Supervisor Program for Self-Service Terminal Fault Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-service terminal applications often have a single software suite that lacks 'best-in-class' implementation for each function, leading to inefficient fault and status information management, where all information is transmitted to a single communication facility, which can delay necessary actions.
Innovation Solution
A supervisor program that communicates directly with the terminal application suite to collect and transmit specific information to external service providers, allowing for immediate attention to issues and enabling separate 'best-in-class' utilities for each service provider, using internal and external interfaces like XFS and SNMP agents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single monolithic software suite is used to integrate all ATM functions, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but productivity and reliability deteriorate due to lack of best-in-class implementation for each function
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic software suite into separate functional modules (supervisor program, utility programs, communication facilities) that can be independently developed, optimized, and replaced. Each module handles specific functions such as fault detection, status monitoring, or communication with service providers, allowing best-in-class implementation for each function while maintaining overall system integration.
2Device complexity
If all status and fault information is transmitted to a single communication facility, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of time increases due to delayed necessary actions
Solution Approach 1:
The communication facility is segmented into multiple dedicated communication channels, each connecting to specific service providers (e.g., one channel for fault reporting to technical support, another for status information to operational teams). This segmentation allows parallel processing of different types of information, reducing the time required for necessary actions while maintaining manageable system complexity through structured communication architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components (supervisor program and utility programs) that act as mediators between the ATM system and external service providers. These intermediaries selectively transmit specific status and fault information to appropriate communication facilities, enabling efficient information routing and reducing delays compared to a single centralized communication approach.
3Device complexity
If a single communication facility handles all service provider communications, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates as it cannot provide dedicated channels for different service providers
Solution Approach 1:
The supervisor program and utility programs serve as universal interfaces that can communicate with multiple different service providers through standardized protocols (such as SNMP). This multi-functional approach allows a single supervisor architecture to adapt to various service provider requirements while maintaining relatively simple device complexity through standardized communication mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A supervisor program (130) for monitoring a self-service terminal (10) executing a terminal application suite (70,80) is described herein. The supervisor program (130) comprises: an internal interface (132) for communicating with the terminal application suite (70,80) to collect supervisor information and at least one supervisor utility (150). Each supervisor utility (150) is configured to collate specific information and each utility (150) has an external interface (154) for directly communicating the collated information to a service provider (114,116,118) external to the terminal (10). This enables the external service provider (114,116,118) to determine if the terminal (10) requires attention. A method of supervising a self-service terminal is also described.