Systems and methods for registering product for transaction in a portable electronic device

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for registering a product for a transaction in a portable electronic device having a compact display. Upon selecting a product, the device automatically transitions to a calculator mode, where a user may enter a calculation string using a simplified calculator keyboard. The system parses the input to extract transaction parameters such as price, quantity, discount, or tax, and computes the resulting transaction value. Selection of a designated operational key confirms the transaction and stores the parsed parameters in permanent storage. By integrating calculation and registration into a unified workflow, the invention eliminates the need for multiple input fields, soft keyboards, and external calculators, thereby reducing errors, improving speed, and enhancing usability on small-form devices. This approach also lowers hardware requirements, enabling lighter, more cost-effective, and energy-efficient portable transaction systems suitable for retail, inventory, and related industries.

Description

Systems and Methods for Registering Product for Transaction in a Portable Electronic Device

[0001] The system and method of the present invention relates to portable electronic devices for registering transactions; and, more particularly to portable electronic devices used for registering sales transactions, electronic cash registers, inventory and point of sale devices for use in retail and wholesale industry.

[0002] Smartphones, tablet computers, or tabs are primarily utilized by field sales personnel and warehouse workers for conducting product-related transactions, such as sales and inventory management.

[0003] In the existing art, particularly those designed for sales transactions, users often encounter a display resembling the one depicted in the figure a. This display presents separate input fields where users are prompted to enter various details such as quantity, price, and other parameters. Upon selecting any of these input fields, a soft keyboard appears, allowing users to input the desired values. However, this setup poses several inconveniences. Firstly, the appearance of the soft keyboard on the display frequently obscures the input fields, leading to frustration for users. Additionally, to accommodate the displayed keyboard, the selected input field may be displaced or rearranged, causing disruption to the user. Furthermore, the animation associated with the keyboard's appearance may serve as a distraction. Lastly, due to the multitude of input elements on the screen and the partitioning of available space, the display necessitates ample room, often resulting in the use of small letter sizes. Consequently, users may be compelled to resort to larger devices like tablet computers, despite their drawbacks such as limited portability and higher cost

[0004] [Corrected under Rule 26, 10.11.2025]

[0005] Figure b introduces an alternative display paradigm for sales registration, wherein users can register products by selecting each item, subsequently adding it to the invoice. A summary of the selected products is displayed at the bottom. In this approach, to increase the quantity of a particular item, users may need to select the same product multiple times, which could be cumbersome, particularly for large quantities. Additionally, accommodating all these details necessitates a larger display or need to use small letters.

[0006] [Corrected under Rule 26, 10.11.2025]

[0007] Additionally, users often encounter the need to perform calculations while registering products for transactions, such as calculating custom pricing. However, such functionalities are not readily available on their devices, necessitate the use of a separate calculator or a different application. The user must then manually transcribe the result into the transaction system. This process is highly inefficient, prone to errors, and requires a duplication of effort. This problem is further compounded in dedicated hardware devices for transaction logging such as inventory scanners used in warehouses, which often use an extended keypad and a stylus to overcome the limitations of a small display, but still fail to provide a seamless, integrated calculation and registration workflow.

[0008] Thus, there is a long-felt need for an improved method and system for registering transactions on portable electronic devices that is not only space-efficient but also streamlines the calculation and data entry process.

[0009] The method of the present invention provides an integrated system and method for registering transactions on a portable electronic device with a compact display, such as a smartphone, tablet, or a dedicated handheld device. The method enables the device to be used for dual purpose: a general-purpose calculator and a data entry tool for the transaction with integrated calculations.

[0010] Upon a user selecting a product, the device automatically transitioning in to a calculator mode. The product can be selected through various means, including but not limited to, a touch screen input from a displayed list, a barcode scan, or an RFID tag reader. The calculator keyboard includes a standard set of numeric keys and mathematical operational keys. In the calculator mode, a user can perform one or more calculations required to register the product for a transaction. At a minimum, calculator mode supports multiplication to compute the product of a quantity and price, and may also support additional calculations such as addition, subtraction, division, percentages, discounts, or taxes. For example, to calculate a unit price, a user can enter a formula such as 100 / 5x3. The system, upon completion of the calculation, is configured to parse this input to identify and store specific transaction parameters. For instance, 100 may be identified as the box price, 5 as the total number of products in that box, and 3 as the purchased quantity. The system then computes a value of 60 as the amount. This intelligent parsing capability allows for the system to understand the context of the calculation and correctly assign the values. Similarly, a user can enter a custom discount using a calculation like 200-10%x3, which the system will interpret as a 10% discount on a quantity of 3 items, with an original price of 200.

[0011] After the user has completed the calculation and received the desired result on the display, they can select a designated operational key (e.g., a "Bill Key" or "Register Key") from the calculator keyboard. The selection of this key triggers the registration of the product for a transaction using the computed value and the parsed parameters.

[0012] The system is also configured to update the product-related parameters in a permanent storage after the transaction is registered. This ensures that the next time the same product is selected; the updated parameters is readily available for display.

[0013] Existing systems for registering product transactions, especially portable electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, suffer from significant usability, efficiency, and hardware inefficiency drawbacks. Conventional interfaces present users with multiple separate input fields for data such as quantity, price, and discount. Selecting these fields triggers a soft keyboard that frequently obscures input fields, displaces the interface, and generates distracting animations. To maintain readability and usability, these interfaces demand either physically larger displays while it is reducing portability which also increase device cost, weight, and power consumption. Additionally, the graphical complexity of managing dynamic layouts and rendering animations imposes unnecessary load on the device’s CPU, requiring more powerful and therefore more energy-intensive processors. This results in reduced battery life and undermines the portability and cost-effectiveness of compact devices.

[0014] Furthermore, users frequently need to perform transaction-specific calculations (e.g., unit pricing, custom discounts) that are not natively supported. This forces them to switch to a separate calculator interfaces, manually transcribe results, and re-enter them into the transaction system. This is a multi-step process that is inefficient, highly error-prone, and disrupts workflow continuity. Even dedicated hardware solutions, such as inventory scanners with extended keypads or styluses, fail to resolve these core inefficiencies and merely add cost and complexity without addressing the underlying burden. There exists a long-felt need for a system that integrates calculation and transaction registration into a single, streamlined workflow while simultaneously reducing the hardware demands imposed by conventional graphical interfaces.

[0015] The present invention provides a system and method for registering products for transaction on a portable electronic device with a compact display, wherein the device automatically transitions into a specialized calculator mode upon product selection. The user enters a calculation string (e.g., “100 / 5x3” or “200-10%x3”) directly via a simplified calculator keyboard interface. The system parses this input to intelligently extract transaction parameters including original price, quantity, discount percentage, or tax, and computes the final transaction value. Upon selection of a designated operational key (e.g., “Register” or “Bill Key”), the system registers the product using the computed value and parsed parameters in a single atomic action.

[0016] This solution eliminates the need for multiple input fields, disruptive soft keyboards, and complex graphical layouts. By replacing a fragmented, multi-element interface with a static, single-view calculator, the invention drastically reduces the computational load on the device’s processor. This enables the use of lower-power CPUs, smaller and lower-resolution displays, and ultimately extends battery life. The large, finger-friendly keys of the calculator interface remove the need for auxiliary hardware such as styluses or external keypads. The invention thus delivers a seamless, efficient, and error-resistant user experience while simultaneously enabling the design of lighter, more compact, more energy-efficient, and more cost-effective portable transaction devices.

[0017] The present invention offers several significant advantages over the prior art. First, it greatly improves efficiency by eliminating the need for a separate calculator or manual transcription of computed values. Through its ability to intelligently parse user-entered calculations into structured transaction parameters such as price, quantity, discount, or tax, the system minimizes human error and allows transactions to be registered in a single continuous workflow. This substantially accelerates sales and inventory operations.

[0018] Second, the invention enhances ergonomics and usability by removing reliance on extended keypads and styluses, thereby enabling devices with compact displays, as small as 3.5 inches, to be operated comfortably with one hand. Training requirements are simplified, since users can register transactions naturally through familiar calculations rather than learning complex multi-field interfaces. The seamless flow between calculation and registration also reduces cognitive load, which is particularly beneficial in fast-paced retail and warehouse environments.

[0019] Third, the invention reduces hardware complexity and cost. By integrating calculator functions into the transaction workflow, the system lowers processing requirements and enables the use of less powerful processors. This allows devices to be designed in a lighter, more compact, and more cost-effective form, which enhances portability and ease of use.

[0020] Furthermore, the invention provides significant error reduction and reliability. The system automatically interprets and assigns values to the correct transaction fields, avoiding misalignment between calculated results and recorded transaction data. This ensures greater accuracy in billing and inventory management.

[0021] is a block diagram of an exemplary portable electronic device that may incorporate the system and method described herein;

[0022] is an exemplary soft calculator keyboard to use with the portable device shown in;

[0023] is a sample product selection display to use with the portable device shown in;

[0024] is a sample flow diagram of registering a product for a transaction;

[0025] is a sample flow diagram of registering a product for sales transactions. and

[0026] is an alternative flow diagram of registering a product for sales transactions.

[0027] Turning now to the drawing figures, which illustrate three examples of the invention, the following description of embodiments is provided by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Variations, modifications, and alternative implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0028] is a block diagram of an exemplary portable device that may incorporate the system and method described herein. The portable device 100 includes a processing subsystem 102, a touch display 104, and a memory subsystem and software modules 106, 108, and various other device subsystems 112. The portable device 100 may also include data storage 110, a barcode scanner 114, a card reader 116, one or more cameras 118, a mini USB 120, one or more external connectors 122, one or more microphones 126, a short-range communication subsystem 128, and a long range communication subsystem.

[0029] The processing subsystem 102 controls the overall operation of the portable device 100. System software executed by the processing subsystem 102 may be stored in a persistent store, such as a flash memory 106, but may also be stored in other types of memory devices in the memory subsystem, such as a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as a random access memory (RAM) 108. Communication signals received by the portable device 100 may also be stored to RAM 108.

[0030] The processing subsystem 102, in addition to its system functions, enables execution of software applications 106 on the device 100. A predetermined set of applications that control basic device operations, such as data and voice communications, may be installed on the device 100 during manufacture or later by the user.

[0031] The short-range communications subsystem 128 enables communication between the portable device 100 and other proximate systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-range communications subsystem 128 may include an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communication module to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.

[0032] Turning now to the, 220 is an exemplary soft calculator keyboard for use with the portable device 100. The keyboard 220 illustrates four columns and five rows. Certain embodiments may employ different arrangements (e.g. 5 rows and 5 columns) or a non-grid layout for the keyboard 220. The keys in the calculator keyboard are divided into two groups. The group 222 is numeric keys which are used to input numeric values to the device 100. The group 224 is a set of operation keys used to perform operations on the provided input. Certain keys within this group may execute mathematical operations (e.g., 224e, 224f), while others (e.g., 224a, 224b) are utilized for actions such as canceling ongoing sales or clearing displayed numbers. Upon selection of operation keys, mathematic operation keys may display a character on the display area 240 while other operation keys may not display any character but trigger the device to perform the associated operation. For example, selecting the key 224e will display “X” on the display area 240 but selecting the key 224a will cancel the current sales without displaying anything.

[0033] illustrates a total of 9 operation keys. Certain embodiments may have more or less number of operation keys than 9. Certain embodiments may have additional numeric keys such as “00”. However, the total number of keys cannot exceed 30. The soft calculator keyboard 220 may be operated through directly touching the touch display 104 or a hardware keyboard connected to the portable device 100.

[0034] Display area 240 shows an exemplary display area to show the inputs to the device 100 using the keyboard 220. It is a rectangular display area. Certain embodiments may have different shapes or arrangements to display the inputs. 242 is an example of inputs entered into the device 100 using the keyboard 220. 242a is a numeric input, 242b is an operational input and 242c is another numerical input. In this case, the device 100 may calculate the multiplication of 55.5 and 21.

[0035] is illustrates an exemplary product selection display 300 that may be used with the portable electronic device 100. The products available for transaction 322 are arranged in a grid layout. Certain embodiments may arrange the products in other layouts such as list or by other means. The user may select a product from display 300 using a touch action or other actions. Additionally, the display 300 may have means to filter or search the product displayed. The products available 322 may be retrieved from the memory subsystem 106 and 108 or from a local or networked storage. Display 300 indicates products by their name. Certain embodiments may include product code, image or any other parameters associated with products.

[0036] is a sample flow diagram 400 of registering a product for transaction. The method may be used with a portable device 100 which can display a calculator keyboard, for example, such as the keyboard 220 shown in. At step 402, the user of the device 100 selects a product. Various types of product selection can be used with the method described herein. In the example shown in, a product selection display is illustrated, allowing the user to select a product by touching it on the screen. In certain embodiments, the product selection step may be implemented using other methods of selection, such as scanning a barcode using a barcode scanning module 114, detecting through a camera module 118, or inputting product-related parameters such as product code or name directly into the device.

[0037] At step 404, the device displays a calculator keyboard. The user then selects a key at step 406 from the displayed calculator keyboard. At step 408, the device determines whether the selected key is a designated operation key from 224. If yes, the device registers the product for transaction at step 410. Otherwise at step 412 the device is converted as a calculator with the displayed calculator keyboard and the user can perform various mathematical operations such as multiplication, addition, division and subtraction until a designated operational key is selected. Step 410 may also register any results or calculations performed on the displayed calculator with the transaction.

[0038] At step 404, the device displays a calculator keyboard. The user then selects a key at step 406 from the displayed calculator keyboard 220. Subsequently, at step 408, the device determines whether the selected key is the designated operation key from group 224. If so, the device proceeds to register the product for the transaction at step 410. Otherwise, at step 412, the device is converted into a calculator, utilizing the displayed calculator keyboard, and the user can perform various mathematical operations such as multiplication, addition, division, and subtraction until the designated operation key is selected.

[0039] Step 410 may also register any results or calculations performed on the displayed calculator with the transaction. For example, to register a selling price for the product "Toffee" 322e in, the user selects 322e, prompting the device to display the calculator keyboard 220. Here, the user inputs the cost price of the Toffee as "37.02", inputs a target pricing factor of "1.5", and input a rounding off value of ".03", with the associated operations as "37.02 x 1.5 - 0.03". The user then selects the "Enter" key 224h to register the product for a price update transaction. The result of the calculation, "37.02 x 1.5 - 0.03", yields the updated price of the Toffee, which is 55.5. Step 410 may store the transaction and related parameters in a temporary data structure in RAM 108, or directly to permanent storage 106 or 110. In certain embodiments, step 410 may store the transaction-related parameters in a networked storage or computer system. This step 410 may internally use a context stack maintained by the device to identify the parameters as price, quantity etc. In embodiments supporting tax calculations, the parsing mechanism may apply additional contextual rules to distinguish tax percentages from discount percentages based on operator placement, value ranges, or configuration parameters in the device.

[0040] is a sample flow diagram 500 of registering a product for transaction in another embodiment. A sales transaction is illustrated as an example here. At step 502, the device 100 displays products available for transaction and then the user of the device 100 selects a product at step 504. The device then displays the calculator keyboard and the product price at step 506. The displayed price at step 506 may be retrieved from a product database stored in the memory sub system 104,106 or storage 110 or retrieved from a networked database. For example, if the user selects the “Toffee” 322e of, the device will display the price associated with that product which is “55.5”.The user then selects another key at step 508. At step 510, the device determines whether the user selected an operation key 224 ofat step 508, and then the device displays the operation associated with the selected operation key at step 512. For example, if the user selects “X” key 222e, the device will display “55.5X”. If the user selected a numeric key in step 508, then the device determines whether the selected key at step 508 is a first numeric key selected after step 506, then the price displayed at step 506 is deleted at step 530 and the number associated with the selected key at step 508 is displayed in the place of the price displayed at step 506. Otherwise, control passes to step 530 and the number associated with the selected key at step 508 is displayed. For example, if the user selects “7” 222a, the device will display “7” after deleting the price “55.5”. Selecting a numeric key “4” 224d second time will display “74” instead of “55.5”.

[0041] depicts a sample flow diagram 500 illustrating the process of billing in another embodiment, with a sales transaction provided as an example.

[0042] The process begins at step 502, where the device 100 displays the available products for transaction. The user selects a product at step 504. Subsequently, at step 506, the device displays the calculator keyboard along with the price of the selected product. This displayed price may be retrieved from a product database stored in the memory subsystems 106, 108, or storage 110, or fetched from a networked database. For instance, if the user selects the product "Toffee" 322e in, the device will display the associated price, which is "55.5".

[0043] Moving on, the user selects another key at step 508. At step 510, the device checks if the selected key is an operation key from group 224 of. If so, the associated operation is displayed at step 512. For example, selecting the "X" key 224e will display "55.5X". If the selected key at step 508 is numeric, step 530 determines it is the first numeric key selected after step 506. If yes, the price displayed at step 506 is deleted at step 526 and at step 528 number associated with the key is displayed. For instance, selecting the numeric key "7" 222a will display "7" after deleting the price "55.5". Selecting the numeric key "4" 222d subsequently will display "74" in display area 240.

[0044] At step 514, the user selects another key, and at step 516, the device checks if the selected key is numeric. If affirmative, the number associated with the key is displayed at step 518. For example, selecting the key "2" 222h with the existing display "55.5X" will result in "55.5X2".

[0045] Continuing, at step 520, the user selects another key, and at step 522, the device determines if the selected key is a designated operation key. If yes, the product selected at step 504 is registered for the transaction at step 524. Otherwise, at step 532, the device determines whether a numeric key is selected and pass the control to step 518 to display the number associated with the selected key.

[0046] In the example discussed above, selecting the key "1" 222g would display "55.5X21", and subsequently selecting the designated operation key "Enter" 224h would register "Toffee" for a sales transaction with a unit price of 55.5 and a quantity of 21. In certain embodiments, a different operation key may be designated for the step 524, such as the key "+" 224g.

[0047] is a sample flow diagram 600 of registering a product for transaction in another embodiment. An alternative flow for sales transaction is illustrated as an example. At step 602, the device 100 displays available products for transaction. The user selects a product at step 604. Subsequently, at step 606, the device displays the calculator keyboard 220, the product price, and a default operation. For instance, if the user selects the "Toffee" 322e in, the device will display the associated price along with a default operation, such as "55.5X". The displayed price at step 606 may be retrieved from a product database stored in the memory subsystems 106, 108, or storage 110, or fetched from a networked database.

[0048] The user selects a key at step 608. At step 610, the device checks whether the selected key is not the first designated operation key. If affirmative, control passes to step 612, and the device displays the number or operation associated with the selected key. If the user selects first designated operational key at step 608, control transfers to step 620, where the device clears the display area 240. In the provided example, assuming the display area 240 shows "55.5X", selecting the numeric key "2" 222h will update the display to "55.5X2". Conversely, selecting the operation key "C" 224b will delete "55.5X" and clear the display area 240, followed by selecting key "7" 222a will display "7" on the display area 240. Here, key "C" 224b is designated as the operation key to perform the operation at step 620. In certain embodiments, a different operation key may be designated for the operation of step 620 (e.g., Del, Clear).

[0049] Moving forward, at step 614, the user selects a key. At step 616, the device checks if the selected key is not the second designated operation key. If affirmative, control returns to step 612, and the number or operation associated with the key is displayed. Otherwise, at step 618, the device registers the product for sales.

[0050] In the provided example, assuming the display area 240 shows "7", selecting the key "5" will update the display to "75". Subsequently, selecting keys "X" and "3" will update the display to "75X3". Selecting the second designated operation key "Enter" 224h will then register "Toffee" for a sales transaction with a unit price of 75 and a quantity of 3. In certain embodiments, a different operation key may be designated to perform step 618, such as the key "+" 224g for registering the product.

[0051] It should be noted that the original price of the Toffee is 55.5 and the registered price is 75. Certain embodiments may update the price 75 as the price of the Toffee in the product database and use 75 as the price of Toffee for any future product selection

[0052] The present invention is industrially applicable to various sectors where portable electronic devices are utilized for transactional purposes, particularly in retail, inventory management, and related domains. The described system and method offer practical solutions for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of transactions conducted through portable devices, thereby improving overall operational workflows and user experiences.

[0053] This invention has broad cross-industry applicability beyond retail. It can also be applied in logistics for weight-based rate calculations, in healthcare for dosage and quantity computations, and in service industries for time-rate billing with discounts. This wide range of applications increases the commercial relevance and industrial value of the invention.

Claims

A computer-implemented method of registering a product for a transaction comprising the steps of: receiving a selection of a first product from the plurality of products; in response to receiving the selection of the first product, displaying a calculator keyboard on a display, wherein the calculator keyboard includes a plurality of operational keys; receiving an input corresponding to a calculation using the displayed calculator keyboard to generate a computed value; and receiving a selection of a designated operational key from the plurality of operational keys, wherein the selection of the designated operational key registers the first product for a transaction, and wherein the registration includes parsing the calculation input values as transaction parameters.The method of Claim 1, wherein the transaction parameter comprises at least one of a product quantity or a product price.The method of Claim 1, further comprising updating product-related parameters for the first product in storage based on the computed value, such that the updated parameters are displayed upon a subsequent selection of the first product.A data processing system configured to carry out the method of any of Claims 1-3.A portable device configured to carry out the method of any of Claims 1-3.The portable device of claim 5, wherein the device is further configured to distinguish price, quantity, discount, and tax automatically from a user-entered calculation string.A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of any of Claims 1-3.A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of any of Claims 1-3.A portable electronic device comprising: a processor configured to: receive a selection of a product from a plurality of products; automatically display a specialized numeric input interface on the compact display in response to the product selection, wherein the specialized numeric input interface replaces standard transaction entry fields and includes a plurality of numeric keys and operational keys; receive user input through the specialized numeric input interface; and register the product for a transaction upon receiving a selection of a designated operational key from the specialized numeric input interface; wherein the specialized numeric input interface provides larger key targets than would be possible with standard transaction entry fields on the compact display, and wherein the specialized numeric input interface is displayed without requiring additional user navigation steps beyond the product selection.

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