AU2012201987A1 - A method of delivering a receipt - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for delivering a receipt, including the steps of determining whether a communication pathway exists between a receipt processing device located at a point of sale and a storage means if said communicate pathway 5 exists, transmitting electronic receipt data to said storage means; and confirming delivery of said electronic receipt data; wherein if there is no communication pathway between the receipt processing device and the storage means, or the electronic receipt data is not accurately stored in full on said storage means said receipt processing device initiates the printing of a paper receipt at the point of sale for 10 delivery to a customer. PURCHASE DETAILS ENTERED AT POINT OF SALE 70 OPTION OF ELECTRONIC OR PAPER RECEIPT 72 ELECTRONIC RECEIPT OPTION 78 PAPER RECEIPT SELECTED, UNIQUE ID OPTION SELECTED ENTERED OR CONFIRMED PRINT CONTROL UNIT SENDS PRINT CONTROL ELECTRONIC RECEIPT UNIT FORWARDS INFORMATION TO SERVER VIA NO RECEIPT THEINTERNET 10 INFORMATION TO YES 4 PRINTER "V 58 NO NO ELECTRONIC RECEIPT INFORMATION RECEIVED 50 AND STORED BY SERVER 4, 60 PAPER RECEIPT CONFIRM SUCCESSFUL 62 DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC 76 RECEIPT TO POINT OF SALE CUSTOMER PROVIDED WITH RECEIPT OR CONFIRMATION THAT RECEIPT HAS BEEN STORED ON SERVER '-80

Description

Our Ref: 5057 P/00/009 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION ENTITLED Invention title: A method of delivering a receipt Name of Applicant: Proscales Pty Ltd Address for Service A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222 Mitcham, S.A. 5062 The invention is described in the following statement: A METHOD OF DELIVERING A RECEIPT FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the field of providing electronic receipts and in one particular aspect relates to a method of confirming the delivery of 5 an electronic receipt wherein a paper receipt is printed in the event the electronic receipt is not delivered to a storage means. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Store receipts are a printed record of a customer's purchase of goods or services. The receipt acts as the title to the property obtained in the transaction and 10 can be used for warranty or exchange purposes. A paper receipt is typically given to a consumer at a checkout or point of sale and may list details regarding the purchases made, total amount of the transaction including taxes, and discounts, the amount paid and payment method. A receipt is considered a legal document and in many countries it is a legal 15 requirement for a retailer to provide a receipt as a proof of purchase for the customer and to store information about every transaction. This provides proof of purchase to the customer and ensures that the tax authorities can verify that the transaction has occurred. The printed receipts are typically produced by thermal or dot matrix printers, 20 with the receipt information being printed on rolls of narrow paper tape. Often these paper receipts are misplaced or simply thrown out by the customer. The loss of printed receipts can be problematic for a customer if they need to return the item purchased at a future date. In view of this issue and to reduce the amount of paper being used, some stores provide the option of receiving an electronic receipt. The 25 electronic receipts are either sent to a designated email address or stored in a database for future access. The customer or an authorised person can then access the electronic receipt using a computing device and appropriate software to organize their receipts for personal/business cash flow and tax purposes, or if an item needs to be returned. 30 One of the deficiencies with existing systems is that neither the customer or the store employee knows if the electronic receipt has been delivered. If the 2 electronic receipt were not delivered to the customer the store would not discharge their legal obligation. Furthermore, the customer would not have a record of their purchase, which could affect their warranty and have taxation implications. It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the 5 specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention and should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 10 In accordance with an aspect of the invention, but not necessarily the broadest or only aspect, there is proposed a method of delivering a receipt, including the steps of: determining whether a communication pathway exists between a receipt processing device located at a point of sale and a storage means; 15 if said communicate pathway exists, transmitting electronic receipt data to said storage means; and confirming delivery of said electronic receipt data; wherein if there is no communication pathway between the receipt processing device and the storage means, or the electronic receipt data is not accurately stored in full 20 on said storage means said receipt processing device initiates the printing of a paper receipt at the point of sale for delivery to a customer. The storage means may include a plurality of accounts, wherein a specific electronic receipt is stored in an account linked to the customer making the purchase or the electronic receipt may be sent directly to a customer's cloud account, email or 25 portable computing device. If a corresponding customer account cannot be identified the electronic receipt data will not be sent to the storage device and a paper receipt will be automatically provided to the customer. This may occur is a customer's account has been cancelled or is otherwise invalid. Furthermore, if only some of the electronic receipt data is transmitted, due to an interruption in the transmission or a 30 corruption in the data occurs the receipt processing device is prompted to initiate the printing of a paper receipt. Similarly if a customer's cloud account, email or portable computing device is not identified a paper receipt will be printed.

The method may include the preliminary step of receiving information identifying the account linked to said customer. The customer provides a unique identifier to the receipt processing device or a device connected thereto, to identify their account on the storage means. This unique identifier is sent to a Server 5 containing the storage means. If the unique identifier provided by the customer does not designate a valid account a warning will be sent back to the receipt processing device, that will initiate printing of a paper receipt. The unique identifier may be a machine-readable code, such as but not limited to a quick response code (QR code), or a barcode, which is stored and displayed on a portable storage device, or the 10 unique identifier may be provided via near field communication (NFC). The portable storage device may comprise a swipe card or tag carrying a machine readable version that can be read by a reader or scanner associated with the receipt processing device. The storage device may include bar codes, optically or magnetically read alphanumeric characters, magnetic stripes, RFID chips or QR 15 codes. The customer may provide their unique identifier using an automated or partially automated procedure, such as by way of said swipe card or the machine readable code may be incorporated into an existing storage device such as a credit card or be displayed on a mobile phone, tablet or other portable computing device. Alternatively the method may include the step of the receipt processing 20 device displaying a code on a display means at the point of sale whereby the customer users the smartphone or portable computing device to read the code using an appropriate software application by swiping their device across the display means as is known in the art. The electronic receipt is accessible by a customer using a computer, 25 telecommunications device or any other type of electronic display means that is configured to access the storage device. In one form the storage device on the database server stores the electronic receipt for future access by the customer. The customer may also be able to download the electronic receipt or have the electronic receipt forwarded to an email account or portable computing device by near field 30 communication or via the Internet or an intranet. The consumer can also print a hard copy of the electronic receipt at a site remote from the receipt processing device. The customer can access the electronic receipt and may use appropriate application programs include personal finance applications, business finance 4 applications, and tax preparation applications. Accordingly, the electronic receipt may include information that can be read by and incorporated into an application program. The electronic receipt can also be used in connection with the reconciliation of accounts, for example a bank account. Reconciliation may be 5 performed in connection with a consumer application program, or a remotely accessed program, such as a web-based application provided through a bank website. The system for undertaking the steps of the above method may include a receipt processing system comprising POS interface, POS processor, receipt 10 processing device, scanner or display means, printer and communication means. The receipt processing device may include serial buses, parallel buses or incorporate wireless communication means such as near field communication. The receipt processing device is in communication with a database server that retains the account details on a storage means for storage of the electronic receipts thereon. 15 The communication pathway may be via a web server or other network architecture. In another form the system for undertaking the steps of the present invention includes a customer computer, having a printer, in communication via the Internet with a receipt processing device, being an online store processing unit, the online store processing unit being in communication with a third party storage device for 20 transmission of electronic receipt data thereto, wherein if said transmission of the electronic receipt to said third party storage device data is not completed the online store processing unit prompts said customer computer to initiate printing of a paper or pdf receipt. The card reader or scanner is operable to read the unique identifier from a 25 card, chip or other item presented by a consumer in connection with a transaction. Accordingly, the card reader or scanner may comprise a bar code reader, optical scanner, magnetic card reader, radio frequency identification device scanner or any other device capable of reading data carried by a consumer in a machine readable format. The card or tag may carry additional information or the storage medium may 30 be a store card, credit card or debit card. In another form the display means may be a LCD screen that displays a machine-readable code such as a QR code. The customer can then use their portable computing device to read the code. The user will then be authorised to 5 receive the electronic receipt either directly to their portable computing device or an account on a computer server either onsite or offsite. Alternatively the unique identifier may be provided manually by the consumer to the receipt processing system by way of an associated keyboard or other 5 customer input. Wherein the customer enters a pin to identify their account. The system generates a code which a customer is then able to use their smart phone to scan thereby authorising the delivery of the receipt. The electronic receipt may include data files, image files or a combination thereof, and may be linked to online advertising or contextual information. 10 The advertising or contextual information may be selected from a group containing, but not limited to, advertising for related goods or services, vouchers for related goods or services, incentive information or relevant website information. The advertising or contextual information is presented in conjunction with the electronic receipt wherein the advertisement is linked in some way to an electronic receipt. 15 Furthermore the advertisement may be sent to an electronic device at the same time that the electronic receipt is sent or at a later time. The advertisements, that are presented in conjunction with the receipt, may be selected from a group containing, but not limited to, hyperlinks, pop-up advertisements, web banners, in-text advertising, interactive media, pdf documents, 20 audio-visual advertisements, SMS, MMS, voice recorded messages and any other form of available advertising mediums. The methods of delivering an electronic receipt in conjunction with contextual advertising disclosed in the Applicant's published Australian patent application 2010262744 are incorporated herein by reference. 25 The system may include a computing device capable of placing information related to an event or other transaction into an electronic message and/or collecting a customer unique identifier. The system may be a POS system including a cash register, ATM, automated checkout, self-service service station fuel pump or general purpose computer.

The system may include embedded software or firmware with corresponding hardware that is designed to perform one or more dedicated functions of the present invention. In another aspect of the invention there is proposed a software program for 5 controlling the operation of the preceding system and for the application of the preceding methods. The software program may be implemented as one or more modules for undertaking the steps of the present invention. The modules may include packaged functional hardware units for use with other components or modules. 10 Application software may be stored in a computer readable medium on the storage device. The storage device may be a, hard drive, magneto-optical disk drive, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, integrated circuit, computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card, flash drive or any other of the number of non-volatile storage devices. The foregoing is merely exemplary of relevant computer hardware and 15 software and other computer and telecommunications systems may be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention. Although other arrangements are possible, and some or all of the functions described in connection with the method and system can be performed in connection with hard-wired logic circuits or the execution of firmware. 20 Security protocols and authentication may also be used to ensure secure communication between the receipt processing device and the database server or the customer's portable computing device. In another aspect of the invention there is propose a receipt processing device that can be retrofitted to a POS system, wherein the receipt processing device 25 is positioning in the communication pathway between a POS interface and a POS printer, used for the delivery of electronic receipts to an offsite server or to the customer's portable computing device. The communication between the database server and the receipt processing device may be via a communication network interface using an appropriate 30 communication channel such as a modem communication path, a computer network such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN)/Internet, fixed cables 7 or near field communication and may use an appropriate application server, such as a web server. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part 5 of this specification, illustrate implementations of the invention and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a system for undertaking the method steps of the present invention; 10 Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of delivering either an electronic or paper receipt to a customer; Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the provision of a receipt to a customer as a proof of purchase; Figure 4 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the system for 15 undertaking the method steps of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an alternate method of delivering either an electronic or paper receipt to a customer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS 20 There are numerous specific details set forth in the following description. However, from the disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In some circumstance specific details may have been omitted so as not to obscure the invention. Similar reference characters indicate 25 corresponding parts and steps throughout the drawings. Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, a method for delivering a receipt is illustrated, demonstrating by way of examples, arrangements in which the principles of the present invention may be employed. The steps of the method may be undertaken using a system 10 disclosed in figure 1 including a POS 8 interface 12, containing processing hardware and software, a receipt processing device 14, card scanner 16 for reading a machine readable code stored on the barcode 18 of a swipe card 20, a printer 22, and a storage device 24 on the Internet 26. The receipt processing device 14 includes ports 28, 30 and/or wireless network 5 means 32 for communication with the POS interface 12, card scanner 16 printer 22, and storage means 24 via the Internet 26, as indicated by arrows 34. Alternatively the machine readable code is displayed on a mobile phone 90 as a QR code 92. Although the reader will appreciate that other types of mobile computing devices and machine readable codes can be used. 10 A customer can access the electronic receipts stored on the storage device 24 using a display means 36 such as a personal computer or mobile phone 90, using a network as indicated by arrow 38. Alternatively near field communication 94 could be used to transfer data between the receipt processing device 14 and the mobile phone 90 or a combination of the two data transmittal methods could be used. The 15 customers electronic receipt records may be stored on a personalised customer account on the storage means 24. It is envisaged that the storage means 24 will be a hard drive or other non volatile storage device contained within a database server 40 that includes a processor and communication means. The individual customer accounts are stored 20 on the storage means 24. The storage means 24 may be located onsite or in the cloud. Generally the present invention relates to a method of confirming the delivery of an electronic receipt to a storage means from a receipt processing device. Wherein the method includes the steps of, determining whether a communication 25 pathway exists between a receipt processing device and a storage means 24, secondly transmitting electronic receipt data to the storage means 24, and finally confirming delivery of the electronic receipt data, wherein if said communication pathway is interrupted or if the electronic receipt data is not accurately stored on the storage means 24 the receipt processing device initiates the printer 22 to print of a 30 paper receipt. Figure 2 illustrates the operation of the receipt processing device 14 in the context of the method of the present invention. The POS device 12 creates sales q receipt data in step 42. During the checkout process and prior to a paper receipt being printed a customer may scan card 20. The scanner 16 sends this barcode data 44 to the receipt processing device 14. If the barcode date is received prior to the receipt data in step 46, then the control unit 14 determines whether the Server 40 5 is connected in step 48. If the barcode or QR code date is not received prior to the receipt data in step 46 then the data is forwarded to the printer 22 for printing a paper receipt in step 50. The receipt processing device 14 then proceeds to standby 52. In the event the customer requests an electronic receipt and the Server 40 is 10 connected, the receipt processing device 14 sends the customer's unique identifier, which designates their customer account, to the Server 40 in step 54. The Server 40 then verifies the existence and validity of the customer's unique identifier in step 56. If at any stage during the process there is an interruption in the transmission of the data to the Server 40 the receipt data is sent to the printer 15 22 for printing a paper receipt in step 50. Similarly if the customer's unique identifier is not valid or the customer's account has been cancelled the receipt data is sent to the printer 22 in step 50. If the customer's account is active the receipt processing device 14 send packaged and encrypted raw data with checksum to the Server 40 in step 58. The 20 Server 40 receives the encrypted data and checksum in step 60 and checks for errors in the data that may have been introduced during transmission or storage. If there is an error in the data transmitted then the Server will send a message to the receipt processing device 14 that will then prompt the printer to print 22 a paper receipt. 25 In the event the data is accurate then the server 40 sends a confirmation, in step 62, to the receipt processing device 14 that the data has been received and stored. The reader will now appreciate that the storage means 24 includes a plurality of accounts, wherein a specific electronic receipt is stored in an account linked to the customer making the purchase. 30 An audio and/or visual confirmation 64 will be provided at the checkout to inform the store personnel and customer that the electronic receipt has been received and stored on the storage device 24. 10 In one embodiment, as illustrated in figure 3, the purchase details are entered by the store employee at 70 using the POS interface 12. The customer is then given an option, at 72, as to whether they want to receive a paper receipt or have an electronic receipt sent to their personal account. If they choose to receive a paper 5 receipt at 74, the control unit forwards the receipt data to the printer at step 50 and a paper receipt is printed at step 76. If the customer chooses to have an electronic receipt sent to their account the customer proffers their unique identifier at step 78. The unique identifier can be provided by passing card 20 in front of barcode scanner 16. The receipt processing 10 device then sends the electronic receipt data to the Server in step 58 that is received and stored by the server in step 60. If there is an interruption in the transmission, the data is corrupted or the user's unique identifier is not valid then the control unit forwards the receipt information to the printer in step 50 and a paper receipt is printed. 15 If the server confirms successful delivery and storage of the electronic receipt a confirmation message is sent back in step 62 to notify the customer and store employee. This means the customer is provided with either a paper receipt or confirmation of the storage of the electronic receipt in step 80. The store therefore discharges their legal obligation to provide a receipt to the customer. 20 In another embodiment as illustrated in figures 4 and 5 a display means 96 is used to display a code 92 such as a QR code. The code is then scanned by the customer using their smartphone 90, although the reader will appreciate tablets or any other forms of portable computing device could be used. The user will then be authorised to receive the electronic receipt either directly to their portable computing 25 device 90 by way of near field communication 94 or from an account on a computer server via the Internet 26. As further illustrated in figure 5 the code is presented and scanned by the customer in step 98. A confirmation that the code has been scanned has been scanned occurs in step 100 after which time the step of delivering the electronic 30 receipt or printing the paper receipt as discussed above is followed. In the present example the customer is described as using a machine readable code contained on a barcode 18 of a swipe card 20 to provide their unique identifier. It should however be appreciated that other manual, automatic or semiautomatic methods could be used to provide their unique identifier. It is 11 envisaged that the unique identifier will be a machine-readable code stored on a portable device, such as a card, phone or tag. For instance the machine-readable code may be contained on an swipe card or compatible phone carried by the consumer that can be read by waving the card or phone in front of the scanner or by 5 sliding a card having a magnetic stripe through a magnetic card reader. The machine-readable code may be stored on a credit card. Therefore by swiping the credit card the unique identifier and credit card information encoded on a magnetic stripe are read by the card reader during a single read operation. It should however be understood that the method steps of the invention can 10 be undertaken in an online environment, wherein the receipt processing device is an online store that is accessible by a customer's personal computer to which is attached a printer. The online store is configured to send electronic receipt data to the storage means upon entry of a customer's unique identifier. If the online store is unable to send the data, the data is corrupted or the customer's unique identifier is 15 not valid then the online store will prompt the customer's computer to print a paper receipt. The skilled addressee will now appreciate the many advantages of the illustrated invention. In one embodiment the invention provides a method of confirming the successful delivery of an electronic receipt. The invention provides a 20 confirmation of delivery of an electronic receipt to a database Server from a POS system. This means that the customer and store representative are notified of the delivery of the receipt and if a problem occurs a paper receipt is immediately printed. As will now be appreciated this means that the store had discharged their legal obligation and the customer can be confident that if there are any problems, or need 25 the receipt for tax purposes, the electronic receipt will be available from the server 40 at a latter date. Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however, it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate and that the invention 30 is not limited thereto. Accordingly the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. It should be further understood that for the purpose of the specification the word "comprise" or "comprising" means "including but not limited to". 12

Claims (16)

1. A method of delivering a receipt, including the steps of: determining whether a communication pathway exists between a receipt processing device located at a point of sale and a storage means; 5 if said communicate pathway exists, transmitting electronic receipt data to said storage means; and confirming delivery of said electronic receipt data; wherein if there is no communication pathway between the receipt processing device and the storage means, or the electronic receipt data is not accurately 10 stored in full on said storage means said receipt processing device initiates the printing of a paper receipt at the point of sale for delivery to a customer.

2. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with claim 1 wherein the storage means may include a plurality of accounts, wherein a specific electronic receipt is stored in an account linked to the customer making the 15 purchase or the electronic receipt may be sent directly to a customer's cloud account, email or portable computing device.

3. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with claim 1 or 2 wherein if only some of the electronic receipt data is transmitted, due to an interruption in the transmission or a corruption in the data occurs the receipt processing 20 device is prompted to initiate the printing of a paper receipt.

4. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein if a customer's account, email or portable computing device is not identified a paper receipt will be printed.

5. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 25 wherein the method includes the preliminary step of the receipt processing device receiving unique identifier including information identifying the account linked to said customer.

6. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with claim 5 wherein the unique identifier is a machine-readable code, selected from a group containing 30 a quick response code, barcode, optically or magnetically read alphanumeric characters, sent via the Internet, an intranet or provided via near field communication. 13

7. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with claim 5 wherein the unique identifier is stored on a portable storage device, selected from a group containing a swipe/credit card, tag, magnetic stripes, RFID chips, mobile phone, tablet or other portable computing device. 5

8. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with claim 5 wherein the method includes the preliminary step of the receipt processing device displaying a code on a display means at the point of sale whereby the customer users a smartphone or portable computing device to read the code using an appropriate software application. 10

9. The method of delivering a receipt in accordance with any one of the above claims wherein the electronic receipt is accessible by a customer using a computer, telecommunications device or any other type of electronic display means that is configured to access the storage device.

10. A system for undertaking the steps of the method of any one of the above 15 claims, include a receipt processing system comprising POS interface, POS processor, receipt processing device, scanner or display means, printer and communication means.

11. The system in accordance with claim 10 wherein the display means is a screen for displaying a QR code, wherein the customer can uses a portable computing 20 device to read the code, to thereby receive authorised to receive the electronic receipt either directly to their portable computing device or an account on an onsite or offsite computer server.

12. A system for undertaking the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, including a customer computer, having a printer, in communication via the 25 Internet with a receipt processing device, being an online store processing unit, the online store processing unit being in communication with a third party storage device for transmission of electronic receipt data thereto, wherein if said transmission of the electronic receipt to said third party storage device data is not completed the online store processing unit prompts said customer 30 computer to initiate printing of a paper or pdf receipt.

13. An electronic receipt produced using the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the electronic receipt includes data files, image files or a combination 14 thereof, and may be linked to online advertising or contextual information, the advertising or contextual information may be selected from a group containing, advertising for related goods or services, vouchers for related goods or services, incentive information or relevant website information. 5

14. A software program for controlling the step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

15. A software program for controlling the operation of the system according to any one of claims 10 to 12.

16. A receipt processing device that can be retrofitted to a POS system, wherein 10 the receipt processing device is positioning in the communication pathway between a user interface and a printer, used for the delivery of electronic receipts to an offsite server or to the customer's portable computing device. 15