PRINTING SUBSTRATE, METHOD OF MANUFACTURE, METHOD OF USE, AND COMPUTER SYSTEM

Abstract

A receipt roll for a receipt printer of a point of sale system, the receipt roll has a substrate for the printing of receipt information by the receipt printer, and at least one near field RF communicator carried by the substrate and configured to store a unique identifier for communicating via near field communications to a near Held communication device in near field range.

Claims

1. A receipt roll for a receipt printer of a point of sale system, the receipt roll comprising: a substrate for the printing of receipt information by the receipt printer; and at least one near field RF communicator carried by the substrate and configured to store a unique identifier for communicating via near field communications to a near field communication device in near field range.

2. The receipt roll of claim 1, wherein the thermal dye is disposed on at least one major surface of the substrate.

3. The receipt roll of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one near field RF communicator further comprises an antenna.

4. The receipt roll of claim 3, wherein the antenna comprises a conductive carbon.

5. The receipt roll of claim 4, wherein the conductive carbon comprises graphene.

6. The receipt roll of any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the antenna comprises a conductive polymer.

7. The receipt roll of any of claims 3 to 6, wherein the antenna comprises a metal.

8. The receipt roll of any of claims 3 to 7, wherein the near field RF communicator antenna comprises conductive ink further comprising a conductive filler.

9. The receipt roll of claim 2 and any preceding claim dependent thereon, wherein the thermal dye coating comprises a heat-sensitive acid matrix layer and an acid sensitive dye, and/or wherein the thermal dye comprises Bisphenol S and/or Bisphenol A.

10. The receipt roll of claim 9, wherein the heat-sensitive acid comprises phosphonic acid, such as Octadecylphosphonic acid.

11. The receipt roll any one of claim 9 or 10, wherein the acid sensitive dye comprises a leuco dye, such as crystal violet lactone

12. The receipt roll of any of claims 9 to 11, further comprising an encapsulation layer disposed on the thermal dye coating.

13. A method comprising: (i) providing a printing substrate into a printer of a point of sale system, wherein the substrate comprises a printing surface for the printing of human readable information by the printer and carries at least one near field RF communicator storing an identifier for locating a remote data storage resource; (ii) printing human readable information by the printer on the printing substrate; (iii) using the unique identifier to write, to the remote data storage resource, computer readable data associated with the human readable information; and (iv) providing the printing substrate, printed with the human readable information, for reading by a near field RF communications enabled device, thereby to allow the near field RF communications enabled device to obtain the computer readable data from the remote data storage resource.

14. The method of claim 13 comprising operating the point of sale system to read the near field RF communicator to obtain the unique identifier for performing the writing.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14 comprising receiving, from a remote device, a verification message comprising secure confirmation of a transaction corresponding to the unique identifier and the human readable information.

16. The method of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the printed human readable information occupies a length of the substrate, and the at least one near field RF communicator comprises a plurality of near field RF communicators each associated with a respective corresponding one of a plurality of different identifiers for locating a remote data storage resource, the method comprising associating the human readable information with the plurality of different identifiers.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein associating the human readable information with the plurality of different identifiers comprises writing the computer readable data to the remote data storage resources associated with the plurality of different identifiers.

18. A computer system comprising: a feed of printing substrate comprising a printing surface for the printing of human readable information by a printer of a point of sale system, a plurality of near field RF communicators and storing an identifier for locating a remote data storage resource wherein at least one near field RF communicator is associated with each region of the printing surface; a point of sale system comprising a printer for printing human readable information on the printing surface, and a first communications interface for communicating with the remote data storage resource; a data storage system, operable to communicate data with the point of sale system via the communications interface and comprising data storage resources each associated with one of a corresponding plurality of identifiers, and each operable to store machine readable data, wherein the point of sale system is configured to: print human readable information on a region of the printing surface; obtain the identifier of the at least one near field RF communicator associated with the region of the printing surface; and provide, to the data storage system, data comprising the identifier and the computer readable data associated with the printed information to cause the data storage system to store the computer readable data in a resource locatable using the at least one identifier; the computer system further comprising user equipment comprising near field RF communications functionality for reading an identifier from the at least one near field RF communicator, and being configured to: read the at least one near field communicator to obtain the at least one identifier; obtain, from the data storage resource associated with the at least one identifier, machine readable data; display to a human user, human readable information based on the machine readable data for comparison with the printed information.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the user equipment is configured to perform said obtaining and displaying automatically in response to said reading.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the display includes a verification trigger, operable by the user to initiate a financial transaction corresponding to the displayed human readable information.

21. The system of claim 18 or 19 wherein the point of sale device comprises a near field RF communications enabled device, and is configured to read the at least one near field communicator to obtain the at least one identifier for providing the computer readable data to the resource.

22. A method of providing a printable medium for use in a receipt printer of a point of sale system, the method comprising: (i) providing a substrate with a first and second surface; (ii) using a roll to roll process to coat the first surface with a thermal dye; (iii) using a roll to roll process to print at least one antenna on at least one surface of the substrate; and (iv) attaching a near field RF communicator to the at least one antenna.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein in the step using a roll to roll process to print at least one antenna on the at least one surface includes using one of flexography or gravure printing.

24. A method of displaying details of an invoice on a mobile device comprising the steps: assigning a receipt from a receipt roll corresponding to a transaction, the receipt comprising a first surface for displaying the details of said transaction and a second surface, wherein the receipt further comprises a near field communicator tag, the near field communicator tag further comprising a unique URL address; displaying the details of said transaction on a web page associated to said unique URL address; printing the receipt and bringing the receipt into proximity of the mobile device connectable to the internet such that the near field communicator tag transmits a signal to said mobile device instructing said mobile device to open a browser and go to said web page associated to said unique URL address stored on the near field communicator tag, wherein said web page displays the details of said transaction.

25. A point of sale system comprising a receipt printer, and means for reading a near field RF communicator to obtain a unique identifier, wherein the receipt printer is configured to print human readable text on to a receipt comprising the near field communicator, and the system is configured to read the unique identifier from the near field RF communicator and to provide information corresponding to the human readable text to a remote communications device for storage and retrieval, whereby the information is accessible from the device using the unique identifier.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0038] Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

[0039] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the thermal paper layers;

[0040] FIG. 2 shows an example of a receipt comprising a near field communicator;

[0041] FIG. 3 shows a process flow of completing a transaction according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] In the drawings like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a configuration used for thermal paper receipts. Typically a substrate 103, for example paper, is coated by a special thermochromic coatings or dyes 102. An optional top coating 101 may also be provided. These layers enable standard paper to become what is called thermal paper in the current art.

[0044] Thermal printers use heat to change the properties of this dye 102 within the paper 103 and change its colour from white to black. This allows the printer not to require ink or laser cartridges/toner which is unfavourable. The thermal printers are used to print the receipts which are then presented to the consumer.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present disclosure where a substrate 203 carries a near field RF communicator, the substrate is attached to a printing surface (e.g. a coating, and/or a thermochromic paper, to allow thermal printing). The substrate may comprise paper for integration into a structure such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g. as is the paper (103; FIG. 1) in that construction. In this embodiment, at least one side of the substrate is coated with the thermochromic coatings or dyes 202, and as with the construction shown in FIG. 1, an optional top coating may also be provided to cover that coating. There can thus be provided a printing substrate (e.g. a thermal paper) suitable for use in a standard thermal printer, and which carries a near field RF communicator 204. This may be carried at a surface of the paper, or embedded within it. The structure illustrated in FIG. 2 may be provided in a continuous feed arrangement, for example in a receipt roll, to enable a selected length of the printing substrate to be used to print the human readable information which comprises a customer's bill or receipt. It will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that the near field RF communicators may be positioned at regular intervals, spaced apart along the length of the printing substrate. In this embodiment once these receipts go through a thermal printer in order to bill the receipt, for example for a table at a restaurant, the side comprising the thermal dye 202 will display the details of the bill.

[0046] Use of the construction shown in FIG. 2 will now be described with particular reference to a customer in a restaurant settling their bill, because this is a circumstance with which the reader is most likely to be familiar. However, it will be apparent on reading the present disclosure that this implementation is merely one example, and at a broader level, the present disclosure provides a secure and verifiable method of data verification. This can facilitate transactions with a merchant, but the present innovation resides primarily in the technical steps and considerations which support the streamlining of that procedure. These same technical steps and considerations may find application in other circumstances.

[0047] A data storage system, such as a server, may be provided which comprises a set of data storage resources—for example, this may comprise data storage (e.g. memory) accessible over the internet using a uniform resource locator (URL). This can provide a software (cloud-based) component. The near field RF communicators carried on the feed of printing substrate (e.g. the receipt roll) store data which encodes these URLs, which may be unique.

[0048] In use, the restaurant issues a bill using a point of sale system, which prints the bill detail in human readable form onto the printing substrate. It also obtains the identifier (e.g. the URL) carried by the near field communicator carried by the length of the printing substrate which forms that bill. This may be done by reading the near field RF communicator from the printing substrate, e.g. using a reader at the point of sale system. The POS can then send, to the data storage system, a data message comprising: the table number, items ordered and bill total.

[0049] This data is of course sent in machine readable form to enable the server to provide, at the URL associated with the identifier stored on the near field communicator carried by the receipt, a data resource which is accessible using that identifier to display human readable information on an item of user equipment, such as a smartphone, human readable information corresponding to the bill.

[0050] Once the receipt is printed, it is then taken to customer table. In order for the customer to pay, they: (1) wake up and unlock their phone (2) place the phone within <5 cm of the receipt. The smartphone may be configured to respond to the data encoded on the near field RF communicator by automatically launching a browser window, and formulating a request message (e.g. an HTTP request) to be sent to the URL associated with the identifier stored on the near field communicator. The browser then (3) displays the information sent from the POS, namely, the table number, the items ordered and the bill total.

[0051] Finally, (4) The user is then invited to at least partially pay for the bill by tapping the pay button, confirming the total and optionally adding gratuity. Once the payment has been completed, a reconciliation request is sent back to the POS to close the table tab. The payment process may be secured with a password or other secure authentication option, such as a biometric authentication.

[0052] Embodiments of the present disclosure may use a new generation of near field communicators, which may be manufactured directly integrated with a substrate, for example a paper receipt, and/or a thermal dye assembly to manufacture receipt rolls which can be used in thermal printers for example standard restaurant printers. The near field communicator may further comprise an antenna. In some embodiments the near field communicator and/or antenna comprise a flexible material, for example graphene, capable of withstanding repeated bending, such as the bending of a receipt roll. In another embodiment the near field communicator and/or antenna may comprise a material that has a high resistance to temperature oxidation, up to temperatures that may occur in a thermal printer. In some embodiments the antenna may be manufactured at the same time and in the same way as the near field communicator.

[0053] In some embodiments, conventional roll-to-roll or reel-to-reel printing processes can be used, for example flexo or gravure printing, can be used for the manufacture of the near field communicator and/or antenna. In another embodiment the conductive inks are directly deposited as a result of the above described roll-to-roll or reel-to-reel printing. In another embodiment conductive inks can be directly deposited on the paper substrate in an additive manufacturing manner. The inks may comprise a solvent, a dispersant and at least one conductive filler. Some embodiments the conductive filler comprises graphene where said graphene may or may not be derived from graphite. In another embodiment the near field communicator and/or antenna may be added to the substrate after it has been manufactured.

[0054] FIG. 3 shows an example flow chart of the steps that may occur in a restaurant using the receipt roll of the present invention. At step 305 a staff member will process the amount of money due from a customer on the POS and print the receipt.

[0055] The POS may then read the identifier (e.g. a URL) from the receipt, and send the details of the transaction 326 and the identifier to a data storage system such as a server.

[0056] In some embodiments step 326 involves sending multiple unique receipt identifiers to a server. In step 327 the server then sends the information to a unique URL corresponding to the unique receipt identifier such that when the customer brings their phone in to proximity with the receipt 307 they are able to see and pay for the bill on their phone. In some embodiments once payment has been received the server reconciles the transaction with the POS.

[0057] Embodiments of the present disclosure, when employed in a retail setting such sa a restaurant may provide a variety of benefits both to the consumers that use it to pay but also for the restaurants). These include: Reduced table turnover (customers checkout faster), reduced costs (no longer need to lease the card terminals) and importantly, and increased restaurant revenue.

[0058] The user equipment referred to herein has been described as a mobile telecommunications handset, but it will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that this encompasses any user equipment (UE) for communicating over a wide area network 50 and having the necessary data processing capability. It can be a hand-held telephone, a laptop computer equipped with a mobile broadband adapter, a tablet computer, a Bluetooth gateway, a specifically designed electronic communications apparatus, or any other device. It will be appreciated that such devices may be configured to determine their own location, for example using global positioning systems GPS devices and/or based on other methods such as using information from WLAN signals and telecommunications signals. The user device may comprise a computing device, such as a personal computer, or a handheld device such as a mobile (cellular) telephone or tablet. Wearable technology devices may also be used. Accordingly, the communication interface of the devices described herein may comprise any wired or wireless communication interface such as WI-FI®, Ethernet, or direct broadband internet connection, and/or a GSM, HSDPA, 3GPP, 4G or EDGE communication interface.

[0059] Messages and requests to receive, retrieve, or obtain data as described herein may comprise a data payload and an identifier (such as a URL uniform resource locator, or uniform resource indicator, URI) that identifies the resource upon which to apply the request. This may enable the message to be forwarded across a network to the device to which it is addressed. Some messages include a method token which indicates a method to be performed on the resource identified by the request. For example these methods may include the hypertext transfer protocol, HTTP, methods “GET” or “HEAD”. The requests for content may be provided in the form of hypertext transfer protocol, HTTP, requests, for example such as those specified in the Network Working Group Request for Comments: RFC 2616. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, whilst the HTTP protocol and its methods have been used to explain some features of the disclosure other internet protocols, and modifications of the standard HTTP protocol may also be used.

[0060] As described herein, network messages may include, for example, HTTP messages, HTTPS messages, Internet Message Access Protocol messages, Transmission Control Protocol messages, Internet Protocol messages, TCP/IP messages, File Transfer Protocol messages or any other suitable message type may be used.

[0061] The processors and the servers (e.g. data storage systems) described herein (and any of the activities and apparatus outlined herein) may be implemented with fixed logic such as assemblies of logic gates or programmable logic such as software and/or computer program instructions executed by a processor. Other kinds of programmable logic include programmable processors, programmable digital logic (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)), an application specific integrated circuit, ASIC, or any other kind of digital logic, software, code, electronic instructions, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, magnetic or optical cards, other types of machine-readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions, or any suitable combination thereof. Such data storage media may also provide the data storage resources of the server (and any of the apparatus) outlined herein.

[0062] It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the embodiments shown in the Figures are merely exemplary, and include features which may be generalised, removed or replaced as described herein and as set out in the claims.

[0063] The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples. Further embodiments are envisaged. It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.