TW202609650A - Point-of-sale device with integration of payments and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A point-of-sale device with integration of payments and a method are provided. Main circuit units of the point-of-sale device include a payment processing unit, a communication unit connected with a checkout platform, and a control interface connected with a goods-or-service vending device. In the method for integrating payment functions, after triggering a function for outputting goods or activating service in the vending device, the point-of-sale device is activated for displaying one or more options of payments and generating a payment code according to a payment option selected by a user for performing a payment procedure. After a user device reads the payment code, a request for payment is generated for the point-of-sale device to request a checkout platform to perform checkout. After that, according to a checkout result, the goods-or-service vending device can be controlled to output goods or activate service.

Description

Point-of-sale devices and methods integrating payment functions

This invention relates to a payment device installed at a point of sale, and more particularly to a point of sale device and method that can integrate payment functions with a device for selling goods and services.

With the emergence of various new digital payment tools and the development of internet technology, consumers can use digital payment tools to quickly and conveniently pay for goods or services in various occasions. Common occasions for using digital payments include stores, stalls, and e-commerce platforms that support various digital payment tools.

However, for traditional devices that sell goods and services, which are usually unmanned, such as vending machines, and various self-service options like motels, there is no effective and convenient way to provide digital payment functionality.

In order to enable various sales outlets that provide goods or services to also provide consumers with digital payment functions, the disclosure proposes a point-of-sale device that integrates payment functions. By connecting the point-of-sale device to the device that sells goods or services, consumers can obtain goods or services by digital payment.

According to the implementation example, the main circuit units of the point-of-sale device integrating payment functions include a payment and control processing unit, a communication unit for connecting to the checkout platform, and a control interface for connecting to the control circuit of the goods or services sales device.

In the method for implementing integrated payment functionality on a point-of-sale (POS) device, after activating the payment function, one or more payment method options are displayed on the device's display unit. The user selects one of these payment methods, and a payment code is generated based on the selected method. In the subsequent payment process, the user device reads the payment code, the POS device receives a payment request from the user device, and requests the checkout platform to execute the checkout process based on the payment request.

Subsequently, in a follow-up solution, after checkout is completed, when the point-of-sale device receives the checkout signal from the checkout platform, it can control the product or service sales device to output the product or start the service based on the checkout result.

Furthermore, upon triggering the function of the goods or services sales device to output goods or start services, the goods or services sales device generates a payment signal and then outputs the payment signal to the point of sale device to initiate the payment process.

Furthermore, when a product or service sales device is triggered, the point of sale device can obtain product or service information from the product or service sales device to include the product or service price.

Furthermore, the payment code generated by the point-of-sale device is a graphic code that is encoded and displayed on the display unit of the point-of-sale device, or it is encoded as a wireless sensing signal emitted by the antenna of the point-of-sale device.

Furthermore, the user device can read the payment code using the selected payment method to generate a payment request that includes the payment amount, payment item, and identification information of the goods or services being sold.

Furthermore, when the product or service sales device outputs goods or activates a service, it can notify the point-of-sale device, which will then generate a receipt and provide the user device with the receipt.

To further understand the features and technical content of this invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of this invention. However, the drawings provided are for reference and illustration only and are not intended to limit this invention.

The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of this invention. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of this invention from the content disclosed in this specification. This invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of this invention. In addition, the accompanying drawings of this invention are only simple illustrative drawings and are not depictions based on actual dimensions, as stated in advance. The following embodiments will further explain the relevant technical content of this invention in detail, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this invention.

It should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used in this document to describe various components or signals, these components or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are primarily used to distinguish one component from another, or one signal from another. Furthermore, the term "or" used in this document should, as appropriate, include any combination of one or more of the related listed items.

The disclosure proposes a point-of-sale device and method that integrates payment functions, enabling a goods or services sales device connected to the point-of-sale device to provide digital payment services to consumers, allowing consumers to conveniently and quickly complete transactions to obtain goods or services.

For a related example, please refer to Figure 1, which shows a schematic diagram of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment function installed on a vending machine.

The goods or services vending device is, for example, the vending machine 10 shown in the figure. The vending machine 10 sells a variety of goods, and consumers can use the traditional payment tool 102 therein to pay for the price of the selected goods, such as inserting change or paying with a specific stored-value card. However, for vending machines 10 that lack digital payment methods, the point of sale device 100 disclosed in the disclosure can be installed, so that consumers can use various payment tools in a handheld device to make payments.

For example, the point-of-sale device 100 shown in the figure can be an external device with communication and computing capabilities, which can connect to an external checkout platform, also disclosed in the disclosure, via mobile communication networks (such as WiFi™, 4G and 5G); on the other hand, it is connected to the control circuit in the vending machine 10. The connection method can be a physical wire or electrical contact, or a wireless connection under a specific communication protocol. It can trigger the conveyor mechanism in the vending machine 10 to output goods based on the signal from the checkout platform confirming the completion of payment and checkout.

For a related architecture example, please refer to Figure 2, which shows a schematic diagram of the system architecture implementation of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment function.

The diagram shows the main circuit units in the vending machine 10, including a control circuit 201 that controls the operation of the vending machine 10, a database 207 that records information such as the products sold, prices and inventory of the vending machine 10, a product output unit 203 that is controlled by the control circuit 201 to output products, and a payment unit 205 that performs traditional payment.

The payment unit 205 of the vending machine 10 allows users to obtain the goods stored therein, such as drinks, food and toys, using traditional payment methods. The payment unit 205 has built-in payment methods for the vending machine 10, such as providing coins, banknotes and traditional NFC (Near Field Communication) carriers (such as stored-value cards) for payment.

In one scenario example, control circuit 201 retrieves the remaining available items, quantities, and prices of goods from database 207 and displays them to the user using lights or a display. After the user selects an item, control circuit 201 confirms the user's traditional payment through payment unit 205, which controls the operation of product output unit 203. For example, it uses a mechanism to control the movement of goods on the shelf to the exit, allowing the user to take the goods.

However, traditional vending machines 10 do not offer diverse payment methods, especially digital payment methods that users can use mobile devices to make payments. Therefore, this disclosure proposes a point-of-sale device 100 that integrates payment functionality. The point-of-sale device 100 is electrically connected to the control circuit 201 of the vending machine 10 via wires, electrical contacts, or wireless communication. The software running on the point-of-sale device 100 can obtain the goods and prices sold by the vending machine 10 from the control circuit 201, including the remaining items available for sale, their quantities, and prices. This allows the point-of-sale device 100 to display the relevant information on a screen for the user to choose from. The point-of-sale device 100 can connect to the checkout platform 200 via mobile communication network or wireless LAN through network 20. The checkout platform 200 provides services for connecting to multiple payment systems to execute payments, such as payment system 1 211, payment system 2 212 and payment system 3 213, etc., in response to various payment methods.

Point-of-sale device 100 provides one or more payment methods, especially digital payment methods, including digital payment technologies that can complete payments by transmitting payment codes via graphic codes (such as one-dimensional barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes) or wireless sensing methods (such as NFC). After a user selects the product to purchase, in addition to traditional payment methods, they can also choose one of the digital payment methods through the point-of-sale device 100. After the user's device reads the payment code generated by the point-of-sale device 100, a payment process is executed. Correspondingly, the point-of-sale device 100 will transmit the payment request generated by the user's device to the checkout platform 200 via the network 20. The checkout platform 200 connects to the corresponding payment system (e.g., payment system one 211, payment system two 212, or payment system three 213) according to the payment method selected by the user and executes the authorization.

The corresponding payment system confirms the payment authorization based on the information transmitted by the checkout platform 200, and the checkout platform 200 completes the checkout. The checkout result is then sent back to the point-of-sale device 100. Furthermore, according to another embodiment, when the point-of-sale device 100 receives the checkout completion message, it can generate a control signal to drive the control circuit 201 to control the product output unit 203 to output the product via a connection with the vending machine 10.

Figure 3 shows another implementation example of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment functionality.

This example shows an entrance/exit, illustrated as door 30, with a lock 303. Application scenarios include hotels where no one greets guests but access requires payment and authorization, specific venue entrances/exits, or switches (such as vault locks). Current technology requires users to complete payment first, after which the service provider provides a key, access card, or unlocking code to allow entry through door 30. This example shows door 30 equipped with a point-of-sale device 301 integrating payment functionality, as disclosed in the disclosure. In one embodiment, the point-of-sale device 301 can be electrically connected to the relevant control and switching circuitry that controls the opening and closing of door 30.

According to the embodiment, after operating the point-of-sale device 301 to determine the payment method and confirm the cost of the service, the user can use the user device 305 to read the payment code displayed or generated by the point-of-sale device 301 to execute the payment procedure. Furthermore, after the payment is completed, the point-of-sale device 301 can also drive the control circuit of the door lock 303 in the door 30 to open the door lock 303.

The corresponding system can be seen in the schematic diagram of the system architecture implementation example of the point-of-sale device with integrated payment function shown in Figure 4.

The diagram shows that the main circuit inside the door 30 includes a control circuit 401 and a switch 403. The proposed point-of-sale device 301 can be electrically connected to the control circuit 401 and connected to the checkout platform 200 via the network 20. The checkout platform 200 connects to the corresponding payment system according to the provided payment method, such as payment system one 211, payment system two 212, and payment system three 213.

As shown in Figure 2, the connected goods or services sales device obtains a service through an entrance/exit, such as door 30. When the user selects one of the payment methods, the point-of-sale device 301 initiates the corresponding payment process. After the user operates the device to obtain a payment code and generate a payment request, the point-of-sale device 301 transmits the payment request to the checkout platform 200. After authorization by the corresponding payment system, the checkout is completed, that is, the point-of-sale device 301 completes the checkout process.

According to one embodiment, the point of sale device 301 can also generate a control signal based on the checkout result to control the switch 403 to open the door 30 via the control circuit 401 in the door 30.

Figure 5 further shows a flowchart of an implementation example of the method for integrating payment functions, and please also refer to Figure 8 for a schematic diagram of the functional components of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment functions.

One implementation of the point-of-sale device 80 shown in Figure 8 can be a mobile communication device (such as a mobile phone or tablet computer) with an application (APP) installed to realize the functions of payment, checkout, and controlling the product or service sales device to output products or start services. According to the functions running in the point-of-sale device 80, the processor executes the application that can display product or service options and perform the payment process. The processor works with the application to implement the payment processing unit 801 shown in the figure, as well as the communication unit 803, control interface 805, and display unit 807 electrically connected to the payment processing unit 801. The sales point device 80 is a vending machine (Fig. 1, vending machine 10) that sells goods as described in the above embodiments or a door that provides services (Fig. 3, door 30).

According to an embodiment, the point-of-sale device 80 shown in FIG8 performs the integrated payment function shown in FIG5 through the payment processing unit 801. The point-of-sale device 80 is connected to the checkout platform 800 via the communication unit 803 and electrically connected to the control circuit 811 in the goods or services sales device 81 via the control interface 805. The control circuit 811 is electrically connected to the operation unit 813 in the goods or services sales device 81. The operation unit 813 can generally refer to the relevant hardware and software that can output goods or start services.

In the process shown in Figure 5, initially, the user's operation triggers the function of the product or service vending device 81 to output a certain product or start a specific service, such as selecting a product from the vending machine or deciding to start a service. At this time, a payment signal is generated to ask the user to select a payment method, and the product or service vending device 81 outputs a payment signal to the point of sale device 80 to start the payment function (step S501).

According to the embodiment, the payment processing unit 801 of the point of sale device 80 performs a method for integrating payment functions, including obtaining product information from the product or service sales device 81 after activating the payment function of the point of sale device 80, generating a product list (step S503), and displaying the product price in the display unit 807 according to the product or service selected by the user (step S505).

Furthermore, the display unit 807 of the point-of-sale device 80 also displays one or more payment method options (step S507), allowing the user to select one of the payment methods. The point-of-sale device 80 will generate a corresponding payment code based on the payment method selected by the user (step S509). The point-of-sale device 80 will execute the corresponding payment process based on the payment code (step S513) and can open a payment interface, which will display a one-dimensional or two-dimensional payment barcode (such as a QR code) or emit wireless sensing information (such as an NFC signal) (step S511).

For example, depending on the payment method selected by the user, the payment code generated by the point of sale device 80 may be an encoded graphic code displayed on the screen (display unit 807) of the point of sale device 80; or, the payment code may be a wireless sensing signal transmitted by the antenna of the point of sale device, encoded as such.

Thus, in the payment process, the user device reads the payment code and generates a payment request. The payment request may include the payment amount, payment item, and identification information of the goods or services sales device 81. This identification information allows the checkout platform 800 and the payment system to identify the source and complete the authorization. Afterwards, the point-of-sale device 80 provides the payment request to the checkout platform 800 to request the execution of the checkout process based on the payment request. Upon receiving the payment request, the checkout platform 800 can request payment authorization from the corresponding payment system based on the information contained therein. After authorization is completed, the checkout process is initiated on the checkout platform 800.

After checkout is completed, the point of sale device 80 receives the checkout signal from the checkout platform 800 via the communication unit 803 (step S515), and can further generate a control signal based on this (step S517), which is transmitted to the control circuit 811 of the goods or services sales device 81 through the control interface 805. Finally, the control circuit 811 controls the goods or services sales device 81 to output goods or start services (step S519).

Finally, according to the embodiment, after the goods or services sales device 81 outputs goods or starts the service, it can notify the point of sale device 80 so that the point of sale device 80 can generate a receipt based on information such as the items, amount, and consumption time of this transaction. For example, a QR code or NFC sensing serial number can be generated and displayed on the display unit 807 of the point of sale device 80, so that the user device can obtain the receipt by reading or scanning the code (step S521).

Next, an implementation example of the overall integration of payment and control functions can be found in Figure 6, which shows the system operation implementation flowchart of a point-of-sale device using integrated payment functions. This example shows that the process runs between the goods or services sales device 61, the point-of-sale device 63, the checkout platform 65, and the payment system 67.

Initially, the user can operate the point-of-sale device 63 to connect to and activate the product or service sales device 61 (step S601). The point-of-sale device 63 can obtain information about the products or services from the product or service sales device 61, including items and prices (step S603). At this time, the user can operate the point-of-sale device 63 to select the products or services to be purchased (step S605) and transmit the relevant information (such as product items, amount and product or service sales device 61 identification data) to the checkout platform 65 (step S607). Next, after the checkout platform 65 processes the received data (step S609), the payment process is initiated (step S611). At this time, the point-of-sale device 63 is triggered by a signal to start the payment interface, which will provide options for payment tools. The user operates the point-of-sale device 63 to select one of the payment tools (step S613). At this time, according to the process shown in Figure 5, a corresponding payment code can be generated. After the user operates the user device to read or scan the code, a payment request is formed and sent to the checkout platform 65 (step S615).

The processing procedure within the checkout platform 65 will send a payment request to the corresponding payment system 67 based on the information recorded in the payment request, such as the product items and payment amount, for authorization via the request (step S617). After processing by the payment system 67, the source of payment and the user's identity will be confirmed (step S619), and authorization information will be sent to the checkout platform 65 (step S621). The checkout will be completed through the checkout platform 65, and the payment success message will be sent back to the point-of-sale device 63 (step S623), thus completing the function of the point-of-sale device 63. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the point-of-sale device 63 can generate a control signal (step S625) to control the product or service sales device 61 to output products or start services (step S627).

Figure 7 then shows an example of a method flow diagram for using integrated payment functions between the goods or services sales device 71, the point of sale device 73, the checkout platform 75, and the payment system 77.

This example shows that the user operates the goods or services sales device 71 (step S701), for example, selecting the goods or services to purchase, confirming the price, generating a payment request, and transmitting it to the point of sale device 73 (step S703). The point of sale device 73 then transmits the received goods and amount to the checkout platform 75 (step S705). The checkout platform 75 processes the payment preparation based on the received data (step S707), that is, initiates the payment process (step S709), including triggering the point of sale device 73 to display payment tool options to the user. After the user selects one of the payment tools (step S711), a payment request is generated and transmitted to the checkout platform 75 (step S713).

In the checkout platform 75, a payment request is obtained, and the corresponding payment system 77 is connected according to the payment method recorded therein, that is, a payment authorization request is requested from the payment system 77 (step S715). It should be noted that the authorization request can still be generated by the user's device after confirming the payment tool, and then sent to the corresponding payment system 77 (step S717).

After the authorization request is processed by the payment system 77 (step S719), an authorization result is generated and transmitted back to the checkout platform 75 (step S721). Then, the checkout platform 75 sends a payment success message to the point of sale device 73 (step S723).

In subsequent processes, the point-of-sale device 73 may also generate control signals (step S725) to control the operation of the goods or services sales device 71, including outputting the goods obtained through payment or activating the corresponding service (step S727).

In summary, the point-of-sale device with integrated payment function described in the above embodiments is a communication and processing device that can be combined with a goods or services sales device to provide one or more additional payment options for goods or services sales devices that do not provide digital payment tools, allowing many consumers who do not carry cash or traditional payment tools to obtain goods or services by digital payment.

The above-disclosed content is merely a preferred feasible embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the contents of the present invention's description and drawings are included within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

10: Vending Machine 100: Point-of-Sale Device 102: Traditional Payment Tool 201: Control Circuit 203: Product Output Unit 205: Payment Unit 207: Database 20: Network 200: Checkout Platform 211: Payment System 1 212: Payment System 2 213: Payment System 3 30: Door 301: Point-of-Sale Device 303: Door Lock 305: User Device 401: Control Circuit 403: Switch 61: Goods or Services Sales Device 63: Point-of-Sale Device 65: Checkout Platform 67: Payment System 71: Goods or Services Sales Device 73: Point-of-Sale Device 75: Checkout Platform 77: Payment System 80: Point-of-Sale Device 801: Payment Processing Unit 803: Communication Unit 805: Control Interface 807: Display Unit 800: Checkout Platform 81: Goods or Services Sales Device 811: Control Circuit 813: Operation Unit Steps S501～S521: Point-of-Sale Device Operation Flow Steps S601～S627: Point-of-Sale Device Operation Flow Steps S701～S727: Point-of-Sale Device Operation Flow

Figure 1 shows an example schematic diagram of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment functionality installed in a vending machine;

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system architecture implementation example of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment function;

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an implementation example of a point-of-sale device integrating payment functionality;

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of another system architecture implementation example under the operation of a point-of-sale device with integrated payment function;

Figure 5 shows a flowchart of an implementation example of the method for integrating payment functions;

Figure 6 shows one of the system operation implementation examples of a point-of-sale device using integrated payment functionality;

Figure 7 shows the second flowchart of a system operation implementation example of a point-of-sale device using integrated payment functionality; and

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example of the functional components of a point-of-sale device that integrates payment functionality.

80: Point-of-Sale Devices

801: Payment Processing Unit

803: Communication Unit

805: Control Interface

807: Display Unit

800: Checkout Platform

81: Goods or services sales devices

811: Control Circuit

813: Operation Unit

Claims (10)

A point-of-sale (POS) device integrating payment functionality includes: a payment processing unit; a communication unit electrically connected to the payment processing unit for connecting to a checkout platform; a control interface electrically connected to the payment processing unit for connecting to a control circuit of a goods or services sales device; a method for performing the integrated payment function through the payment processing unit includes: after activating the payment function of the POS device, displaying one or more payment method options on a display unit of the POS device; generating a payment code based on the selection of one of the payment methods; performing a payment process based on the payment code, wherein in the payment process, a user device reads the payment code and generates a payment request, and the POS device connects to the checkout platform and requests to perform a checkout process based on the payment request. The point-of-sale device with integrated payment function as described in claim 1, wherein a payment signal is generated by triggering the function of the product or service sales device to output the product or activate the service, and the payment signal is output to the point-of-sale device to activate the payment function. As described in claim 2, in a point-of-sale device with integrated payment function, when the product or service sales device is triggered, the point-of-sale device obtains product or service information from the product or service sales device to import the product or service price. The point-of-sale device with integrated payment function as described in claim 1, wherein the payment code generated by the point-of-sale device is an encoded graphic code displayed on the display unit of the point-of-sale device, or encoded as a wireless sensing signal emitted by an antenna of the point-of-sale device. As described in claim 4, the point-of-sale device with integrated payment functionality, wherein the user device reads the payment code using the selected payment method to generate a payment request comprising a payment amount, a payment item, and identification information of the goods or services sales device. As described in claim 5, in a point-of-sale device with integrated payment functionality, when the product or service is sold or the service is activated, the point-of-sale device is notified, and a receipt is generated by the point-of-sale device, which is then provided to the user device to obtain the receipt. A method for integrating payment functionality, executed by a processor of a point-of-sale device, includes: After activating the payment function of the point-of-sale device, displaying one or more payment method options on a display unit of the point-of-sale device; Generating a payment code based on the selection of one of the payment methods; A payment process is executed based on the payment code. In this process, a user device reads the payment code and generates a payment request. The point-of-sale device connects to a checkout platform and requests to execute a checkout process based on the payment request. As described in claim 7, the method for integrating payment functions includes generating a payment signal and outputting the payment function to the point-of-sale device by triggering the function of the product or service sales device to output the product or activate the service. The method for integrating payment functions as described in claim 7, wherein the payment code generated by the point-of-sale device is an encoded graphic code displayed on the display unit of the point-of-sale device, or encoded as a wireless sensing signal emitted by an antenna of the point-of-sale device. The method for integrating payment functions as described in claim 9, wherein the user device reads the payment code using a selected payment method to form a payment request comprising a payment amount, a payment item, and identification information of the goods or services vending device.