A point of sale terminal communication test system and method of operation thereof

Abstract

The application provides a point-of-sale terminal communication test system and a running method thereof, the system comprising: a to-be-tested point-of-sale terminal, a test control module, an intelligent robot and a test control module; the intelligent robot performs click, press or slide operation on the display interface of the test control module based on a control instruction; the test control module is configured to: run a test script, control the to-be-tested point-of-sale terminal to run, and send communication data to the test control module; run a test control program to issue an operation control instruction, control the intelligent robot to perform click, press or slide operation on the display interface of the test control module; the test control module is configured to: according to the operation of the intelligent robot on the display interface of the test control module, send communication data to the to-be-tested point-of-sale terminal; the test control module is further configured to: receive the running log data sent by the to-be-tested point-of-sale terminal, and judge whether the to-be-tested point-of-sale terminal correctly receives the communication data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates primarily to the field of information technology, and in particular to a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system and its operation method. Background Technology

[0002] In some business operation scenarios, data transmission between two or more Point of Sale (POS) terminals is required. For example, in some scenarios, cashiers and payment personnel are in different locations, but the data of the POS terminals needs to be transmitted synchronously. This could be the case of POS terminals inside and outside a bank counter, or other POS scenarios where data from two POS terminals needs to be synchronized. Therefore, the effectiveness and stability of the communication process between two or more POS terminals become crucial considerations. However, currently, there is no convenient system or method for testing communication between two or more POS terminals; in practice, manual testing or other cumbersome and time-consuming communication testing methods are often used.

[0003] However, for situations requiring stress testing, such as testing tens of thousands of communication processes to verify the stability of communication between devices, a large amount of manpower and time resources are required, resulting in relatively low testing efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system and its operation method, so as to realize an efficient and convenient communication testing process between point-of-sale terminals.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system, comprising: a point-of-sale terminal under test; a companion point-of-sale terminal connected to the point-of-sale terminal under test via a communication cable; a test control module connected to both the point-of-sale terminal under test and the companion point-of-sale terminal; and an intelligent robot connected to the test control module. The intelligent robot is configured to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the companion point-of-sale terminal based on operation control commands. The test control module is configured to run a test script, control the operation of the point-of-sale terminal under test, and send first-type communication data to the companion point-of-sale terminal; and run a test control program. The system issues operation control commands to control the intelligent robot to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal under test; the sales point terminal under test is configured to: determine whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received; when it is determined that the first type of communication data has been correctly received, send the second type of communication data to the sales point terminal under test according to the click, press, or slide operations performed by the intelligent robot on the display interface of the sales point terminal under test; the test control module is also configured to: receive the operation log data sent by the sales point terminal under test, and determine whether the sales point terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the test control module is further configured to: when it is determined that the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, issue a restart command for the point-of-sale terminal under test; and when the restart of the point-of-sale terminal under test is detected, rerun the test script.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the test control module is further configured to: determine whether the terminal to be tested is powered on before running the test script.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication connection line includes a serial communication connection line.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the intelligent robot includes a camera device and a robotic arm device; the camera device is used to photograph and identify the area to be operated in order to locate the operating position of the robotic arm device; the robotic arm device is configured to perform corresponding click, press or slide operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal according to the operation control command and the photographing and identification results of the camera device.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the test script includes a Python language encoding file or a Java language encoding file.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the serial communication cable is connected via an RJ9 or RJ11 interface.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, a specific area of ​​the display interface of the accompanying sales point terminal is configured to display different colors according to the judgment result of whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received, so that the camera device can take pictures and identify.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first type of communication data and the second type of communication data include string data.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the test control module includes a display device for displaying data corresponding to the communication test process.

[0015] This invention also provides a method for operating a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system. The system includes a point-of-sale terminal under test, a companion point-of-sale terminal, a test control module, and an intelligent robot. The companion point-of-sale terminal is connected to the point-of-sale terminal under test via a communication cable. The test control module is connected to the point-of-sale terminal under test, the companion point-of-sale terminal, and the intelligent robot. The method includes: the test control module running a test script to control the operation of the point-of-sale terminal under test and sending first-type communication data to the companion point-of-sale terminal; and the test control module running a test control program to issue operation control commands to control the intelligent robot. The robot performs click, press, or swipe operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal under test; the sales point terminal under test determines whether it has correctly received the first type of communication data; when the sales point terminal under test determines that it has correctly received the first type of communication data, it sends the second type of communication data to the sales point terminal under test based on the click, press, or swipe operations performed by the intelligent robot on the display interface of the sales point terminal under test; the test control module receives the operation log data sent by the sales point terminal under test, and determines whether the sales point terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: when the test control module determines that the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, issuing a restart command for the point-of-sale terminal under test; and when the test control module detects that the point-of-sale terminal under test has restarted, re-running the test script.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: before running the test script, the test control module determines whether the point-of-sale terminal under test is powered on.

[0018] Compared with existing technologies, the present invention has the following advantages: The technical solution of this application combines software control and robot operation to achieve communication testing between two or more point-of-sale terminals, thereby improving communication testing efficiency. Furthermore, while improving communication testing efficiency, it also fully covers the testing scenarios, ensuring the stability of equipment operation. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application. The drawings illustrate embodiments of this application and, together with this specification, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0020] In the attached image:

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a point-of-sale terminal communication test system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the display interface of a test sales point terminal according to an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation method of a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the operation method of a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some examples or embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, these drawings can be applied to other similar scenarios without creative effort. Unless obvious from the context or otherwise specified, the same reference numerals in the drawings represent the same structures or operations.

[0026] As indicated in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words "a," "an," "an," and / or "the" are not specifically singular and may include plural forms. Generally speaking, the terms "comprising" and "including" only indicate the inclusion of explicitly identified steps and elements, which do not constitute an exclusive list, and the method or apparatus may also include other steps or elements.

[0027] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps described in these embodiments do not limit the scope of this application. It should also be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn to actual scale. Techniques, methods, and devices known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and devices should be considered part of the specification.

[0028] Furthermore, it should be noted that the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to define components is merely for the purpose of distinguishing the corresponding components. Unless otherwise stated, these terms have no special meaning and therefore should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this application. In addition, although the terminology used in this application is selected from commonly known and used terms, some terms mentioned in this application's specification may have been chosen by the applicant according to his or her judgment, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant sections of this description. Moreover, this application should be understood not only through the actual terms used, but also through the meaning implied by each term.

[0029] Flowcharts are used in this application to illustrate the operations performed by the system according to embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations are not necessarily performed in exact order. Instead, various steps can be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Furthermore, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more steps may be removed from these processes.

[0030] The embodiments of this application describe a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system and its operation method. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a point-of-sale terminal communication test system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0031] refer to Figure 1 The point-of-sale terminal communication test system 100 includes a point-of-sale terminal under test 101, a supporting point-of-sale terminal 102, a test control module 103, and an intelligent robot 104.

[0032] The test point-of-sale terminal 102 is connected to the test point-of-sale terminal 101 via a communication cable 105. The test control module 103 is connected to both the test point-of-sale terminal 101 and the test point-of-sale terminal 102. The intelligent robot 104 is connected to the test control module 103.

[0033] In some embodiments, the intelligent robot 104 is configured to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the test point-of-sale terminal 102 based on operation control commands. The test control module 103 is configured to perform the following operations: run a test script, control the operation of the test point-of-sale terminal 101, and send first type of communication data to the test point-of-sale terminal 102; and run a test control program to issue operation control commands to control the intelligent robot 104 to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the test point-of-sale terminal 102.

[0034] The test point-of-sale terminal 102 is configured to perform the following operations: determine whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received. When it is determined that the first type of communication data has been correctly received, the test point-of-sale terminal 102 sends the second type of communication data to the test point-of-sale terminal 101 based on the click, press, or swipe operation performed by the intelligent robot 104 on the display interface of the test point-of-sale terminal 102. The test control module 103 is also configured, for example, to receive the operation log data sent by the test point-of-sale terminal 101, and determine whether the test point-of-sale terminal 101 has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data.

[0035] In some embodiments, the test control module 103 is further configured to perform the following operations: when it is determined that the point-of-sale terminal 101 under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, a restart command is issued for the point-of-sale terminal 101 under test. After the restart of the point-of-sale terminal 101 under test is detected, the test script is re-run to conduct a new round of communication testing.

[0036] In some embodiments, the test control module 103 is further configured to determine whether the point-of-sale terminal 101 under test is powered on before running the test script.

[0037] In some embodiments, the intelligent robot 104 includes a camera device 121 and a robotic arm device 122. The camera device 121 is used to capture and identify the area to be operated to locate the operating position of the robotic arm device 122. The robotic arm device 122 is configured to perform corresponding click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal 102 based on operation control commands and the capture and identification results of the camera device 121.

[0038] In some embodiments, the communication connection line 105 includes a serial communication connection line 105, or a communication connection line conforming to other communication protocols. The serial communication connection line 105 is connected via an RJ9 (Registered Jack 9) or RJ11 interface. The first type of communication data and the second type of communication data include string data, or data to be transmitted based on image data. In one embodiment, the first type of communication data includes, for example, the string '0x00', and the second type of communication data includes, for example, the string '0xff'. The actual communication data may also include other fields and check bits, but their contents are only described schematically here.

[0039] Test scripts may include Python or Java code files. The point-of-sale terminal 101 under test and the accompanying point-of-sale terminal 102 may run Android or other types of operating systems.

[0040] In some embodiments, a specific area of ​​the display interface of the test sales point terminal 102 is configured to display different colors according to the judgment result of whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received, so that the camera device 121 can take pictures and identify. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the display interface of a test sales point terminal 102 according to an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 2 The display interface 201 of the point-of-sale terminal 102 includes, for example, a display area 211 corresponding to the 'Reconnect' button, a display area 212 corresponding to the 'Send Data' (specifically, for example, second type of communication data) button, and a color display area 213 corresponding to the judgment result of whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received. For example, before the first type of communication data has been correctly received, the color display area 213 is displayed as red, and after the first type of communication data has been correctly received, the color display area 213 is displayed as green. The camera device 121 also acquires corresponding shooting and recognition results through shooting and recognition, so that the robotic arm device 122 can perform corresponding click, press, or slide operations on the display interface 201 of the point-of-sale terminal 102 according to the operation control command and the shooting and recognition results of the camera device 121. The display interface 201 of the point-of-sale terminal 102 can also be set with other display areas or button areas as needed. Figure 2 This is just an example.

[0041] In some embodiments, the test control module 103 includes a display device for displaying data corresponding to the communication test process.

[0042] The Point-of-Sale Terminal Communication Test System 100 may actually include multiple point-of-sale terminals under test. Figure 1 The terminal shown in the diagram is for illustrative purposes only.

[0043] This application also provides a method for operating a point-of-sale (POS) terminal communication testing system. As mentioned above, the POS terminal communication testing system includes a POS terminal under test, a companion POS terminal, a test control module, and an intelligent robot. The companion POS terminal is connected to the POS terminal under test via a communication cable. The test control module is connected to the POS terminal under test, the companion POS terminal, and the intelligent robot.

[0044] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation method of a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to an embodiment of this application. (Reference) Figure 3 The operation method of the point-of-sale terminal communication testing system includes: Step 301, the test control module runs the test script, controls the operation of the point-of-sale terminal under test, and sends the first type of communication data to the auxiliary point-of-sale terminal; Step 302, the test control module runs the test control program to issue operation control commands to control the intelligent robot to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the auxiliary point-of-sale terminal; Step 303, the auxiliary point-of-sale terminal determines whether it has correctly received the first type of communication data; Step 304, when the auxiliary point-of-sale terminal determines that it has correctly received the first type of communication data, it sends the second type of communication data to the point-of-sale terminal under test according to the click, press, or slide operations performed by the intelligent robot on the display interface of the auxiliary point-of-sale terminal; Step 305, the test control module receives the operation log data sent by the point-of-sale terminal under test, and determines whether the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data.

[0045] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation method of a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to another embodiment of this application. (See reference) Figure 4 The operation method of the point-of-sale terminal communication test system includes steps 401 to 405, which are similar to steps 301 to 305, and also includes: step 406, when the test control module determines that the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, it issues a restart command for the point-of-sale terminal under test; step 407, when the test control module detects that the point-of-sale terminal under test has restarted, it re-runs the test script. The specific implementation process of steps 301 to 305, or steps 401 to 407, is described above and will not be repeated here.

[0046] This application discloses a point-of-sale (POS) terminal communication testing system and its operation method, which combines software control and robot operation to achieve communication testing between two or more POS terminals, such as serial communication function testing. Furthermore, it can test abnormal disconnection scenarios through cyclic restarts. This technical solution improves communication testing efficiency while fully covering test scenarios and ensuring the stability of equipment operation.

[0047] The basic concepts have been described above. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above disclosure is merely illustrative and does not constitute a limitation of this application. Although not explicitly stated herein, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and corrections to this application. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are suggested in this application, and therefore remain within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

[0048] Furthermore, this application uses specific terms to describe embodiments of the application. For example, "an embodiment," "one embodiment," and / or "some embodiments" refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different locations in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the application can be appropriately combined.

[0049] Some aspects of this application may be executed entirely by hardware, entirely by software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or by a combination of hardware and software. The aforementioned hardware or software may be referred to as a "data block," "module," "engine," "unit," "component," or "system." The processor may be one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DAPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, aspects of this application may be manifested as a computer product located on one or more computer-readable media, including computer-readable program code.

[0050] Similarly, it should be noted that, in order to simplify the description of the present application and thus aid in the understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present application sometimes combines multiple features into a single embodiment, drawing, or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not imply that the subject matter of the application requires more features than those mentioned in the claims. In fact, the embodiments contain fewer features than all the features of the single embodiments disclosed above.

[0051] Although this application has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate this application, and various equivalent changes or substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of this application. Therefore, any changes or modifications to the above embodiments within the essential spirit of this application will fall within the scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A point-of-sale terminal communication testing system, comprising: The point-of-sale terminal to be tested; The testing point-of-sale terminal is connected to the testing point-of-sale terminal via a communication cable. The test control module is connected to the sales point terminal under test and the accompanying sales point terminal respectively; An intelligent robot is connected to the test control module; the intelligent robot includes a camera device and a robotic arm device; the camera device is used to photograph and identify the area to be operated in order to locate the operating position of the robotic arm device; the robotic arm device is configured to perform corresponding click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal according to the operation control command and the photographing and identification results of the camera device. The intelligent robot is configured to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the sales point terminal based on operation control commands. The test control module is configured as follows: Run the test script to control the operation of the sales point terminal under test and send the first type of communication data to the sales point terminal under test; before running the test script, determine whether the sales point terminal under test is powered on. Run the test control program to issue operation control commands to control the intelligent robot to click, press or slide on the display interface of the terminal at the test sales point; The accompanying sales point terminal is configured as follows: Determine whether the first type of communication data has been received correctly; When it is determined that the first type of communication data has been received correctly, the intelligent robot sends the second type of communication data to the terminal of the sales point under test by clicking, pressing or sliding on the display interface of the terminal of the sales point under test. The test control module is further configured to: receive the operation log data sent by the point-of-sale terminal under test, and determine whether the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data; when it is determined that the point-of-sale terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, issue a restart command for the point-of-sale terminal under test; and when the restart of the point-of-sale terminal under test is detected, rerun the test script.

2. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The communication connection cable includes a serial communication connection cable.

3. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The test script includes Python or Java language encoded files.

4. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The serial communication cable is connected via an RJ9 or RJ11 interface.

5. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, A specific area of ​​the display interface of the accompanying sales point terminal is configured to display different colors based on the judgment result of whether the first type of communication data has been correctly received, so that the camera device can take pictures and identify.

6. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first type of communication data and the second type of communication data include string data.

7. The point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The test control module includes a display device for displaying data corresponding to the communication test process.

8. A method for operating a point-of-sale terminal communication testing system, the system comprising a point-of-sale terminal under test, a companion point-of-sale terminal, a test control module, and an intelligent robot; the companion point-of-sale terminal is connected to the point-of-sale terminal under test via a communication connection line; the test control module is connected to the point-of-sale terminal under test, the companion point-of-sale terminal, and the intelligent robot; the intelligent robot comprises a camera device and a robotic arm device; the camera device is used to photograph and identify the area to be operated to locate the operating position of the robotic arm device; the robotic arm device is configured to perform corresponding click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the companion point-of-sale terminal according to the operation control command and the photographing and identification results of the camera device; The method includes: The test control module runs the test script, controls the operation of the sales point terminal under test, and sends the first type of communication data to the accompanying sales point terminal. Before running the test script, the test control module determines whether the terminal to be tested at the point of sale is powered on. The test control module runs a test control program to issue operation control commands, controlling the intelligent robot to perform click, press, or slide operations on the display interface of the terminal at the test sales point. The accompanying sales point terminal determines whether it has correctly received the first type of communication data; When the test sales point terminal determines that it has correctly received the first type of communication data, the intelligent robot performs a click, press, or slide operation on the display interface of the test sales point terminal to send the second type of communication data to the test sales point terminal. The test control module receives the operation log data sent by the sales point terminal under test, and determines whether the sales point terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data based on the operation log data; when the test control module determines that the sales point terminal under test has correctly received the second type of communication data, it issues a restart command for the sales point terminal under test; when the test control module detects that the sales point terminal under test has restarted, it re-runs the test script.

9. The method for operating the point-of-sale terminal communication testing system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The communication connection cable includes a serial communication connection cable.

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