Inventors:
Danny Addison - Durham NC, US
Roger Fowler - Apex NC, US
Donald Johnson - Cary NC, US
John Landers - Raleigh NC, US
David Steiner - Raleigh NC, US
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY
International Classification:
G06K 15/00
Abstract:
A system and method for providing an expandable, configurable and adaptable POS terminal having a common chassis in relation to a retailer's requirements without requiring a retailer to reconfigure or swap out the logic board of the POS terminal is provided. The POS terminal of the present invention includes a common chassis forming an interior compartment for housing the internal components of the POS terminal including a PC motherboard and riser cards having POS functionality. The footprint, appearance and connectivity of the POS terminal is also adaptable to reflect retailer requirements without the need to modify or exchange the logic board of the POS terminal. Such a system and method allows for improved in-field upgrades, improvements and extensions; automatic detection of configured technology via panel cards and riser cards; coupling and mixing of a plurality of connective technologies; and customization of unique connector configurations and external preferences for a specific retail environment.