Patent ID: 8271324

Claim:
A system for processing transactions for a retail store comprising: a bar code scanner for reading IDs represented by bar codes, said bar code scanner located at a POS of said retail store; a Y device including a YCS, said YCS comprising a YCS CPU and YCS memory; an MCS, said MCS comprising an MCS CPU and MCS memory; a POSCS, said POSCS comprising a POSCS CPU and POSCS memory; a POS printer, said POS printer located at said POS; wherein said Y device has one input coupled to said bar code scanner, one I/O coupled to said MCS, and one output coupled to said POSCS; said POSCS has an output coupled to said POS printer; and wherein said Y device routes data defining IDs read by said bar code scanner to said MCS, transmits IDs received from said MCS to said POSCS, and transmits data defining the IDs read by said bar code scanner to said POSCS if said YCS determines that said MCS is non responsive to data sent from said YCS to said MCS; wherein said MCS receives IDs from said YCS or said scanner, transmits IDs to said YCS such that, if an ID received by said MCS is a PID, said MCS transmits the same ID to said YCS, and if the ID received by said MCS is a couponID, said MCS transmits a PLUID associated in said MCS memory with said couponID, to said YCS, and wherein said PLUID and said couponID are different from one another; wherein said POSCS stores in said POSCS memory cost values in association with PLUIDs and cost values in association with PIDs, and totals the cost for a transaction including a specified PLUID using the corresponding cost value stored in said POSCS memory for that specified PLUID; and wherein, if an ID received by said MCS from said YCS is a CID, the MCS is configured to not transmit said ID back to said YCS.