POS Agent Simulates UI Events for Kiosk Integration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Businesses with established third-party backend systems face challenges in integrating kiosks due to vendor lock-in, limited data exportability, and high costs associated with proprietary APIs, making it difficult to convey orders from kiosks into these systems without modifying the backend or reverse engineering existing communications.

Innovation Solution

An agent is installed on third-party point of sale terminals to simulate employee interactions, allowing kiosks to translate orders into user interface events that can be processed by the backend system, enabling order conveyance without direct API interaction or system modification.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If proprietary APIs are used to integrate kiosks with third-party backend systems, then order conveyance can be achieved, but vendor lock-in and costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveorder conveyance capabilityVSAvoidvendor lock-in

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a point of sale terminal as an intermediary device between the kiosk and the third-party backend system. This terminal receives orders from the kiosk and translates them into the proprietary format required by the backend system, eliminating direct dependency on proprietary APIs while maintaining reliable order conveyance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The point of sale terminal creates a copy or representation of the order data from the kiosk and transforms it into the format expected by the third-party backend system. This copying mechanism allows the system to bypass proprietary API requirements while preserving the essential order information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If proprietary APIs are used to integrate kiosks with third-party backend systems, then order conveyance can be achieved, but integration costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveorder conveyance capabilityVSAvoidintegration cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The point of sale terminal serves as a cost-effective intermediary that handles the translation and formatting of order data. By using this intermediate device instead of implementing proprietary APIs directly, the system reduces integration costs while maintaining reliable order conveyance to the third-party backend system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If backend system is modified to accept orders directly from kiosks, then integration flexibility improves, but system complexity and development resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintegration flexibilityVSAvoidsystem modification requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of modifying the backend system to accept orders directly from the kiosk (changing the backend), the patent inverts the approach by placing a point of sale terminal at the backend that is configured to receive and process orders from the kiosk in the required format. This inversion maintains backend system integrity while achieving integration flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

4Ease of manufacture

If reverse engineering of existing communications is performed, then API costs are reduced, but development time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAPI costVSAvoiddevelopment time

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The point of sale terminal acts as a pre-configured intermediary that already contains the necessary translation logic and communication protocols. This eliminates the need for time-consuming reverse engineering efforts, as the terminal provides ready-to-use functionality for interfacing with the third-party backend system at reduced API costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10078825B2Apparatus and method for interfacing with third party point of sale devices

Publication Date: 2018.09.18 NEXTEP SYST

AI summary

An ordering system for a business includes an ordering terminal, a queue module, an order execution module, and an agent. The ordering terminal receives a first order from a first person. The queue module stores data representing the first order. The order execution module conveys the first order to the point of sale terminal. The agent is installed on a point of sale terminal and selectively sends user interface events to a point of sale application executing on the point of sale terminal. The order execution module conveys the first order to the point of sale terminal by (i) retrieving the data representing the first order from the queue module and (ii) instructing the agent to send user interface events according to the retrieved data.