Smart data cable for point of sale systems

Abstract

Various embodiments are described herein that relate to network-connected data cables (i.e., “smart” data cables) that are connected to a merchant's point of sale system and a receipt printer. When a transaction is initiated at the point of sale system, transaction data is created by the point of sale system and passed to the smart data cable for transmission downstream to the receipt printer. The smart data cable can parse the transaction data, copy certain elements from the transaction data, and transmit the copied elements to a cloud-based platform that processes the transaction. For example, the cloud-based platform may compare the copied elements to information supplied by the customer through a messaging application executing on the customer's user device. The information may be provided by the customer to a chat bot that is supported by the cloud-based platform.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a first connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to a point-of-sale system;   a second connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to a printer, the point-of-sale system configured to generate transaction data for a transaction, the transaction data having a format with which the printer is compatible, and send the transaction data for receipt by the printer;   a third connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to at least one server; and   circuitry coupled to the first, second and third connections, the circuitry configured to receive the transaction data from the point-of-sale system using the first connection, parse the transaction data and identify at least amount information therein regardless of the format, send at least the amount information using the third connection for receipt by the server, and send at least the transaction data using the second connection for receipt by the printer.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a cable having the circuitry somewhere thereon, and wherein each of at least the first and second connections is a physical connection that physically connects the cable to the point-of-sale system or to the printer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cable connects to the point-of-sale system and to the printer using a respective USB port or a serial port, and wherein the cable replaces a USB cable or a serial cable that previously connected the point-of-sale system and the printer to each other. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the circuitry comprises:
 a parsing module configured to parse the transaction data to identify at least the amount information in the transaction data, and copy at least the amount information from the transaction data; and   a communications module configured to establish a communication link with the server using the third connection.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the circuitry further comprises a recognition module configured to perform recognition on data received by the circuitry. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to send also additional data for receipt by the printer, such that the transaction data and a representation of the additional data are included on a receipt printed by the printer. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the transaction involves a merchant and a customer, and wherein the additional data comprises a machine-readable element that is provided by the server. 
     
     
         8 . A system comprising:
 a printer;   a point-of-sale system, the point-of-sale system configured to generate transaction data for a transaction, the transaction data having a format with which the printer is compatible, and send the transaction data for receipt by the printer; and   an apparatus comprising:
 a first connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to the point-of-sale system; 
 a second connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to the printer; 
 a third connection that communicatively couples the apparatus to at least one server; and 
 circuitry coupled to the first, second and third connections, the circuitry configured to receive the transaction data from the point-of-sale system using the first connection, parse the transaction data and identify at least amount information therein regardless of the format, send at least the amount information using the third connection for receipt by the server, and send at least the transaction data using the second connection for receipt by the printer. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the apparatus comprises a cable having the circuitry somewhere thereon, and wherein each of at least the first and second connections is a physical connection that physically connects the cable to the point-of-sale system or to the printer, respectively. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the cable connects to the point-of-sale system and to the printer using a respective USB port or a serial port, and wherein the cable replaces a USB cable or a serial cable that previously connected the point-of-sale system and the printer to each other. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein each of the first, second and third connections is a wireless connection that wirelessly connects the apparatus to the point-of-sale system, the printer, or the server, respectively. 
     
     
         12 . A method comprising:
 receiving, from a point-of-sale system, transaction data for a transaction between a merchant and a customer, the transaction data having a format with which a printer associated with the point-of-sale system is compatible;   parsing the transaction data and identifying at least amount information therein regardless of the format;   sending at least the amount information for receipt by a server;   sending at least the transaction data for receipt by the printer, the printer configured to print a receipt for the customer using the transaction data; and   receiving, from the server, a confirmation that the server has processed the transaction, the server having processed the transaction using the amount information and data that the server received from a device associated with the customer, the device having generated the data by capturing an image of the receipt and forwarded the data using a messaging application.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the transaction data is unaltered when sent for receipt by the printer. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising using a cable when receiving the transaction data and when sending the transaction data, the cable physically connected to the point-of-sale system and to the printer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the cable connects to the point-of-sale system and to the printer using a respective USB port or a serial port, and wherein using the cable comprises replacing a USB cable or a serial cable that previously connected the point-of-sale system and the printer to each other. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising using at least one wireless connection to the point-of-sale system, the printer, and the server, when receiving the transaction data, when sending at least the amount information, and when sending the transaction data, respectively. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising sending also additional data for receipt by the printer, such that the transaction data and a representation of the additional data are included on the receipt. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the representation is a machine-readable element that is associated with the server. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the machine-readable element corresponds to an identifier for the merchant. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising providing the confirmation to the merchant.