20.