POS Hardware Management Intermediary for Protocol Standardization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Point of sale (POS) systems in retail stores are costly and difficult to manage due to their complexity, with multiple types of systems and hardware components operating on different protocols, leading to high maintenance and upgrade challenges.
Innovation Solution
A networked retail point of sale system with a retail network intermediary system that interfaces between POS systems and hardware, providing a unified interface for shared resource applications and simplifying communication across different POS and hardware systems using a single predefined protocol.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of POS systems and hardware components operate on different protocols, then system versatility and adaptability are improved, but device complexity and difficulty of management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary layer between diverse POS systems/hardware and the central server. This gateway translates and standardizes communications from multiple protocols into a unified format, enabling system versatility while shielding the core architecture from protocol complexity. The gateway acts as a protocol adapter that mediates between heterogeneous components and the centralized management system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture is segmented into distinct functional layers: hardware components, gateway devices for protocol translation, regional servers for local processing, and a central cloud server for overarching management. This segmentation isolates complexity to specific segments (gateways handle protocol diversity) while maintaining simplicity in other segments (central server handles standardized data), resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of POS systems and hardware components operate on different protocols, then system versatility is improved, but ease of operation and maintenance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device serves as an operational intermediary that abstracts protocol complexity from end-users and system administrators. Users interact with a unified interface while the gateway handles protocol-specific translations in the background, maintaining versatility without compromising ease of operation. The gateway mediates between diverse hardware protocols and the standardized user-facing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the central server monitors performance and configuration across all POS systems, automatically adjusting settings and providing diagnostic information. This feedback loop simplifies management by enabling remote monitoring and automated optimization, reducing the operational burden despite system versatility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of POS systems and hardware components operate on different protocols, then system versatility is improved, but ease of repair and updates deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device acts as an update intermediary, receiving standardized update packages from the central server and translating them into protocol-specific configurations for different hardware components. This enables centralized update management while accommodating protocol diversity, maintaining versatility without compromising ease of repair and updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The update mechanism is segmented into centralized update management at the server level and localized application at the gateway/hardware level. This segmentation allows updates to be deployed centrally while adapting to specific protocol requirements locally, enabling easier maintenance despite system versatility. Fault isolation is also improved through segmentation, facilitating easier repair.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to establish retail point-of-sale (POS) hardware management systems, comprising: an intermediary system control circuit configured to execute computer program modules comprising: a hardware management module configured to operate as an intermediary module between multiple different sets of client POS systems, a plurality of different sets of hardware systems, and a plurality of shared resource applications. The hardware management module comprises a plurality of hardware manager sub-modules each corresponding to one of the sets of hardware systems. Each of the hardware manager sub-modules is configured to output communications and receive communications, for a corresponding one set of hardware systems of different sets of hardware systems, in accordance with a single predefined hardware communications protocol, of a set of predefined hardware communications protocols, corresponding to the set of hardware systems regardless of a type of hardware system or manufacturer.