Optical Invoice Capture for Cash Register Payment Data Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual entry of payment information from electronic cash registers to payment acquisition devices is time-consuming and prone to errors due to the lack of standardization between different manufacturers, leading to inefficiencies in payment transactions.
Innovation Solution
A payment acquisition device equipped with matrix capture means and a processing unit that automatically captures and processes the payment information from an invoice, eliminating the need for manual entry by translating the digital representation into alphanumeric data for transmission to a payment server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual entry of payment information is used, then compatibility between different manufacturers' devices is maintained, but transaction speed and accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical capture means (camera or image sensor) to capture an image of the invoice displayed on the ECR screen. The captured image is then processed through character recognition to extract payment information, replacing manual typing with automated optical copying of data from the invoice to the payment device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual typing process with an automated optical recognition system. The capture means optically acquire the invoice data, and the processing unit automatically recognizes and extracts the payment amount, substituting the mechanical action of manual entry with automated optical-electronic processing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual entry of payment information is used, then device compatibility is maintained, but error rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical capture means create a digital copy of the invoice information directly from the ECR display. This copying process eliminates human transcription errors by automatically transferring data from the source (invoice) to the destination (payment device) through optical recognition and character extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing unit displays the extracted payment information back to the user for verification before final submission. This feedback mechanism allows users to confirm that the automatically recognized data matches the original invoice, providing a check against recognition errors while maintaining the automated process.
3Device complexity
If manual entry of payment information is used, then simplicity of device design is maintained, but transaction time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The payment acquisition device incorporates capture means (camera or image sensor) to optically copy the invoice information from the ECR display. This automated copying replaces the time-consuming manual typing process, significantly reducing transaction time while adding only moderate complexity through the integration of optical capture and processing capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a payment system comprising: an electronic cash register (10) associated with a physical point of sale of a merchant (M); and a payment acquisition device (20) for advantageously cooperating with a payment issuing device (30) of a client (C) via a first link (L1). Such a payment acquisition device (20) transmits payment transaction messages (MSGT) to a bank server (40) via a second link (L2) in order to implement electronic payment transactions. The payment acquisition device (20) is configured to comprise means (28) for capturing a view of any invoice (B) issued by an electronic cash register (10), and the processing unit (21) of such a payment acquisition device (20) is configured to trigger the capture of at least one digital representation (RN) of the invoice (B) and to automatically detect and determine therefrom the payment amount (MT) of the relevant financial transaction. Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 5