WO2004034344A1

WO2004034344A1 - Transaction systems

Info

Publication number: WO2004034344A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/004357
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthew Lawman
Original assignee: Matthew Lawman
Priority date: 2002-10-08
Filing date: 2003-10-08
Publication date: 2004-04-22
Also published as: GB2409562A; AU2003271916A1; GB2409562B; GB0507121D0

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide an electronic POS (EPOS) system, comprising an EPOS terminal (100), with the addition of a remote display device (105) that is adapted to be carried, worn, for example on a T-shirt (115), or which adorns a user of the (EPOS) system. The system is arranged so that information associated with a customer order or sale is communicated to and displayed by the remote display device (105), in a manner by which a customer is able to view on the remote display device (105) details of the transaction they are participating in, during their interactions with the user of the (EPOS) system, even when they are unable to see information displayed by the (EPOS) terminal (100). Embodiments of the invention find application in addressing the fraud of under-ringing, whereby an unscrupulous member of sales staff steals money from his or her employer by receiving a customer order, registering (or 'ringing') a cheaper order into the (EPOS) terminal, charging the customer the full amount of money for the order and supplying the correct order to the customer (so that the customer is unaware of any wrong-doing), placing into a cash drawer of the (EPOS) system only the sum of money that was previously registered and stealing the difference in cash between the lower amount that was registered and the full amount that was paid by the customer.

Description

Transaction Systems

Technical Field

The present invention is in the field of sales and relates in particular, but not exclusively, to POS (POS) systems and the like.

Background Art

POS systems are commonplace particularly in retail sales environments and basically provide a transaction point and terminal at which a customer may buy or order a product or products. The act of buying or ordering a product will hereafter simply be referred to a transaction. A simple POS system, such as a stand-alone electronic cash register (ECR), may comprise nothing more complex than a cash drawer coupled to an electronic calculator, arranged to add together the prices of items to be sold to a customer. On the other hand, a more sophisticated system may comprise a large number of ECR connected via a network to central accounting, inventory and order processing systems. The network may be a local area network restricted to the confines of a single store or may be a wide area network, for example as used for flight bookings, which may extend between many countries across the world.

Recently, hand-held POS terminals are becoming more wide-spread in certain retail sectors, for example in restaurants. Hand-held POS terminals typically provide the same basic data input and output functionality as the more usual fixed POS systems, apart from not having a cash drawer, which, clearly, would be unwieldy. Cash taken from a customer would typically be 'rung' into an ECR having a cash drawer located centrally in the sales environment. Hand-held POS terminals may be connected to the centrally-located ECR, or to some other central point, via a wireless interface, for example based on RF signalling. Then, customer order information may be communicated directly from the hand-held POS terminal to the person who is preparing orders.

"Under-ringing" is an old and ever increasing fraud whereby an unscrupulous member of sales staff steals money from his or her employer by receiving a customer order, registering (or 'ringing') a cheaper order into a POS system, charging the customer the full amount of money for the order and supplying the correct order to the customer (so that the customer is unaware of any wrong-doing), placing into the cash drawer only the sum of money that was previously registered and stealing the difference in cash between the lower amount that was registered and the full amount that was paid by the customer.

Unfortunately, this kind of employee fraud is extremely difficult to detect at the time of the theft, unless the employee is observed 'pocketing' the money. Indeed, the fraud may go un-noticed for days, weeks or even months, since the registered customer sales will invariably match the amount of money in the cash drawer at any instant. The fraud typically only^' becomes apparent when a stock audit is undertaken and the amount of stock is less than would be expected by considering the POS sales data alone.

Under-ringing is a particular problem in the hospitality and retail sectors in which transactions are typically paid for in relatively small cash amounts and customers are generally uninterested in obtaining a receipt. For example, public bars and night-clubs, in which a significant amount of cash revenue is made on drinks, suffer from significant under-ringing fraud. It is not uncommon for such establishments to admit that 2-3% of revenue is lost, potentially due to suspected under-ringing. However, under-ringing has been a recognised problem in many other retail sectors, such as petrol filling stations, supermarkets, newsagents and the like where cash transactions are the norm. One simple way of limiting opportunity for under-ringing is by supplying a customer with a till receipt for their transaction. The customer would always expect the total price on the receipt to match the price they paid. In certain sales sectors, for example in petrol filling stations or supermarkets, the practice of supplying a till receipt is commonplace and, no doubt, does limit the opportunity for under-ringing. However, in many public bars and night clubs, supplying till receipts is not a standard practice, unless specifically requested.

Another way of limiting opportunity for under-ringing is by attaching a pole display to an ECR. As the name suggests, a pole display typically comprises a display that is elevated above the ECR by being mounted on a pole. The display would typically be oriented to face the direction of a customer so that the customer could see the total price that had been rung-in to the ECR. In crowded public bars and night clubs, however, it is not uncommon for sales staff to serve a customer who is not near the ECR and who would be unable to see the output of a pole display, even where one is provided.

Another kind of display that is used in some public bars is mounted above the bar so that it can be seen by a customer from further away than a pole display. In other respects, such displays are similar in form and operation to pole displays. However, especially in crowded bars, where multiple sales staff are interacting with multiple terminals at any particular time, the relatively greater distances between an elevated display, the terminal and the respective member of sales staff makes it difficult for a customer to associate information displayed by the elevated display with their transaction. Further, if a terminal permits staff to input transaction data in a piece-wise manner, with multiple staff, in effect, interleaving the input of multiple transactions into the same terminal in any one short period of time, it would be difficult for a customer to distinguish their displayed transaction information from someone else's transaction information. Further, the information relating to a customer's transaction would, in this scenario, only be displayed while the person serving them was actually interacting with the terminal. In other words, the information relating to the customer's transaction would likely not be displayed while the customer is interacting with the member of sales staff. The introduction of sophisticated POS systems has permitted some sales sectors to address under-ringing. For example, one way of combating such fraud is by automating the sales input operation by using bar code labels on all products and scanning product details into the POS system using a bar code scanner. For example, in supermarkets, or stores generally, where products can be 'bar-coded', this method can be effective in reducing under-ringing. However, in hospitality and retail, for example, it remains impractical to attach bar code labels to products such as wine or draft beer by the glass and spirits by the measure. hx-some establishments, beer on.tap, which is typically drawn under pressure from kegs in a cellar below a service area, is measured, by a system that is coupled to a POS system, as it is drawn. In this manner, the POS system is able to monitor beer as it is drawn and equate this to orders that are being rung into one or more ECR over any particular period of time. Although this system does not match the identity of any particular sales person with beer being drawn, the system can raise an alarm if, in any particular period, more beer has been drawn than has been rung into the ECR. This kind of system can be effective when sales comprise a significant amount of beer on tap. However, clearly, the system does not work for draft beer (i.e. beer that is hand-pumped), measures of spirits, glasses of wine and, increasingly nowadays, bottled alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Various companies provide complex security systems intended to reduce under-ringing fraud in, for example, public bars and night clubs. Known security systems typically involve covert closed circuit television, or CCTV, to view and record images of staff as they go about their sales activities. CCTV-based systems can be designed to cover a myriad of environments in retail situations. One known system employs a CCTV arrangement that is positioned to view staff activity behind a bar and, in addition, is connected to a respective POS system. The CCTV system super-imposes the POS system's sales data onto the CCTV footage, thereby allowing concurrent monitoring of the flow of stock over the bar and the POS cash entries. The intention is that a trained observer would be able to detect discrepancies between products moving across the bar and the respective POS entries.

Unsurprisingly, known CCTN systems typically require significant outlay on surveillance kit and require trained and responsible personnel, typically management, to spend time watching staff in real time or on recorded CCTV footage.

A further, known fraudulent practice in bars is "no-ringing". This practice occurs when a member of sales staff delivers drinks to a customer without charging them any money. Typically, this practice occurs when the member of sales staff knows the customer and simply wishes to supply them with a free drink or drinks. This practice is, potentially, easier to spot than under-ringing, since there is no apparent interaction between the member of sales staff and a sales terminal. However, like under-ringing, if not spotted at the time of the fraudulent act, it is unlikely that any shortfall in revenue due to no-ringing will be appreciated until an audit is undertaken. Disclosure of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect, the present invention provides a transaction system comprising: an input device for inputting data relating to a customer transaction; a processor arranged to generate display data containing information relating to the transaction; a remote display device having a remote communications arrangement for receiving the display data, memory means for storing the display data, a display element for displaying at least some of the transaction information and a controller for controlling the operation of the remote display device; and a local communications arrangement for receiving the display data from the processor and communicating the display data to the remote display device, wherein, the remote display device is removably mountable on a human operator of the system in order that displayed information data can be visually communicated to the customer when the operator interacts with the customer to execute the transaction.

As used herein, the term "data" is generally intended to imply machine readability whereas the term "information" is generally intended to imply human readability. However, each term may take on the other meaning if the context so requires. For example, in general, data is stored and communicated, for example using binary coding and appropriate protocols, and can embody information, whereas information is displayed to a customer or user in natural language, typically including words and numbers.

As used herein, the term "mountable on" refers to a remote display device that can be worn or which can adorn an operator or user of the system. More particularly, the remote display device may be specifically adapted to be mounted on the user. For example, the remote display device may worn by being attached to clothing, such as a T-shirt, apron, pull-over or baseball cap, using a safety pin attached to the device or a Velcro™ hook and loop fastener system or the like, or may adorn the user as a badge, broach or pendant around the neck.

The input device may, for example, comprise a keyboard, for operator data entry, or a bar code scanner. In some systems, the input device may comprise plural methods of data entry, for example a keyboard and a bar code scanner.

Embodiments of the system have perceived advantages in relation to minimising instances of under-ringing. For example, the remote display device may display cost information associated with a transaction and it is expected that a customer would raise a concern if they were asked to pay more than the displayed cost information. As such, the system may reduce operational overheads in a retail environment by being self-policing, to the extent that it relies on the human nature of a customer to expect displayed cost information to match the payment requested by the operator. In other words, if a customer is asked by the operator to pay more than the displayed cost, even if the requested payment is perceived by the customer to be correct, the customer would naturally tend to question why the discrepancy existed. Most likely, the customer would believe they were being over-charged and request an explanation. As such, an operator would, intrinsically, be less motivated to practice under- ringing, even in the absence of supervision or complex and expensive CCTV systems, due to an increased risk of detection by a customer.

An alternative or additional perceived advantage of embodiments of the invention is that the visual communicatLon. of transaction information by the remote display device is expected to augment the interaction between the operator and the customer. This might be true particularly in environments where it is sometimes difficult for a customer to hear price information relayed verbally by the operator to the customer, such as in a busy and loud nightclub, public bar or sporting venue. Similarly, when a customer is not fluent in the spoken language of the operator, or the operator is not fluent in the spoken language of the customer, the customer may not readily understand price information relayed verbally by the operator. However, according to embodiments of the present invention, the customer would typically understand a simple, displayed price, even in a foreign currency.

Accordingly, in some environments at least, embodiments of the invention are likely to improve operator efficiency in serving customers. Furthermore, customers will more likely trust that they are not being over-charged. It will be appreciated that the use of the remote display device as such would not inhibit the practice no-ringing, as distinguished from under-ringing. This is because the customer would typically be in-league with the member of sales staff and, as such, would not question an incorrect, or indeed the lack of, display of information by a remote display device. However, it is expected that the presence of the remote display device would make it easier for management, or other members of sales staff, to identify if any other member of sales staff is practicing no-ringing. This would be especially true, for example, in an environment having a policy of ringing drink items into a terminal before serving the drinks to a respective customer. In this situation, no member of sales staff would be expected to be serving drinks to a customer without having, for example, a total transaction price displayed by their remote display device. In other words, lack of an appropriate display of information on the remote display device would potentially indicate that no-ringing was being practiced. As such, an operator would, intrinsically, be less motivated to practice no-ringing, even in the absence of supervision or complex and expensive CCTV systems, due to an increased risk of detection by management or colleagues.

Preferably, the communications arrangements are adapted for wireless communications. According to preferred embodiments, the communications arrangements are arranged to communicate via optical or RF signals. For example, the system may employ infra-red signalling, using simple infrared diode transmitters and receivers. The infrared signalling may utilise the Infrared Data Association (IrDA™) standard, or a bespoke protocol. Alternatively, the system may employ RF signalling, for example utilising the BlueTooth™ standard, a wireless local area network (WLAN) or, again, a bespoke protocol. Alternatively, communications may be via a data lead that is connected between the terminal and the remote display device only while the user interacts with the terminal.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, whether the communications is via wireless or wired link, the remote display device may be arranged to display transaction information even_if-the„ ommunications arrangements_.are not in communication. For example, in the case the communications link uses IrDA, which is a line-of-sight protocol, the display of information persists even after the line of sight between the terminal and the remote display device is interrupted in order that the information can be viewed by a customer.

Advantageously, the remote display device may be without means for the operator to modify the display data, at least during the transaction, effectively rendering the device tamper-proof. As such, it is difficult for the operator to subvert the display of information in a way which could enable them, for example, to practice under-ringing by deleting a displayed price or altering the displayed price information.

The remote display device may be adapted for the operator to select for display different items of available transaction information. For example, both price information and a number of items ordered may be available for display and the operator may be able to cycle through display of the available information, for example in response to a respective customer request. Particularly where under-ringing is a significant risk, an ability to select different information for display in this manner should, however, be distinguished from an ability to alter the data.

The remote display device may be adapted to transmit a signal to indicate that it has successfully received the display data or, in addition or alternatively, that it has successfully displayed respective transaction information. It will be appreciated that known communications protocols may use a confirmation signal to confirm successful data transmission. However, embodiments of the system may further comprise a local display arranged to display transaction information to the operator only after the display data has been successfully received, or respective transaction information has been successfully displayed, by the remote display device. Thus, the operator only sees the information when it has already been successfully received or displayed by the remote display device. In addition, or alternatively, the system may be arranged to store a transaction only after the data has been successfully received or displayed. Hence, the operator would find it difficult to subvert the system by, for example, blocking reception by the remote display device of the display data.

The remote display device may be arranged to display a particular item, or items, of display information on the basis of one or more received display instructions. Alternatively, or additionally, the remote display device may be arranged to display certain information independently of any received instructions or operator control.

Transaction information may relate to at least one of: total price; sub-total price; a description of individual items in a transaction; price data relating to those individual items; the number of items in a transaction; change due to the customer; and/or transaction identification.

The remote display device may further comprise memory means for storing phrase data, comprising one or more sets of at least one word, and may be arranged to display a respective phrase

_ or phrases.. JEor_example,. a phrase may.beϋisplayed in response to a particular display instruction or automatically at a certain point in the transaction. A phrase may comprise words arranged in pre- defined relationship and may be combined with one or more additional items of received transaction information. For example, a generic phrase may be combined with price information particular to the present transaction to form a phrase specific to the transaction.

The remote display device may further comprise memory means for storing operator identity data. The remote display device may be arranged to display the identity of the operator, for example, at least when no other information is required to be displayed. For example, the identity information may be displayed at the beginning and/or at the end of a transaction. If the display element is sufficiently large, the user identity information may be displayed at the same time as other information. Display of user identity information alone may add security to any respective sales environment, with colleagues being able to identify that the remote display device corresponds to its operator.

The memory means of the remote display device may comprise ROM or, more conveniently if the data needs to be changed periodically, EEPROM or Flash memory. The memory means may instead comprise a combination of the aforementioned kinds of memory.

The system may further comprise means for recovering the operator identity data from the remote display device and only permitting the operator to interact with the system in the event the operator identity is recognised. This may add an additional element of security to the system by only permitting recognised users to interact with the system. As such, any problem that is found, for example, with the amount of money in the system, is most likely to be the fault of a registered user. In addition, each transaction could be stored on the system with an accompanying operator identity. While this is not essential, the present inventor believes that, apart from the added security, an association between an operator and his registered sales transactions may be useful, for example in monitoring performance of operators. The operator identity may be added to the system in an additional registration step, as will be described hereinafter. However, it will be appreciated that such a step would not be an essential process for all embodiments of the invention. The system of the kind described hereinbefore may comprise a POS terminal, for example, of the kind known in the prior art. Such a POS terminal may be adapted, for example by using modified control software and adding a remote communications capability, to operate in conjunction with a remote display device according to embodiments of the present invention. According to some embodiments, the POS terminal may be configured as a fixed terminal for use by an operator (or operators) at a fixed location in a sales environment. Alternatively, the POS terminal may be adapted for use as a portable system, for example a hand-held system.

In a sales environment, a transaction system may comprise plural, interconnected POS terminals, where the terminals may be fixed, portable, or a combination of both. Additionally, the system may _be .configured so .that .certain operators are.limited to being able to interact with only one or more specified terminals. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more operators may be able to interact with all terminals. In either event, typically, plural operators of the system would each have a remote display device mounted on them.

In some embodiments, the components of the transaction system (apart from the remote display device) may be co-located whereas, in other embodiments, at least some of the components of the transaction system, for example the local communications arrangement, may be physically separate from the other components. This latter case may arise when a single, local communications arrangement serves plural physically distinct transaction systems.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a remote display device for use in the aforementioned system(s).

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a POS terminal for use in the aforementioned system(s).

According to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method of executing a transaction using a transaction system of the aforementioned kind.

According to a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method of serving a customer, comprising an operator entering data relating a customer transaction into a POS terminal and the terminal causing display by a remote display device, which is mounted on the operator in such a way that a customer can see the display during an interaction with the operator, of information relating to the transaction.

According to a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a method of enacting a customer transaction, comprising inputting transaction data into transaction apparatus, which generates display data comprising transaction information and communicates the display data to a remote display device, which is removably mounted on an operator in a manner which enables the customer to see a display element of the display device during an interaction with the operator, and displaying at least some transaction information on the display element in order to communicate the information to the customer during the interaction. The aforementioned method may include the step of the transaction apparatus identifying the operator before permitting him to interact with the transaction apparatus. The aforementioned method may include the remote display device receiving from the transaction apparatus and displaying an advertisement. Such advertising could be varied from customer to customer depending upon the particular customer. For example, a customer who buys beer may be interested in a 'buy one, get one free' promotion advertisement, whereas a customer who buys wine may be interested in a 'bin end' advertising promotion, wherein the last few bottles of wine of a particular kind are offered for sale at a reduced price in order to sell them more quickly. Many other promotions or offers of this kind can be conceived of and may not necessarily relate to drinks or food. Indeed, information.other thamadvertising information.may be .displayed instead or as well. For example, sporting event results, the time or outside temperature, or even stock market prices may be displayed before, during, or after a transaction. The kind of information displayed may depend of the clientele who frequent the sales environment. The information may be manually entered into the system by an operator or may be available automatically, for example via an RF signal, which may be generated by the system or even by an external system.

According to a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a method of visually communicating information from a transaction system to a customer via an operator-mounted display device, a display element or display information of which is not changeable by the operator. For example, the method may include the steps of transmitting data from the transaction system to the user-mounted display device, displaying the information on the display element and the operator interacting with the customer so that the customer can see the displayed information. Further aspects of the invention include a remote display device arranged for operation according to the aforementioned methods; a POS terminal arranged for operation according to the aforementioned methods; POS program code means adapted to run a POS terminal according to the aforementioned methods; a POS system comprising a POS terminal and a remote display device, which is controllable by the terminal to display information relating to a customer order or sale and which is adapted to be mounted on an operator of the system.

Other aspects and embodiments will become apparent from the following description, claims and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a POS terminal and two alternative arrangements of remote display device;

Figure 2 is a functional diagram illustrating a preferred POS terminal; Figure 3 is a functional diagram illustrating a preferred remote display device; Figure 4 is a flow diagram which illustrates the steps involved in a process for registering an operator to use the POS terminal of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a flow diagram which illustrates the steps involved in a process whereby an operator serves a customer and, in doing so, the POS terminal of Figure 2 interacts with the remote display device of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating scenario in which a waiter takes a customer order at the customer's table using a hand-held POS terminal;

Figure. 7 is a functional. diagram_illustrating a. simple remote . display device, which is an alternative to the remote display device illustrated in Figure 3; and Figure 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a distributed POS terminal arrangement.

Best Mode For Carrying Out the Invention. & Industrial Applicability

An embodiment of a system according to the present invention is illustrated schematically in Figure 1. The system comprises a POS terminal 100 and a remote display device 105, which is attached to a T-shirt 115 by a Velcro™ fastener arrangement. Figure 1 in addition illustrates an alternative remote display device 105', which is attached to a baseball cap 110. The remote display devices 105, 105' may, for example, be attached by a Velcro™ hook and loop fastener system or the like.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the POS terminal 100 comprises the standard features of an operator display 120, a keyboard 125, a cash drawer 130 and a pole display 135. The operator display 120 is a liquid quartz digital (LCD) display and the pole display 135 is a light emitting diode (LED) display. Both displays tend to display the same basic transaction information, such as sub-total and total price. The operator display 120 will, however, tend to display additional detail of the transaction, for example the list of items in an order. For the sake of convenience hereafter, when the description refers to any kind of display by the POS terminal 100, no distinction is made between pole display 135 and operator display 120 and it is assumed that the information displayed is substantially the same on both. Some POS terminals nowadays obviate a separate keyboard by having a touch sensitive display. Other than that combination of two pieces of hardware into a single piece of hardware, such systems are likely to operate in accord with embodiments of the present invention as described herein. Additionally, according to this embodiment of the invention, the POS terminal 100 includes, integrated into the pole display body, a transceiver arrangement including a transmitter 140 and a receiver 145. The pole display 135 is thought to be a convenient location for the transceiver arrangement, since signalling could easily take place between either a T-shirt-mounted remote display device or a baseball cap-mounted remote display device. Other sites for the transceiver, on the POS terminal or away from the POS terminal, may be found more practical in some circumstances. As illustrated in Figure 1, the remote display device 105 comprises a display element 150, which may for example comprise a segmented, multi-digit LED display or an LED array, and a transceiver arrangement including a transmitter 155 and a receiver 160 to communicate with the transmitter 140 and receiver 145 of the POS terminal 100. The remote display device 105 is housed in a plastics housing which supports the display 150 and other components as will be discussed with reference to Figure 3.

The remote display 150 is large enough for a customer to be able to read information displayed .thereon relatively. easily.at.a-typicaLserving-distance-between-an-operator and customer in a respective environment and has a sufficient number of characters that at least simple information, such as price information, can be represented.

Nowadays, many POS terminals tend to be based on general purpose computer systems, for example a computer system based on an Intel™ Pentium™ microprocessor and running under the control of a Microsoft™ Windows™ operating system. The operation and functionality of a POS terminal is dictated by special POS terminal software. Various POS terminal software suites are available on the market today. The fact that a POS terminal is basically a general purpose computer running POS terminal software means that it is relatively simple to add functionality, by modifying the software code. Additionally, it is a relatively simple task to add hardware, for example, a cash drawer, a pole display or a transceiver according to the present embodiment, by simply plugging the hardware into available input/output, or I/O, ports. If more ports are required for additional hardware then, as with a general purpose computer, more ports can simply be added, for example by adding appropriate expansion cards.

With reference to the functional diagram in Figure 2, a POS terminal according to the present embodiment comprises a central processing unit 200, random access memory (RAM) 205, read only memory (ROM) 210, a hard disk drive 212 and an 170 subsystem 215. The CPU 200 communicates with the RAM 205, ROM 210 and I/O subsystem 215 via internal data and addressing buses 220. The I/O subsystem 215 comprises various hardware interfaces, ports and adaptors, for example serial, USB or parallel ports as the situation requires, for connecting the terminal to various peripheral hardware devices including the hard disk drive 212, the pole display 135, the keyboard 125, the cash drawer 130, the operator display 120, the transceiver 140, 145, a network 257 and, via the network, to a product database 260. The product database 260 contains data, for example, name and price data at least, relating to all items that may purchased by a customer. The POS terminal 100 may also be connected via the network 257 to various other systems, for example, accounting 265, inventory 270 and order processing systems 275, which are not concerned with the present embodiment of the invention and, as such, need not be discussed in detail herein. POS terminal software 280, which controls the operation of the terminal, resides in RAM 205.

The POS terminal software 280 is copied into RAM from an area 213 of the hard disk drive 212 when the POS terminal is switched on. Additionally, a copy of the product database 214 is stored on the hard disk 212 and is copied into an area 280 of RAM 205 when the POS terminal is switched on. The copy of the product database 214 that is stored on the hard disk is downloaded via the network from the product database 260 on a daily basis, so that it remains up to date. A bootstrap process 283, 5 which is stored in ROM 210, executes automatically when the POS terminal 100 is switched on and controls the downloading of the product database 282 via the network 257.

A preferred remote display device 105 is illustrated at a functional level in Figure 3. According to Figure 3, the remote_display.-device 105. comprises -four main, components, namely: a display 300, a display driver 305, a controller 310 and a transceiver 315.

10 The remote display device 105 communicates with the POS terminal 100 via the transmitter

155 and receiver 160 of the transceiver 315 using serial infrared signalling according to the IrDA protocol. In this preferred embodiment, the controller is a single-chip microcontroller running embedded program code 340.

The controller 310 comprises a central processor 320, an interface 325 to connect the

15 controller 310 to other parts of the remote display device 105, ROM 330 and RAM 335. In practice, the ROM 330 and RAM 335 may be internal or external to the controller 310, or a combination of both, depending on specific design and component selection. The ROM 330 comprises electronically erasable programmable read only memory (E²PROM) or Flash memory, in order to facilitate periodic updating of its contents. The contents of the ROM 330 comprise at least the program code instructions

20 340, which maybe loaded into the memory 330 during manufacture of the controller 310.

The components in the controller 310 communicate via an internal bus 345, which supports data and addressing signalling. Details relating to the interface 345, which, in reality, typically comprises various pin connections on the controller chip, possibly some additional logic, and links that support both data and control signalling, addressing, timing, interrupts and control logic - all

25 commonplace in most if not all microcontrollers - will not be provided herein for the sake of simplicity only. The controller 310 is connected to the transceiver 315 and the display driver 305 via the interface 325.

It should be noted that, according to this embodiment, the remote display device 105 does not include any means, for example control switches, reset buttons or the like, by which an operator can

30 change the display: the content of the display being controlled exclusively by the POS terminal 100. As such, the remote display device would be relatively difficult for an operator to subvert, at least as far as altering the display is concerned during a customer transaction.

The remote display device 105 in addition houses a portable power supply, for example a cell or battery, or even a solar cell, which is not shown for the sake of clarity only. The cell or battery may

35 be replaceable or rechargeable and provides power to all components in the display device 100. In the present embodiment, the power supply is a battery housed in the remote display device casing. However, the power supply could be separate from the display device 105, for example in a separate unit attached to the display device via appropriate wiring. Such a power supply could be supported on a belt or in a pocket of the operator, for example, and the wiring could run inside the operator's clothing to remain discrete. In operation according to the present embodiment, as will be described below, the remote display device can perform a number of basic functions, as follows:

1. JB e.ceiving_am inataction^omJheJ QS_terminaL10-Q. Ihe ransceiver 315.receives an infrared signal carrying instruction data from the POS terminal 100 and communicates the instruction data to the controller 310. The controller 310 interprets the data as an instruction and responds according to a pre-defined operation or operations.

2. Receiving an instruction and accompanying data from the POS terminal 100. The transceiver 315 receives an infrared signal carrying the data from the POS terminal 100 and communicates the data to the controller 310. The controller 310 interprets the data as an instruction with accompanying data and carries out the instruction, which, as will be described below, involves either displaying information embodied in the accompanying data or storing the accompanying data in a particular area of RAM 335. When required, information embodied in the accompanying data is displayed by the controller 310 communicating a copy of the data to the display driver 305 in order to cause the display 300 to display the respective information. 3. Sending a response to the POS terminal 100. The controller communicates response data to the transceiver 315 and the transceiver transmits the data in an infrared signal to the POS terminal 100.

4. Sending a response and accompanying data to the POS terminal 100. The controller reads accompanying data from a respective area of RAM 335, communicates response data and the accompanying data to the transceiver 315, and the transceiver 315 transmits the data in an infrared signal to the POS terminal 100.

Both the POS terminal 100 and the remote display device 105 support the IrDA protocol. The IrDA protocol supports data transmission, retransmission of corrupt data, flow control and error detection. Data and control signals are transmitted in Frames. The IrDA protocol is a general purpose, wireless protocol and is capable of supporting many different kinds of hardware having many different functions and capabilities. Of course, as used herein, the IrDA protocol only needs to support a relatively few functions that are required for communications between the POS terminal 100 and remote display device 105. The IrDA protocol is a communications standard that is public domain (see http://www.irda.org/ the Infrared Data Association public web site) and need not be discussed in detail herein. Within the framework of the IrDA protocol, the POS terminal 100 behaves as a primary station, which initiates a connection with any approaching remote display device 105. A remote display device 105 behaves as secondary station, which only reacts in response to a signal from the POS terminal 100 and is not responsible for initiating communications with the POS terminal 100. According to the present embodiment, before a human operator, or sales assistant, can serve customers, he first needs to register himself with the POS terminal 100 in order that sales transactions entered by the operator can be associated by the POS terminal 100 with that operator. As has already been indicated, this procedure adds.security to the system.and ..enables transactions to be associated with an operator. The registration process will now be described with reference to the flow diagram in Figure 4.

In step 400, an operator approaches the POS terminal 100 and the POS terminal 100 establishes a connection with the remote display device 105, which is mounted on the front of the operator's T-shirt. In step 405, the POS terminal 100 requests the identity and state data of the remote display device 105 in a request Frame or Frames 410. The state informs the POS terminal 100 of the last act that was carried out by the remote display device 105. The POS terminal 100 reacts in various different ways towards the remote display device 105 depending on what state is returned, as will be illustrated below. The remote display device 105 receives the request in step 415, searches its ID area 350 and state area 352 of RAM 350 and finds no operator ID or state, in step 420. In step 425, the remote display device 105 returns the respective data to the POS terminal 100 in response Frame or Frames 430. The POS terminal 100 receives the response in step 435, recognises the lack of ID and state as an unregistered remote display device 105 and displays on the operator display 120 an 'Enter user name' command to the operator in step 440. Accordingly, the operator identifies himself to the POS terminal 100 by entering his name via the keyboard 125 and, in response, the POS terminal 100 allocates a unique operator identity code (ID) to that operator in step 445. In this case, the ID is a simple number which increments for each new operator who registers onto the POS terminal 100 in one session. In step 450, the POS terminal 100 stores the name and ID in an 'operators' area 284 of RAM 205. Next, in step 455, the POS terminal 100 reads the name and ID from RAM 205 and transmits, in a name and ID Frame or Frames 460, the data and an instruction to 'register' the operator to the remote display device 105. The remote display device 105 receives the data in step 465 and, on the basis of the 'register' instruction, stores the name and ID data in the 'ID' area 350 and a new 'ready' state in the 'state' area 352 of its RAM 335, in step 470. In step 475, once the data is successfully stored, the remote display device 105 sends, via a stored Frame or Frames 480, a 'stored' signal to the POS terminal 100. The POS terminal 100 receives the 'stored' signal in step 485 and, in response, displays a "You are registered" message on the operator display 120, in step 490, in order to inform the operator that the registration process has been successful. Hereafter, when no other information is required to be displayed, the remote display device 105 by default displays the name of the operator. In fact, if the remote display device 105 has a sufficient number of displayable characters, then the name could be displayed in addition to any other information that needs to be displayed. Display of the operator's name in itself is perceived to be beneficial from a security perspective since it informs other members of staff that the operator has correctly registered himself onto the system and that any transaction the operator is involved with will be associated, by the POS terminal, with that operator, as will be described in detail below. Indeed, in some environments, J;his_feature alone, may be considered to provide sufficient additional integrity that other measures are unnecessary. Incidentally, having the operator name displayed may also be perceived as being customer- friendly in some environments.

After successful registration, the remote display device 105 carries ID data that associates it with only the identified operator and, hence, the operator can begin serving customers and interacting with the POS terminal 100 as described hereinafter. Operation during a sales transaction of a POS terminal 100 and remote display device 105, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, will now be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 and the flow diagram in Figure 5.

According to Figure 5, in step 500, the operator takes an order from a customer, for example for six drinks. The operator delivers the drinks in step 501 and then approaches the POS terminal 100 in order to enter the customer order data. In step 502, as the operator approaches the POS terminal 100, the POS terminal establishes a connection with the respective remote display device 105, which is mounted on the front of the operators T-shirt. In step 503, the POS terminal 100 transmits in a Frame or Frames 504 a 'request identity and state' instruction to the remote display device 105. The remote display device 105 receives the instruction in step 505 and, in response, in step 506, reads the operator's ID from its 'ID' area 350 and state from the 'state' area 352 of RAM 335 and, in step 507, returns the data to the POS terminal 100 in one or more Frames 508. At this point, the state is 'ready'. In step 509, the POS terminal 100 receives the ID and state and, in step 510, compares the ID with all registered IDs in its Operators' area 284 of RAM 205 in order to determine whether the operator has been registered. If, in step 511, the operator is unknown to the POS terminal 100 then an appropriate error message is displayed on the POS terminal display 120, in step 512, in order that the operator knows there is a problem, and the transaction is halted. Solving the problem may involve the operator going through the registration procedure described above and continuing the transaction from step 513.

If the operator is recognised as being registered, then, in step 513, the POS terminal 100 displays the operator's name, so that the operator knows that the POS terminal is communicating with his remote display device 105 rather than with anyone else's, and interprets the 'ready' state as intent to start a new order. The operator makes a keyboard entry for the first drink in step 514. In step 515, the POS terminal 100 processes the first drink entry by locating, from its local product database 282, respective drink data. Then, in step 516, the POS terminal 100 displays the name of the drink and, in addition, in step 517, stores the new drink item, including the drink name, the drink price and the ID of the operator, in a 'sales' area 286 of RAM 205. In this way, the drink item is associated with the operator who makes the associated drink item entry. It is also important to note that, in this embodiment, the process continues only if the operator is successfully identified. In other words, an unregistered-or otherwise. unrecognised-operator is unable to.access.and use .the POS terminal 100.

Next, in step 518, if the operator requests a total by pressing the appropriate key on the keyboard 125, the process continues accordingly. However, in this embodiment, the operator enters the details for the remaining five drinks and, accordingly, the process iterates between step 514 and step 518 until all details have been entered. When all six drinks have been entered into the POS terminal 100 and the operator requests- a total, the POS terminal 100, in step 519, searches through its 'sales' area 286 of RAM 205 for all drink items that have the same ID as the operator. If one or more drink items are found the POS terminal 100, in step 520, adds the respective price data together, in this example for the six drinks, and stores the total price data accompanied by the ID in a 'total' area 288 of RAM in step 521. Next, in step 522, the POS terminal 100 transmits to the remote display device 105 the total price data, with a respective instruction to 'display' the total price information, and a new state of 'total' to the remote display device 105 in one or more Frames 523. The remote display device 105 receives the data in step 524 and, in step 525, stores the total price data in the 'display' area 355 of RAM 335, the state data in the 'state' area 352 of RAM 335 and displays the total price information, in step 526. The remote display device 105 then, in step 527, transmits a 'displayed' signal to the POS terminal 100, in one or more Frames 528, in order that the POS terminal knows that the remote display device is functioning correctly and has successfully received the data. The POS terminal 100 receives the 'displayed' signal in step 529 and, in response, displays the total on its own display 120 in order that the operator can see the total for the first time. It is important to note that, in the present embodiment, the POS terminal 100 only displays the total price information after the remote display device 105 has received and displayed the respective data. This ensures that the operator cannot accidentally, or intentionally, walk away from the POS terminal 100 before the total price data has been transmitted to and the respective information has been displayed on his remote display device 105.

When the operator sees the total displayed by the POS terminal 100, he returns to the customer and asks for payment for the six drinks. As the operator walks away from the POS terminal 100, the connection between the remote display device 105 and the POS terminal 10O is interrupted. However, the remote display device 105 continues to display the total price information even after the connection is interrupted. In step 531, the operator asks the customer for payment for the six drinks. In step 532, if the requested payment differs from the information displayed by the remote display device 105, the customer naturally questions the integrity of the transaction in step 533.

If the requested payment and displayed information match, the customer hands over payment in step 534. In step 535, the operator returns to the POS terminal 100 and the POS terminal 100 establishes a connection with the remote display device 105. The POS terminal 100 then, in step 536, requests an ID and state from the remote display device 105 in one or more Frames 537. In step 538, the remote, display .devicej 05 receives the request and, in. step..539,.reads.theJD.and state from the respective areas of RAM 335. Then, in step 540, the remote display device 105 returns the data to the POS terminal 100 in one or more Frames 541.

In step 542, the POS terminal 100 receives the ID and state data. The state is 'total'. In step 543, the POS terminal 100 compares the ID with all registered IDs in its 'operators' area 284 of RAM 205 in order to determine whether the operator has been registered. As before, if, in step 544, the operator is unknown to the POS terminal 100 then an appropriate error message is displayed on the POS terminal display 120, in step 545.

According to the present embodiment, the operator is known and, in step 546, the POS terminal 100 displays the operator's name and interprets the 'total' state as an operator returning to the POS terminal 100 after having obtained payment for a drinks order and searches in the 'total' area 288 of RAM 205 for the previously-stored total price data, which has the accompanying respective ID. Next, in step 547, the operator enters the amount of payment that he had received from the customer and requests calculation by the POS terminal 100 of any change due to the customer. In step 548, the POS terminal 100 calculates the change by deducting the total price from the payment data. Then, in step 549, the POS terminal 100 sends an instruction to 'display' the change, and a new state of 'ready', in one or more Frames 550, to the remote display device 105. The new state of 'ready' primes the remote display device 105 for serving the next customer. If exact payment was made by the customer, and no change is due, the process still continues.

The remote display device 105 receives the data in step 551 and, in response, stores the change data in the 'display' area 355 of its RAM 335 and the state data in its state area 352 of RAM 335 in step 552. In step 553, the remote display device 105 displays the change information, but only if change is due to the customer. If no change is due, the remote display device 105 by default displays the operator's name. In any event, in step 554, the remote display device 105 returns a 'displayed' signal in one or more Frames 555 to the POS terminal 100.

When the POS terminal 100 receives the 'displayed' signal, in step 556, it displays the change information on the operator display 120, for the operator to see, in step 557, and stores data relating to the entire customer transaction in a transactions area 290 of the hard disk drive 212 in step 558. The data stored includes at least the details of the drinks served, the respective prices and the ID of the operator. The POS terminal 100 then releases the cash drawer to be opened by the operator, in step 559. The operator puts the money received from the customer into the cash drawer in step 560. In step 561, if change is not due to the customer, the operator closes the cash drawer in step 562 and the process ends in step 567. If change is due to the customer, the operator recovers the change from the cash drawer and closes the cash drawer in step 563. Then, the operator returns the change to the customer in step 564.

As the operator walks away from the POS terminal 100, the connection between the remote displayjdevice 105 and^the_ROS terminaL100Js interrupted. .However, the remote display device 105 continues to display the change information even after the connection is interrupted. In this embodiment, the remote display device 105 continues to display the change information for a preprogrammed period of time from when the connection is interrupted and then defaults to displaying the operator's name. The pre-programmed period of time is at least sufficient for the operator to walk from the POS terminal to the customer and hand over the change.

The customer checks that the change received is the same as the change value displayed by the remote display device 105 in step 565. Again, the customer queries the integrity of the transaction if the change returned is different from the change displayed, in step 566. If there is no customer query, the process ends in step 567.

Typically, at the end of each day's trading, the transaction data that is stored in the transactions area 290 of the hard disk drive 212, which records every transaction entered into the POS terminal 100 that day, is uploaded to the central server 277. The upload process may be more frequent, if desired.

An enhancement to the preferred embodiment, which may equally find application in other embodiments, is to provide 'phrases' that can be displayed by the remote display device 105. For example, instead of simply displaying a total price or change, the remote display device may cycle though a phrase or phrases, according to the following pseudo-code examples:

EXAMPLE PHRASE 1

1. Display "Please" for 0.5 seconds

2. Display "Pay" for 0.5 seconds 3. Display {total value} for 2 seconds (where {total value} is the total price of the customer order)

4. goto 1.

EXAMPLE PHRASE 2 1. Display "Your" for 0.5 seconds

2. Display "Change" for 0.5 seconds 3. Display {change} for 2 seconds (where {change} is the amount of change due to the customer)

4. Display "Thank" for 0.5 seconds

5. Display "You" for 0.5 seconds 6. goto 1.

EXAMPLE PHRASE 3

1 Display "Half.' forJ),5_seconds.^ 2 Display "Price" for 0.5 seconds 3 Display "Beer" for 0.5 seconds 4, Display "For" for 0.5 seconds 5 Display "10" for 0.5 seconds 6 Display "Minutes" for 0.5 seconds 7 goto 1

The remote display device 105 would display information according to each line of pseudocode in turn, for the time indicated, to generate the respective phrase.

The first and second exemplary phrases might enhance the customer/operator interaction, for example, by leaving the customer in no doubt what the display means. The third phrase is an example of a possible advertising opportunity, which might be displayed by an operator's remote display device 105 during the time when the customer is making an order. Such an advertisement would be direct to the customer and might prove to be an effective direct marketing tool in certain environments.

Addition of phrases may be implemented in a number of different ways. For example, the first and second phrases above comprise what may be considered as standard 'customer service' phrases that could accompany any typical transaction. As such, the phrase word data may be stored in a 'phrase' area 365 of ROM 330 of the remote display device 105, for example, during manufacture of the remote display device 105. Of course, as the ROM is in the form of re-writable E²PROM or Flash memory, the words could be added or changed by a standard memory update process at a later date. In operation, the controller 310 would be arranged to combine the 'total' or 'change' data with the appropriate word or words to generate a phrase at an appropriate time.

An alternative technique for displaying phrases is by enhancing the 'display' instruction. For example, the 'display' instruction from the POS terminal 100 may be as follows:

Display "Half, 0.5, "Price", 0.5, "Beer", 0.5, "For", 0.5, "10", 0.5, "Minutes", repeat The remote display device 105 would recognise the 'Display' instruction and interpret the words between quotes as the words to display and the numbers as the time in seconds for which the respective preceding word should be displayed. The 'repeat' instruction causes the phrase to be repeated a fixed number of times, for example, or indefinitely (at least until a 'total price' or 'change' display instruction is received) .

This latter method for displaying a phrase might be preferred for displaying ephemeral messages, such as EXEMPLARY PHRASE 3, which a manager might wish to publicise in real time in order to boost the sales of a particular product. The message could be input by a manager at a central console (not shown), for example, which instructed all networked POS terminals to communicate the message to all remote display devices at an appropriate time. In addition, the "10" minute value may be reduced in real time on the display, for example, in the event the remote display device has a timer capability, which is a standard function on many microcontrollers. As already mentioned, advertising may be varied according to the specifics of a customer transaction. For example, a customer buying beer might see a beer promotion while a customer buying wine might see a wine promotion. The POS system would be programmed with appropriate logic to differentiate customers by the contents of their orders.

A further enhancement to the preferred embodiment, which, again, may equally find application in other embodiments, is to arrange for transmission to the remote display device 105 of certain details of each item in a customer order. This data could be communicated automatically to the remote display device 105 as each order item is entered into the POS terminal 100 by the operator or, instead, the data may be communicated in one message when the 'total' is requested. In either case, the item data is stored in an 'items' area 360 of the RAM 335. Of course, the remote display device 105 would need additional RAM capacity to cope with, potentially, significant order sizes. This additional item information could cycle automatically according to a method for displaying a phrase described above. For example, the pseudo-code might read:

1 Display "1 beer" for 0.5 seconds

2 Display "2 gin" for 0.5 seconds

3. Display "3 wine" for 0.5 seconds

4. Display "6 drinks" for 0.5 seconds

5. Display "Total" for 0.5 seconds

6. Display "£12.58" for 1 second

7. goto 1

Alternatively, or additionally, the remote display device 105 may be provided with an operator input device, such as a button on the front fascia (not shown). Then, the remote display device 105 could be caused to cycle through the order information by the action of the operator depressing the button repeatedly. In this way, the customer could request a check of the order that the operator entered into the POS terminal 100 and the operator could oblige by pressing the button. It should be emphasised, though, that the button, or any similar enhancement, should be implemented in a way which does not permit the operator to subvert the integrity of the remote display device 105. For example, and in particular, the operator should not be enabled to modify item, total or change data.

Additional, potentially-useful, order information that could be displayed by the remote display device, 105 includes a sub-total, as items are entered by the operator, and the number of items in the order. Number of items in the order, in particular, would be a simple check for a customer to confirm that the order is correct. A further item of information, for example, which might prove useful in restaurant environments, would be a customer or table identifier, so that a customer would be assured that any order information he received was genuinely for his order and table.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated pictorially in Figure 6, in restaurants, bars or the like where an operator, or waiter 600, may take orders from a customer 603 at the customer's table 605, it is becoming more common for operators to take orders using handheld, or palm-held, electronic POS terminal devices 610. Typically, such devices are standard handheld or palm-held computer systems, for example operating under the Palm or Windows™ CE operating system and running POS software. The ability to take orders directly into a handheld POS terminal 610 at the customer's table 605 means that waiters 600 are able to work more efficiently and, consequently, customers 603 may enjoy speedier service. Such handheld devices may have remote, cordless operating ranges of thirty metres or more using RF signalling and customer order data entered into the device would typically be communicated via the handheld's antenna 615 to a central computer system 620, having a corresponding antenna 625, or access point, and including a display screen 630, which communicates the customer order to bar staff or chefs, who prepare the order for delivery by the waiter 600 to the customer's table 605.

According to this embodiment, the handheld POS terminal 610 is accompanied by a remote display device 635 mounted on the waiter as before, which functions as generally described hereinbefore, and the handheld POS terminal 610 incorporates, in addition to its antenna 615, a transceiver 640 for communicating with the remote display device 635. In this embodiment, the handheld POS terminal 610 transmits data to the remote display device 635, as well as to the central computer system 620, and the remote display device 635 displays the customer order information as it is entered by the waiter 600. Even if the transaction does not require immediate payment by the customer 603, who, for example, may only pay after a meal is finished, the total or sub-total information may be displayed by the remote display device 635, in addition to the order item information, while the order is being taken. The present embodiment may find particularly beneficial application in foreign language environments, in which a customer 603 may speak little or none of the local language. Under such circumstances, the remote display device 635 could provide a customer 603 with relatively higher confidence that they had managed to communicate the correct order information to the waiter 600. 5 Hence, in this embodiment, communication of information to a customer 603 may be more important than addressing under-ringing. Since operator subversion under such circumstances may be less of an issue, the handheld POS terminal 610 and remote display device 635 arrangements may be far simpler versions than those of the preferred embodiment described above.

An exemplary, simpler remote display device is illustrated functionally in Figure 7. Of

10 course, a simpler POS terminal, whether standalone or handheld, and a remote display device, may equally find application in other embodiments of the present invention.

According to the functional diagram in Figure 7, a remote display device 700 according to a simple embodiment of the present invention comprises a receiver 705, an amplifier 710 to amplify signals received by the receiver, a display driver 720 to convert the signals received via the amplifier

15 710 into signals suitable for driving a display and a display 730 for displaying information on the basis of the display driver's signals. Although not illustrated, the display driver 720 typically includes a register or latch (memory means) for maintaining the display of information after display data has been received. In use, data relating to a customer order is transmitted by a POS terminal, which may be handheld or in a fixed location, via its transmitter to the remote display device 700, which simply

20 displays the information. The remote display device 700 is passive, in that the communications between the POS terminal and the remote display device 700 are only one-way from the POS terminal to the remote display device 700. Clearly, in this embodiment, a POS terminal would not need to include a receiver for receiving data from the remote display device 700 and the remote display device 700 would not need a transmitter. The receiver 705, amplifier 710 and display driver 720 of remote

25 display device 700 may be embodied in a single chip. It will be appreciated that such a simple device does not have an identifiable, independent controller of the kind described in the remote display device of Figure 3. However, instead, the combination of logic components of the simple device, which cause the device to receive and display the information, can be thought of as a simple controller.

In general, a remote display device can be as simple as that shown in Figure 7 or more

30 complex, for example as shown in Figure 3, as necessary for the application for which it is required. Typically, where under-ringing is to be addressed, a more complex device, which incorporates measures to minimise the opportunity for subversion, would be desirable.

In practice, a remote display device according to embodiments of the present invention is likely to find application in a distributed POS terminal environment, as shown schematically in Figure 5 8. In Figure 8, POS terminals 800-804 are shown connected to a central server 820 via a network 810. Although not shown, it will be appreciated that this POS terminal arrangement would be used by a plurality of operators each having a remote display device. Where there are plural networked POS terminals and plural registered operators, it might be most efficient for identity data relating to registered operators, where this is needed, product data and/or ongoing new order data to be stored on the central server 820 and for the POS terminals 800-804 to access the data on the central server 820. Alternatively, the data may be stored centrally and copied to each POS terminal 800-804 whenever the data changes on the central server 820. Whether data should be centralised or copied to each POS terminal 800-804 depends on the particular needs of the environment in which the POS terminals 800- 804. are. operating, consideration.ofwhich is not relevant to the present invention and is, thus, beyond the scope of the present description. Generally-speaking, whether the POS terminal is standalone, with all functionality and hardware in one location, distributed, where different functionality and hardware may be located in different locations and connected by a network, or handheld, does not affect the operation of the invention and reference to a POS terminal herein may describe a standalone, distributed or handheld POS terminal arrangement as the situation dictates. Embodiments of the present invention that have been described so far may implement the

IrDA communications protocol. In general, IrDA is used to provide relatively cheap, wireless connectivity technologies for devices that would normally use cables for connectivity. IrDA is a point-to-point, narrow angle (about a 30 degree cone), ad-hoc data transmission standard which operates over a distance of up to one metre and at speeds of 9600bps up to 16Mbps. The narrow 30 degree cone makes IrDA ideal for communicating with an operator who is standing in front of a POS terminal and, as such, IrDA is ideal for use in at least some of the embodiments described. However, there are a number of other communications technologies that could be used in embodiments of the present invention. For example, a technology that is becoming widely used is called Bluetooth™.

Bluetooth is a Radio Frequency (RF) standard for short-range (1-10 metres), point to (potentially) multi-point data communications, which, as such, can transmit through solid, non-metal objects. In principle, the range may be extended to 100 metres by increasing transmit powers. An advantage of using Bluetooth in place of IrDA may be that you only need one central Bluetooth transmitter and receiver, which need not be co-located with a POS terminal. Such an arrangement might, for example, be beneficial for transmitting an advert to multiple remote display devices with a single transmission.

As the skilled person would be aware, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any particular communications protocol, whether wireless or otherwise. As one further example, the invention may be practiced by employing radio pager or cell-phone technology, for example using a pager or cell phone network to transmit messages to the remote display device. This method would probably not be as commercially sensible as IrDA in most environments, but it illustrates the breadth of technology that may be employed to implement embodiments of the present invention. Although the embodiments that have hitherto been described employ wireless communications, other embodiments of the present invention may be based on a 'wired' link. For example, a remote display device may be provided with a data lead terminating in a plug, which is designed to plug into and interface with a socket of a POS terminal. Before an operator inputs customer order data, he would need to plug the lead from the remote display device into the POS terminal to permit data transfer there between. The lead would only need to be plugged in during operator interactions with the POS terminal, since that is the time when all communication between the POS. terminal and . the .remote .display device takes place. Indeed, some POS terminals are already arranged so that operators need to insert a security key, usually held on a flexible connector such as a wire or length of resilient plastics, into the POS terminal to permit operator interaction with the POS terminal and prevent others accessing the terminal. Embodiments of the present invention could adapt this existing practice by replacing the key and flexible connector with a plug and communications cable to facilitate communications between operator display and POS terminal, without departing from the present invention, thereby obviating the requirement for a key; an ID of the remote display device possibly being sufficient to ensure security of the POS terminal.

A further alternative communications protocol suitable for embodiments of the present invention is a wireless local area network (WLAN), which typically uses RF signalling between handheld devices or remote display devices and the fixed part of the POS system. Advantages of using WLAN are similar to those of using Bluetooth. An additional possible advantage of using WLAN is that it may be configured as a cell-based system, similar to that used by mobile telephones but over a smaller area. As such, it would be possible, using known triangulation calculations, to monitor the location of an operator in the sales environment. Accordingly, it may be advantageous for the POS system to control the display of information by the remote display device on the basis of operator location. This feature may find application, for example, in restaurant environments, in which information relating to a particular table may be displayed only when the operator, or waiter, approaches that table.

As a further extension to embodiments of the present invention, product delivery points, for example drinks cabinets, beer taps or spirits optics, are arranged to incorporate a transceiver similar to the transceiver associated with a POS terminal. These transceivers are arranged to communicate with the POS system. The transceivers are able to establish a connection with an operator's remote display device, in the normal manner, as the operator uses the product delivery point. In this way, the POS system can monitor operators as they go about their work, by associating drinks poured from taps or optics, or bottles taken from cabinets, with both the respective operator and his sales entries into a POS terminal. This feature provides greater security and may be combined with the location information to closely monitor operator movements and interactions with product delivery points. Additionally, the product delivery points may be arranged not to deliver any product unless an operator has a registered remote display device. For example, delivery of beer from beer taps may ultimately be controlled by electro-mechanical taps in the beer delivery line, which in turn are controlled by the POS system. Additionally, or alternatively, drinks cabinets may include solenoid- controlled door-locking mechanisms, which are themselves controlled by the POS system. The POS system then has ultimate control over whether taps, optics or drinks cabinets permit access to the operator of the system on the basis of whether the operator is recognised by the system.

Ihe_skilled persomwilL appreciate thatfeatur.es ..of the. embodiments described above may find application in other embodiments, without departing from the context of the present invention, even though such application may not have been positively recited herein. Additionally, it will be appreciated that operation of the relatively complex preferred embodiment, as described with reference to the flow diagram in Figure 5, is just one of many possible processes by which the invention may be practiced, and the process will need to be varied, or even changed significantly, depending on the particular environment in which the invention is to be used. Such variation or change is intended to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined exclusively by the claims herein.

Claims

1. A transaction system comprising: an input device for inputting data relating to a customer transaction; a processor arranged to generate display data containing information relating to the transaction; a remote display device having a remote communications arrangement for receiving the jdisplay_data,.memory_meansjbr storing the display _data,.a display element for displaying at least some of the transaction information and a controller for controlling the operation of the remote display device; and a local communications arrangement for receiving the display data from the processor and communicating the display data to the remote display device, wherein, the remote display device is removably mountable on a human operator of the system in order that displayed information data can be visually communicated to the customer when the operator interacts with the customer to execute the transaction.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the communications arrangements are adapted for wireless communications.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the remote display device is arranged to display the information even if the communications arrangements are not in communication.

4. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device is without means for the operator to modify the display data, at least during the transaction.

5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device is adapted for the operator to select for display different items of available transaction information.

6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device is adapted to transmit a signal to indicate that it has successfully received the display data or that it has successfully displayed respective transaction information.

7. A system according to claim 6, further comprising a local display arranged to display transaction information to the operator only after the display data has been successfully received, or respective transaction information has been successfully displayed, by the remote display device.

8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device is arranged to display a particular item, or items, of display information on the basis of one or more . received display instructions.

5 9. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device is arranged to display certain information independently of any received instructions or operator control.

10. A_sys_tem according _to_any_one ofihe.preceding.claims, .wherein the remote, display device further comprises memory means for storing phrase data, comprising one or more sets of at least one

10 word, and is arranged to display a respective phrase or phrases.

11. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the remote display device further comprises memory means for storing operator identity data.

15 12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the remote display device is arranged to display the identity of the operator.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the remote display device is arranged to display the identity of the operator at least when no other information is required to be displayed.

20

14. A system according to any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising means for recovering the operator identity data from the remote display device and only permitting the operator to interact with the system in the event the operator identity data is received and recognised.

25 15. A system according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a POS terminal.

16. A remote display device for use in the system according to any one of the preceding claims.

17. A POS terminal configured for use in a system according to any one of the preceding claims. 30

18. A method comprising executing a transaction using a transaction system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15.

19. A method of serving a customer, comprising an operator entering data relating a customer 35 transaction into a POS terminal and the terminal causing display by a remote display device, which is mounted on the operator in such a way that a customer can see the display during an interaction with the operator, of information relating to the transaction.

20. A method of enacting a customer transaction, comprising inputting transaction data into 5 transaction apparatus, which generates display data comprising transaction information and communicates the display data to a remote display device, which is removably mounted on an operator in a manner which enables the customer to see a display element of the display device during an —interaction_with...the.-operator,. and- displaying _at least some-transaction information on the display element in order to communicate the information to the customer during the interaction. 10

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the transaction apparatus and the remote display device communicate using wireless communications.

22. A method according to claim 20 or claim 21, wherein the display of information persists if the 15 remote display device is not in communication with the transaction apparatus.

23. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the operator selects a display of one or more items of available transaction information.

20 24. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the remote display device communicates to the transaction apparatus a signal when the remote display device has successfully received the display data or has successfully displayed the respective transaction information.

25. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 24, arranged so that transaction information is 25 displayed to the operator, on a local display, only after respective information has been successfully communicated to, or successfully displayed by, the remote display device.

26. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 25, wherein the said transaction information is displayed by the remote display device on receipt of a display instruction from the transaction

30 apparatus.

27. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, wherein the remote display device stores and displays certain information independently of control by the transaction apparatus or operator.

35 28. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 27, wherein the remote display device stores phrase data, comprising one or more sets of at least one word, and displays respective phrases.

29. A method according to any one of claims 20 to 28, including the step of the transaction apparatus identifying the operator before permitting him to interact with the transaction apparatus.

30. A method according to claim 29, wherein the remote display device displays the identity of the user at least when no other information is required to be displayed.

31. A method according to any one of claims 20 to .3.0, wherein the remote display device receives from the transaction apparatus and displays an advertisement.

32. A method of visually communicating information from a transaction system to a customer via an operator-mounted display device, a display element or display information of which is not changeable by the operator.