POS system relay device, POS system, POS system server, and POS system maintenance method

Abstract

This invention provides a relay device for a POS system, a POS system, a server for a POS system, and a maintenance method for a POS system that can determine the status of peripheral devices useful for recovery in the event of a failure. [Solution] The relay device 12 of the POS system 11 is configured to relay communication between a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 includes a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 includes an analysis unit 62 that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit 63 that determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a relay device for a POS system that relays between an accounting terminal device and peripheral devices, a POS system, a server for a POS system, and a maintenance method for a POS system. [[Background Art]]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a maintenance system that allows a user to construct a POS terminal device by combining desired peripheral devices for the introduction and maintenance of a POS system. In this POS system, a setting file that defines combinations of different types of peripheral device models is referred to, and it is determined whether the combination of peripheral device models input by an input means is valid. [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-84759 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] However, in addition to maintenance for constructing a POS system with valid combinations of peripheral device models, maintenance for restoring the POS system when a failure or the like occurs is also performed. For early restoration of the POS system, it is important to quickly identify the cause of the failure. Further improvement is demanded for efficiently performing maintenance on the peripheral devices constituting a POS system. [[Means for Solving the Problem]]

[0005] A relay device for a POS system that solves the above problems is a relay device for a POS system configured to relay communication between a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, and comprises a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral device, a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral device, an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

[0006] A POS system that solves the above problems comprises a relay device that relays a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing to one or more peripheral devices, and a server that can be connected to the relay device via a network, wherein the relay device comprises a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, and the relay device or the server comprises an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral devices based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

[0007] A POS system server that solves the above problems is a server that is communicatively connected to a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral device in a POS system that includes a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the relay device includes a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral device and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral device, and the server includes an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

[0008] A maintenance method for a POS system that solves the above problems is a maintenance method for a POS system that includes a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system includes a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device has a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, and the method includes analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, obtaining maintenance information that can be used for the maintenance of the peripheral devices based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and causing the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device to output the maintenance information.

[0009] A maintenance method for a POS system that solves the above problems is a maintenance method for a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system comprises a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device having a communication unit that is communicably connected to a server or a maintenance terminal, a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices, and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, and the maintenance method comprises analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, detecting an abnormality in the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and, upon detecting the abnormality, notifying the server or the maintenance terminal that the peripheral device is abnormal.

[0010] A maintenance method for a POS system that solves the above problems is a maintenance method for a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system comprises a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device comprises a communication unit that is communicably connected to a server or maintenance terminal, a transmission unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices, and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, at least one of the peripheral devices being a printing device, and when an abnormality of the printing device is detected based on the analysis result obtained by analyzing the target information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, the method includes notifying the server or the maintenance terminal of the abnormality, when a maintenance request for the printing device is received from the server or the maintenance terminal, the method includes issuing a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request and sending it to the printing device, the printing device performing the maintenance processing instructed by the maintenance command, and when result information of the maintenance processing or completion information of the maintenance processing is received from the printing device, the result information or completion information is sent to the server or the maintenance terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a POS system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the functions of the POS system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the startup control process of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the peripheral device identification process in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the accounting control process of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the accounting control process of the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the accounting control process of the first embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating state determination and failure detection processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating simple log generation processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating detailed log acquisition processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating firmware update processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating functions of a POS system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating peripheral device identification processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating accounting control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating functions of a first example POS system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating functions of a second example POS system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating state determination and failure detection processing according to the third embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating functions of a modified example of the POS system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 25] Fig. 25 is a schematic diagram showing functions of a modification of the POS system according to the first embodiment, which is different from that in Fig. 24. [Figure 26] Fig. 26 is a schematic diagram showing functions of a modification of the POS system according to the first embodiment, which is different from that in Fig. 25. [Figure 27] Fig. 27 is a schematic diagram showing functions of a modification of the POS system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 28] Fig. 28 is a schematic diagram showing functions of the POS system that cooperates with an order entry system in a modification. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0012] [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the POS system will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a relay device for a POS system, a POS system, a control method for a POS system, and a program will be described.

[0013] <Configuration of POS System 11> As shown in Fig. 1, a POS (Point of Sale) system 11 performs point-of-sale information management. The POS system 11 causes at least one peripheral device 30 to perform accounting processing using a terminal device 15. The POS system 11 includes a terminal device 15, one or more peripheral devices 30, and a relay device 12. The relay device 12 is configured to be capable of relaying communication between the terminal device 15 and the one or more peripheral devices 30. The POS system 11 may include a plurality of terminal devices 15.

[0014] Terminal device 15 is a device that allows an operator to input information related to accounting. Terminal device 15 is a device that is used for input by store employees, but it may also be a device that is used for input by, for example, a customer purchasing goods. Terminal device 15 is a portable mobile terminal device, but is not limited to this, and may be a device that is not easily portable. A portable terminal device may be, for example, a tablet terminal device. A terminal device 15 that is not easily portable may be, for example, a POS terminal device.

[0015] The terminal device 15 has an operating system and an application installed. The operating system may be any operating system. The application may be software compatible with the installed operating system. The application is developed using a Software Development Kit (SDK) to be compatible with the operating system. The application is a POS application for using the POS system 11.

[0016] The terminal device 15 can control the peripheral devices 30 using common commands. These common commands are generated in the same way regardless of the operating system and applications installed on the terminal device 15.

[0017] To give a specific example, multiple terminal devices 15 generate common commands in the same way, even if they have different operating systems and applications installed.

[0018] The POS system 11 includes at least one peripheral device 30. The POS system 11 may include multiple peripheral devices 30. At least one peripheral device 30 may include a device classified into any of multiple categories. Specifically, at least one peripheral device 30 may include at least one of a reader 31, a display device 32, a printer 33, an automatic change dispenser 34, and a payment terminal 35. The multiple categories may be any of the reader 31, the display device 32, the printer 33, the automatic change dispenser 34, and the payment terminal 35. At least one of the peripheral devices 30 may be a printer 33.

[0019] The reader 31 is configured to read information about a product. The reader 31 reads a product identifier that can identify a product. The reader 31 may also read various codes that can identify a product. The reader 31 may also be a barcode reader that reads a barcode that can identify a product. A single POS system 11 may have multiple readers 31.

[0020] The display device 32 is configured to display information related to accounting. The display device 32 may also be configured to display subtotals in accounting. The display device 32 may also be configured to display settlement information in accounting. The display device 32 may also be a customer display.

[0021] The printing device 33 is configured to print accounting-related documents. The printing device 33 may be configured to print accounting receipts. The printing device 33 may be configured to print accounting service coupons. The printing device 33 is not limited to any particular printing method. The printing device 33 prints using a thermal printing method, but it may print using any printing method.

[0022] The automatic change dispenser 34 is configured to process cash payments. The automatic change dispenser 34 can accept cash. The automatic change dispenser 34 receives the inserted cash. The automatic change dispenser 34 is configured to dispense change after payment.

[0023] The payment terminal 35 is a device for making payments for accounting. The payment terminal 35 is a device for making electronic payments. The payment terminal 35 may be a device for making electronic payments using any payment method. The payment terminal 35 may be a device for making credit card payments. The payment terminal 35 may be a device for making code payments.

[0024] Thus, the peripheral devices 30 are devices related to accounting processing and are classified by category. Multiple peripheral devices 30 may be devices manufactured by different manufacturers or devices manufactured by the same manufacturer.

[0025] Although each of the multiple peripheral devices 30 uses different commands when communicating with the terminal device 15, the commands may also be the same. In this way, the multiple peripheral devices 30 may be controlled by unique commands. In other words, the multiple peripheral devices 30 may have different unique commands.

[0026] The POS system 11 includes a relay device 12. In other words, the relay device 12 is the relay device 12 of the POS system 11. The POS system 11 may also include a communication router 13.

[0027] The relay device 12 can connect to at least one peripheral device 30. The relay device 12 can connect to multiple peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 may communicate serially with multiple peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 may communicate with multiple peripheral devices 30 via a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The relay device 12 may communicate parallel with multiple peripheral devices 30.

[0028] Here, let N be the number of peripheral devices 30 belonging to the POS system 11 (where N is a natural number). In the present embodiment, the relay device 12 is connected to N peripheral devices 30. However, the configuration is not limited to that in which all N peripheral devices 30 are connected to the relay device 12, and M of the N peripheral devices 30 may be directly connected to the terminal device 15. Among the N peripheral devices 30, the M peripheral devices 30 that use a common command with the terminal device 15 may be directly connected to the terminal device 15. Note that M is a natural number of 1 or more and (N-1) or less. That is, M is a natural number satisfying 0 < M < N.

[0029] As an example, the reading device 31 may be directly connected to the terminal device 15. When the terminal device 15 is a tablet terminal device portable by a store clerk, the store clerk moving around the store may carry the reading device 31 together. The reading device 31 may be configured to be communicable with the terminal device 15. The reading device 31 may perform wireless communication with the terminal device 15, or may perform wired communication. The reading device 31 may perform short-range wireless communication with the terminal device 15. The reading device 31 may communicate with the terminal device 15 via Bluetooth (registered trademark). The reading device 31 may be provided in the terminal device 15.

[0030] In the present embodiment, as an example, the reading device 31 is also connected to the relay device 12. The reading device 31 may be wirelessly connected to the relay device 12 in a state where wireless communication is possible. Accordingly, a configuration may be adopted in which a store clerk moving around the store carries a handy-type reading device 31 together with the terminal device 15 configured as a tablet terminal device.

[0031] The relay device 12 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, and a communication interface 22. The control unit 20 controls the relay device 12. The control unit 20 may be at least one computer that executes various processes according to a computer program. The control unit 20 may be configured of one or more processors that execute various processes according to a computer program.

[0032] The control unit 20 may consist of one or more dedicated hardware circuits. The control unit 20 may consist of an application-specific integrated circuit that performs at least some of the various processes. The control unit 20 may consist of a circuit that includes a processor and a combination of hardware circuits. The processor includes a CPU and memory such as RAM and ROM. The memory stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to perform processing. Memory, i.e., computer-readable media, includes any readable media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

[0033] The storage unit 21 may store the program PR executed by the control unit 20. The storage unit 21 stores data set by the control unit 20. The storage unit 21 may be composed of a hard disk, flash memory, or the like. The storage unit 21 may be composed of RAM. The storage unit 21 may be included in the control unit 20. The communication interface 22 is an interface for communicating with an external device. The relay device 12 of the first embodiment has a command conversion function. In such a relay device 12 with a command conversion function, the storage unit 21 may store a conversion table CT that is referenced during command conversion.

[0034] The relay device 12 can communicate with the terminal device 15. The relay device 12 can communicate with a cloud server 14, which is an example of a server and will be described later, via the communication router 13. The communication router 13 is separate from the relay device 12 and is located near the relay device 12, but it may also be built into the relay device 12. The communication router 13 is connected to the relay device 12 in a way that allows it to communicate with it.

[0035] The communication router 13 is a router capable of both wired and wireless communication, but it may also be a router capable of either wired or wireless communication. The communication router 13 is connected to the relay device 12 via wired communication, but it may also be connected to the relay device 12 via wireless communication.

[0036] The communication router 13 communicates wirelessly with the terminal device 15, but may also communicate with the terminal device 15 via a wired connection. The communication router 13 communicates with the cloud server 14 via a wired connection, but may also communicate with the cloud server 14 via wireless connection.

[0037] The terminal device 15 may be configured in a way that prevents wireless and wired communication with the communication router 13. In this case, the relay device 12 may have a tethering function. By connecting to the relay device 12, the terminal device 15 may be able to communicate with the cloud server 14 via the network NW through tethering. The relay device 12 enables communication between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral device 30 through its command conversion function. Hereafter, the description of the communication router 13 will be omitted when discussing communication via the communication router 13.

[0038] The POS system 11 may include a cloud server 14. The cloud server 14 may also be a maintenance server responsible for maintenance in the event of a failure of the POS system 11. If the cloud server 14 is a maintenance server, it is connected to a maintenance terminal 16 managed by a maintenance person. The maintenance person may be a maintenance person at the store, or a field engineer or the like belonging to a maintenance service provider contracted by the store.

[0039] Generally, there are two main types of maintenance contracts for POS systems 11. One option is on-site maintenance service. When a failure occurs, an engineer from the maintenance service provider goes from a service station to the store to repair the POS system 11. First, the support center or call center receives a report of the failure and dispatches an engineer. It is difficult to grasp the exact nature of the POS system 11 failure at the time of receiving the report. Also, with on-site maintenance service, there is not enough time to analyze the failure, and as a result, field engineers are currently dispatched to the site without knowing the extent of the failure. In many cases, field engineers bring various maintenance equipment (POS terminals to various peripherals) to the site and restore the system by replacing the equipment already installed there. In this case, the field engineer replaces the equipment one by one through trial and error, which takes time to restore the system and results in significant lost sales opportunities for the store. In addition, because a field engineer has to rush to the site each time, regardless of the actual failure situation, the cost and man-hour burden on the maintenance company is very high.

[0040] Another option is the send-back maintenance service. When a failure occurs, the store sends the faulty peripheral device 30 to the service station or repair center of the maintenance service provider. The faulty peripheral device 30 is then sent to the maintenance service provider or the peripheral device manufacturer for repair, and returned to the store after the repair is completed. Send-back maintenance has the advantage of lower maintenance costs because a field engineer does not need to go to the site. However, since the store needs to identify the faulty device and send it to a repair center, it can be difficult to provide appropriate support unless the store has highly skilled IT engineers on staff. For this reason, except for shopping malls and large supermarkets, send-back maintenance is not effectively utilized in practice.

[0041] In order to solve this type of problem, the POS system 11 of the present embodiment has a function of collecting and providing maintenance information useful for resolving a failure from the POS system 11 when a failure occurs. Further, the POS system 11 of the present embodiment has a function of detecting a failure and notifying the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16 of an abnormality indicating the occurrence of the failure. Furthermore, the POS system 11 of the present embodiment also has a maintenance function for performing simple maintenance processing on peripheral devices 30 through remote operation from the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16. The cloud server 14 of the present embodiment is a maintenance server that performs processing related to maintenance of the POS system 11.

[0042] The cloud server 14 may also serve as a server that manages product data. In this case, the cloud server 14 may manage product data by associating at least a product identifier, a product name, and a price with each other. The cloud server 14 may be a server that manages data related to accounting processing. The cloud server 14 may be a server that manages data related to specifications of the peripheral devices 30. Note that the server that manages product data may be a separate server (another cloud server) from the cloud server 14 which is the maintenance server.

[0043] The cloud server 14, the terminal device 15, and the peripheral devices 30 are configured in the same manner as the relay device 12. The cloud server 14, the terminal device 15, and the peripheral devices 30 have configurations similar to those of the control unit 20, the storage unit 21, and the communication interface 22 of the relay device 12. Hereinafter, for the control contents of the cloud server 14, the terminal device 15, and the peripheral devices 30, description of detailed control entities will be omitted, and the description will be given with respect to the cloud server 14, the terminal device 15, and the peripheral devices 30.

[0044] <Functions of POS System 11> As shown in Figure 2, in the POS system 11, the relay device 12 has various functions. The relay device 12 may also have a function to detect peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 detects connected peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 obtains the peripheral device identifier of the peripheral device 30 that it has detected. The peripheral device identifier is data for identifying the peripheral device 30. More specifically, the peripheral device identifier is data for identifying the category of the peripheral device 30 and the type of the peripheral device 30.

[0045] The relay device 12 has a control relay function between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 controls the terminal device 15 so that it can communicate with it. The relay device 12 controls the cloud server 14 so that it can communicate with it. The relay device 12 functions as a switching hub for the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 performs mutual exclusion control for multiple peripheral devices 30.

[0046] In particular, the relay device 12 can connect to multiple peripheral devices 30 classified in the same category. The relay device 12 can connect to any one of the multiple peripheral devices 30 classified in the same category.

[0047] The relay device 12 has a function for data conversion between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral device 30. The relay device 12 communicates with the terminal device 15 using common commands. The relay device 12 communicates with the peripheral device 30 using specific commands.

[0048] The memory unit 21 may store a conversion table CT. The conversion table CT is data for converting between unique commands and common commands corresponding to the peripheral device identifier of the peripheral device 30. The control unit 20 refers to the conversion table CT and performs the conversion between common commands and unique commands.

[0049] When the relay device 12 receives a common command from the terminal device 15, it converts the received common command into a specific command for the peripheral device 30 to be communicated with. The relay device 12 then transmits the converted specific command to the peripheral device 30 to be communicated with.

[0050] When the relay device 12 receives a unique command from the peripheral device 30, it converts the received unique command into a common command. The relay device 12 transmits the converted common command to the terminal device 15 that is the communication target.

[0051] In the first embodiment, the POS application of the terminal device 15 can issue instructions by using a command in one language to each peripheral device 30 that operates with its own unique command. In this respect, the command language handled by the terminal device 15 can be referred to as a common command. However, the POS system 11 of the present embodiment employs a command conversion method in which the relay device 12 mutually converts between a common command, which is a command in a common language handled by the terminal device 15, and a unique command, which is a command in a plurality of types of unique languages independently handled by each peripheral device 30.

[0052] <Functional Configuration of POS System 11> Next, the functional configuration of the POS system 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The control unit 20 of the relay device 12 includes a computer (not shown) that executes a program PR stored in the storage unit 21. When the computer executes the program PR, the relay device 12 is provided with a plurality of functional units formed of software. At least a part of the plurality of functional units may be configured by cooperation between hardware such as an electronic circuit and software. For example, the control unit 20 may include at least one electronic circuit of ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) as hardware.

[0053] As shown in Figure 2, the relay device 12 includes a plurality of communication ports 40, 41, and 42 to which a terminal device 15 and one or more peripheral devices 30 can be connected. More specifically, the relay device 12 includes a first port 40 and second ports 41 and 42. The first port 40 is the port to which the terminal device 15 is connected. The first port 40 is the communication port used to connect the terminal device 15. The second ports 41 and 42 are the ports to which the peripheral devices 30 are connected. For example, if the terminal device 15 is a mobile terminal device, the first port 40 is one of the ports to which the mobile terminal device can be connected. The first port 40 is, for example, a USB port. The second port 41 is, for example, a USB port. The second port 42 is, for example, a serial port. In this embodiment, the first port 40 is also referred to as a USB port 41, the second port 41 is also referred to as a USB port 41, and the second port 42 is also referred to as a serial port 42.

[0054] The reader 31, display device 32, and printing device 33 are connected to USB port 41. The automatic change dispenser 34 and payment terminal 35 are connected to serial port 42. The relay device 12 is equipped with a plurality of USB ports 40, 41. The number of USB ports 40, 41 is a predetermined number, for example, in the range of 2 to 10. In particular, in the embodiment, the number of USB ports 40, 41 is a predetermined number, for example, in the range of 4 to 10. Of the plurality of USB ports 40, 41, one port to which the terminal device 15 is connected becomes the first port 40. The first port 40 is the upstream port that is the source of requests in the accounting processing of the terminal device 15. The second ports 41, 42 are downstream ports to which peripheral devices 30 that are the recipients of requests in the accounting processing are connected. Between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42, a transmission path is established for accounting processing, through which request commands are transmitted from the first port 40 to the second ports 41 and 42, and through which response commands are transmitted from the second ports 41 and 42 to the first port 40. These two types of transmission paths may consist of one signal line or multiple signal lines.

[0055] Furthermore, the relay device 12 has a communication unit 43. The communication unit 43 is a port capable of network communication. The communication unit 43 is, for example, a LAN port (for example, an Ethernet® port). The communication unit 43 is connected to the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16 in a communication-enabled manner.

[0056] As shown in Figure 2, the relay device 12 includes a tethering unit 51, a network communication unit 52, a transmitting / receiving unit 53, a peripheral device management unit 60, and a maintenance function unit 70. The transmitting / receiving unit 53 includes a command conversion unit 54, a peripheral device identification unit 55, a transmission unit 56, and a reception unit 57. The peripheral device management unit 60 includes a monitoring unit 61, an analysis unit 62, a determination unit 63, an information notification unit 64 (an example of a notification unit), and a command issuance unit 65. The maintenance function unit 70 includes a fault detection unit 71 (an example of an abnormality detection unit), an update unit 72, and a log acquisition unit 73. The fault detection unit 71 includes an abnormality notification unit 74.

[0057] The tethering unit 51 is a functional unit that enables network communication for terminal devices 15 that do not have network communication capabilities, via the relay device 12. The tethering unit 51 may have, for example, USB tethering functionality and Bluetooth® tethering functionality. The terminal device 15 can connect to the cloud server 14 via the relay device 12 using the tethering function of the tethering unit 51.

[0058] The network communication unit 52 enables network communication for the relay device 12. The relay device 12 can communicate with the cloud server 14 via the network NW through the functions of the network communication unit 52.

[0059] The transmitting / receiving unit 53 communicates between the terminal device 15 and one or more peripheral devices 30 connected to the relay device 12. The communication by the transmitting / receiving unit 53 includes request information to the peripheral devices 30 and response information from the peripheral devices 30.

[0060] The transmitting / receiving unit 53 includes a transmitting unit 56 that sends transmission commands to the peripheral device 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives reception commands from the peripheral device 30. The transmission commands are mainly request commands that convey requests from the terminal device 15 to the peripheral device 30. The transmission commands may also include transmission commands sent from the cloud server 14 to the peripheral device 30. The reception commands are mainly response commands that convey responses from the peripheral device 30. When a failure occurs in the peripheral device 30, the communication content between the request command and the response command will include some kind of error. Errors in the response command include error commands that return an error, response errors that do not return a response command, and timeout errors.

[0061] The transmitting unit 56 transmits request information to the peripheral device 30. The receiving unit 57 receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The request information includes a command to the peripheral device 30. The response information includes a command from the peripheral device 30. The request information to the peripheral device 30 passes through the relay device 12. The command that the relay device 12 transmits to the peripheral device 30 is called the "transmitted command". The response information from the peripheral device 30 passes through the relay device 12. The command that the relay device 12 receives from the peripheral device 30 is called the "received command". Here, the transmitted command is an example of request information. The "received command" is an example of response information. "Command" refers to information written in a predetermined command language. In this specification, the request information and response information also include data accompanying the command written in the command language.

[0062] The command conversion unit 54 performs command conversion processing to convert the commands transmitted from the terminal device 15 and the commands received from the peripheral device 30 into commands written in a command language that each device can interpret. Here, the commands written in the command language handled by the terminal device 15 are called common commands. Common commands are, for example, ePOS commands.

[0063] The commands included in the request information are common commands, while the commands included in the response information are unique commands specific to the peripheral device 30. In this embodiment, the peripheral device 30 handles unique commands whose command language differs depending on the manufacturer. For example, even if the category is the same, the peripheral device 30 can only interpret manufacturer-specific commands. Also, if the categories are different, the manufacturers are often different, so the peripheral device 30 can only interpret manufacturer-specific commands.

[0064] The relay device 12 includes a command conversion unit 54 capable of mutually converting common commands used by the terminal device 15 and unique commands used independently by the peripheral device 30. The command conversion unit 54 converts transmission commands (e.g., ePOS commands) into unique commands written in the peripheral device's own command language. The command conversion unit 54 also converts received commands (e.g., unique commands) into common commands (e.g., ePOS commands).

[0065] The command conversion unit 54 includes a conversion table CT (see Figure 1) that is referenced when converting common commands (e.g., ePOS commands) and unique commands that can be interpreted by peripheral devices 30. The command conversion unit 54 performs command conversion from common commands to unique commands and command conversion from unique commands to common commands by referencing the conversion table CT selected based on the specific information registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55. The command conversion unit 54 includes multiple types of conversion tables CT, the same number as the number of unique commands handled by the multiple peripheral devices 30 connected to the relay device 12.

[0066] The command conversion unit 54 converts request information from common commands to specific commands before sending it to the peripheral device 30. The command conversion unit 54 converts response information from the peripheral device 30 from specific commands to common commands. The command conversion unit 54 converts transmission commands from common commands to specific commands before sending them to the peripheral device 30. The command conversion unit 54 converts received commands from the peripheral device 30 from specific commands to common commands.

[0067] The peripheral device identification unit 55 acquires identification information from the connected peripheral device 30 at specific times, such as when the relay device 12 is started up. The peripheral device identification unit 55 registers the identification information acquired from the peripheral device 30 connected to the relay device 12. The command conversion unit 54 selects a conversion table CT corresponding to the command language that the peripheral device 30 can interpret by referring to the identification information registered by the peripheral device identification unit 55. The command conversion unit 54 performs command conversion between common commands and specific commands by referring to the conversion table CT selected for each peripheral device 30. In addition, the identification information registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55 is also used to identify the peripheral device 30 that caused the failure when the POS system 11 fails. Furthermore, the identification information registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55 is also used to identify the language of the specific command issued to the peripheral device 30 to be maintained when the POS system 11 fails.

[0068] The transmitting unit 56 performs a distribution process to distribute the transmission command, which consists of a common command from the terminal device 15, to the port to which the destination peripheral device 30 is connected. The transmitting unit 56 transmits the transmission command, which has been converted into a unique command, from one of the second ports 41 and 42 that corresponds to the destination peripheral device 30. The receiving unit 57 receives a received command, which consists of a unique command, as a response from the peripheral device 30, from one of the second ports 41 and 42 that corresponds to the receiving peripheral device 30.

[0069] The transmitting unit 56 processes transmission commands sent via USB communication from the USB port 41 and transmission commands sent via serial communication from the serial port 42 separately. The receiving unit 57 processes reception commands received via USB communication from the USB port 41 and reception commands received via serial communication from the serial port 42 separately. After the common command is converted to a specific command by the command conversion unit 54, the transmitting unit 56 transmits the converted transmission command from one of the second ports 41 and 42 that corresponds to the destination peripheral device 30. The reception command received by the receiving unit 57 from one of the second ports 41 and 42 that corresponds to the source peripheral device 30 is converted from a specific command to a common command by the command conversion unit 54. A reception command consisting of a common command is transmitted from the first port 40 to the terminal device 15.

[0070] <Configuration of Peripheral Device Management Unit 60> Next, with reference to Figure 2, the configuration of the peripheral device management unit 60 will be described. The peripheral device management unit 60 manages the peripheral devices 30 via commands transmitted within the relay device 12. As described above, the peripheral device management unit 60 includes a monitoring unit 61, an analysis unit 62, a determination unit 63, an information notification unit 64, and a command issuing unit 65.

[0071] The monitoring unit 61 monitors the information transmitted by the transmitting / receiving unit 53 to obtain the information that the analysis unit 62 will analyze. In other words, the monitoring unit 61 monitors the information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42 to obtain the information to be analyzed from among the request information and response information. In this embodiment, the monitoring unit 61 monitors the information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42 to obtain the information to be analyzed, including common commands, from the information group. The monitoring unit 61 monitors the transmission command to obtain the common command before the transmission command is converted to a unique command. The monitoring unit 61 monitors the reception command to obtain the common command after the reception command has been converted from a unique command to a common command.

[0072] The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. The request information includes the transmission command and the data associated with the transmission command. The response information includes the reception command and the data associated with the reception command. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed obtained by the monitoring unit 61 from the request information and response information. In this embodiment, the analysis unit 62 analyzes the common commands obtained by the monitoring unit 61. The analysis unit 62 may analyze at least the reception command from the transmission command and the reception command. Alternatively, the analysis unit 62 may analyze only the transmission command from the transmission command and the reception command. Therefore, the information to be analyzed may include not only commands but also data. However, whether or not to include something in the analysis depends on the settings. In this embodiment, commands are analyzed to determine the status of the peripheral device 30. Commands that are useful for determining the status of the peripheral device 30 and the data associated with those commands are set as the information to be analyzed. In this embodiment, commands are analyzed to the extent that simple log information for each peripheral device 30 can be obtained, so all commands may be included in the analysis. Furthermore, the data associated with all commands may also be included in the analysis. It is also possible to select only the commands for analysis, excluding the associated data. Additionally, it is possible to select specific commands that are particularly effective for determining the status of peripheral devices 30 from among all commands for analysis. Furthermore, it is possible to select only specific commands and include the data associated with those commands in the analysis.

[0073] The analysis unit 62 analyzes the commands necessary to determine the status of the peripheral device 30. If the received command received as a response to a transmitted command has an appropriate response, the analysis unit 62 can estimate that the status of the peripheral device 30 that sent the received command is normal. If the received command received as a response to a transmitted command has an inappropriate response, the analysis unit 62 can estimate that the status of the peripheral device 30 that sent the received command is abnormal. For example, if the received command is an error command, the error details can be obtained from the error number if an error number is available. Also, time-over errors and repeated retransmission commands can be determined to indicate a high probability that the status of the peripheral device 30 that received them is not normal. In this way, analysis information regarding abnormalities and failures can be obtained with a certain level of accuracy by analyzing only the received commands. In this embodiment, the analysis unit 62 analyzes both the transmitted command and the received command to comprehensively obtain the status of the peripheral device 30 and the occurrence of abnormalities or failures in the peripheral device 30 with high accuracy.

[0074] Furthermore, the analysis unit 62 may analyze the state of the peripheral device 30 not only from a single request and response, but also from multiple request and response exchanges within a predetermined period. The analysis unit 62 may employ an appropriate analysis method. For example, the analysis unit 62 may analyze the state of the peripheral device 30 using an AI model trained through supervised learning using a fault dataset, or an AI model trained through reinforcement learning.

[0075] Since the analysis unit 62 analyzes common commands, it is possible to perform analysis processing efficiently. The analysis unit 62 could also analyze, for example, unique commands. However, if unique commands are the target of analysis, it is necessary to analyze multiple types of commands in different languages ​​from the peripheral device 30 while referring to a conversion table. In this case, time is required for conversions other than analysis, and the amount of analysis that can be processed within a certain time is limited. As a result, only very simple and shallow analysis becomes possible. In contrast, in this embodiment, which analyzes common commands, it is not necessary to refer to a conversion table, so more time can be secured for analysis, making it possible to perform more complex and deeper analysis within a certain time.

[0076] The determination unit 63 determines the status of the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. The status of the peripheral device 30 includes both a normal state and an abnormal state. An abnormal state includes a minor abnormality that requires attention (attention state), a moderate abnormality that requires maintenance personnel to be vigilant (warning state), and a severe abnormality where a malfunction has occurred (fault state). Thus, if the status of the peripheral device 30 is abnormal, the determination unit 63 may determine the abnormal state by dividing it into multiple stages according to the difference in severity.

[0077] The information notification unit 64 notifies the server 14 of the determination result of the determination unit 63 via the network NW. In other words, the information notification unit 64 notifies the server 14 of the status information of the peripheral device 30, which is the determination result of the determination unit 63. The information notification unit 64 may also notify the server 14 of the analysis information, which is the analysis result of the analysis unit 62, via the network NW. Thus, the information notification unit 64 also functions as an information transmission unit that transmits (transmits) status information and analysis information. The information notification unit 64 may also notify (transmit) status information from the relay device 12 to the server 14, with the server 14 taking the lead, by having the server 14 acquire the status information stored in the storage unit 21 of the relay device 12 via WebAPI (Application Programming Interface). Similarly, regarding the notification of analysis results, the information notification unit 64 may also notify (transmit) analysis information from the relay device 12 to the server 14, with the server 14 taking the lead, by having the server 14 acquire the analysis information stored in the storage unit 21 of the relay device 12 via WebAPI. Alternatively, the information notification unit 64 may periodically or irregularly notify the server 14 that status information or analysis information has been stored in the storage unit 21, and the server 14, upon receiving this notification, may retrieve the status information or analysis information from the storage unit 21 via a Web API.

[0078] The command issuing unit 65 causes the printing device 33 to issue commands that it can interpret. The command issuing unit 65 causes the printing device 33 to issue commands based on requests from outside the relay device 12. For example, when the relay device 12 receives a request from the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16, the command issuing unit 65 causes the printing device 33 to issue a command corresponding to that request. The command issuing unit 65 may also cause the printing device 33 to issue commands based on the determination result made by the control unit 20. For example, the command issuing unit 65 issues maintenance commands based on instructions from the maintenance function unit 70. When the maintenance function unit 70, described later, receives a maintenance request from the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16, the command issuing unit 65 issues maintenance commands based on instructions from the maintenance function unit 70. A maintenance command is a command that requests the printing device 33 to perform a predetermined maintenance process.

[0079] One example of a maintenance command issued by the command issuing unit 65 is an update command to update the firmware of the printing device 33. Another example of a maintenance command is a log acquisition command that causes the printing device 33 to acquire log information. The log information of the printing device 33 is a detailed log that the printing device 33 itself records internally. Compared to the command analysis information obtained from the analysis results of the analysis unit 62 and the status information of the peripheral devices 30, which is the result of the determination unit 63, the detailed log is information that describes the operation and status of the printing device 33 in more detail over time.

[0080] <Configuration of the maintenance function unit 70> Next, the configuration of the maintenance function unit 70 will be described with reference to Figure 2. The maintenance function unit 70 performs maintenance processing on the peripheral equipment 30. The maintenance function unit 70 includes a fault detection function for detecting faults in the peripheral equipment 30 and a remote maintenance operation function for remotely controlling the printing device 33 to perform maintenance processing. The maintenance function unit 70 includes a fault detection unit 71 and an abnormality notification unit 74 as functional units for realizing the fault detection function. As shown in Figure 2, the fault detection unit 71 may include the abnormality notification unit 74, or the abnormality notification unit 74 may be provided separately from the fault detection unit 71.

[0081] The fault detection unit 71 detects a fault in the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62 or the determination results of the determination unit 63. In other words, the fault detection unit 71 detects a fault in the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis information, which is the analysis result of the analysis unit 62, or the status information, which is the determination result of the determination unit 63.

[0082] When the fault detection unit 71 detects a fault, the abnormality notification unit 74 notifies the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16 of the abnormality of the peripheral device 30. If the determination unit 63 obtains a determination result indicating that a fault has occurred in the peripheral device 30, the abnormality notification unit 74 may also notify the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16 of the information that a fault has occurred.

[0083] The remote maintenance operation function of the maintenance function unit 70, upon receiving a maintenance request, causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a maintenance command, thereby instructing the printing device 33 to perform maintenance processing. The maintenance function unit 70 includes an update unit 72 and a log acquisition unit 73 as functional units that realize the remote maintenance operation function.

[0084] The update unit 72 causes the printer 33 to update its firmware. When the update unit 72 receives an update request, it issues an update command to the printer 33, causing the printer 33 to update its firmware. When the update unit 72 receives an update request from the cloud server 14 as a maintenance request to update the firmware of the printer 33, it causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue an update command. When the cloud server 14 receives an update request from the maintenance terminal 16 to update the firmware of the printer 33, it issues an update request to the relay device 12.

[0085] The log acquisition unit 73 instructs the command issuing unit 65 to issue a log acquisition command to the printing device 33 to acquire log information. When the log acquisition unit 73 receives a log acquisition request from the cloud server 14 as a maintenance request to acquire log information of the printing device 33, it instructs the command issuing unit 65 to issue a log acquisition command. When the cloud server 14 receives a log acquisition request from the maintenance terminal 16 to acquire logs from the printing device 33, it issues a log acquisition request to the relay device 12.

[0086] The cloud server 14 includes a database 81 and a simplified log generation unit 82. The database 81 stores at least one of the analysis information, which is the result of the lower tilting mechanism 60 of the analysis unit 62, and the state information, which is the determination result of the determination unit 63. The simplified log generation unit 82 generates a simplified log based on the database 81. The simplified log generation unit 82 generates a simplified log of the specified peripheral device 30 in response to a simplified log generation request.

[0087] <Regarding maintenance methods> This embodiment includes the following maintenance methods for the POS system 11. There are three maintenance methods for the POS system 11. In all three maintenance methods, the POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing, one or more peripheral devices 30, and a relay device 12 that relays between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30.

[0088] (First maintenance method) The relay device 12 includes a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The maintenance method of the POS system 11 that maintains the peripheral device 30 includes the following (A1) and (A2). (A1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (A2) To obtain maintenance information that can be used for the maintenance of peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and to output the maintenance information to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device 12.

[0089] (Second maintenance method) The relay device 12 includes a communication unit 43 that is communicatively connected to the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The maintenance method for the POS system 11 includes the following (B1) to (B3). (B1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (B2) Detect abnormalities in peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed. (B3) When an abnormality is detected, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified that the peripheral device 30 is abnormal.

[0090] (Third maintenance method) The relay device 12 includes a communication unit 43 that is communicatively connected to the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The maintenance method for the POS system 11 includes the following (C1) to (C4). (C1) When an abnormality in the printing device 33 is detected based on the analysis results obtained by analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified of the abnormality. (C2) When a maintenance request is received from the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 for the printing device 33, a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request is issued and sent to the printing device 33. (C3) The printer 33 performs the maintenance process instructed by the maintenance command. (C4) When the printer 33 receives information on the results of maintenance processing or information on the completion of maintenance processing, it sends the results information or completion information to the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16.

[0091] <About Program PR> Furthermore, the three maintenance methods described above can be provided as a program PR executed by the computer in the control unit 20 of the relay device 12. The program PR is provided in a form stored on a storage medium. Alternatively, the program PR can be provided by downloading it from a server such as the cloud server 14.

[0092] (Program 1) The relay device 12 includes a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The first program PR is a program that causes the computer of the control unit 20 to execute the following (A1) and (A2). (A1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (A2) To obtain maintenance information that can be used for the maintenance of peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and to output the maintenance information to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device 12.

[0093] (Second program) The relay device 12 includes a communication unit 43 that is communicatively connected to the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The second program PR is a program that causes the computer of the control unit 20 to execute the following (B1) to (B3). (B1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (B2) Detect abnormalities in peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed. (B3) When an abnormality is detected, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified that the peripheral device 30 is abnormal.

[0094] (Third program) The relay device 12 includes a communication unit 43 that is communicatively connected to the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral device 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral device 30. The third program PR is a program that causes the computer of the control unit 20 to execute the following (C1) to (C4). (C1) When an abnormality in the printing device 33 is detected based on the analysis results obtained by analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified of the abnormality. (C2) When a maintenance request is received from the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 for the printing device 33, a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request is issued and sent to the printing device 33. (C3) The printer 33 performs the maintenance process instructed by the maintenance command. (C4) When the printer 33 receives information on the results of maintenance processing or information on the completion of maintenance processing, it sends the results information or completion information to the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16.

[0095] <Operation of the First Embodiment> Next, the operation of the relay device 12 configured as described above, the POS system 11 equipped with this relay device 12, and the cloud server 14, which is an example of a server, will be explained with reference to Figures 3 to 14. The following will explain the startup control process, peripheral device identification process, accounting control process, status determination / fault detection process, and maintenance process in order. The maintenance process includes a simple log generation process, a detailed log acquisition process, and a firmware update process.

[0096] <Startup control process> The startup control process will be explained with reference to Figure 3. The startup control process is a process executed by the terminal device 15 when an application on the terminal device 15 is started.

[0097] As shown in Figure 3, in step S11, the terminal device 15 performs an initial setup process. In this process, the terminal device 15 performs initial setup for using the application.

[0098] In step S12, the terminal device 15 executes a product data request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 sends a product data request to the cloud server 14. The product data request is a request to obtain the latest product data. The product data may include a product identifier, product name, and price.

[0099] In step S21, the cloud server 14 executes the product data request acquisition process. In this process, the cloud server 14 receives the product data request from the terminal device 15.

[0100] In step S22, the cloud server 14 executes the product data transmission process. In this process, the cloud server 14 transmits the latest registered product data to the terminal device 15 that sent the product data request.

[0101] In step S13, the terminal device 15 executes a product data acquisition process. In this process, the terminal device 15 receives product data transmitted from the cloud server 14. As a result, the terminal device 15 acquires the product data.

[0102] In step S14, the terminal device 15 executes a product data registration process. In this process, the terminal device 15 registers the acquired product data in memory. This enables the terminal device 15 to perform control based on the latest product data.

[0103] <Peripheral device identification processing> The peripheral device identification process will be explained with reference to Figure 4. The peripheral device identification process is a process executed by the control unit 20 when a peripheral device 30 is electrically connected to the relay device 12.

[0104] As shown in Figure 4, in step S31, the control unit 20 performs peripheral device detection processing. In this process, the control unit 20 detects that the peripheral device 30 has been connected to the relay device 12. The control unit 20 recognizes the connection port to which the peripheral device 30 has been connected to the relay device 12.

[0105] In step S32, the control unit 20 executes a peripheral device identification request process. In this process, the control unit 20 outputs a peripheral device identification request to the connected peripheral device 30. The peripheral device identification request is a request to obtain a peripheral device identifier.

[0106] In step S23, the peripheral device 30 executes the peripheral device identification request acquisition process. In this process, the peripheral device 30 receives the peripheral device identification request transmitted from the relay device 12. As a result, the peripheral device 30 acquires the peripheral device identification request.

[0107] In step S24, the peripheral device 30 performs peripheral device identifier output processing. In this process, the peripheral device 30 outputs the peripheral device identifier to the relay device 12. The peripheral device identifier is registered in the memory of the peripheral device 30.

[0108] In step S33, the control unit 20 performs a peripheral device identifier acquisition process. In this process, the control unit 20 receives the peripheral device identifier from the connected peripheral device 30. As a result, the control unit 20 obtains the peripheral device identifier of the connected peripheral device 30.

[0109] In step S34, the control unit 20 executes a peripheral device identifier registration process. In this process, the control unit 20 registers the acquired peripheral device identifier in the storage unit 21. Specifically, the control unit 20 associates the connection port to which the peripheral device 30 is connected in the relay device 12 with the peripheral device identifier and registers it in the storage unit 21. In detail, the peripheral device identification unit 55 (see Figure 2) associates the connection port with the peripheral device identifier and registers it. This allows the control unit 20 to identify the peripheral device 30 connected to the relay device 12. The peripheral device identifier may include, as an example, the vendor ID and device ID of the peripheral device 30.

[0110] <Accounting control processing> When the terminal device 15 is running, the user activates the POS application (hereinafter also simply referred to as "POS app") by operating the control panel. The POS app is accounting processing software. Accounting processing is performed in the following order: product reading, total amount display, settlement, and receipt issuance. Settlement processing includes cash payment and electronic payment. In this embodiment, after the accounting processing is completed, the relay device 12 performs a status determination process to determine the status of each peripheral device 30 for the purpose of maintaining the POS system 11. The status determination process is performed by analyzing the analysis target information extracted from the request information and response information exchanged between the terminal device 15 and each peripheral device 30 during accounting processing. Hereinafter, with reference to Figures 5 to 11, each process constituting the accounting processing will be described in order, including the analysis process of the analysis target information extracted from the request information and response information. In this embodiment, the request information and response information are commands exchanged between the terminal device 15 and each peripheral device 30 during accounting processing.

[0111] (Product reading process) First, we will explain the product reading process that takes place between the terminal device 15, the relay device 12, and the reading device 31.

[0112] In step S41, the terminal device 15 launches the POS application. In step S42, the terminal device 15 performs the process of displaying the product registration screen. The product registration screen includes a subtotal button.

[0113] In step S43, the terminal device 15 performs peripheral device control request processing. A peripheral device control request is a process that requests the relay device 12 to control the peripheral device 30. This peripheral device control request is made by sending a peripheral device control request command to the relay device 12.

[0114] In the relay device 12, the control unit 20 performs a control request reception process in step S101. In this control request reception process, the control unit 20 receives a peripheral device control request command.

[0115] In the next step S102, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. The control unit 20 analyzes the peripheral device control request command. Command analysis processing is a process that collects information useful for managing the status of the peripheral device 30 from a maintenance perspective, in addition to the accounting processing required for accounting control processing, by analyzing the command. Through command analysis processing, the control unit 20 collects maintenance information that can determine whether the peripheral device 30 is in a normal or abnormal state. The control unit 20 stores the analysis information obtained as a result of command analysis in the storage unit 21.

[0116] In the next step S103, the control unit 20 executes a control start notification process. Through this control start notification process, the terminal device 15 exclusively uses each peripheral device 30 for accounting control without being interrupted by other terminal devices.

[0117] In step S44, the terminal device 15 performs a product reading standby process. The terminal device 15 waits for barcode data to be sent as product reading data when the product is read by the reader 31. The user has the reader 31 read the barcode of the product.

[0118] In step S71, the reader 31 performs a product barcode reading process. The product barcode reading process is the process of reading the barcode of the product. The reader 31 obtains the product barcode data through the barcode reading process.

[0119] In the next step, S72, the reader 31 performs a product barcode transmission process. The product barcode transmission process is the process of transmitting the product barcode to the relay device 12. The response information transmitted in the product barcode transmission process includes a command and barcode data.

[0120] In step S104, the relay device 12 performs command conversion processing. Based on the identification information of the reader 31 registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55, the control unit 20 selects a conversion table CT to be used when converting the unique commands used by the reader 31 to common commands. The control unit 20 then performs command conversion processing by referring to the selected conversion table CT to convert the unique commands from the reader 31 to common commands.

[0121] In step S105, the control unit 20 executes command analysis processing. The control unit 20 stores the analysis information obtained as a result of the command analysis in the storage unit 21. In step S106, the control unit 20 executes a command transmission process. The command transmission process is the process of sending a common command and barcode data to the terminal device 15. This command transmission process is also the barcode data transmission process. This command transmission process corresponds to the process of converting the received command from the reader 31 from a unique command to a common command and then sending it to the terminal device 15.

[0122] In step S45, the terminal device 15 performs barcode data reception processing. Barcode data reception processing is the process of receiving product barcode data. The terminal device 15 receives a common command and barcode data.

[0123] In step S46, the terminal device 15 determines whether or not a subtotal confirmation instruction has been entered. When confirming the subtotal, the user selects the subtotal button displayed on the terminal device 15. When the subtotal button on the display screen is selected, the terminal device 15 determines that a subtotal confirmation instruction has been entered. If a subtotal confirmation instruction has been entered, the terminal device 15 proceeds to the process in step S47 in Figure 6. On the other hand, if a subtotal confirmation instruction has not been entered, the terminal device 15 returns to the process in step S44 and performs the product reading waiting process again, waiting to receive the barcode data of the next product. In this way, in step S46, the process of acquiring product barcode data by the terminal device 15, relay device 12, and reader device 31 is repeatedly executed until a subtotal confirmation instruction is entered.

[0124] (Display processing) Next, referring to Figure 6, we will explain the continuation of the accounting process after the subtotal confirmation instruction has been entered. In step S47, the terminal device 15 executes the accounting screen display process. In this process, the terminal device 15 displays the accounting screen and denomination buttons on the display device 32.

[0125] In step S48, the terminal device 15 executes a total amount display request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 requests the display device 32 to display the total amount. This request information includes a common command and total amount data. The common command is a display request command.

[0126] In step S107, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes the display request command, which consists of common commands, and the total amount data. The control unit 20 analyzes the display request command, which consists of common commands, according to predetermined analysis rules set in advance, from the perspective of obtaining analysis information that can determine the status of the peripheral device 30 (display device 32) to which the command is sent. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0127] In step S108, the control unit 20 performs command conversion processing. The control unit 20 refers to the conversion table CT selected based on the identification information of the display device 32 registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55 and converts the display request command from a common command to a specific command.

[0128] In step S73, the display device 32 performs a total amount display process. In this process, the display device 32 displays a total amount based on total amount data in accordance with the instructions of the display request command, which consists of a unique command that it has received.

[0129] In step S74, the display device 32 performs a display completion notification process. In this process, the display device 32 transmits response information to the relay device 12, which includes a display completion command consisting of a unique command and a value.

[0130] In step S109, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the display completion command from a unique command to a common command. In step S110, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a display completion command and a value, which consists of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0131] In step S111, the control unit 20 executes a command transmission process. In this process, the control unit 20 transmits response information including a display completion command consisting of common commands and a value to the terminal device 15.

[0132] In step S49, the terminal device 15 executes a display completion notification reception process. In this process, the terminal device 15 receives response information including a display completion command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0133] (Cash payment processing) Next, referring to Figure 7, we will explain the subsequent accounting procedures after the display of the total amount on the display device 32 is complete.

[0134] In step S50, the terminal device 15 determines whether or not a cash payment instruction has been entered. After the user confirms the total amount displayed on the display device 32, the user selects the denomination button to use for payment. The user can choose between cash payment and electronic payment using the denomination buttons displayed on the screen of the terminal device 15. The terminal device 15 determines whether or not a cash payment instruction has been entered. If a cash payment instruction has been entered, the process proceeds to step S51; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S57 (Figure 10).

[0135] In step S51, the terminal device 15 executes the cash payment screen display process. In this process, the terminal device 15 displays the cash payment screen. In step S52, the terminal device 15 executes a receipt amount confirmation request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 requests the automatic change dispenser 34 to confirm the receipt amount. This receipt amount confirmation request information includes, as an example, a receipt amount confirmation command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0136] In step S112, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes request information, including a receipt amount confirmation command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0137] In step S113, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the received amount confirmation command from a common command to a specific command. It then sends the request information, including the received amount confirmation command consisting of the specific command, to the automatic change dispenser 34.

[0138] In step S75, the automatic change dispenser 34 performs a receipt amount confirmation process. In this process, the automatic change dispenser 34 performs a receipt confirmation process according to the instructions of the receipt amount confirmation command, and also performs a change dispensing process if there is change to be dispensed.

[0139] In step S76, the automatic change dispenser 34 performs a process to transmit the received amount. In this process, the automatic change dispenser 34 transmits response information to the relay device 12, which includes a received amount transmission command consisting of a unique command and the received amount data.

[0140] In step S114, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the received amount transmission command from a unique command to a common command.

[0141] In step S115, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a receipt amount transmission command consisting of common commands and receipt amount data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0142] In step S116, the control unit 20 executes a command transmission process. In this process, the control unit 20 transmits response information to the terminal device 15, which includes a receipt amount transmission command consisting of common commands and the receipt amount data.

[0143] In step S53, the terminal device 15 performs a process to display the received amount. In this process, the terminal device 15 displays the received amount based on the received amount data included in the response information.

[0144] (Receipt issuance process) Next, referring to Figure 8, we will explain the receipt issuance process after cash payment is completed.

[0145] In step S54, the terminal device 15 executes a receipt issuance request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 transmits request information, including a receipt issuance command consisting of common commands and print data, to the relay device 12.

[0146] In step S117, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes request information including a receipt issuance command consisting of common commands and print data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0147] In step S118, the control unit 20 performs command conversion processing. In this process, the control unit 20 refers to the conversion table CT selected based on the identification information of the printing device 33 registered in the peripheral device identification unit 55, and converts the receipt issuance command from a common command to a unique command. The control unit 20 sends request information to the printing device 33, which includes the receipt issuance command consisting of unique commands and the receipt printing data.

[0148] In step S77, the printing device 33 performs a receipt printing process. In this process, the printing device 33 prints a receipt based on receipt printing data in accordance with the instructions of the receipt issuance command, which consists of the received unique command.

[0149] In step S78, the printing device 33 performs a print completion notification process. In this process, the printing device sends response information to the relay device 12, which includes a print completion command consisting of a unique command and a value.

[0150] In step S119, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the print completion command from a unique command to a common command. In step S120, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a print completion command and values, which consist of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0151] In step S121, the control unit 20 executes a command transmission process. In this process, the control unit 20 sends response information to the terminal device 15, which includes a print completion command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0152] In step S55, the terminal device 15 performs a print completion notification reception process. In this process, the terminal device 15 receives response information that includes a print completion command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0153] In step S56, the terminal device 15 executes a peripheral device control termination request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 sends request information to the relay device 12, which includes a peripheral device control termination command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0154] In step S122, the control unit 20 executes peripheral device control termination reception processing. In this process, when the control unit 20 receives a peripheral device control termination command consisting of common commands, it determines that there is a failure in the peripheral device 30.

[0155] <Status determination and fault detection processing> Next, referring to Figure 9, we will explain the status determination and fault detection process after cash payment has been completed.

[0156] In step S123, the control unit 20 performs peripheral device status determination processing. In this process, the control unit 20 determines the status of each peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results stored in the storage unit 21. Specifically, the determination unit 63 determines the status of each peripheral device 30. The status of each peripheral device 30 is determined by dividing the abnormal state into multiple stages according to the severity, for example, normal, minor abnormality, moderate abnormality, and severe abnormality. For example, the determination unit 63 may perform status determination by dividing each type of abnormality into multiple stages. For example, there may be two types of status: normal / abnormal, or there may be 2 to 5 types by dividing the abnormal state into multiple stages, or there may be 2 to 10 types of abnormalities and further dividing each type into multiple stages, resulting in 6 to 50 types. The control unit 20 stores the determination results in the storage unit 21.

[0157] In step S124, the control unit 20 performs peripheral device status information transmission processing. In this process, the control unit 20 transmits status information for each peripheral device 30 to the cloud server 14.

[0158] In step S79, the cloud server 14 performs peripheral device status information reception processing. In this process, the cloud server 14 receives status information for each peripheral device 30 from the relay device 12.

[0159] In step S80, the cloud server 14 performs a database saving process. In this process, the cloud server 14 saves status information for each peripheral device 30 to the database 81. The database 81 may be configured to include, for example, the type of peripheral device 30, normal / abnormal status, type of abnormality, stage of abnormality, time, accounting identification number, etc.

[0160] In step S125, the control unit 20 executes peripheral device fault detection processing. In this process, the control unit 20 executes fault detection processing to detect faults for each peripheral device 30 based on the database 81. Specifically, the fault detection unit 71 executes this fault detection processing. The fault detection unit 71 may perform fault detection processing based on data for one accounting transaction, or it may perform fault detection processing that includes fault determination elements to comprehensively detect faults based on a database of multiple accounting transactions, including past history. For example, the fault detection unit 71 detects abnormal states that exceed a certain standard as faults based on a set of criteria for what constitutes a fault.

[0161] In step S126, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a fault has been detected. In this process, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a fault has been detected based on the results of the fault detection process. More specifically, the fault detection unit 71 also determines whether or not a fault has been detected.

[0162] In step S127, the control unit 20 notifies the fault detection result. In this process, the control unit 20 notifies the cloud server 14 of the fault detection result. Specifically, the abnormality notification unit 74 identifies the peripheral device 30 that has experienced a failure and notifies the cloud server 14 that a failure has been detected.

[0163] In step S81, the cloud server 14 performs a fault detection result notification process. In this process, when the cloud server 14 receives a fault detection result notification from the relay device 12, it identifies the faulty peripheral device 30 and notifies the maintenance terminal 16 of the fault detection result.

[0164] In step S83, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a fault detection result display process. In this process, the maintenance terminal 16 identifies the peripheral device 30 where the fault occurred and displays information indicating that a fault has been detected.

[0165] (Electronic payment processing) Next, we will explain the electronic payment process with reference to Figure 10. In step S57, the terminal device 15 determines whether or not an electronic payment instruction has been entered. The terminal device 15 determines whether or not an electronic payment instruction has been entered because electronic payment was selected by pressing the denomination button.

[0166] In step S58, the terminal device 15 executes a payment terminal control request process. In this process, the terminal device 15 requests exclusive control over the payment terminal 35. This request information is transmitted via the relay device 12.

[0167] In step S128, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes request information, including a control request command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0168] In step S129, the relay device 12 performs command conversion processing. In this process, the control unit 20 refers to the conversion table CT selected based on the identification information of the payment terminal 35 and converts the control request command from a common command to a specific command.

[0169] In step S84, the payment terminal 35 executes payment terminal control request reception processing. In this process, the payment terminal 35 receives request information including a control request command consisting of unique commands.

[0170] In step S85, the payment terminal 35 executes a control permission transmission process. In this process, the payment terminal 35 grants exclusive control according to the instructions of the control request command. In other words, the payment terminal 35 grants the terminal device 15 exclusive control.

[0171] In step S130, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the control permission command received from the payment terminal 35 from a unique command to a common command.

[0172] In step S131, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 processes control permission commands consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 analyzes the response information it contains. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0173] In step S132, the control unit 20 executes the command transmission process. In step S59, the terminal device 15 executes the electronic payment accounting screen display process. In this process, the terminal device 15 displays the electronic payment accounting screen.

[0174] Next, in step S60 shown in Figure 11, the terminal device 15 executes the electronic payment request processing. In this process, the terminal device 15 transmits request information, including an electronic payment command consisting of common commands, to the payment terminal 35. This request information passes through the relay device 12.

[0175] In step S133, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. The control unit 20 analyzes request information, including an electronic payment command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0176] In step S134, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the electronic payment command from a common command to a specific command. In step S86, the payment terminal 35 performs electronic payment processing. In this process, the payment terminal 35 performs electronic payment processing according to the instructions of the electronic payment command.

[0177] In step S87, the payment terminal 35 performs an electronic payment completion notification process. In this process, the payment terminal 35 sends response information including an electronic payment completion command consisting of common commands and a value.

[0178] In step S135, the control unit 20 performs a command conversion process. In this process, the control unit 20 converts the electronic payment completion command from a unique command to a common command.

[0179] In step S136, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including an electronic payment completion command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0180] In step S137, the control unit 20 executes a command transmission process. In this process, the control unit 20 transmits response information, including an electronic payment completion command consisting of common commands, to the terminal device 15.

[0181] In step S61, the terminal device 15 executes the electronic payment completion display process. In this process, the terminal device 15 displays information indicating that the electronic payment has been completed, in accordance with the instructions of the electronic payment completion display command.

[0182] <Maintenance processing> Next, referring to Figures 12 to 14, we will explain the maintenance processes that can be performed by accessing the cloud server 14 from the maintenance terminal 16. These maintenance processes mainly include simple log generation, detailed log acquisition, and firmware update. These maintenance processes will be explained in order below.

[0183] (Simple log generation process) First, the simplified log generation process will be explained with reference to Figure 12. For example, a maintenance worker may operate the maintenance terminal 16 to request the cloud server 14 to generate a simplified log in the following cases: For example, when a store requests the call center to restore the POS system 11 after a failure, or when a field engineer at a repair center investigates the cause of a failure in the POS system 11. Alternatively, a failure may be detected by the failure detection process from the cloud server 14, resulting in an abnormality notification being sent to the maintenance terminal 16, and the maintenance worker then investigates the cause of the failure. The maintenance worker operates the input section of the maintenance terminal 16 to request the generation of a simplified log.

[0184] In step S88, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a simplified log generation request process. When a maintenance worker requests simplified log generation by operating the input section of the maintenance terminal 16, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a simplified log generation request process that requests the cloud server 14 to generate a simplified log. At this time, the maintenance worker can select the peripheral devices 30 to be targeted for simplified log generation. If the peripheral device 30 causing the failure has been narrowed down, only that single peripheral device 30 is selected and the simplified log is requested. On the other hand, if the peripheral device 30 causing the failure has not been identified, all peripheral devices 30 are selected and the simplified log is requested.

[0185] In step S91, the cloud server 14 executes a simplified log generation process. The cloud server 14 generates a simplified log for the specified peripheral device 30. The database 81 of the cloud server 14 stores status information and analysis results for each peripheral device 30 in chronological order. The cloud server 14 generates a simplified log for the specified peripheral device 30 based on the status information and analysis information for each peripheral device 30 stored in the database 81.

[0186] In step S92, the cloud server 14 executes a simplified log display request process. The cloud server 14 requests the maintenance terminal 16 to display the simplified log of the specified peripheral device 30 on the display screen of the maintenance terminal 16 that made the request.

[0187] In step S89, the maintenance terminal 16 performs a simplified log display process. When the maintenance terminal 16 receives a simplified log display request from the cloud server 14, it displays a simplified log on the display screen based on the simplified log information received from the cloud server 14 along with the request.

[0188] (Detailed log acquisition process) Next, the detailed log acquisition process will be explained with reference to Figure 13. For example, detailed logs are acquired when the cause of a failure cannot be determined from the simple log, or when they need to be submitted to the manufacturer or other party when requesting recovery. Detailed logs can be acquired for, for example, the printing device 33 among the peripheral devices 30.

[0189] In step S93, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a request to acquire a detailed log of the printing device. The maintenance staff member operates the input section of the maintenance terminal 16 to request the acquisition of a detailed log. The maintenance terminal 16 then executes a detailed log acquisition request process, which requests the cloud server 14 to generate the detailed log.

[0190] In step S191, the cloud server 14 executes a request to acquire the printer log. The cloud server 14 requests the relay device 12 to acquire the detailed log of the printer 33.

[0191] In step S141, the control unit 20 receives a request to acquire the printer log. The control unit 20 receives a request from the cloud server 14 to acquire log information of the printer 33. In step S142, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the printing device is undergoing control processing. The control unit 20 determines whether or not the printing device 33 is undergoing control processing. If the printing device 33 is undergoing control processing, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S143; otherwise, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S144.

[0192] In step S143, the control unit 20 executes a printer control termination process. The control unit 20 executes a process to terminate the control of the printer 33, which is currently in control processing. Specifically, the maintenance function unit 70 causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a forced termination command, which is an example of a maintenance command. The transmission unit 56 transmits the forced termination command issued by the command issuing unit 65 to the printer 33. The command issuing unit 65 may issue the forced termination command as a unique command that the printer 33 can interpret, or it may issue the forced termination command as a common command. If the forced termination command is issued as a common command, the command conversion unit 54 converts the forced termination command from a common command to a unique command that the printer 33 can interpret, and then the transmission unit 56 transmits the forced termination command consisting of that unique command to the printer 33.

[0193] In step S171, the printer 33 executes a forced termination process. The printer 33 forcibly terminates the control that was in progress according to the instructions of the received forced termination command. In this way, the printer 33 becomes ready to accept a log acquisition command. Having forcibly terminated the control that was in progress, the printer 33 notifies the relay device 12 that the forced termination is complete. This forced termination completion notification is an example of a maintenance process completion notification.

[0194] In step S144, the control unit 20 executes a log transmission request process. The control unit 20 requests the transmission of logs by sending a log acquisition command, which is an example of a maintenance command, to the printing device 33. Specifically, the log acquisition unit 73 of the maintenance function unit 70 causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a log acquisition command. The transmission unit 56 transmits the log acquisition command issued by the command issuing unit 65 to the printing device 33. The command issuing unit 65 may issue the log acquisition command as a unique command that the printing device 33 can interpret, or it may issue the log acquisition command as a common command. If the log acquisition command is issued as a common command, the command conversion unit 54 converts the log acquisition command from a common command to a unique command that the printing device 33 can interpret, and then the transmission unit 56 transmits the log acquisition command consisting of that unique command to the printing device 33.

[0195] In step S172, the printing device 33 executes the detailed log sending process. The printing device 33 sends log information to the relay device 12 according to the instructions of the received log acquisition command. Here, the log information from the printing device 33 is detailed log information in which the printing device 33 records its own operations. In other words, it is detailed log information that is sufficiently more detailed than the analysis information obtained by the analysis unit 62 from the analysis results of the analysis target information including commands, or the simplified log generated by the simplified log generation unit 82 based on the status information which is the determination result of the determination unit 63. This detailed log information corresponds to an example of the result information that the printing device 33 sends to the relay device 12 as a response to the log acquisition command.

[0196] In step S145, the control unit 20 executes the detailed log sending process. Specifically, the log acquisition unit 73 sends the detailed log information acquired from the printing device 33 to the cloud server 14.

[0197] In step S192, the cloud server 14 performs a detailed log saving process. The cloud server 14 saves the detailed log information received from the relay device 12 to the database 81 or a predetermined storage area in the storage unit.

[0198] In step S193, the cloud server 14 executes the detailed log sending process. That is, the cloud server 14 sends detailed log information to the maintenance terminal 16. In step S94, the maintenance terminal 16 acquires detailed logs. The maintenance terminal 16 acquires these logs by receiving detailed log information from the cloud server 14. The maintenance terminal 16 displays the detailed logs based on the acquired detailed log information on its display unit. Here, the display unit of the maintenance terminal 16 corresponds to an example of an output unit that outputs result information.

[0199] Maintenance personnel can more easily identify the cause of a malfunction from the detailed logs of the printer 33. Furthermore, if detailed logs are obtained at the call center, they are provided to the field engineer via email, chat, or printed document. The field engineer can then easily identify the cause of the malfunction from the information in the detailed logs. In some cases, store-side maintenance personnel may also obtain detailed log information from the maintenance terminal 16. For example, if the cause of the malfunction is that the firmware of the printer 33 has not been updated, or if the malfunction is of a type that can be resolved by updating the firmware of the printer 33, the field engineer or store-side maintenance personnel will attempt to update the firmware of the printer 33. In this embodiment, the firmware update of the printer 33 can be performed remotely from the maintenance terminal 16.

[0200] (Firmware update process) Next, the firmware update process will be explained with reference to Figure 14. Note that in Figure 14, firmware is abbreviated as "F / W".

[0201] In step S95, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a request to update the printer's firmware. The maintenance staff member operates the input section of the maintenance terminal 16 to request an update to the firmware of the printer 33. The maintenance terminal 16 then executes a firmware update request process, which requests the cloud server 14 to update the firmware of the printer 33.

[0202] In step S195, the cloud server 14 executes a printer firmware update request. The cloud server 14 requests the relay device 12 to update the firmware of the printer 33.

[0203] In step S151, the control unit 20 receives a firmware update request for the printer. The control unit 20 receives a firmware update request for the printer 33 from the cloud server 14.

[0204] In step S142, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the printing device is undergoing control processing. This determination process is the same as step S142 shown in Figure 13. The control unit 20 determines whether or not the printing device 33 is undergoing control processing. If the printing device 33 is undergoing control processing, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S143; otherwise, it proceeds to step S152.

[0205] In step S143, the relay device 12 executes a printer control termination process. This control termination process is the same as the process shown in step S143 in Figure 13. The control unit 20 executes a process to terminate the control of the printer 33, which is currently in the process of being controlled. Specifically, the maintenance function unit 70 causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a forced termination command, which is an example of a maintenance command. The transmission unit 56 transmits the forced termination command issued by the command issuing unit 65 to the printer 33.

[0206] In step S171, the printer 33 executes a forced termination process. This forced termination process is the same as the process shown in step S171 in Figure 13. The printer 33 forcibly terminates the control process in progress according to the instructions of the received forced termination command. The printer 33 notifies the relay device 12 that the forced termination is complete. This forced termination completion notification is an example of a maintenance process completion notification.

[0207] In step S152, the control unit 20 executes a firmware download request. The control unit 20 requests the cloud server 14 to download the firmware.

[0208] In step S196, the cloud server 14 executes a firmware download process. In response to a download request from the relay device 12, the cloud server 14 executes a process to have the latest firmware for the printing device 33 downloaded to the relay device 12.

[0209] In step S153, the control unit 20 acquires the firmware. The control unit 20 acquires the firmware of the printing device 33 downloaded from the cloud server 14.

[0210] In step S154, the control unit 20 executes a firmware update request. The control unit 20 requests a firmware update by sending an update command, which is an example of a maintenance command, to the printer 33. Specifically, the update unit 72 of the maintenance function unit 70 causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue an update command. The transmission unit 56 transmits the update command issued by the command issuing unit 65 to the printer 33. At this time, the update unit 72 causes the transmission unit 56 to send the latest firmware, which was previously obtained by download, along with the update command. The command issuing unit 65 may issue the update command as a unique command that the printer 33 can interpret, or it may issue the update command as a common command. If the update command is issued as a common command, the command conversion unit 54 converts the update command from a common command to a unique command that the printer 33 can interpret, and then the transmission unit 56 transmits the update command consisting of that unique command to the printer 33.

[0211] In step S173, the printer 33 performs a firmware update process. The printer 33 updates the firmware to the latest firmware according to the instructions of the received update command.

[0212] In step S174, the printing device 33 performs a processing result transmission. The printing device 33, having updated its firmware, notifies the relay device 12 that the firmware update has been successfully completed.

[0213] In step S155, the control unit 20 performs a processing result transfer. The control unit 20 transfers a processing result to the cloud server 14 indicating that the firmware update has been successfully completed.

[0214] In step S197, the cloud server 14 executes the firmware update result display process. The cloud server 14 requests the maintenance terminal 16 to perform a display process to display the firmware update result on the maintenance terminal 16.

[0215] In step S96, the maintenance terminal 16 executes firmware update result display processing. The maintenance terminal 16 displays the firmware update result on its display unit in accordance with the firmware update result display processing request from the cloud server 14. This display of the firmware update result corresponds to an example of a maintenance process completion notification. The display unit of the maintenance terminal 16 also corresponds to an example of an output unit that outputs a maintenance process completion notification, which is completion information indicating that the maintenance process has been completed.

[0216] In this way, maintenance personnel can update the firmware of the printing device 33 by remotely operating it from the maintenance terminal 16 without having to go to the store. If the POS system 11 recovers from the failure due to this firmware update, maintenance personnel such as field engineers do not have to go to the store to perform the POS system 11 recovery work. Similarly, maintenance personnel at chain stores do not have to go to the chain store where the failed POS system 11 is located. In other words, in both on-site maintenance services and send-back maintenance services, maintenance personnel can identify the cause of the failure early via the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16. Furthermore, since maintenance processes such as firmware updates for the printing device 33 can be performed remotely, it is sometimes possible to recover the POS system 11 without having to go to the store. This reduces the frequency with which maintenance personnel have to go to stores to recover the POS system 11. In addition, by remotely updating the firmware of the printing device 33 as maintenance other than when a failure occurs in the POS system 11, it is also possible to prevent failures in the POS system 11 from occurring in the first place.

[0217] According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1-1) The relay device 12 of the POS system 11 is configured to relay communication between a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 includes a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 includes an analysis unit 62 that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information, and a determination unit 63 that determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. With this configuration, the relay device 12 determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 from the analysis results of the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. The determination information obtained from the relay device 12 is useful for recovery in the event of a failure of the peripheral devices 30. Therefore, it leads to a reduction in the failure recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before.

[0218] (1-2) If the peripheral device 30 is in an abnormal state, the determination unit 63 determines the abnormal state in multiple stages according to the difference in severity. With this configuration, the abnormal state of the peripheral device 30 can be determined according to its severity. Therefore, this leads to a reduction in the fault recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before. For example, it can reduce delays in recovery response caused by overlooking important determination results, and reduce waste caused by being forced to take excessive action on unimportant determination results.

[0219] (1-3) The relay device 12 includes a notification unit that notifies the server 14 of the determination result of the determination unit 63 via the network. With this configuration, the determination result of the determination unit 63 is notified to the server 14 on the network, so the status of the peripheral device 30 can be known even from a remote location far from the POS system 11. It is also possible to know the status of the peripheral device 30 from a terminal connected to the server 14. Therefore, this leads to a reduction in the fault recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before.

[0220] (1-4) The command included in the request information is a common command, and the command included in the response information is a unique command specific to the peripheral device 30. The relay device 12 includes a command conversion unit 54, a first port 40 to which the terminal device 15 is connected, second ports 41 and 42 to which the peripheral devices 30 are connected, and a monitoring unit 61. The command conversion unit 54 converts the request information from common commands to unique commands before sending it to the peripheral device 30, and converts the response information from the peripheral device 30 from unique commands to common commands. The monitoring unit 61 monitors and acquires the information to be analyzed from the information group transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42. The monitoring unit 61 monitors and acquires the information to be analyzed, including common commands. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed, including common commands. With this configuration, in the command conversion type POS system 11, the analysis unit 62 analyzes common commands. Therefore, the analysis processing time can be shortened compared to a configuration that analyzes the unique commands specific to the peripheral device 30.

[0221] (1-5) The relay device 12 may include a communication unit 43, a fault detection unit 71, and an abnormality notification unit 74. The communication unit 43 is connected to the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 so as to be communicative. The fault detection unit 71 detects faults in the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62 or the determination results of the determination unit 63. When the fault detection unit 71 detects a fault, the abnormality notification unit 74 notifies the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 of the abnormality in the peripheral device 30. With this configuration, an abnormality in the peripheral device 30 is notified to the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 via the network, so that faults in the peripheral device 30 can be known early. Therefore, a quick response to faults in the peripheral device 30 becomes possible.

[0222] (1-6) At least one of the peripheral devices 30 is a printing device 33. The relay device 12 includes a command issuing unit 65 that causes the printing device 33 to issue commands that the printing device 33 can interpret, and a maintenance function unit 70 that, upon receiving a maintenance request, causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a maintenance command, thereby causing the printing device 33 to perform maintenance processing. With this configuration, by sending a maintenance request to the relay device 12, the printing device 33 can be made to perform maintenance processing. Therefore, by making the printing device 33 perform maintenance processing, it is possible to recover from a malfunction quickly or resolve a malfunction of the peripheral device 30 without having to go to the store.

[0223] (1-7) At least one of the peripheral devices 30 is a printer 33. The relay device 12 includes a command issuing unit 65 that causes the printer 33 to issue commands that the printer 33 can interpret, and an update unit 72 that, upon receiving an update request, causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue an update command to update the firmware of the printer 33. With this configuration, by sending an update request to the relay device 12, the firmware of the printer 33 connected to the relay device 12 can be updated. For example, by sending an update request to the relay device 12 remotely, the firmware of the printer 33 can be updated without having to go to the store.

[0224] (1-8) At least one of the peripheral devices 30 is a printing device 33. The relay device 12 includes a command issuing unit 65 that causes the printing device 33 to issue commands that it can interpret, and a log acquisition unit 73 that, upon receiving a log acquisition request, causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a log acquisition command that causes the printing device 33 to acquire log information. With this configuration, log information of the printing device 33 can be obtained by sending a log acquisition request to the relay device 12. For example, by sending a log acquisition request to the relay device 12 remotely, log information of the printing device 33 can be obtained without having to go to the store.

[0225] (1-9) When the maintenance function unit 70 receives a request to forcibly shut down the printer 33 as a maintenance request, it causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a forced shutdown command to forcibly shut down the printer 33. With this configuration, if a forced shutdown request is sent to the relay device 12 as a maintenance request, the printer 33 can be forcibly shut down. For example, if a forced shutdown request is sent to the relay device 12 by remote operation, the printer 33 can be forcibly shut down without having to go to the store. Therefore, the printer 33 can be maintained without having to go to the store.

[0226] (1-10) The POS system 11 includes a relay device 12 that relays a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices 30, and a server 14 that can be connected to the relay device 12 via a network. The relay device 12 includes a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 or the server 14 includes an analysis unit 62 that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit 63 that determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62.

[0227] This configuration allows for the identification of faults in peripheral devices 30 by using judgment information acquired from the relay device 12 or server 14, leading to a reduction in the fault recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before. For example, in a configuration where the analysis unit 62 and judgment unit 63 are provided in the server 14, the memory of the relay device 12 can be saved. Moreover, the server 14 often has more abundant memory and higher CPU performance. Having the analysis unit 62 and judgment unit 63 in the server 14 allows for detailed and in-depth command analysis and judgment, resulting in particularly significant benefits.

[0228] (1-11) In the POS system 11, the relay device 12 is equipped with an analysis unit 62. With this configuration, the relay device 12 can analyze commands it has acquired on the spot. There is no need to transfer the commands to anything other than the relay device 12 for analysis. Therefore, it is easy to determine the status of peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results with little delay.

[0229] (1-12) The POS system 11 includes an abnormality detection unit that detects abnormalities in peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62 or the determination results of the determination unit 63, and an abnormality notification unit 74 that, when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality, notifies a maintenance terminal 16 connected to the server 14 that the peripheral device 30 is abnormal. The abnormality detection unit is provided in the relay device 12 or the server 14. The abnormality notification unit 74 is provided in the relay device 12 or the server 14. With this configuration, when an abnormality in peripheral device 30 is detected, information that the peripheral device 30 is abnormal is notified to the maintenance terminal 16 connected to the server 14, so that maintenance personnel can know about abnormalities in the POS system 11 even from a remote location. In the case where the abnormality notification unit 74 is provided in the relay device 12, the notification from the abnormality notification unit 74 may be configured such that the server 14 obtains the detection result of the abnormality from the relay device 12 via Web API, and the relay device 12 notifies the server 14 of the abnormality.

[0230] (1-13) At least one of the peripheral devices 30 is a printer 33. The POS system 11 includes a command issuing unit 65 capable of issuing commands, and a maintenance function unit 70 that, upon receiving a maintenance request for the printer 33, causes the command issuing unit 65 to issue a maintenance command to the printer 33, thereby causing the printer 33 to perform maintenance processing in accordance with the maintenance request. The command issuing unit 65 is provided in the relay device 12 or the server 14, and the maintenance function unit 70 is provided in the relay device 12 or the server 14. With this configuration, by sending a maintenance request for the printer 33 to the relay device 12 or the server 14, the printer 33 can be made to perform maintenance processing remotely.

[0231] (1-14) The POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices 30. The server 14 is communicatively connected to a relay device 12 that relays information between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 comprises a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The server 14 comprises an analysis unit 62 that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information, and a determination unit 63 that determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. With this configuration, the relay device 12 determines the state of the peripheral devices 30 from the analysis results of the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. Therefore, the determination information obtained from the relay device 12 is useful in identifying the failure of the peripheral devices 30, which leads to a reduction in the failure recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before.

[0232] (1-15) The server 14 of the POS system 11 is connected to the maintenance terminal 16 via a network. The server 14 stores the analysis results of the analysis unit 62 or the determination results of the determination unit 63 as a database. When the server 14 receives a request to generate a simplified log from the maintenance terminal 16, it is equipped with a simplified log generation unit 82 that generates a simplified log of the peripheral device 30 based on the database. With this configuration, by sending a request to generate a simplified log from the maintenance terminal 16 to the server 14, a simplified log of the peripheral device 30 can be obtained. Therefore, it is easy to identify the cause of a failure in the POS system 11.

[0233] (1-16) The POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing, one or more peripheral devices 30, and a relay device 12 that relays information between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 has a transmitting unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30 and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The maintenance method of the POS system 11 for maintaining the peripheral devices 30 includes the following (A1) and (A2). (A1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (A2) To obtain maintenance information that can be used for the maintenance of peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and to output the maintenance information to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device 12. According to this method, maintenance information usable for the maintenance of peripheral devices 30 is output to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device 12. Therefore, by using the maintenance information, it becomes easier to identify problems with peripheral devices 30, for example, which leads to a reduction in the recovery time of the POS system 11 compared to before. For example, if maintenance information is output from the output unit of a device located in a remote location away from the POS system 11, it becomes easier to identify the cause of the problem with peripheral devices 30 early on without having to go to the store.

[0234] (1-17) The POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing, one or more peripheral devices 30, and a relay device 12 that relays between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 has a communication unit 43 that is communicably connected to a server 14 or a maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The maintenance method for the POS system 11 includes the following (B1) to (B3). (B1) Analyze the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information. (B2) Detect abnormalities in peripheral devices 30 based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed. (B3) When an abnormality is detected, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified that the peripheral device 30 is abnormal. According to this method, abnormalities in the peripheral device 30 are notified to maintenance personnel via the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16, allowing maintenance personnel to become aware of abnormalities in the peripheral device 30 at an early stage. Therefore, recovery efforts in the event of a failure can be initiated earlier, making it easier to restore the POS system 11 more quickly than before.

[0235] (1-18) The POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15 capable of performing accounting processing, one or more peripheral devices 30, and a relay device 12 that relays between the terminal device 15 and the peripheral devices 30. The relay device 12 comprises a communication unit 43 that is communicably connected to a server 14 or a maintenance terminal 16, a transmission unit 56 that transmits request information to the peripheral devices 30, and a receiving unit 57 that receives response information from the peripheral devices 30. The maintenance method for the POS system 11 includes the following (C1) to (C4). (C1) When an abnormality in the printing device 33 is detected based on the analysis results obtained by analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information, the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 is notified of the abnormality. (C2) When a maintenance request is received from the server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 for the printing device 33, a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request is issued and sent to the printing device 33. (C3) The printer 33 performs the maintenance process instructed by the maintenance command. (C4) When the printer 33 receives information on the results of maintenance processing or information on the completion of maintenance processing, it sends the results information or completion information to the server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16. This method allows for detection of abnormalities in the printer 33 from a remote location away from the POS system 11, and enables remote control of the printer 33 to perform maintenance. Maintenance requests include requests for log acquisition, firmware updates, and forced shutdowns. Maintenance commands include commands for log acquisition, firmware updates, and forced shutdowns. Results include log information. Completion information includes updates completion notifications and forced shutdown completion notifications. The term "forced shutdown command" here includes both a simple forced shutdown command that instructs only the forced shutdown process, and a restart command that instructs both the forced shutdown process and the startup process.

[0236] [Second Embodiment] Next, the POS system 11 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 15 to 20. In this second embodiment, the relay device does not have a command conversion function. OPOS commands are used as common commands. Peripheral devices can handle OPOS commands. The POS system of the second embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment except that it does not have a command conversion function. In the following, components that are basically the same as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions will be omitted or kept brief. The following will explain in detail the differences from the first embodiment.

[0237] The POS system 11 of the second embodiment is a driver-controlled system in which peripheral devices 30 are controlled by common commands from a predetermined operating system installed on the terminal device 15 and a driver that operates on the predetermined operating system. In other words, the terminal device 15 has a predetermined operating system and a driver that operates on the predetermined operating system installed.

[0238] The specified operating system is either "Windows® OS" or "Linux®". The driver installed on the terminal device 15 runs on the operating system. If the specified operating system is Windows OS, the driver runs on Windows OS. If the specified operating system is Linux, the driver runs on Linux. If the specified operating system is Windows OS, OPOS (Open POS), a unified standard that runs on Windows OS, may be used. In this case, the OPOS driver is used. Common commands, such as OPOS commands, are used.

[0239] Although there are configuration differences due to the driver control method of the POS system 11, the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. The POS system 11 of the second embodiment has the same configuration as shown in Figure 1. That is, the POS system 11 comprises a terminal device 15, a relay device 12, and peripheral devices 30. Furthermore, the POS system 11 may also include a cloud server 14, which is an example of a server connected to the relay device 12 via a network NW. The relay device 12 comprises a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, and a communication interface 22. The storage unit 21 stores the program PR. In the second embodiment, the command conversion unit 54 that was included in the relay device 12 of the first embodiment is not included. Therefore, the storage unit 21 shown in Figure 1 does not store the conversion table CT.

[0240] Next, with reference to Figure 15, the configuration of the POS system 11 in the second embodiment will be described. As shown in Figure 15, the driver-controlled POS system 11 uses common commands. The transmitting / receiving unit 53 does not have a command conversion unit. The transmitting / receiving unit 53 includes a peripheral device identification unit 55, a transmission unit 56, and a reception unit 57. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment. That is, in addition to the transmitting / receiving unit 53, the relay device 12 includes a tethering unit 51, a network communication unit 52, a peripheral device management unit 60, and a maintenance function unit 70. The peripheral device management unit 60 includes a monitoring unit 61, an analysis unit 62, a determination unit 63, an information notification unit 64, and a command issuance unit 65, similar to the first embodiment. The maintenance function unit 70 includes a fault detection unit 71, an update unit 72, a log acquisition unit 73, and an abnormality notification unit 74.

[0241] Each peripheral device 30 has a predetermined operating system installed, similar to the one installed on the terminal device 15, namely Windows OS or Linux. Each peripheral device 30 is controlled by a driver running on the Windows OS or Linux within the terminal device 15. When the accounting application within the terminal device 15 is launched, each driver is activated. When a user performs an accounting operation on the terminal device 15, the driver that controls the corresponding peripheral device 30 is activated.

[0242] As shown in Figure 15, the relay device 12 includes a first port 40 and second ports 41 and 42, similar to the first embodiment. The first port 40 is the port to which the terminal device 15 is connected. The second ports 41 and 42 are the ports to which the peripheral devices 30 are connected. The first port 40 is the upstream port to which accounting processing requests are issued. The second ports 41 and 42 are the downstream ports for accounting processing to which the peripheral devices 30 are connected. The first port 40 and the second port 41 are, for example, USB ports. The second port 42 is, for example, a serial port. The relay device 12 also includes a communication unit 43 that is connected to the cloud server 14 or the maintenance terminal 16 for communication. A communication router 13 is connected to the communication unit 43. The relay device 12 is connected to the cloud server 14 and the maintenance terminal 16 for communication via the communication router 13. By connecting the maintenance terminal 16 to the cloud server 14, it is possible to remotely perform maintenance processing on the relay device 12.

[0243] The transmitting unit 56 performs a distribution operation, distributing request information, including transmission commands written in a common command language, to the ports to which the destination peripheral devices 30 are connected. In other words, the transmitting unit 56 performs a distribution operation, distributing transmission commands consisting of common commands to the ports to which the destination peripheral devices 30 are connected. The receiving unit 57 receives response information written in a common command language from each peripheral device 30 via the second ports 41 and 42.

[0244] The monitoring unit 61 acquires information to be analyzed from the request information and response information by monitoring the information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42. The information to be analyzed includes common commands. Common commands include commands written in a common command language and data associated with the commands. The information to be analyzed may include commands and data, or it may consist only of commands without data. The information to be analyzed may also include data for specific commands. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the monitoring unit 61 acquires all request information and response information exchanged during accounting processing as information to be analyzed, but it may also acquire only a portion of the request information and response information that has been pre-configured as information to be analyzed.

[0245] The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the request information, including common commands, acquired by the monitoring unit 61 as the information to be analyzed. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the response information, written in the common command language, acquired by the monitoring unit 61 as the information to be analyzed.

[0246] The second embodiment includes a maintenance method for the POS system 11 similar to that of the first embodiment. That is, the second embodiment includes a first maintenance method, a second maintenance method, and a third maintenance method. Furthermore, the second embodiment provides a program PR similar to that of the first embodiment. The program PR of the second embodiment includes a first program PR, a second program PR, and a third program PR similar to those of the first embodiment. The program PR is provided in a form stored on a storage medium. The program PR may also be provided by download from a server such as a cloud server 14.

[0247] <Operation of the second embodiment> Next, the operation of the relay device 12 configured as described above, the POS system 11 including the relay device 12, and the cloud server 14 which is an example of a server will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 20. Here, for the state determination and failure detection processing (FIG. 9) and the maintenance processing (FIGS. 12 to 14), the relay device 12, the cloud server 14 and the maintenance terminal 16 basically execute the same processing as in the first embodiment. The maintenance processing includes simple log generation processing (FIG. 12), detailed log acquisition processing (FIG. 13) and firmware update processing (FIG. 14), and these processes are also basically the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0248] Hereinafter, the peripheral device identification processing (FIG. 16) and the accounting control processing (FIGS. 18 to 20) will be described. For processing that is the same as or similar to that in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted or only differences will be supplemented. In FIGS. 16 to 20, the same step numbers are assigned to processing that is the same as in the first embodiment. Descriptions of processing with step numbers common to the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.

[0249] <Peripheral device identification processing> The peripheral device identification processing will be described with reference to FIG. 16. The peripheral device identification processing is processing executed by the terminal device 15 and the relay device 12 triggered by the startup of the operating system of the terminal device 15. The peripheral device identification processing is processing executed by the control unit 20 in response to a request from the terminal device 15 in a state where the peripheral device 30 is electrically connected to the relay device 12. This is different from the first embodiment in that the terminal device 15 is the main body of control. A user such as a store clerk performs an ON operation to turn on the power of the terminal device 15.

[0250] As shown in FIG. 16, in step S16, the terminal device 15 starts up its operating system. The terminal device 15 starts up, for example, Windows OS or Linux.

[0251] In step S17, the terminal device 15 executes identification request processing. In this processing, the terminal device 15 sends an identification request to the relay device 12. The processing in steps S32 to S34 and steps S23 and S24 is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, in step S32, the control unit 20 executes peripheral device identification request processing.

[0252] In step S23, the peripheral device 30 performs a peripheral device identification request acquisition process. In the next step S24, the peripheral device 30 performs a peripheral device identifier output process. In step S33, the control unit 20 performs a peripheral device identifier acquisition process. In this process, the control unit 20 receives a peripheral device identifier from the connected peripheral device 30.

[0253] In step S34, the control unit 20 performs peripheral device identifier registration processing. In this processing, the control unit 20 registers the acquired peripheral device identifier in the storage unit 21. In particular, the control unit 20 associates the connection port to which the peripheral device 30 is connected to the relay device 12 with the peripheral device identifier and registers this in the storage unit 21. This allows the control unit 20 to identify the peripheral device 30 connected to the relay device 12. For details, the peripheral device identification unit 55 (see Figure 15) registers the connection port with the peripheral device identifier.

[0254] In step S35, the control unit 20 performs an identifier transmission process. In this process, the control unit 20 transmits the peripheral device identifier from the peripheral device 30 and the relay device identifier, which is the identifier of the relay device 12 itself, to the terminal device 15. The control unit 20 obtains the relay device identifier by reading it from the storage unit 21 of the relay device 12.

[0255] In step S18, the terminal device 15 performs an identifier registration process. In this process, the terminal device 15 registers the peripheral device identifier and the relay device identifier in the storage unit. As a result, the terminal device 15 becomes able to identify the relay device 12 and the peripheral device 30.

[0256] <Accounting control processing> Next, the accounting control process of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 17 to 20. In step S41, the terminal device 15 launches the POS application.

[0257] In the next step S241, the terminal device 15 executes a peripheral device exclusive use request. The terminal device 15 may, for example, execute separate peripheral device exclusive use requests for the first peripheral device 30A and the second peripheral device 30B, depending on the difference in connection port type.

[0258] In step S301, the control unit 20 forwards the request. That is, the control unit 20 forwards the peripheral device exclusive use request as is to each peripheral device 30. In step S211, each peripheral device 30 performs exclusive use authorization.

[0259] In step S212, each peripheral device 30 performs an exclusive use permission completion response. In step S302, the control unit 20 forwards the request. That is, the control unit 20 forwards the exclusive use permission completion response from each peripheral device 30 to the terminal device 15.

[0260] In step S242, terminal device 15 receives confirmation that exclusive use permission has been granted. The following steps S42, S44, S71, and S72 are the same as in the first embodiment. In step S303, the control unit 20 performs a response information extraction process. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes the response information, which includes a transmission command consisting of a common command from the reader 31 and barcode data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0261] In step S304, the control unit 20 performs barcode data transfer processing. In this process, the control unit 20 transfers response information, including the transmission command from the reader 31 and the barcode data, to the terminal device 15.

[0262] The processing in steps S45 and S46 is the same as in the first embodiment. In this way, the control unit 20 analyzes the request information and response information without performing command conversion. In step S46, when the instruction to confirm the subtotal is entered, the process proceeds to step S47 shown in Figure 18. The terminal device 15 performs the accounting processing screen display process (step S47) and the total amount display request process (step S48).

[0263] In step S307, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes the display request command, which consists of common commands, and the total amount data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0264] In step S308, the control unit 20 executes command transfer processing. The peripheral device 30, the display device 32, can interpret common commands, so it transfers the request information as a common command.

[0265] The display device 32 sequentially executes the total amount display process (step S73) and the display completion notification process (step S74). In step S309, the control unit 20 performs response information analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a display completion notification command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0266] In step S310, the control unit 20 performs a response information transfer process. In this process, the control unit 20 transfers response information, including a display completion notification command consisting of common commands, to the terminal device 15.

[0267] In step S49, the terminal device 15 performs the display completion notification reception process. (Cash payment processing) Subsequently, in step S50 shown in FIG. 19, the terminal device 15 determines whether or not a cash settlement instruction has been input. When the user selects cash settlement via a denomination button and thus a cash settlement instruction is input, the terminal device 15 sequentially executes cash accounting screen display processing (step S51) and received amount confirmation request processing (step S52).

[0268] In step S311, the control unit 20 executes command analysis processing. In this processing, the control unit 20 analyzes request information including a received amount confirmation command consisting of a common command. The control unit 20 stores the analysis result in the storage unit 21.

[0269] In step S312, the control unit 20 executes command transfer processing. In this processing, the control unit 20 transfers request information including a received amount confirmation command consisting of a common command to the automatic change dispenser 34.

[0270] The automatic change dispenser 34 sequentially executes received amount confirmation processing (step S75) and received amount transmission processing (step S76). In step S313, the control unit 20 executes response information analysis processing. In this processing, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a received amount transmission command consisting of a common command and received amount data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis result in the storage unit 21.

[0271] In step S314, the control unit 20 executes response information transfer processing. In this processing, the control unit 20 transfers request information including a received amount transmission command consisting of a common command to the terminal device 15.

[0272] (Receipt Issuing Processing) Subsequently, in step S54 shown in FIG. 20, the terminal device 15 executes receipt issuance request processing.

[0273] In step S315, the control unit 20 performs command analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes request information including a receipt issuance command consisting of common commands and print data. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0274] In step S316, the control unit 20 executes a command transfer process. In this process, the control unit 20 transfers request information, including a receipt issuance command consisting of common commands, to the printing device 33.

[0275] The printing device 33 sequentially executes the receipt printing process (step S77) and the print completion notification process (step S78). In the print completion notification process, the printing device 33 transmits response information including a print completion command consisting of common commands to the relay device 12.

[0276] In step S317, the control unit 20 performs response information analysis processing. In this process, the control unit 20 analyzes response information including a print completion command consisting of common commands. The control unit 20 stores the analysis results in the storage unit 21.

[0277] In step S318, the control unit 20 performs a response information transfer process. In this process, the control unit 20 transfers response information, including a print completion command consisting of common commands, to the terminal device 15.

[0278] In the following electronic payment processing, the command conversion process described in the first embodiment is eliminated. The electronic payment processing differs from the first embodiment only in that it performs command analysis processing, command transfer processing, response information analysis processing, and response information transfer processing, similar to the cash payment processing shown in Figure 20, so its explanation is omitted.

[0279] Furthermore, each time the receipt issuance process is completed, the status determination and fault detection process shown in Figure 9 is executed, similar to the first embodiment. The simple log generation process shown in Figure 12, the detailed log acquisition process shown in Figure 13, and the firmware update process shown in Figure 14 are also the same as in the first embodiment.

[0280] Therefore, although the control method of the POS system 11 in the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment, the effects (1-1) to (1-18) of the first embodiment can be obtained in the same way, and the following further effects can be obtained.

[0281] (2-1) A driver-controlled POS system 11 is employed in which peripheral devices 30 are controlled by a predetermined operating system installed on the terminal device 15 and common commands from drivers operating on the predetermined operating system. The relay device 12 employed in the driver-controlled POS system 11 comprises a first port 40 to which the terminal device 15 is connected, second ports 41 and 42 to which the peripheral devices 30 are connected, and a monitoring unit 61. The monitoring unit 61 monitors and acquires information to be analyzed, including common commands, from the information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed, including common commands, acquired by the monitoring unit 61. With this configuration, by employing the relay device 12 in the driver-controlled POS system 11, the analysis unit 62 only needs to analyze the common commands. Therefore, compared to a POS system 11 that uses unique commands specific to each peripheral device 30 and analyzes information to be analyzed that includes unique commands, the analysis processing time is shortened.

[0282] [Third Embodiment] Next, the POS system 11 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 21 to 23. In this third embodiment, the cloud server 14 has an analysis unit 62 and performs command analysis processing. The relay device 12 only extracts and stores the analysis target information by monitoring the request information and response information transmitted to the transmitting and receiving unit. The configuration of the third embodiment can be applied to the POS system 11 of the first embodiment as well as the POS system 11 of the second embodiment.

[0283] Figure 21 shows the configuration of a third embodiment applied to the command conversion method POS system 11 in the first embodiment. In the POS system 11 shown in Figure 21, a cloud server 14, which is communicably connected to the relay device 12, includes a maintenance function unit 70. That is, the cloud server 14 includes a fault detection unit 71, an update unit 72, a log acquisition unit 73, and an abnormality notification unit 74. The cloud server 14 also includes an analysis unit 62 and a determination unit 63. Therefore, the relay device 12 does not perform analysis processing to analyze the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61. That is, the relay device 12 does not perform command analysis processing of commands included in the information to be analyzed. Furthermore, the relay device 12 does not perform determination processing to determine the status of the peripheral devices 30. However, the relay device 12 includes a monitoring unit 61. The monitoring unit 61 acquires the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information by monitoring the request information and response information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42.

[0284] Figure 22 shows the configuration of the third embodiment applied to the driver-controlled POS system 11 in the second embodiment. In the POS system 11 shown in Figure 22, similar to the configuration shown in Figure 21, the cloud server 14, which is communicatively connected to the relay device 12, includes a maintenance function unit 70. That is, the cloud server 14 includes a fault detection unit 71, an update unit 72, a log acquisition unit 73, and an abnormality notification unit 74. The cloud server 14 also includes an analysis unit 62 and a determination unit 63. Therefore, the relay device 12 does not perform analysis processing to analyze the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61. That is, the relay device 12 does not perform command analysis processing of commands included in the information to be analyzed. Furthermore, the relay device 12 does not perform determination processing to determine the status of the peripheral devices 30. However, the relay device 12 includes a monitoring unit 61. The monitoring unit 61 monitors the request information and response information transmitted between the first port 40 and the second ports 41 and 42, and acquires the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information.

[0285] Next, referring to Figure 23, the status determination and fault detection process in the POS system 11 of the third embodiment will be described. For example, when a fault occurs in the POS system 11, it is assumed that the details of the fault are confirmed at the call center, or that maintenance personnel such as field engineers at the repair center confirm the details of the fault by phone or chat. At the call center or repair center, for example, the details of the fault in the POS system 11 are confirmed while operating the maintenance terminal 16. In the third embodiment, the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61 during accounting processing is stored in the storage unit 21 in the relay device 12. The analysis unit 62 and the determination unit 63 are provided in the cloud server 14. At the time when the information to be analyzed is acquired from the cloud server 14 to the relay device 12, the analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed and the determination unit 63 makes a determination based on the analysis results.

[0286] In step S97, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a fault status confirmation request. The maintenance personnel execute the fault status confirmation request by selecting the fault status confirmation button displayed on the display screen of the maintenance terminal 16 using the input unit.

[0287] In step S201, the cloud server 14 obtains command and response information. In this process, the cloud server 14 requests the relay device 12 to transfer the command and response information. Alternatively, the cloud server 14 may obtain the command and response information from the relay device 12 via a Web API.

[0288] In step S321, the relay device 12 transfers the command and response information. In this process, the relay device 12 transfers the command and response information to the cloud server 14. This transfer may include the transfer when the cloud server 14 obtains the command and response information from the relay device 12 via a Web API.

[0289] In step S202, the cloud server 14 performs a database saving process. In this process, the cloud server 14 saves the command and response information obtained from the relay device 12 to the database 81.

[0290] In step S203, the cloud server 14 performs an analysis process. In this process, the cloud server 14 performs an analysis process that analyzes the commands and response information stored in the database 81. Specifically, the analysis unit 62 within the cloud server 14 (see Figures 21 and 22) analyzes the commands and response information. The analysis unit 62 targets commands written in a common command language (for example, ePOS commands or OPOS commands) and response information for analysis, but the content of the analysis is basically the same as in the first and second embodiments.

[0291] In step S204, the cloud server 14 performs peripheral device status determination processing. In this process, the cloud server 14 determines the state (status) of the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. More specifically, the determination unit 63 within the cloud server 14 (see Figures 21 and 22) determines the state of the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62.

[0292] In step S205, the cloud server 14 saves peripheral device status information. In this process, the cloud server 14 saves the status information of the peripheral device 30, which is the determination result of the determination unit 63, to the database 81.

[0293] In step S206, the cloud server 14 executes peripheral device failure detection processing. In this process, the cloud server 14 executes failure detection processing to detect failures in the peripheral device 30. Specifically, the failure detection unit 71 within the cloud server 14 executes the failure detection processing. The failure detection unit 71 executes failure detection processing to detect failures in the peripheral device 30 based on analysis information or status information in the database 81. For example, when executing failure detection processing based on status information, if there are multiple stages of abnormal conditions including three stages: minor, moderate, and severe, the failure detection unit 71 will, as an example, detect abnormalities of severe or higher as failures. When the failure detection unit 71 executes failure detection processing based on analysis information, it will also detect abnormalities equivalent to severe or higher as failures. Note that the configuration may allow maintenance personnel to appropriately set which stage of abnormality is considered a failure.

[0294] In step S207, the cloud server 14 determines whether or not it has detected a fault. That is, the cloud server 14 determines whether or not it has detected a fault as a result of the fault detection process by the fault detection unit 71. If the cloud server 14 has detected a fault, it proceeds to step S208; otherwise, it terminates this status determination and fault detection process.

[0295] In step S208, the cloud server 14 executes a fault detection result notification process. In this process, the cloud server 14 notifies the maintenance terminal 16 of the fault detection result indicating that a fault has been detected. Specifically, the abnormality notification unit 74 within the cloud server 14 notifies the maintenance terminal 16 of the fault detection result indicating that a fault has been detected.

[0296] In step S98, the maintenance terminal 16 executes a fault detection result display process. In this process, the maintenance terminal 16 displays the fault detection results received from the cloud server 14 on its display unit. Even if the fault detection process finds no faults, the maintenance terminal 16 may display a message indicating that no faults were found. Alternatively, the maintenance terminal 16 may display a message indicating that an anomaly below the fault level was detected.

[0297] In this way, maintenance personnel can check whether the POS system 11 is malfunctioning, and if so, identify the peripheral devices 30 and their malfunction status by operating the malfunction status check button at the call center or repair center. Therefore, the cause of the malfunction in the POS system 11 can be quickly identified, and subsequent recovery work can proceed smoothly. In addition, even when maintenance personnel do not check the malfunction status, if the malfunction detection unit 71 in the cloud server 14 detects a malfunction, the abnormality notification unit 74 will display a malfunction detection message on the display of the maintenance terminal 16. The results are displayed. Therefore, failures in the POS system 11 can be detected early, and the peripheral device 30 causing the failure and the failure status can be confirmed, allowing for the start of accurate recovery work early. This contributes to shortening the recovery time required for the widespread adoption of the POS system 11.

[0298] Furthermore, the cloud server 14 and the maintenance terminal 16 can generate a simplified log at the request of the maintenance terminal 16 by executing the process shown in Figure 12, similar to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, when the cloud server 14 receives a request to generate a simplified log from the maintenance terminal 16, it completes the processes in steps S201, S321, and S202 to S205 in Figure 23, and then executes the simplified log generation process based on the analysis information or status information stored in the database.

[0299] Furthermore, the relay device 12 can be remotely controlled from the maintenance terminal 16 to perform maintenance processing on the printing device 33. Specifically, this involves the detailed log acquisition process shown in Figure 13 and the firmware update process for the printing device 33 shown in Figure 14. In other words, the relay device 12, cloud server 14, and maintenance terminal 16 can remotely acquire detailed log information of the printing device 33 by executing the detailed log acquisition process shown in Figure 13. Also, the relay device 12, cloud server 14, and maintenance terminal 16 can remotely update the firmware of the printing device 33 by executing the firmware update process for the printing device 33 shown in Figure 14.

[0300] Therefore, according to the POS system 11 of the third embodiment, the effects (1-1) to (1-18) of the POS system 11 of the first embodiment and the effect (2-1) of the POS system 11 of the second embodiment can be obtained similarly.

[0301] Furthermore, the above embodiment can be modified to a form such as the following modified example. In addition, the above embodiment and the following modified example can be appropriately combined to form a further modified example, and the following modified examples can be appropriately combined to form a further modified example.

[0302] The command conversion type POS system 11 is not limited to the configuration of the first or third embodiment described above. For example, as shown in Figure 24, the cloud server 14, which is communicably connected to the relay device 12, may be configured to include a peripheral device management unit 60 and a maintenance function unit 70. In the modified example shown in Figure 24, the relay device 12 includes a transmitting / receiving unit 53. The relay device 12 performs command conversion processing using a command conversion unit 54. For example, the cloud server 14 implements the functions of the monitoring unit 61 using a Web API. The monitoring unit 61 acquires the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information by monitoring the request information and response information transmitted to the transmitting / receiving unit 53. The information notification unit 64 functions not only as a notification unit but also as an information transfer unit that transfers (transmits) the information to be analyzed. The information notification unit 64 (information transfer unit) transfers the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61 from the relay device 12 to the cloud server 14 using the Web API of the cloud server 14. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed acquired by the monitoring unit 61. The determination unit 63 determines the status of the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. The cloud server 14 stores the analysis information and status information in the database 81.

[0303] As shown in Figure 25, the command conversion type POS system 11 may also have a configuration in which the cloud server 14, configured as shown in Figure 24, further includes a command conversion unit 54 and a peripheral device identification unit 55. The terminal device 15 may be connected to the relay device 12 and the cloud server 14 via a communication router 13 via wired or wireless communication. The monitoring unit 61, similar to the configuration shown in Figure 25, acquires the information to be analyzed from the request information and response information by monitoring the request information and response information transmitted by the transmitting / receiving unit 53. For example, the information to be analyzed is all of the request information and response information. The command conversion unit 54 in the cloud server 14 stores the request information of common commands acquired by the monitoring unit 61 from the relay device 12 to the cloud server 14 via the cloud server 14's Web API for analysis, and then converts the request information from common commands to unique commands and sends it back to the relay device 12. The command conversion unit 54 in the cloud server 14 converts the response information written in a unique command language, which the monitoring unit 61 has received from the relay device 12 to the cloud server 14 via the cloud server 14's Web API, from unique commands to common commands, and then stores it for analysis. After transferring the response information converted to the common command language to the relay device 12, the transmitting / receiving unit 53 of the relay device 12 transmits the response information to the terminal device 15. The analysis unit 62 in the cloud server 14 analyzes the request information and response information temporarily stored in the cloud server 14 as analysis target information. The determination unit 63 determines the status of the peripheral device 30 based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. An information notification unit 64, which is an example of a notification unit, notifies the maintenance terminal 16 of the status of the peripheral device 30 based on the status information. At this time, the determination unit 63 may notify the maintenance terminal 16 of the abnormal state in multiple stages, including mild, moderate, and severe, by determining the abnormal state in multiple stages. The cloud server 14 stores data for generating simplified logs by saving at least one of the analysis information and status information in the database 81.

[0304] As shown in Figure 26, the configuration may be the same as the modified example shown in Figure 25, but with the command conversion unit 54 and peripheral device identification unit 55 moved from the cloud server 14 to the terminal device 15. The monitoring unit 61 may be provided in the relay device 12 or the cloud server 14, but as shown in Figure 26, it may also be provided in the terminal device 15 together with the command conversion unit 54. When the monitoring unit 61 acquires analysis target information written in a common command language, it is more efficient to acquire the analysis target information if it is located in the same terminal device 15 as the command conversion unit 54, which converts response information from unique commands to common commands, as this avoids unnecessary transfer processing. In addition, in the modified example shown in Figure 24, the monitoring unit 61 may also be provided in the transmitting / receiving unit 53 together with the command conversion unit 54.

[0305] The driver-controlled POS system 11 is not limited to the configuration of the second or third embodiment described above. For example, as shown in Figure 27, the cloud server 14, which is communicably connected to the relay device 12, may be configured to include a peripheral device management unit 60 and a maintenance function unit 70. This modified configuration provides substantially the same effects as the modified examples shown in Figures 24 and 25. The peripheral device identification unit 55 within the cloud server 14 may include a monitoring unit 61, an analysis unit 62, a determination unit 63, a fault detection unit 71, an update unit 72, and a log acquisition unit 73, etc., which are used to identify the peripheral devices 30.

[0306] As shown in Figure 28, the POS system 11 may include an order entry system (OES). The order entry system works by having the menu items and quantities entered into a reader device 31, such as a handheld terminal, at the time the order is taken, and then printing the order information from a printer 36 located in the production area, such as the kitchen, thereby completing the order. At the time of settlement, accounting can be processed quickly simply by entering or reading the slip number registered at the time of the order. In the example shown in Figure 28, the relay device 12 is connected to an accounting terminal device 15 and peripheral devices 30, as well as an order entry system 91 (OES) and an order processing terminal device 92. To enable simultaneous communication between the accounting terminal device 15 and peripheral devices 30, and between the order processing terminal device 92 and peripheral devices 30 (for example, the printer 36), the relay device 12 may be equipped with a separate transceiver unit 53A for order processing in addition to the transceiver unit 53 for accounting processing.

[0307] Alternatively, the relay device 12 may also function as the order entry system 91 by integrating it into the relay device 12. In this case, the transmitting and receiving unit of the order entry system 91 may be reused as the transmitting and receiving unit 53A. Although only one reading device 31 is shown in Figure 28, a reading device 31 for accounting processing and a reading device 31 for orders are connected to the relay device 12, respectively. The analysis unit 62 analyzes the information to be analyzed for accounting processing and the information to be analyzed for order processing, which are transmitted to the transmitting and receiving units 53 and 53A, respectively. The determination unit 63 determines the state of the peripheral device 30 for accounting processing and the state of the peripheral device 30 for order processing based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 62. The fault detection unit 71 performs fault detection processing to detect a fault in the peripheral device 30 based on at least one of the analysis information and the state information. The state information, which is the determination result of the determination unit 63, is notified to the maintenance terminal 16 via the cloud server 14 from the information notification unit 64. When a fault is detected, the fault detection result is notified from the abnormality notification unit 74 to the maintenance terminal 16 via the cloud server 14. Furthermore, the maintenance terminal 16 can operate to cause the cloud server 14 to generate a simplified log of the order processing peripheral device 30. The maintenance terminal 16 can also remotely control the command issuing unit 65 to issue maintenance commands, thereby obtaining detailed log information from the order processing peripheral device 30 (e.g., a printer 36) or updating the firmware of the order processing peripheral device 30 (e.g., a printer 36). Additionally, the relay device 12 may be connected to one or more peripheral devices 96 of a manufacturing system (kitchen system) located in a manufacturing area such as a kitchen, and a controller 95 that controls one or more peripheral devices 96. The controller 95 controls one or more peripheral devices 96 of the manufacturing system. The relay device 12 may further include one transceiver 53A that communicates between the manufacturing system peripheral device 96 and the controller 95. The transceiver 53A has basically the same configuration as the transceiver 53 of the first embodiment or the transceiver 53 of the second embodiment. In communication between the order processing terminal device 92 and the order processing peripheral device 30, a common command exists in a portion of the transmission path due to a command conversion method or a driver control method.Similarly, in communication between the controller 95 and the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96, a common command exists in part of the transmission path due to a command conversion method or driver control method. The monitoring unit 61 monitors the request information and response information transmitted to each transmitting / receiving unit 53, 53A, and acquires analysis target information, including the common command, from this group of information. Based on the analysis results obtained by the analysis unit 62, which analyzes the analysis target information, the determination unit 63 also determines the status of the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96. Furthermore, the fault detection unit 71 also detects faults in the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96. In addition, a simplified log generation unit 82 can generate a simplified log of the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96 at the request of the maintenance terminal 16. Furthermore, by remotely controlling the maintenance terminal 16 to issue a log acquisition command to the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96, a detailed log can be obtained from the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96. In addition, by remotely controlling the maintenance terminal 16 to issue an update command, the firmware of the manufacturing peripheral equipment 96 can be updated.

[0308] Furthermore, in Figure 28, the order entry system POS system and the manufacturing system POS system are combined via a single relay device 12 that constitutes the accounting system POS system 11. However, each of these POS systems may be configured separately. For example, the order processing POS system 11 is configured by connecting an order processing terminal device 92, an order processing reader 31, and an order processing printer 36 to a relay device 12 connected to the order entry system 91. In this case, a two-relay device system that links order processing and accounting processing may be adopted by connecting the relay device 12 that constitutes the accounting system POS system 11 and the relay device 12 that constitutes the order processing POS system 11 via the order entry system 91. Moreover, a three-relay device system that links order processing, accounting processing, and manufacturing system management may be adopted by connecting the relay device 12 that constitutes the manufacturing system POS system 11 and the relay device 12 that constitutes the order processing POS system 11 via a controller 95. Peripheral equipment 96 for manufacturing systems include, in the case of kitchen systems, blast chillers, shock freezers, commercial refrigerators and freezers, convection ovens, steam convection ovens, ice makers, commercial gas ranges, etc. The system can be applied to restaurants such as family restaurant chains, izakaya chains, and hotel food and beverage departments, but it may also be applied to small restaurants that do not follow a chain store format. The order processing terminal 92 and the reader 31, such as a handheld terminal, may be either wireless or wired. The POS system 11 for manufacturing stores is not limited to that of restaurants; any POS system 11 that manufactures goods or provides services in the order of orders and processes payments when the goods are ready or the service is completed is acceptable. For example, a POS system 11 for a hospital or financial institution may also be used.

[0309] In the POS system 11 of the first to third embodiments and each of the modified examples described above, the relay device 12 may include a database 81 and a simple log generation unit 82. For example, in a store that employs a send-back maintenance service, the store's maintenance staff may access the relay device 12 from a maintenance terminal 16 via the store's LAN (Local Area Network) to obtain a simple log. In this case, the store's maintenance staff may access the relay device 12 remotely from the maintenance terminal 16 to perform detailed log acquisition processing for the printer 33 or firmware update processing for the printer 33. Alternatively, the relay device 12 may directly notify the maintenance terminal 16 of the fault detection results.

[0310] The timing of the determination process by the determination unit 63 and the fault detection process by the fault detection unit 71 is not limited to the timing of each accounting process completion. The determination process and fault detection process may be executed once or more times during a single accounting process, or they may be executed for each of multiple accounting processes. Furthermore, the timing of the determination process and the fault detection process may differ.

[0311] Each embodiment and each modified example of the POS system 11 may also include an information transmission unit (information transfer unit) for the purpose of transmitting (transferring) information, separate from the information notification unit 64. In this case, the information transmission unit is provided in the relay device 12 or the cloud server 14 and transfers at least one type of information from the information to be analyzed, the analysis information, and the status information from the relay device 12 to the cloud server 14.

[0312] The analysis unit 62 may analyze at least the response information from the request information and the response information. For example, the analysis unit 62 may analyze only the response information. In the above embodiments and modified examples, analysis of the information to be analyzed and status determination were performed for all peripheral devices 30 connected to the relay device 12. However, analysis and status determination may be performed for only certain peripheral devices 30. For example, analysis and status determination may be performed only for the printing device 33, the automatic change dispenser 34, and the payment terminal 35. Furthermore, analysis and status determination may be performed only for the printing device 33.

[0313] In each of the embodiments described above, the command issuing unit 65 issued a forced termination command during the log acquisition process or firmware update process, but it may also issue a forced termination command solely for the purpose of forced termination. In this case, the maintenance request may be a forced termination request, and the maintenance process may be a forced termination process. The command issuing unit 65 may also issue a restart command. In this case, the maintenance request may be a restart request, and the maintenance process may be a restart process. A restart command is one of the forced termination commands as defined herein. The command issuing unit 65 may also issue other maintenance commands in response to other maintenance requests.

[0314] In addition to or replacing the configuration that notifies the cloud server 14 or maintenance terminal 16 of abnormalities in peripheral devices 30, the abnormality may be displayed on the display unit of the devices constituting the POS system. For example, when the POS system 11 is switched to maintenance mode, the abnormality may be displayed on the display device 32 or terminal device 15 based on the analysis results or judgment results. Alternatively, when a maintenance application is launched in the terminal device 15, the abnormality of the peripheral device 30 may be displayed on the terminal device 15 for confirmation. With these configurations, the abnormality can be confirmed at the site where the POS system 11 is located, allowing for appropriate reporting of the failure to the operator. Furthermore, store maintenance personnel can perform recovery work while checking the abnormality on the display unit at the site, leading to faster recovery.

[0315] The server is not limited to the cloud server 14; it may also be a server managed by the store. Furthermore, the server may be provided to the store by the vendor of the POS system 11, or by manufacturers of peripheral equipment 30, relay devices 12, terminal devices 15, etc.

[0316] This may also be applied to a POS system 11 that does not use a common command control method. In this case, the system may perform status determination of the peripheral devices 30, fault detection processing, and simple log generation based on the analysis results obtained by analyzing the target information, which includes unique commands written in a unique command language for each peripheral device 30. It may also perform detailed log acquisition processing from the printing device 33 and firmware update processing for the printing device 33.

[0317] The POS system 11 is not limited to accounting processing handled by store staff. The POS system 11 may also be applied to unmanned reception terminals, self-checkout machines, and KIOSK terminals (standalone small information terminals). In these cases, various store peripherals may include commercial printers, document scanners, digital signage, surveillance cameras, lighting, patrol robots, air conditioning, etc. Furthermore, the POS system 11 may also be an order entry and kitchen printer for restaurants. In this case, peripherals may include related robots, cooking equipment, and other related systems. The POS system 11 may also be applied to check scanner-related systems for banks. In other words, the relay device 12 may be applied to each of the above POS systems.

[0318] <Definition> As used herein, the expression "at least one" means "one or more" of the desired options. For example, as used herein, if there are two options, the expression "at least one" means "only one option" or "both of the two options." As another example, as used herein, if there are three or more options, the expression "at least one" means "only one option" or "any combination of two or more options."

[0319] <Technical philosophy> The technical concepts and effects derived from the above embodiments and modified examples are described below. [1] The POS system relay device is configured to relay communication between a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, and comprises a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral device, a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral device, an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit. With this configuration, the relay device determines the state of the peripheral device from the analysis results of the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information. The determination information obtained from the relay device is useful for recovering from a peripheral device failure. Therefore, it leads to a reduction in the POS system failure recovery time compared to before.

[0320] [2] In the relay device of the POS system described in [1] above, the determination unit may determine the abnormal state of the peripheral device in multiple stages according to the difference in severity when the state of the peripheral device is abnormal. With this configuration, the abnormal state of the peripheral device can be determined according to its severity. This leads to a reduction in the fault recovery time of the POS system compared to before. For example, it can reduce delays in recovery response caused by overlooking important determination results, and reduce waste caused by being forced to take excessive action on unimportant determination results.

[0321] [3] The relay device of the POS system described in [1] or [2] above may include a notification unit that notifies the server of the determination unit's determination result via the network. With this configuration, the determination unit's determination result is notified to the server on the network, so the status of peripheral devices can be known even from a remote location away from the POS system. It is also possible to know the status of peripheral devices from a terminal connected to the server. Therefore, this leads to a reduction in the POS system's fault recovery time compared to before.

[0322] [4] A relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [3] above, comprising: a command conversion unit which converts the request information from the common command to the unique command before transmitting the request information to the peripheral device and converts the response information from the peripheral device from the unique command to the common command; a first port to which the terminal device is connected; a second port to which the peripheral device is connected; and a monitoring unit which monitors the information group transmitted between the first port and the second port and acquires the information to be analyzed, including the common command, from the information group, wherein the analysis unit may analyze the information to be analyzed, including the common command, acquired by the monitoring unit. With this configuration, in a command conversion type POS system, the analysis unit analyzes the common command. Therefore, the analysis processing time can be shortened compared to a configuration which analyzes the unique command of the peripheral device.

[0323] [5] In a relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [3] above, the relay device is employed in a driver-controlled POS system in which peripheral devices are controlled by a predetermined operating system installed on the terminal device and a driver operating on the predetermined operating system, and the relay device comprises a first port to which the terminal device is connected, a second port to which the peripheral device is connected, and a monitoring unit that monitors a group of information transmitted between the first port and the second port and acquires the information to be analyzed, including the common command, from the group of information, and the analysis unit may analyze the information to be analyzed, including the common command, acquired by the monitoring unit. With this configuration, by employing a relay device in a driver-controlled POS system, the analysis unit only needs to analyze the common command. Therefore, compared to a configuration in a POS system that uses unique commands specific to each peripheral device and analyzes the information to be analyzed, including the unique command, the analysis processing time is shortened.

[0324] [6] A relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [5] above may include a communication unit that is connected to a server or maintenance terminal so as to be able to communicate with the server or maintenance terminal, a fault detection unit that detects a fault in the peripheral device based on the analysis result of the analysis unit or the determination result of the determination unit, and an abnormality notification unit that notifies the server or maintenance terminal of the abnormality of the peripheral device when the fault detection unit detects a fault. With this configuration, an abnormality in which a fault has occurred in the peripheral device is notified to the server or maintenance terminal via the network, so that the fault in the peripheral device can be known at an early stage. Therefore, it becomes possible to respond quickly to a fault in the peripheral device.

[0325] [7] In a relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [6] above, at least one of the peripheral devices is a printing device, and the relay device may include a command issuing unit that causes the printing device to issue commands that the printing device can interpret, and a maintenance function unit that, upon receiving a maintenance request, causes the command issuing unit to issue a maintenance command, thereby causing the printing device to perform maintenance processing. With this configuration, maintenance processing can be caused to the printing device by sending a maintenance request to the relay device. Therefore, by causing the printing device to perform maintenance processing, it is possible to recover from a malfunction early or resolve a malfunction of a peripheral device without having to go to the store.

[0326] [8] In a relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [6] above, at least one of the peripheral devices is a printer, and the relay device may include a command issuing unit that causes the printer to issue commands that the printer can interpret, and an update unit that, upon receiving an update request, causes the command issuing unit to issue an update command to update the firmware of the printer. With this configuration, the firmware of a printer connected to the relay device can be updated by sending an update request to the relay device. For example, by sending an update request to the relay device remotely, the firmware of the printer can be updated without having to go to the store.

[0327] [9] In a relay device for a POS system described in any one of [1] to [6] above, at least one of the peripheral devices is a printing device, and the relay device may include a command issuing unit that causes the printing device to issue commands that it can interpret, and a log acquisition unit that, upon receiving a log acquisition request, causes the command issuing unit to issue a log acquisition command that causes the printing device to acquire log information. With this configuration, log information from the printing device can be obtained by sending a log acquisition request to the relay device. For example, by sending a log acquisition request to the relay device remotely, log information from the printing device can be obtained without having to go to the store.

[0328]

[10] In the relay device of the POS system described in [7] above, when the maintenance function unit receives a request to forcibly terminate the printing device as a maintenance request, it may cause the command issuing unit to issue a forced termination command to forcibly terminate the printing device. With this configuration, the printing device can be forcibly terminated by sending a forced termination request as a maintenance request to the relay device. For example, by sending a forced termination request to the relay device remotely, the printing device can be forcibly terminated without having to go to the store. Therefore, the printing device can be maintained without having to go to the store.

[0329]

[11] A POS system comprises a relay device that relays a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing to one or more peripheral devices, and a server that can be connected to the relay device via a network, wherein the relay device comprises a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, and the relay device or the server comprises an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral devices based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

[0330] In this configuration, the judgment information obtained from the relay device or server is useful for identifying faults in peripheral equipment. Therefore, it leads to a reduction in the fault recovery time of the POS system compared to before. For example, in a configuration where the analysis unit and judgment unit are located in the server, the memory of the relay device can be saved. Moreover, servers often have more abundant memory and higher CPU performance. When the analysis unit and judgment unit are located in the server, command analysis and judgment can be performed in detail and in depth, resulting in particularly significant benefits.

[0331]

[12] In the POS system described in

[11] above, the relay device may include the analysis unit. With this configuration, commands acquired by the relay device can be analyzed on the spot. There is no need to transfer the commands to anything other than the relay device for analysis. Therefore, it is easier to determine the status of peripheral devices based on the analysis results with little delay.

[0332]

[13] In the POS system described in

[11] above, an abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the peripheral device based on the analysis result of the analysis unit or the determination result of the determination unit, The system includes an anomaly detection unit that, upon detecting an anomaly, notifies a maintenance terminal connected to the server that the peripheral device is malfunctioning. The anomaly detection unit may be located in the relay device or the server, and the anomaly notification unit may also be located in the relay device or the server. With this configuration, when an anomaly in a peripheral device is detected, information that the peripheral device is malfunctioning is notified to the maintenance terminal connected to the server, allowing maintenance personnel to know about the POS system malfunction even from a remote location. If the anomaly notification unit is located in the relay device, the notification from the anomaly notification unit may be configured such that the server obtains the detection result of the anomaly from the relay device via a Web API, and the relay device then notifies the server of the anomaly.

[0333]

[14] In the POS system described in

[11] above, at least one of the peripheral devices is a printing device, and comprises a command issuing unit capable of issuing commands, and a maintenance function unit that, upon receiving a maintenance request for the printing device, causes the command issuing unit to issue a maintenance command to the printing device, thereby causing the printing device to perform maintenance processing in accordance with the maintenance request, wherein the command issuing unit may be provided in the relay device or the server, and the maintenance function unit may be provided in the relay device or the server. With this configuration, by sending a maintenance request for the printing device to the relay device or the server, the printing device can be made to perform maintenance processing remotely.

[0334]

[15] A POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein a server is connected to a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device comprising a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, the server comprising an analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, and a determination unit that determines the state of the peripheral devices based on the analysis results of the analysis unit. With this configuration, the relay device determines the state of the peripheral devices from the analysis results of the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information. The determination information obtained from the relay device is useful for identifying failures in the peripheral devices. Therefore, it leads to a reduction in the failure recovery time of the POS system compared to before.

[0335]

[16] The server of the POS system described in

[15] above is connected to a maintenance terminal via a network, and the server may include a simplified log generation unit that stores the analysis results of the analysis unit or the determination results of the determination unit as a database, and generates a simplified log of the peripheral device based on the database when it receives a simplified log generation request from the maintenance terminal. With this configuration, a simplified log of the peripheral device can be obtained by sending a simplified log generation request from the maintenance terminal to the server. Therefore, it is easier to identify the cause of a POS system failure.

[0336]

[17] A method for maintaining a POS system is a method for maintaining a peripheral device in a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system comprises a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral device, the relay device having a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral device and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral device, and the method includes analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, obtaining maintenance information usable for the maintenance of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and causing the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device to output the maintenance information. According to this method, maintenance information usable for the maintenance of the peripheral device is output to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device. Therefore, by using the maintenance information, for example, it becomes easier to identify a failure in the peripheral device, which leads to a reduction in the time required to recover from a POS system failure compared to before. For example, if maintenance information is output from the output unit of a device located in a remote location away from the POS system, it becomes easier to identify the cause of the peripheral device failure early without having to go to the store.

[0337]

[18] A method for maintaining a POS system is a method for maintaining a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system comprises a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device comprising a communication unit that is communicably connected to a server or maintenance terminal, a transmitting unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices, and a receiving unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, and the method includes analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, detecting an abnormality in the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, and, upon detecting the abnormality, notifying the server or the maintenance terminal that the peripheral device is abnormal. With this method, since the abnormality of the peripheral device is notified to the maintenance personnel, etc. via the server or maintenance terminal, the maintenance personnel, etc. can find out about the abnormality that has occurred in the peripheral device at an early stage. Therefore, recovery measures in the event of a failure can be started early, making it easier to restore the POS system earlier than before.

[0338]

[19] A method for maintaining a POS system is a method for maintaining a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the POS system comprises a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices, the relay device comprising a communication unit that is communicably connected to a server or maintenance terminal, a transmission unit that transmits request information to the peripheral devices, and a reception unit that receives response information from the peripheral devices, wherein at least one of the peripheral devices is a printing device, and when an abnormality of the printing device is detected based on the analysis result obtained by analyzing the target information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, the method notifies the server or the maintenance terminal of the abnormality, when a maintenance request for the printing device is received from the server or the maintenance terminal, the method includes issuing a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request and sending it to the printing device, the printing device performing the maintenance processing instructed by the maintenance command, and when result information of the maintenance processing or completion information of the maintenance processing is received from the printing device, the method includes sending the result information or completion information to the server or the maintenance terminal. This method allows for detection of printing device malfunctions even from a remote location away from the POS system, and enables remote control of the printing device to perform maintenance. Maintenance requests include requests for log acquisition, firmware updates, and forced shutdowns. Maintenance commands include commands for log acquisition, firmware updates, and forced shutdowns. Output information includes log information, etc. Completion information includes update completion notifications and forced shutdown completion notifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0339] 11...POS system, 12...Relay device, 13...Communication router, 14...Cloud server (an example of a server), 15...Terminal device, 16...Maintenance terminal, 20...Control unit, 21...Storage unit, 22...Communication interface, 30...Peripheral device, 30A...First peripheral device, 30B...Second peripheral device, 31...Reader, 32...Display device, 33...Printing device, 34...Automatic change dispenser, 35...Payment terminal, 36...Printing device, 40..., 40...First port (communication port, USB port), 41...Second port (communication port, USB port), 42...Second port (communication port, serial port), 43...Communication unit, 51...Tethering unit, 52...Network communication unit, 5 3...Transmitting / receiving unit of the first embodiment, 53...Transmitting / receiving unit, 53A...Transmitting / receiving unit, 54...Command conversion unit, 55...Peripheral device identification unit, 56...Transmitting unit, 57...Receiving unit, 60...Peripheral device management unit, 61...Monitoring unit, 62...Analysis unit, 63...Determination unit, 64...Information notification unit, which is an example of a notification unit, 65...Command issuance unit, 70...Maintenance function unit, 71...Fault detection unit, which is an example of an anomaly detection unit, 72...Update unit, 73...Log acquisition unit, 74...Anomaly notification unit, 81...Database, 82...Simple log generation unit, 91...Order entry system, 92...Terminal device, 95...Controller, 96...Peripheral device, NW...Network, PR...Program, CT...Conversion table.

Claims

1. A relay device for a POS system, configured to relay communication between a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, A receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral device, An analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, A determination unit that determines the status of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit, A relay device for a POS system, characterized by comprising the following:

2. A relay device for a POS system according to claim 1, The relay device for a POS system is characterized in that, when the state of the peripheral device is abnormal, the determination unit determines the abnormal state in multiple stages according to the difference in severity.

3. A relay device for a POS system according to claim 1, A relay device for a POS system, characterized by comprising a notification unit that notifies a server of the determination result of the determination unit via a network.

4. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 1, The command included in the request information is a common command, and the command included in the response information is a unique command specific to the peripheral device. A command conversion unit that converts the request information from the peripheral device from a common command to a specific command before transmitting it to the peripheral device, and converts the response information from the peripheral device from the specific command to the common command, The first port to which the terminal device is connected, The second port to which the aforementioned peripheral device is connected, The system includes a monitoring unit that monitors the information transmitted between the first port and the second port and acquires the information to be analyzed, including the common command, from the information group, The relay device for a POS system is characterized in that the analysis unit analyzes the analysis target information, including the common command acquired by the monitoring unit.

5. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 1, The relay device is employed in a driver-controlled POS system in which peripheral devices are controlled by a predetermined operating system installed on the terminal device and common commands from drivers operating on the predetermined operating system. The relay device is, The first port to which the terminal device is connected, The second port to which the aforementioned peripheral device is connected, The system includes a monitoring unit that monitors the information transmitted between the first port and the second port and acquires the information to be analyzed, including the common command, from the information group, The relay device for a POS system is characterized in that the analysis unit analyzes the analysis target information, including the common command acquired by the monitoring unit.

6. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 1, A communication unit that is connected to a server or maintenance terminal in a manner that enables communication with the server or maintenance terminal, A fault detection unit that detects a fault in the peripheral device based on the analysis result of the analysis unit or the determination result of the determination unit, When the fault detection unit detects a fault, the fault notification unit notifies the server or the maintenance terminal of the abnormality of the peripheral device, A relay device for a POS system, characterized by comprising the following:

7. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 1, At least one of the aforementioned peripheral devices is a printing device, The printing device includes a command issuing unit that issues commands that can be interpreted by the printing device, A relay device for a POS system, characterized by comprising: a maintenance function unit that, upon receiving a maintenance request, causes the command issuing unit to issue a maintenance command, thereby causing the printing device to perform maintenance processing.

8. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 1, At least one of the aforementioned peripheral devices is a printing device, The printing device includes a command issuing unit that issues commands that can be interpreted by the printing device, A relay device for a POS system, characterized in that, upon receiving an update request, it includes an update unit that causes the command issuing unit to issue an update command to the printing device to update its firmware.

9. A relay device for a POS system according to claim 1, At least one of the aforementioned peripheral devices is a printing device, The printing device includes a command issuing unit that issues commands that can be interpreted by the printing device, Upon receiving a log acquisition request, the log acquisition unit issues a log acquisition command to the command issuing unit, which causes the printing device to acquire log information. A relay device for a POS system, characterized by comprising the following:

10. In the relay device of the POS system according to claim 7, A relay device for a POS system, characterized in that when the maintenance function unit receives a request to forcibly terminate the printing device as a maintenance request, it causes the command issuing unit to issue a forced termination command to forcibly terminate the printing device.

11. A POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and a relay device that relays between one or more peripheral devices, and a server that can be connected to the relay device via a network, The relay device is, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, The system includes a receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral devices, The relay device or the server is An analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, A determination unit that determines the status of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit, A POS system characterized by comprising the following features.

12. A POS system according to claim 11, A POS system characterized in that the relay device comprises the analysis unit.

13. A POS system according to claim 11, An abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit or the determination results of the determination unit, The system includes an abnormality notification unit that, when the abnormality detection unit detects the abnormality, notifies a maintenance terminal connected to the server that the peripheral device is abnormal, The anomaly detection unit is provided in the relay device or the server, The abnormality notification unit is provided in the relay device or the server, A POS system characterized by [this feature].

14. A POS system according to claim 11, At least one of the aforementioned peripheral devices is a printing device, A command issuing unit capable of issuing commands, The system includes a maintenance function unit that, upon receiving a maintenance request for the printing device, causes the command issuing unit to issue a maintenance command to the printing device, thereby causing the printing device to perform maintenance processing in accordance with the maintenance request. The command issuing unit is provided in the relay device or the server, The maintenance function unit is provided in the relay device or the server, A POS system characterized by the following.

15. A POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein a server is connected to a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral devices in a manner that enables communication, The relay device is, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, A receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral device, Equipped with, The aforementioned server, An analysis unit that analyzes the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, A determination unit that determines the status of the peripheral device based on the analysis results of the analysis unit, A POS system server characterized by having the following features.

16. A server for the POS system according to claim 15, The aforementioned server is connected to the maintenance terminal via the network, The server stores the analysis results from the analysis unit or the determination results from the determination unit as a database. A POS system server characterized by comprising a simplified log generation unit that generates a simplified log of the peripheral device based on the database when it receives a simplified log generation request from the maintenance terminal.

17. A method for maintaining a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, wherein the method involves maintaining the peripheral devices. The POS system includes a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral device. The relay device is, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, A receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral device, It has, The process involves analyzing the information to be analyzed from the aforementioned request information and the aforementioned response information, Based on the analysis results of the aforementioned information to be analyzed, maintenance information usable for the maintenance of the peripheral equipment is obtained, The maintenance information is output to the output unit of a device that can communicate with the relay device, A method for maintaining a POS system, characterized by including the following.

18. A method for maintaining a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, The POS system includes a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral device. The relay device is, A communication unit that is connected to a server or maintenance terminal in a manner that enables communication with the server or maintenance terminal, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, A receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral device, It has, The request information and the response information to be analyzed are to be analyzed, Based on the analysis results of the information to be analyzed, abnormalities in the peripheral devices are detected. When the aforementioned abnormality is detected, the server or the maintenance terminal is notified that the peripheral device is malfunctioning. A method for maintaining a POS system, characterized by including the following.

19. A method for maintaining a POS system comprising a terminal device capable of performing accounting processing and one or more peripheral devices, The POS system includes a relay device that relays between the terminal device and the peripheral device. The relay device is, A communication unit that is connected to a server or maintenance terminal in a manner that enables communication with the server or maintenance terminal, A transmission unit that transmits request information to the aforementioned peripheral device, A receiving unit that receives response information from the aforementioned peripheral device, Equipped with, At least one of the aforementioned peripheral devices is a printing device, When an abnormality in the printing device is detected based on the analysis results obtained by analyzing the information to be analyzed from the request information and the response information, the server or the maintenance terminal is notified of the abnormality. When a maintenance request for the printing device is received from the server or the maintenance terminal, a maintenance command corresponding to the maintenance request is issued and transmitted to the printing device. The printing device performs the maintenance process instructed by the maintenance command, When the printing device receives the results information or completion information of the maintenance process, it sends the results information or completion information to the server or the maintenance terminal. A method for maintaining a POS system, characterized by including the following.

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