POS Cash Handling Machine with Separated Ports

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Solution Overview

Problem

In retail environments, operators handling food or non-food products often come into contact with cash, increasing the risk of spreading infectious bacteria and viruses, as existing POS systems require direct handling of cash for payment processing.

Innovation Solution

A POS system design that includes a cash processing machine with accessible cash receiving and dispensing ports on one side of the counter, allowing operators to manage cash transactions without direct contact, featuring a POS terminal, payment machine, and printer configuration that enables cash handling without operator touch, with the payment machine's orientation adjustable to facilitate customer receipt retrieval.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If operators handle cash directly for payment processing, then payment transactions can be completed, but the risk of spreading infectious bacteria and viruses increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepayment transaction completionVSAvoidinfectious disease spread

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a cash processing machine as an intermediary device between the operator and cash. The machine receives cash from customers through a customer-accessible port and dispenses change through an operator-accessible port, allowing operators to complete payment transactions without direct contact with cash, thus resolving the contradiction between transaction completion and disease prevention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The cash processing machine is divided into distinct functional segments: a cash receiving port accessible from the customer side and a cash dispensing port accessible from the operator side. This segmentation physically separates cash handling functions from operator contact areas, enabling payment processing while preventing infectious disease transmission

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Object-affected harmful factors

If cash receiving and dispensing ports are positioned on one side of the counter, then operator safety is improved, but customer access to cash may be restricted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperator exposure to cashVSAvoidcustomer cash access

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent resolves the spatial conflict by utilizing different lateral dimensions of the counter. Cash receiving and dispensing ports are positioned on a first lateral side accessible to customers, while the display and operational panel are positioned on a second lateral side facing the operator. This dimensional separation allows both customer access and operator protection to be achieved simultaneously

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS10726409B2Point-of-sale system with movable receipt printer

Publication Date: 2020.07.28 TOSHIBA TEC KK

AI summary

A point-of-sale (POS) system includes a counter, a cash processing machine, and a register machine. The cash processing machine has a cash receiving port and a cash dispensing port that are accessible from a first lateral side of the counter but not a second lateral side of the counter that is opposite to the first lateral side. The register machine has a display and an operational panel and coupled with the cash processing machine such that the display and the operational panel face the second lateral side.