Point of sale systems and methods
First Claim
1. A system for connecting one or more point of sale peripheral device at a point of sale for communicative connection to a back-office server performing sale functions, comprising:
- (i) a backplane unit, comprising a chassis including;
a motherboard;
a processor connected to the motherboard;
memory connected to the processor;
a maintenance module connected to the processor;
at least one port connector communicatively connected to the processor;
a communications module connected to the processor capable of communicatively connecting each respective point of sale peripheral device to the back-office server; and
(ii) a point of sale engine unit, comprising a frame slidably engageable with the backplane unit including;
at least one plug connector for mating with the at least one port connector when the frame is slidably engaged with the backplane unit;
a plurality of electrical connectors for connecting, respectively, the one or more point of sale peripheral device, the one or more point of sale peripheral device communicatively connected to the processor of the backplane unit by the at least one plug connector when mated with the at least one port connector on slidable engagement of the point of sale engine unit to the backplane unit;
(iii) a cooling module of the point of sale engine unit, the cooling module is communicatively connected to the processor by the at least one plug connector on mating with the at least one port connector when the frame of the point of sale engine unit is slidably engaged with backplane unit;
wherein the cooling module is controlled by the processor of the backplane unit to prevent overheating of the one or more point of sale peripheral device when connected to the point of sale engine unit;
wherein the maintenance module monitors the one or more point of sale peripheral device when connected to the point of sale engine unit and initiates signaling by the communications module external to the system for maintaining operational the one or more point of sale peripheral device and the system.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A point of sale device includes a point of sale functional component, such as, for example, a display, an input device, a printer, scales, a card reader, or other. An interface is connected to the component, through a standard port of the component. The interface includes a radio frequency communications function. The interface communicates information regarding the component over a wireless communication network. The wireless communication network connects to a maintenance gateway for the device, either via the network, other networks, or by other communicative connection. The device can be monitored and maintained by the maintenance gateway, and the maintenance gateway can be located at a remote location from the device. The interface can also include cooling elements and controls for the device and/or the interface.
62 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for connecting one or more point of sale peripheral device at a point of sale for communicative connection to a back-office server performing sale functions, comprising:
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(i) a backplane unit, comprising a chassis including; a motherboard; a processor connected to the motherboard; memory connected to the processor; a maintenance module connected to the processor; at least one port connector communicatively connected to the processor; a communications module connected to the processor capable of communicatively connecting each respective point of sale peripheral device to the back-office server; and (ii) a point of sale engine unit, comprising a frame slidably engageable with the backplane unit including; at least one plug connector for mating with the at least one port connector when the frame is slidably engaged with the backplane unit; a plurality of electrical connectors for connecting, respectively, the one or more point of sale peripheral device, the one or more point of sale peripheral device communicatively connected to the processor of the backplane unit by the at least one plug connector when mated with the at least one port connector on slidable engagement of the point of sale engine unit to the backplane unit; (iii) a cooling module of the point of sale engine unit, the cooling module is communicatively connected to the processor by the at least one plug connector on mating with the at least one port connector when the frame of the point of sale engine unit is slidably engaged with backplane unit; wherein the cooling module is controlled by the processor of the backplane unit to prevent overheating of the one or more point of sale peripheral device when connected to the point of sale engine unit; wherein the maintenance module monitors the one or more point of sale peripheral device when connected to the point of sale engine unit and initiates signaling by the communications module external to the system for maintaining operational the one or more point of sale peripheral device and the system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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12. A method for connecting one or more point of sale peripheral device at a point of sale for communicative connection to a back-office server performing sale functions, comprising the steps of:
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locating a point of sale (POS) unit at the point of sale, the POS unit comprising; a backplane unit, comprising a chassis including a motherboard, a processor connected to the motherboard, memory connected to the processor, a maintenance module connected to the processor, at least one port connector communicatively connected to the processor, and a communications module connected to the processor and communicatively connected to the back-office server for communicating according to the network protocol; (ii) an engine unit, comprising a frame slidably removably connected to the backplane unit, including;
a passive interface of at least one plug connector mated with the at least one port connector of the backplane unit by slidable removable connection of the engine unit to the backplane unit and a plurality of electrical connectors for connecting respective ones of the one or more point of sale peripheral device to the at least one plug connector; and(iii) a cooling module of the engine unit communicatively connected to the processor by the at least one plug connector controlling the cooling module by the processor to prevent overheating of the one or more point of sale peripheral device of the engine unit; detecting a maintenance state of the one or more point of sale peripheral device by the maintenance module; communicating by the communications module of the backplane unit over a communications network, in response to the step of detecting; receiving a maintenance instruction by the communications module of the backplane unit from the communications network, in response to the step of communicating; and performing maintenance by the maintenance module to at least one point of sale peripheral device, in response to the step of receiving. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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17. A method of controlling a point of sale system, comprising the steps of:
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locating a sale function component at a point of sale; wirelessly monitoring a state of the component; and varying an operation of the sale function component in response to the step of wirelessly monitoring the state.
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18. A method of cooling a device operating via power, the device having a varying temperature in operation, comprising the steps of
first incrementing the power in response to an indicator of an ambient temperature of the device; -
second incrementing the power in response to an indicator of an excess temperature exceeding the ambient temperature of the device and not exceeding an overheat temperature of the device; third incrementing the power in response to an indicator of in excess of the overheat temperature and not exceeding a damage temperature of the device; fourth incrementing the power in response to an indicator of in excess of the damage temperature and less than a back-up temperature of the device; fifth incrementing the power in response to an indicator of at least the back-up temperature of the device; controlling the steps of first incrementing, second incrementing, third incrementing, fourth incrementing, and fifth incrementing by wireless communications with the device; monitoring the varying temperature of the device at a location remote from the device, through wireless communications with the device; and varying the step of controlling at the location remote from the device by wireless communications with the device. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification