Point-of-sale terminal for synchronization employing ad hoc network

A point-of-sale (POS) terminal, for fulfilling orders under non-persistent network conditions, said POS terminal comprising:

• a state processor, configured to queue state changes in durable order queues that correspond to orders in a restaurant;
• order entry and display circuits, configured to input menu selections and/or payment options;
• an order processor, coupled to said order entry and display circuits and state processor, configured to generate said state changes, and configured to access and transmit said state changes in each of said durable order queues to a synchronization server, from oldest to youngest, when operably connected to a network, wherein said order processor comprises current order state fields corresponding to said orders, and wherein said order processor utilizes domain specific rules disposed therein to resolve conflicts in said orders occurring from state change updates received from said synchronization server which result from other state changes to said orders generated by one or more other POS terminals;
• and
• a link select element, configured to direct that the POS terminal tether to a cellular equipped device over an ad hoc network to communicate with said synchronization server in the absence of connectivity within said restaurant.

A method for fulfilling orders under non-persistent network conditions, the method comprising:

• within a point-of-sale POS terminal:
• generating state changes that correspond to orders in a restaurant;
• queuing the state changes in durable order queues that correspond to the orders;
• accessing and transmitting the state changes in each of the durable order queues to a synchronization server, from oldest to youngest, when operably connected to a network;
• maintaining current order state fields corresponding to the orders and utilizing domain specific rules to resolve conflicts in the orders occurring from state change updates received from the synchronization server which result from other state changes to the orders generated by other POS terminals;
• and
• directing the POS terminal tether to a cellular equipped device over an ad hoc network to communicate with the synchronization server in the absence of connectivity within the restaurant.