Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR)

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(11) EP 3 570 234 A1(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(43) Date of publication: 20.11.2019 Bulletin 2019/47

(21) Application number: 19174311.1

(22) Date of filing: 14.05.2019

(51) Int Cl.:G06Q 20/00 (2012.01)

(84) Designated Contracting States: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TRDesignated Extension States: BA MEDesignated Validation States: KH MA MD TN

(30) Priority: 16.05.2018 IT 201800005421

(71) Applicants: • Berardi, Stelvio

47922 Rimini (RN) (IT)

• Tarsina, Alexandru47822 Poggio Torriana (RN) (IT)

(72) Inventors: • BERARDI, Stelvio

47922 Rimini (RN) (IT)• TARDINA, Alexandru

47822 Poggio Torriana (RN) (IT)

(74) Representative: Karaghiosoff, Giorgio Alessandroc/o Praxi Intellectual Property S.p.A. - Savona Via F. Baracca 1R, 4° piano "Il Gabbiano"17100 Savona (IT)

(54) UNIVERSAL PLUG & PLAY DRIVER FOR AUTOMATED PAYMENT SYSTEMS AND AUTOMATED PURCHASE SYSTEM PROVIDED WITH SUCH A DRIVER

(57) The invention provides a plug and play driver forinterfacing a cash register system with an automatedpayment system,which driver comprisesat least one unit configured for identifying, selecting andreading at least one data related to the overall amountto be paid calculated by the cash register;at least one unit configured for identifying, selecting andtaking control of at least one control key of the cash reg-ister;at least one unit for identifying, selecting and acquiringa signal validating the actual payment of an amount gen-erated by an automated payment device;at least one redirecting unit to redirect the signal for driv-ing the control button to the automated payment systemfor controlling the same and inhibiting the related com-mand to the cash register;and which driver formats the data related to the overallamount into the expected format in the automated pay-ment device and provides it to the same and formats thesignal for driving the control button into a command signalfor driving the automated payment device, whereas it for-mats the signal for validating the actual payment of theoverall amount generated by the automated payment de-vice at the end of the transaction into a signal for com-manding the expected function of the control key of thecash register and provides it directly, or upon user control,to said cash register for carrying out the function,

said driver being in the form of an application programloadable and executable by the cash register and/or theautomated payment device.

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Description

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a universal plug& play driver for automated payment systems.[0002] In addition the present invention also relates toan automated purchase system provided with such adriver.[0003] Document US2017/0076260 describes a pay-ment system that acquires and displays the operator im-age. The system described in this document involves thepresence of a camera, whose only object is to acquirethe operator image and to add it in a predefined area onthe screen on which the transaction is also representedor the list of items is generated and the amount composedof the cost of every single item is calculated.[0004] The system does not provides a driver or a soft-ware hardware unit acting as interface between a cashregister managing software and a control software of apayment unit whether the latter is by cash or electronicpayment.[0005] An additional document WO96/38821 de-scribes a method for interchanging information betweena cash register and a payment processing device.[0006] Similarly to what stated above for the precedingdocument, in this case also the software natively man-ages and controls both the cash register and the paymentprocessing device.[0007] Object of the present invention is to make a driv-er and a plug and play system for the integration amongall types of cash register software carrying out functionsof selecting or recognizing items, identifying cost and cal-culating and indicating overall costs for the set of itemsselected or recognized with the systems intended for theautomated payment functionalities with whom the overallamount calculated by the cash register is transferred bothin form of cash and in form of withdraw from paymentcards to the organization selling the items.[0008] Nowadays, the commercial companies pur-chasing these types of automated payment systems,face a number of operation challenges due to the inter-facing among the software of their cash register and theautomated payment drawer, specifically the communica-tion protocol of their cash register software communi-cates data to the drawer differently of the way designedby the several automated payment drawer manufactur-ers.[0009] The invention aims to compensate for this typeof challenge. The aim of the invention is indeed to ensurethat one’s own cash register, of any brand and modeland with any type of pre-installed cash program with anytype of automated payment drawer, can be connectedvery quickly for example in a few minutes, by making theautomated payment drawer perfectly operative for therealization purpose.[0010] In the present invention with the term automatedpayment drawer is meant any type of device adapted to

carry out economic transactions. Among these, alterna-tively or in combination, cash collecting and deliveringdevices can be provided comprising mechanical mem-bers which, on one hand, withdraw cash deposited by abuyer, recognize the value thereof and verify that the sumof the deposited values complies with the overall sum ofthe amount to be paid and transfer the collected moneyto a protected collecting chamber and, on the other hand,calculate the possible amount of change resulting froman over-payment and deliver cash corresponding to thecalculated change to a withdrawal station accessible tothe buyer that has paid.[0011] Alternatively or in combination, the automatedpayment drawer can provide payment card readers suchas credit cards, ATM cards or other similar cards, suchas for example cards in which a determined amount ofcredit is loaded from which the amount to be paid is takenoff, the new balance being stored in the card memory.[0012] According to a first embodiment the inventionprovides a plug and play driver for interfacing a cash reg-ister system with an automated payment system,which driver comprisesat least one unit configured for identifying, selecting andreading at least one data related to the overall amountto be paid calculated by the cash register;at least one unit configured for identifying, selecting andtaking control of at least one control key of the cash reg-ister;at least one unit for identifying, selecting and acquiringa signal validating the actual payment of an amount gen-erated by an automated payment device;at least one redirecting unit to redirect the signal for driv-ing the control button to the automated payment systemfor controlling the same and inhibiting the related com-mand to the cash register;and which driver formats the data related to the overallamount into the expected format in the automated pay-ment device and provides it to the same and formats thesignal for driving the control button into a command signalfor driving the automated payment device, whereas it for-mats the signal for validating the actual payment of theoverall amount generated by the automated payment de-vice at the end of the transaction into a signal for com-manding the expected function of the control key of thecash register and provides it directly, or upon user control,to said cash register for carrying out the function,said driver being in the form of an application programloadable and executable by the cash register and/or theautomated payment device.[0013] According to an embodiment, the invention pro-vides thatsaid at least one unit designed for identifying, selectingand reading at least one data related to the overallamount to be paid calculated by the cash register,said at least one unit designed for identifying, selectingand taking control of at least one control key of the cashregister,said at least one unit for identifying, selecting and acquir-

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ing a signal validating the actual payment of an amountgenerated by an automated payment deviceconsist of a selection unit to select the area of the cashregister graphic interface related to the correspondingdata and/or button and by an activation unit to activatesaid area such as a button or data for said driver and toinhibit said button or data for the cash register software,while the driver detects the actions and information re-lated to the button activation and/or to the data displayand turns them into the corresponding controls and/ordata of the cash register software by taking control there-of.[0014] According to an embodiment, the invention pro-vides a plug and play driver for interfacing a cash registersystem with an automated payment system,the cash register system providing an interface for input-ting identifiers of the different typologies of items and fordisplaying said item categories and related costs, a proc-essor for storing and adding the amounts related to thecost of each identified item and a display for displayingat least the overall amount of said sum;the automated payment system providing at least oneeconomic transaction unit by at least the cash collectionand/or charge on a payment card, which transaction unitis activated upon determining the overall amount of theitem costs calculated by the cash register,said driver consisting of an interfacing unit for the inter-face between cash register software and automated pay-ment system software having an interface for identifyingthe display area of the overall amount and for readingthe overall amount data and an interface for identifyingat least one input button of a cash register command,said driver further comprising a communication interfacefor communicating to the automated payment system thedata related to the overall amount and an interceptinginterface to intercept the input command of said inputbutton, for associating a signal generated by said inputbutton, at a first activation thereof, with a function for ac-tivating the automated payment system, immediately af-ter the computation of said sum of the amounts for thetargeted items and the transmission of the related datato the automated payment system, and for re-addressingthe signal generated by said input button to the cash reg-ister system for carrying out the function provided by thecontrol interface of the cash register.[0015] According to an embodiment of the plug & playdriver, it comprises a setup unit executing a program forselecting data related to the overall amount generatedby the cash register system and optionally of the displayarea of said data and of selection of an input button ofcommands of the control interface of the cash registersystem to be used for the interfacing functions with theautomated payment system.[0016] According to still a further characteristic, the in-put key of the commands of the control interface of thecash register system consists of a control key for issuingthe receipt, the plug & play driver generating an interfacecommunicating with the automated payment system

which gives to said button for issuing the receipt a firstfunction for activating the automated payment system atthe first activation of said button and resets the activationof the command for issuing the receipt at a subsequentsecond activation of said button.[0017] According to an enhancement embodiment var-iation, the command for issuing the receipt is automati-cally generated by the automated payment system at theend of the payment process and it is directly transmittedto the cash register system by the automated paymentsystem by simulating an activation of the button for issu-ing the receipt.[0018] According to yet an advantageous embodi-ment, the plug & play driver has a selecting unit to selectthe display area of the overall amount, a section for cap-turing the image of the alphanumerical characters thatare in said area and for recognizing said alphanumericalcharacters to generate the data related to the overallamount object of the payment, which data is input to theautomated payment system as a value of the transactionto be carried out.[0019] Still according to an embodiment variation, theplug & play driver provides a unit for identifying and rec-ognizing an input button for issuing the receipt, for inter-cepting the command signal generated by said input but-ton and for addressing said command signal generatedby said input button of the cash register system interfaceas a command signal for driving the automated paymentsystem, whereas the command signal of the input buttonfor controlling the function originally provided in the cashregister system is inhibited and replaced by an automat-ed command generated by the plug & play driver uponreceipt of a signal of actual transaction generated by theautomated payment system.[0020] Therefore the invention also relates to an auto-mated purchase and payment system comprising:

a cash register system with a unit for recognizingand/or selecting a plurality of different items and aunit for associating said items with amounts relatedto the cost thereof and with a unit for calculating theoverall amount related to the sum of the costs of theselected or recognized items;the cash register system further comprising a displayinterface for displaying said overall amount and atleast one control button for controlling a function is-suing the receipt;at least one automated payment device being pro-vided and having at least members for collecting,recognizing and counting cash and/or chargingamounts by payment cards;the system further comprising an interfacing unit tointerface between the cash register and the auto-mated payment device that executes a plug & playdriver connecting said two systems, comprising:

an image capturing unit for selecting an area ofthe display interface of the cash register system

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wherein at least the overall amount is displayed;a recognizing unit to recognize the alphanumer-ical characters in said captured image for gen-erating the numerical data related to at least theoverall amount;a communication unit for communicating saiddata to the automated payment device as thetransaction amount;an intercepting unit to intercept the signal of thecontrol button for issuing the receipt of the cashregister system and for addressing said signalto the automated payment device as a commandfor activating the same;a generating unit to generate a command forissuing the receipt generated by the interfacingunit upon a signal of actual transaction by theautomated payment device and that is transmit-ted by said interface as a simulation of the com-mand signal for issuing the receipt to control thecash register system at said issuing.

[0021] The advantages of the driver and the systemusing the same according to the afore described embod-iments of the invention are apparent.[0022] Specifically the customer, once the automatedpayment drawer has been connected, with the appropri-ate cables provided by the manufacturer, and the driverhas been started, will see a new program window poppingup on the screen of his own cash register, in which theinstructions are displayed to guide the user to the systemsetup and in a few minutes his own cash register and/orhis own cash program will be interfaced with the auto-matic payment drawer without the involvement of soft-ware house and IT experts. What afore said will result ina remarkable advantage both economically and practi-cally for the final user, which will avoid involving softwarehouses which, sometimes, do not provide automatic pay-ment drawer interfacing services.[0023] According to still another aspect, the driver ac-cording to the present invention provides a configurationunit that is carried out in the presence of the graphic in-terface display of the cash register software and com-prising:

a selecting unit to select at least one or more displayareas corresponding to one or more buttons gener-ated and displayed on the display by the cash reg-ister software;a selecting unit to select at least one or more displayareas corresponding to one or more data generatedand displayed on the display by the cash registersoftware.

[0024] A unit for activating and identifying said area(s),such as button or data, and for assigning the commandfunction of the corresponding cash register button to saidarea and/or the information of the data displayed by thecash register in replacement of the corresponding button

and the corresponding cash register data.[0025] According to still an embodiment, the drivercomprises a calculating unit that verifies the payment ty-pology and manages the payment process independent-ly of the cash register by confirming to said cash registerthe information of actual payment and the command tostart the printing process of the receipt and/or the pay-ment-related accounting document.[0026] These and other characteristics and advantag-es of the present invention will be more evident from thefollowing description of some exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

fig. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of an auto-mated purchase system providing the use of a plug& play driver according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the individual blocks being func-tional blocks and related to combinations of hard-ware and software executed by said hardware.

Fig. 2 shows a more detailed block diagram of theplug & play driver for functionally interfacing a cashregister system with an automated payment systemor device.Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of the process for interfacinga cash register system with an automated paymentsystem for generating an item and/or service auto-mated purchase system.Figure 4 shows a touch screen type user interfacewindow of an example of an automated purchasesystem operating according to the present invention.Figures 5 to 20 show an example of the driver acti-vation and configuration process according to thepresent invention for interfacing a digital type cashregister and an associated payment transactionprocessing system that provides different alterna-tives of payment systems such as cash, or electronicpayment.

[0027] The exemplary embodiments described in thefollowing should not be taken as a limitation of the pro-tection scope, but only as examples of actuation modesof the inventive teaching. Specifically the block diagramsare functional diagrams generally illustrating operativeunits with reference to their function and that can consistof hardware only in which a firmware is fixedly imple-mented or of a combination of hardware generally ableto execute a code and thus provided with a processorand usual peripheral devices combined with the same,such as data and control input means, display means,memories and interfaces for communicating with otherunits according to one or more different communicationprotocols currently present in the state of the art.[0028] In figure 1 a first embodiment is shown, whereinwith 10 a cash register system is denoted of the typeconsisting of a code containing the instructions for car-rying out the usual functions of the cash register and hard-ware wherein said software is stored and that is setup

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by the same in order to carry out the cash register func-tions. An elaborating unit 102 is intended for loading inits working memory said software and executing thesame. To the same a user interface unit 103 is connectedand has a display screen on which areas 133 are shownfor displaying the typical information of a cash registerand one or more areas related to virtual keys 143 forinputting data or commands. The data or command inputcan occur by point and click devices, such as mouses orthe like or thanks to the touch functionalities of a touchscreen. An alternative can provide easy access for dif-ferently disabled people, such as for example by offeringa voice type interface. This can simply be the translationinto voice information and voice controls of the functionsoccurring on the screen relative to the displaying anddata or control input functions.[0029] In the typical base function of a cash register,the same typically has a database containing recordsrelated to the different typologies of items and the relatedcosts as denoted by 101. In the most advanced release,each item can be given a screen image, which is storedin an image database 104.[0030] A device for recognizing the individual items, bymeans for example of bar code readers and/or by readingelectronic tags associated to the items, such as for ex-ample RFID tags or by selecting the item from a list shownon the video terminal and confirming the item with a pointand click device allows the list of purchased items to beinput in the cash register system and the cash registerprovides to identify the cost thereof and to calculate thesum for determining the overall amount the buyer has topay. Such a value is shown in a predetermined area ofthe display screen. Furthermore, above the area display-ing the overall amount, correspondingly tabulated unitarycosts of the individual items can also be provided flankedby the description indications of the item typology andpossibly the amounts.[0031] Functional keys such as a key for manually in-putting data, typically adjuncts to the purchase, such asbags or the like, coupons or the like and for issuing thereceipt listing the purchased items, the number of pieces,the unitary cost and the overall sum to be paid are alsoprovided.[0032] A communication unit 105 for receiving andtransmitting data and/or commands allows connectingthe cash register system 10 to other units required forfinalizing the purchase.[0033] With 12 an automated payment device or sys-tem is denoted, comprising in alternative or in combina-tion different typologies of automated payment devices.These can consist of members for depositing and/or col-lecting cash both in form of coins and notes and providingfor recognizing, validating and counting the overallamount deposited or collected, as well as for conveyingcash in properly protected depots. Alternatively electron-ic payment means can be provided, such as charging onpayment cards and which comprise readers of authenti-cation codes of said cards and units for connecting with

the companies managing the payment cards or electronicpayment systems. As a general rule, the automated pay-ment device or system 12 according to the example de-picted also comprises a control logic unit 125 for control-ling the functionalities the different transaction devicesshould have. The unit 125 executes a logic program 124for controlling the transaction devices of which hereinabove two examples have been listed and whose func-tions are coded in a function database 121 containingthe setup and configuration information of the related log-ic control program in relation to the status signals andthe controls to be exchanged with the hardware or soft-ware hardware units of the transaction devices. A userinterface unit 123 allows the user operation and/or usingguide information to be displayed in display areas 132and data or commands to be input, such as for exampleselecting the type of payment card, inputting the PIN andother like functions by using real keys or virtual keys 142for example where there is a touch screen.[0034] A communicating unit 122 of the type adaptedto transmit and receive signals allows the automated pay-ment device or system, also called automatic paymentdrawer, to be connected to other systems such as forexample a cash register 10.[0035] In order to overcome the dedicated setups re-quired for the cash register systems to operate correctlywith the automated payment systems, typically providedby different companies, the present invention provides aplug & play driver representing a simplified interface sys-tem between two not standardized cash register 10 andautomated payment 12 systems.[0036] Still in the field of the setup logic, the plug & playinterface driver can consist of software only being exe-cuted by either one and/or another of the two processors102, 125 of the systems 10 and 12 of cash register and/orautomated payment, or according to an alternative em-bodiment can also be in the form of a separated operativeunit carried out by a dedicated processor.[0037] In figure 1 for the sake of functional and archi-tectural clarity, the driver is depicted as a stand alonefunctional block denoted by 11. However this choice isonly for illustration purpose since it highlights that it is anadditional element that, from the point of view of its ac-tuation, can however consist of simple software executedby either one or another or partially by both the systems10 and 12.[0038] As a general rule the driver 11 comprises aprocessing unit 111 operating in combination with data-bases for recognizing commands and controls of the au-tomated payment drawer system 12 and commands andcontrols of the cash register system 113.[0039] Operatively and in its essential form, the driver11 provides for the data related to the overall amount tobe paid that is calculated by the cash register and that isrequired in order to validate the economic transactioncarried out with the transaction devices present in theautomated payment system, to be provided to the auto-mated payment system. In addition the driver provides

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for generating on the user interface 103 of the cash reg-ister system a control key that generates a signal for driv-ing the automated payment system and receiving andtransmitting the command input by the activation of thiskey to the automated payment system as a commanddriving said automated payment system 12 and the re-lated devices.[0040] According to an enhanced embodiment, thecontrol unit of the automated payment system providesfor carrying out a procedure for verifying and validatingthe collected cash amount and/or the actual electronicpayment transaction and generates a validation signalthat is received by the driver 11 and converted by thesame into a command signal for issuing the receipt, whichcommand signal is provided by the driver 11 to the centralunit 102 of the cash register system in order to carry outthe receipt printing function according to the modes pro-vided by said system.[0041] When the automated purchase system is firstoperated, simple setup activities are required for the op-eration, which provide the connection of the data linesbetween the cash register system and the automateddrawer system, i.e. automated payment and plug & playdriver loading. Switching on the systems causes the set-up process of the driver 11 to be executed, which processcan be different depending on the choices made for thesteps for recognizing and withdrawing the data relatedto the overall amount calculated by the cash register sys-tem and choosing and identifying a control member, inparticular a control button of the user interface 103 of thecash register system 10 that the driver must interceptand use as a control for driving the automated paymentsystem, as well as the input door of the automatic signalcontrolling the receipt issuing that the driver must gen-erate and transmit to the cash register system 10 uponreceiving or reading the signal validating the transactionby the automated payment system 12.[0042] A preferred choice that overcomes the hard-ware/software setup challenges for interfacing the cashregister software to the automated payment system soft-ware and being the preferred exemplary embodiment,provides for the driver 11 to comprise an image capturingunit and a captured image processing unit for recognizingdata or information reproduced in the captured images.[0043] Specifically for the collection of the data relatedto the overall amount, the driver drives the image cap-turing unit and the user simply selects the display areaof said amount on the display screen of the user interface103 of the cash register system 10. Since this area isfixed such a selection is only made during the initial setupenvironment and is stored in the driver 11. During theuse of the automated purchase system, at the end of thestep of recognizing the items and computing the overallamount to be paid, upon the command for driving theautomated payment system which will be described here-in below, the driver automatically selects the display areaof the overall amount on the screen of the cash registersystem 10 and automatically provides for recognizing the

displayed amount by means of the character recognizingunit, by which the data provided is recognized as datarelated to the overall amount to the automated paymentsystem for carrying out the transaction functions.[0044] Similarly, when advantageously the user inter-face of the cash register system is of the touch type, theimage capture system of the driver 11 allows, in the setupstep, the area 133 corresponding to a button and prefer-ably to the button related to the receipt issuing by thecash register system, to be selected and the signals fordriving said button to be intercepted. The receipt issuingfunction is inhibited by the driver 11 which addresses thedriving signal of the screen area selected such as thearea corresponding to the button for issuing the receiptto the automated payment system as a signal for drivingthe transaction devices according to the modes providedby the various typologies of payment devices.[0045] Controlling the actual payment occurs by veri-fication of the money deposit of the sum related to theoverall amount obtained by the driver 11, as afore de-scribed, and/or the charging thereof and the automatedpayment system generates a transaction validation sig-nal that the driver 11 provides to the cash register systemautomatically as a signal for issuing the receipt in replace-ment of the signal generated by the corresponding buttonthat had been inhibited and intercepted for the functionof driving the automated payment system.[0046] Figure 2 shows a more detailed functional blockdiagram showing the display of the user interface 20which is preferably of touch type, which is controlled bya graphic unit 21 of the cash register system. The graphicunit 21 operates in combination with a database of virtualkey functions of the cash register denoted by 22 and aprogramming unit of the display areas of the virtual keys23.[0047] Similarly according to the example shown, a da-tabase of data to be displayed in the display areas de-noted by 24 and a unit 25 for programming the displayareas on the display 20 are provided. The two program-ming units 23 and 25 provide the commands and setupdata of the user interface to the graphic unit 21 controllingthe screen 20. Similarly the activation of graphic functionsby selection, point and click or touch of virtual keys isdetected by the graphic unit 21 and transmitted to theprogramming units 23, 25 addressing the information tothe central unit for the use thereof according to the func-tionalities provided by the cash register system 10 and/orthe driver 11.[0048] A similar structure is provided for the driver 11which provides a list of the functions of the automateddrawer 26, display data for the automated drawer 28 re-spectively accessible to a unit for programming virtualkeys 27 and to a unit for programming display areas 29.These are interfaced with the corresponding program-ming units 23 and 24 of the cash register system andallow the implementation of the afore described functionsof capturing and recognizing the overall amount and rec-ognizing the area related to the key for issuing the receipt

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and intercepting the activation thereof, readdressing ofthe command signal to the automated payment systemand inhibiting the issuing command of the cash registerand subsequent generating the substitutive automatedsignal for issuing the receipt upon generating the signalby the automated payment system of actual and correcttransaction.[0049] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an example of theinterfacing process between cash register system 10 andautomated payment system 12 managed by the plug &play driver 11.[0050] The step 30 provides for the initial hardwareconnection of the two cash register and automated pay-ment systems 11 and 12. Then the driver setup step startswherein at step 31, for example by screenshot by imagecapture software, the areas corresponding to the virtualkeys and the display area (s) are programmed.[0051] The step of selecting and identifying said areasdenoted by 32 and 33 ends the process for programmingthe areas which shows the overall amount to be paid andthe area related to the control key for issuing the receipt.[0052] At the step 34, according to a possible alterna-tive semi-automated embodiment, which can be easilymodified in the automated process afore described, thekey for issuing the receipt is associated with two functionseach one that can be activated by actuating the key in asequence of two activations in time sequence to one an-other.[0053] This alternative provides that the receipt issuingoccurs on explicit user command by means of a secondactivation of the control button for issuing the receipt aftersignaling the correct payment validation by the automat-ed payment system and can represent an alternative tothe automated command functionality of the receipt is-suing by the driver replacing this second activation of thecontrol button with the signal validating the correct pay-ment.[0054] The step 35 provides for activating the area dis-playing the overall amount which allows recognizing thedata related to the overall amount and sending the sameto the automated payment system in order to carry outthe automated payment process according to the modesprovided by the automated payment system itself. Thisis provided at step 36. The steps 37 and 38 provide forcarrying out the validation and the consequences relatedto the actual validation or the missed validation of thecorrect payment. Firstly the automated payment systemverifies that the correct amount has been transferred inthe forms selected by the user and provided by the sys-tem and possibly it provides for issuing the due change.The process for asking the amount is repeated as longas the overall amount or a higher value has been detectedby the automated payment system, as it shows from thecombination of steps 37 and 38. If the efforts are withoutoutcome leading to the validation at step 37, the systemstops at step 39 and ends the function possibly issuingsignals to the service staff and the user.[0055] If the transaction is validated at step 37, the sys-

tem carries on with the activation of the functionality ofissuing the receipt depicted at step 301, which in the spe-cific case occurs by a repetition of the activation of thecontrol button for issuing the receipt but that in the aforedescribed variation can provide the automated transmis-sion of this command by the driver 11.[0056] At the end of the receipt issuing, the automatedpurchase system is ready for a new cycle as shown atstep 302.[0057] Figure 4 shows a true example of an automatedpurchase system according to the present invention op-erating based on the plug & play driver of the presentinvention.[0058] Fig. 4 shows a perfectly normal cash program,of any type and model which can be found in any modeland type of cash register, at the first connection of theautomated payment drawer to the cash register, after theapplication program installation, the window for program-ming the touch area will appear on the cash registerscreen.[0059] Figure 4 shows a touch screen of a cash regis-ter, the screen display area wherein the list of the recog-nized items and costs are shown and the progressivesum is carried out is denoted by 41. The adjoining areaprovides buttons for selecting and choosing the itemsthat are recognized not by the item-related code readers,but by pressing the corresponding buttons showing theimage of the same items.[0060] With 42 the window is shown for selecting thedriver of the area related to the display of the overallamount calculated and displayed by the cash register,for reading the corresponding data by the driver and thusfor providing said data to the automated payment system.The overall amount data is denoted by 43.[0061] With 45 the touch button is denoted for control-ling the issuing of the receipt and with 44 the area se-lected by the driver 11 related to such a button for de-tecting by the driver 11 the driving of the same button bytouch and for intercepting the touch signal and address-ing the driving signal to the automated payment systemas command signal for driving this system. The concur-rent inhibition of the receipt issuing is held as long as thedriver detects a signal validating the correct transaction.Upon receiving said signal, the driver 11 replaces theinhibited control with an automated signal for issuing thereceipt generated by the driver 11 upon the signal of cor-rect validation.[0062] As it is apparent the simplicity is at its most andafter the first setup the driver operates in backgroundwithout interfering with the normal functionalities of thesystem.[0063] The driver according to the present inventionrequires the user to only select the area of the overallpurchase amount denoted by 43 and the area of the keyfor issuing the receipt of its own cash program, denotedby 45. Once such an operation has been carried out theprogram is perfectly interfaced.[0064] Upon selecting the area for issuing the receipt

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45, the driver autonomously creates an invisible filter, onthe key for issuing the receipt 45, which has the function-ality of intercepting the touch by the operator by inhibitingthe native function of receipt print.[0065] Upon pressing the area related to the key forissuing the receipt 45, the automated drawer will activateand the payment window will show up and indicate theamount of the transaction, the amount to be paid into theautomated cash and the change being delivered. Oncethe cash overall income has been certified, the driver willmake the payment window come off, simulating the touchunder the "filter" in the area of the key 45 for issuing thesale document in a totally automated way.[0066] According to an embodiment, the plug & playdriver of the present invention can be made in the formof an application program to be installed in the cash reg-ister system and/or in the automated payment systemand which application is carried out by one and/or anotherof said systems by providing the functionalities accordingto one or more of the described embodiments.[0067] The application program can be stored on mo-bile storage media such as CDrom, CDram, DVDrom,DVDram, pen drives, SD storage cards, PLash, microSDetc. or can be downloaded from remote servers.[0068] Referring to figures 5 to 20 these figures showan example of driver configurator according to thepresent invention for interfacing the digital type cash reg-ister with one or more transaction processing devices.[0069] In the example of figures 5 to 20 the driver con-figuration is described according to the present inventionfor interfacing a cash register according to one or moreof the embodiments afore described and that for examplegenerates a command and data input interface such asor analogous to that of figure 4.[0070] Figure 5 shows the configuration display of theconfigurator itself that allows activating different opera-tive driver options.[0071] Such choices will affect the driver configurationprocess in relation to the cash register software.[0072] Figure 6 shows the first screen of the driver con-figuration step referring to the cash register software.[0073] In the field 600 an instruction appears that theuser has to follow for configuring. In this case the user isrequired to select an area corresponding to the graphicinterface button of the cash register software that is re-lated to the sale document issuing control.[0074] A graphic selecting tool allows the area corre-sponding to the button for issuing the sale document tobe defined in the form of selection box as denoted by 610.[0075] In the example the selected area is the one re-lated to cash payment.[0076] By clicking on the "Next" button 620 the screenof figure 7 is accessed, wherein the area 600 shows therequirement to indicate an equivalent control, such as forexample a function key or a combination of keys.[0077] The function key F3 denoted by the arrow 700has been selected as command here.[0078] The screen of figure 8 provides the requirement

of the option related to the validation reference for thekey activation that can be activated or not activated byclicking on the yes key or the no key.[0079] In the specific case, as confirmation commandthe area 810 has been selected that defines the cashitem on the graphic interface display of the cash register.[0080] In the screen of figure 9 the selection commandis executed as shown in the area 600.[0081] The screen of figure 10 shows instead the con-figuration step, wherein in the area 600 the user is re-quired to select a display area wherein the displayedgraphic interface of the cash register shows the amountrelated data.[0082] By the selecting means used to select the areaof the button in figure 6, the interface area wherein thecash register program displays the transaction amountcan be selected. As denoted by the arrow 1000.[0083] In the screen of figure 11 the driver configuratorrequires whether the sale document issuing key and theamount are on two different screens. The requirementappears in the area 600 and a button for the affirmativeanswer and one for the negative answer denoted by YESand NO are provided.[0084] In figure 12 the interface screen of the cash reg-ister program is depicted, wherein the selection of a con-firmation button for confirming the amount acquisition,i.e. the actual transaction, is provided.[0085] In this example the button for issuing the receiptdenoted by 1200 is selected as button for the actual trans-action i.e. for the acquisition of the amount to be paid.[0086] As the screen of figure 13 shows, the abovesteps can be repeated for different types of payment proc-ess. In the area 600 the requirement to indicate whetheran additional and different sequence of payment stepsfor a different payment process is desired appears. Themethodology is essentially corresponding to that of theabove described steps for the cash payment and in thescreen a selection box denoted by 1300 can be seen thatcan be matched for example with the area related to theATM card or credit card payment button denoted by 1310and 1320.[0087] The screen 14 shows the selection of the buttonrelated to the payment by credit card whereas in the area600 the condition is indicated for the issuing of the pay-ment confirmation that is identified by the requirement tothe user and the following PIN code input by the user asacquisition confirmation before the receipt issuing.[0088] The screen of figure 15 shows the PIN codeinput interface in the form of a keypad 1500 and the inputcode delete or confirm keys.[0089] The screen of figure 16 shows the return pro-cedure configuration interface. Here the amount to bepaid was 1.00 euros and has been paid, therefore thereturn is 0.00 euros.[0090] In the screens of figures 17 to 20 the changedelivery mode is shown instead.[0091] In the screen of figure 17 no payment has yetoccurred, thereby both the input amount and the change

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amount are denoted by 0.00 euros.[0092] In the screen of figure 18, the amount paid is0.50 only, thereby the change amount is 0.00.[0093] In the screen of figures 19 and 20 a value equalto 1.50 euros is input that is larger than the amount to bepaid, thereby as shown in figure 20 the driver automati-cally calculates the change of 0.50 euros.[0094] It is apparent how the driver takes control of thepayment management and, only after the same has beencompleted, it transfers again the control to the cash reg-ister software for issuing the proof of purchase or sale.

Claims

1. Plug and play driver for interfacing a cash registersystem with an automated payment system, char-acterized by comprisingat least one unit configured for identifying, selectingand reading at least one data related to the overallamount to be paid calculated by the cash register;at least one unit configured for identifying, selectingand taking control of at least one control key of thecash register;at least one unit for identifying, selecting and acquir-ing a signal validating the actual payment of anamount generated by an automated payment de-vice;at least one redirecting unit to redirect the signal fordriving the control button to the automated paymentsystem for controlling the same and inhibiting therelated command to the cash register;and which driver formats the data related to the over-all amount into the expected format in the automatedpayment device and provides it to the same and for-mats the signal for driving the control button into acommand signal for driving the automated paymentdevice, whereas it formats the signal for validatingthe actual payment of the overall amount generatedby the automated payment device at the end of thetransaction into a signal for commanding the expect-ed function of the control key of the cash register andprovides it directly, or upon user control, to said cashregister for carrying out the function,said driver being in the form of an application pro-gram loadable and executable by the cash registerand/or the automated payment device.

2. Plug and play driver for interfacing a cash registersystem with an automated payment system, accord-ing to claim 1,the cash register system providing an interface forinputting identifiers of the different typologies ofitems and for displaying said item categories andrelated costs, a processor for storing and adding theamounts related to the cost of each identified itemand a display for displaying at least the overallamount of said sum;

the automated payment system providing at leastone economic transaction unit by at least the cashcollection and/or charge on a payment card, whichtransaction unit is activated upon determining theoverall amount of the item costs calculated by thecash register,said driver consisting of an interfacing unit for theinterface between cash register software and auto-mated payment system software having an interfacefor identifying the display area of the overall amountand for reading the overall amount data and an in-terface for identifying at least one input button of acash register command,said driver further comprising a communication in-terface for communicating to the automated pay-ment system the data related to the overall amountand an intercepting interface to intercept the inputcommand of said input button, for associating a sig-nal generated by said input button, at a first activationthereof, with a function for activating the automatedpayment system, immediately after the computationof said sum of the amounts for the targeted itemsand the transmission of the related data to the auto-mated payment system, and for re-addressing thesignal generated by said input button to the cashregister system for carrying out the function providedby the control interface of the cash register.

3. Driver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said drivercomprises a setup unit executing a program for se-lecting data related to the overall amount generatedby the cash register system and optionally of the dis-play area of said data and of selection of an inputbutton of commands of the control interface of thecash register system to be used for the interfacingfunctions with the automated payment system.

4. Driver according to one or more of the precedingclaims, wherein the input key of the commands ofthe control interface of the cash register system con-sists in a control key for issuing the receipt, the plug& play driver generating an interface communicatingwith the automated payment system which gives tosaid button for issuing the receipt a first function foractivating the automated payment system at the firstactivation of said button and resets the activation ofthe command for issuing the receipt at a subsequentsecond activation of said button.

5. Driver according to one or more of the precedingclaims wherein the command for issuing the receiptis automatically generated by the automated pay-ment system at the end of the payment process andis directly transmitted to the cash register system bythe automated payment system by simulating an ac-tivation of the button for issuing the receipt.

6. Driver according to one or more of the preceding

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claims wherein the plug & play driver has a selectingunit to select the display area of the overall amount,a section for capturing the image of the alphanumer-ical characters that are in said area and for recog-nizing said alphanumerical characters to generatethe data related to the overall amount object of thepayment, which data is input to the automated pay-ment system as a value of the transaction to be car-ried out.

6. Plug & play driver according to one or more of thepreceding claims, characterized in that it providesa unit for identifying and recognizing an input buttonfor issuing the receipt, the interception of the com-mand signal generated by said input button and theaddressing of said command signal generated bysaid input button of the cash register system inter-face as a command signal for driving the automatedpayment system, whereas the command signal ofthe input button for controlling the function originallyprovided in the cash register system is inhibited andreplaced by an automated command generated bythe plug & play driver on receipt of a signal of actualtransaction generated by the automated paymentsystem.

8. Automated purchase system comprising a driveraccording to one or more of the preceding claims,the system comprising:

a cash register system with a unit for recognizingand/or selecting a plurality of different items anda unit for associating said items with amountsrelated to the cost thereof and with a unit forcalculating the overall amount related to the sumof the cost of the selected or recognized items;the cash register system further comprising adisplay interface for displaying said overallamount and at least one control button for con-trolling a function issuing the receipt;at least one automated payment device beingprovided and having at least members for col-lecting, recognizing and counting cash and/orcharging amounts by payment cards;the system further comprising an interfacing unitbetween the cash register and the automatedpayment device that executes a plug & play driv-er connecting said two systems, comprising:

an image capturing unit for selecting an areaof the display interface of the cash registersystem wherein at least the overall amountis displayed;a recognizing unit to recognize the alpha-numerical characters in said captured im-age for generating the numerical data relat-ed to at least the overall amount;a communication unit for communicating

said data to the automated payment deviceas the transaction amount;an intercepting unit to intercept the signalof the control button for issuing the receiptof the cash register system and for address-ing said signal to the automated paymentdevice as a command for activating thesame;a generating unit to generate a commandfor issuing the receipt generated by the in-terfacing unit upon a signal of actual trans-action by the automated payment deviceand that is transmitted by said interface asa simulation of the command signal for is-suing the receipt to control the cash registersystem at said issuing.

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REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader’s convenience only. It does not form part of the Europeanpatent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot beexcluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description

• US 20170076260 A [0003] • WO 9638821 A [0005]