POS Encoder Circuit for Itemized Receipt Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional credit card systems fail to provide itemized receipts to consumers, leading to unnecessary effort in re-entering purchase details, accessibility barriers for vision-impaired individuals, and challenges in accurately capturing and formatting digital receipt data, which is often cumbersome and costly for merchants to implement.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes an electronic encoder circuit in the point of sale system to translate alpha-numeric receipt data into two-dimensional bar code data, allowing for immediate and accurate capture, formatting, and output of itemized receipt data, which can be read by smartphones or similar devices, eliminating the need for expensive hardware upgrades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional credit card systems are used for transactions, then the transaction processing is simple and fast, but itemized receipt data is not provided to consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (such as a smartphone application or portable computing device) that acts as a mediator between the point of sale system and the consumer. This intermediary captures, stores, and provides itemized receipt data to the consumer without requiring changes to the existing credit card processing system, thus resolving the contradiction by adding information access capability while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the itemized receipt data from the point of sale system and stores it on a portable device. This copying approach allows consumers to access detailed transaction information without modifying the original transaction processing system, thereby providing complete receipt data while avoiding system complexity.
2Loss of time
If consumers manually re-enter purchase details into accounting systems, then no additional hardware is needed, but significant time and effort are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically capturing and storing itemized receipt data at the point of sale on the consumer's portable device. This pre-capture eliminates the need for subsequent manual data entry into accounting systems, thereby resolving the contradiction by saving time while maintaining ease of operation through automatic synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by allowing consumers to automatically export and synchronize their purchase data with accounting software directly from their portable devices. This automated self-service approach eliminates manual re-entry efforts while requiring no additional hardware beyond the consumer's existing device, thus reducing time loss while maintaining operational simplicity.
3Measurement precision
If paper receipts are scanned to capture itemized data, then digital copies can be obtained, but accuracy is compromised due to receipt condition and formatting variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by capturing the itemized receipt data in digital form directly at the point of sale before the consumer receives the physical receipt. This electronic capture at the source ensures maximum accuracy by avoiding degradation from folding, damage, or obscuration that occurs with physical receipts, while the data is already in a standardized format requiring minimal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of scanning physical receipts, the patent creates a direct digital copy of the itemized data from the point of sale system's electronic record. This electronic copying process bypasses the accuracy issues inherent in scanning physical receipts (folding, damage, formatting variations) while producing a standardized, machine-readable format that requires minimal additional processing, thus resolving both accuracy and complexity concerns.
4Loss of information
If merchants implement NFC or Bluetooth LE technology for digital receipt transfer, then itemized data can be transmitted electronically, but hardware costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the universality of existing smartphones and portable computing devices that consumers already possess. These devices already have the necessary processing power, display capabilities, and communication interfaces (WiFi, Bluetooth for data transfer) to handle digital receipt data. By utilizing this existing multi-functional hardware, the system provides digital receipt access without requiring merchants to invest in expensive specialized NFC or Bluetooth LE receipt printers, thus resolving the contradiction between information access and implementation cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables consumers to use their own existing devices as the receipt delivery mechanism. The point of sale system transmits the itemized data to the consumer's portable device, which then serves as the receipt. This self-service approach eliminates the need for merchants to purchase and deploy expensive specialized hardware, as consumers bring their own capable devices to the transaction, thereby providing digital receipt access while minimizing implementation costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for translating receipt data output by a point of sale system of the present invention. The system includes a first electrical interface coupled to said point of sale system; an electronic encoder circuit coupled to said first interface, said encoder circuit being adapted to receive receipt and translate alpha-numeric receipt data into two-dimensional bar code data; and a second electrical interface between said encoder and an output device for displaying said two-dimensional bar code data on an electronic or physical medium. A digital embodiment includes an electronic circuit operationally coupled between the point of sale system and a device, such as a printer, adapted to output a purchase receipt. Memory fixed in a tangible medium is coupled to the electronic circuit and code is stored therein. When the software is executed by the system, the system captures and processes itemized receipt data and, optionally, other data and information from the point of sale system and outputs to a printer, or to an electronic display, an optical machine-readable symbol, or series of symbols, representative of and encoding the itemized receipt data and, optionally, additional data and information. In the illustrative embodiment, the code is a two-dimensional bar code, or series of codes. The code or codes may be encrypted and compressed. The code, or codes, are read, decoded, decrypted and decompressed by a scanner implemented on a second platform, independent from the platform on which the first system is mounted. This process yields accurate itemized receipt data that can be read and processed by a smart phone or similar device for displaying, being read audibly or printing subject to the user's preferences and device capabilities.