Point of sale system

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer program products for facilitating point of sale transactions and payment transactions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A point of sale electronic system for conducting a commercial transaction comprising:
 a mobile data processing system configured to mediate a commercial transaction, the mobile data processing system including a first data port, the first data port configured to communicate in accordance with a first data protocol;   a first controller module configured to convert data between the first data protocol and an intermediate data protocol, and a second controller module configured to convert data between the intermediate protocol and a second data protocol; and   a peripheral device configured to facilitate the commercial transaction, the peripheral device including a second data port, the second data port configured to communicate in accordance with the second data protocol.   
     
     
         2 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the commercial transaction is a restaurant transaction, and the peripheral device is configured to communicate with the mobile data processing system at least one of the following:
 an identification marker of a food item;   a price of a food item;   an identification marker of a beverage item;   a price of a beverage item; or   a price of a meal.   
     
     
         3 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the commercial transaction is the sale of an item, and the peripheral device is configured to communication with the mobile data processing system at least one of the following:
 a price of the item, or   an identification marker of the item.   
     
     
         4 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile data processing system is a portable computer and the intermediate protocol is an Ethernet communication protocol. 
     
     
         5 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 4 , wherein the portable computer is one of the following:
 an iPad;   a tablet computer comprising a multi-touch display sensitive screen; or   a computer running the Android operating system.   
     
     
         6 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the peripheral device is one of the following:
 a credit card reader;   a barcode scanner;   an RFID receiver configured to receive payment-related information from an RFID-enabled device;   an image recognition device capable of identifying an object;   a photo camera; or   a video camera;   
     
     
         7 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the first data port includes at least one of the following:
 a serial data port;   a parallel data port;   a power pin; or   a grounding pin;   
     
     
         8 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the peripheral device is a cash register or a coin dispenser, and wherein the peripheral device is adapted to receive at least one instruction from the mobile data processing system or to transmit at least one item of data to the mobile data processing system. 
     
     
         9 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile data processing system is configured to transmit to a local server system a dataset received from the peripheral device in substantially unmodified form. 
     
     
         10 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile data processing system is configured to transmit to a central commerce server system a dataset received from the peripheral device. 
     
     
         11 . The point of sale electronic system of  claim 10 , wherein the transmission to the central commerce server system is adapted to take place over at least one of the following:
 a data network;   a cellular network;   a 3G or 4G data network;   a Local Area Network (LAN);   a TCP/IP connection;   an Ethernet connection;   a wireless network; or   a satellite communication channel.   
     
     
         12 . A method for conducting a commercial transaction utilizing a point of sale electronic system, the method comprising:
 mediating the commercial transaction using the mobile data processing system and a peripheral device, wherein the mobile data processing system uses a first data protocol and the peripheral device uses a second data protocol; and   communicating data relating to the commercial transaction between the mobile data processing system and the peripheral device through a first controller module and through a second controller module, wherein the first controller module converts data between the first data protocol and an intermediate data protocol, and wherein the second controller module converts data between the intermediate data protocol and the second data protocol.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the commercial transaction is a restaurant transaction, and the data communicated between the peripheral device and the mobile data processing system includes at least one of the following:
 an identification marker of a food item;   a price of a food item;   an identification marker of a beverage item;   a price of a beverage item; or   a price of a meal.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the commercial transaction is the sale of an item, and the data communicated between the peripheral device and the mobile data processing system includes at least one of the following::
 a price of the item, or   an identification marker of the item.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the intermediate protocol is an Ethernet communication protocol, and the portable data processing system is one of the following:
 a portable computer;   an iPad;   a tablet computer comprising a multi-touch display sensitive screen; or   a computer running the Android operating system.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the peripheral device is one of the following:
 a credit card reader;   a barcode scanner;   an RFID receiver configured to receive payment-related information from an RFID-enabled device;   an image recognition device capable of identifying an object;   a photo camera; or   a video camera;   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first data protocol includes at least one of the following:
 a serial data protocol;   a parallel data protocol;   a packet-based data protocol;   an Internet protocol;   an Ethernet protocol; or   a TCP/IP protocol.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the peripheral device is a cash register or a coin dispenser and wherein the peripheral device receives at least one instruction from the mobile data processing system or transmits at least one item of data to the mobile data processing system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the mobile data processing system transmits to a local server system a dataset received from the peripheral device in substantially unmodified form. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the mobile data processing system transmits to a central commerce server system a dataset received from the peripheral device.