Digital Receipt Transfer to Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers face difficulties in organizing and retrieving paper receipts for past transactions, which can lead to time-consuming searches and potential losses due to misplaced or damaged receipts, especially for cash transactions that are not stored in conventional point-of-sale systems.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for transferring digital receipt data to mobile devices, where a point-of-sale system generates digital receipt data and transfers it to a receipt data server, with identifiers allowing mobile devices to access and manage the data, enabling efficient organization and retrieval of receipts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If consumers store paper receipts manually, then they can retain records of transactions, but the time and effort required to locate specific receipts increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital copies of paper receipts by capturing images or scanning them, then storing these copies in a structured database format. This allows consumers to retrieve receipts electronically without handling physical papers, significantly reducing the time to locate specific receipts while maintaining reliable records.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms receipts from physical paper format to digital data format, changing the state parameter from tangible to intangible. This transformation enables efficient searching, sorting, and retrieval through digital means, eliminating the manual sorting and physical searching required for paper receipts.
2Ease of operation
If consumers organize paper receipts by hand, then they can categorize transactions, but the complexity of organization increases due to varying receipt formats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs optical character recognition (OCR) and image processing algorithms that automatically extract and categorize receipt information without manual intervention. The system self-organizes receipts by date, merchant, amount, or custom categories, eliminating the need for consumers to manually sort and file each receipt.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical sorting and filing operations with automated digital processing systems. Instead of physically organizing paper receipts by hand, consumers use software that automatically categorizes and stores receipt data, dramatically simplifying the organization process despite the underlying computational complexity.
3Productivity
If conventional POS systems are used for cash transactions, then transactions can be processed, but the transactions are not stored and cannot be retrieved later
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a system that proactively captures and stores transaction information at the point of sale, before the consumer leaves the store. By integrating with POS systems and using mobile device cameras or scanners, the system records cash transactions immediately and stores them in a secure database, ensuring no transaction information is lost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mobile application as an intermediary between the POS system and the consumer. This intermediary captures transaction data from the POS system or directly from receipt images, processes and stores the information, and provides retrieval capabilities, thereby preserving transaction records that would otherwise be lost.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products f0r transferring digital receipt data to mobile devices. A point-of-sale (“POS”) system generates digital receipt data as part of a sales transaction. The point-of-sale (“POS”) system and a mobile device, possibly also along with a receipt data server, interoperate with one another to transfer digital receipt data generated to the mobile device. In some embodiments, the point-of-sale (“POS”) system transfers digital receipt data for a sales transaction to the receipt data server. An identifier, such as, for example, an application identifier or transaction identifier, is stored along with the digital receipt data to match the digital receipt data with the mobile device. The mobile device subsequently uses the identifier to access the digital receipt data from the receipt data server. In other embodiments, the point-of-sale (“POS”) system transfers digital receipt data directly to the mobile device.