SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADAPTIVELY CONFIGURING A SHOPPING DISPLAY IN RESPONSE TO A RECOGNIZED CUSTOMER PROFILE

• US 20020035560A1
• Filed: 06/29/1998
• Published: 03/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: SONE, MASAHIRO
• Granted Patent: US 6,826,554 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing

Abstract

An electronic personal shopping system, communicating between a store platform computer and a number of reconfigurable display terminals located throughout a retail facility, each display terminal associated with an RF interrogator unit which interfaces with a portable customer data card. As a customer enters the interrogator unit'"'"'s RF field, the customer is identified and the merchandise information message being displayed on the display panel associated with that interrogator unit is adaptively reconfigured to conform to that customer'"'"'s display preferences in accordance with demographic profile information maintained on record for that customer. The display panel is adaptively reconfigured to display merchandise item information messages in a number of different national languages, weights and measures systems, currency systems, and to display specific messages based on a customer'"'"'s date of birth, gender or disability status.

Claims

1. An electronic personal shopping system for use in a retail facility of the type having a plurality of display locations at which merchandise items are offered for purchase, the system comprising:

a plurality of individually addressable electronic display units mounted at corresponding ones of the display locations, each display unit configured to present an information message relating to the merchandise items offered for purchase at that display location;

a plurality of interrogator units, each associated with and in proximity to a respective one of the individually addressable electronic display units, each interrogator having a unique address assigned thereto, and each interrogator defining an interrogation area characterized by a radiation field;

a store platform computer coupled to the interrogators and display units by a bidirectional communication bus for receiving data communications from the interrogator units and for transmitting merchandise related information messages to the display units;

a portable customer data card including;

means for communicating with an interrogator unit upon the data card'"'"'s entry into an interrogation area;

at least a memory storage area, the memory storage area holding at least a customer indicia, the customer indicia being communicated to the interrogator unit and thence to the store platform computer as data; and

means for adaptively reconfiguring an interrogator'"'"'s corresponding display unit to display merchandise information messages in a particular form and format in response to a customer demographic profile defined by the customer indicia.

2. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 1, the portable customer data card comprising a contactless-type smart card, the means for communicating with an interrogator unit including an RF transceiver circuit, the smart card further comprising an integrated circuit processor for managing data information transfer between the memory element and the transceiver circuit, wherein the interrogator unit is configured to enter into wireless RF communication with the transceiver circuit so as to read at least customer indicia from the memory storage area.

3. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 2, wherein the contactless-type smart card is powered by radiative induction, the radiation field characterizing the interrogation area comprising an RF induction field to power said card.

4. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 3, the customer indicia held by the memory storage area comprising a unique customer ID, the ID being read from the smart card by the interrogator unit.

5. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 4, the system including a customer profile message script characterized by a multiplicity of profile information fields, each profile message script associated to a corresponding unique customer ID, each profile information field containing profile entries specific to a customer, each entry selected from a list consisting of preferred national language, gender, date of birth, preferred weights and measures system, preferred currency and special status.

6. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 5, the adaptive reconfiguring means comprising a database including a multiplicity of profile specific data sets, each data set including an item description table containing information messages for merchandise items offered for purchase at perspective ones of the display locations, wherein the information messages of each table differ from one another in accordance with a selection criteria metric selected from the list consisting of preferred national language, gender, date of birth, preferred weights and measures system, preferred currency and special status.

7. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 6, the adaptive reconfiguring means further comprising:

a profile decoder circuit, the circuit decoding a profile message script into selection criteria data;

a selection and presentation circuit for receiving selection criteria data from the profile decoder, the selection and presentation circuit selecting a particular one of the profile specific data sets for presentation on the basis of said selection criteria data;

and wherein the store platform computer directs the selected merchandise item information message to the display unit associated with the interrogator unit which received the customer'"'"'s ID, thereby adaptively reconfiguring the display to present a merchandise item information message in a form specified by a customer'"'"'s profile message script.

8. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 7, wherein the merchandise item information message comprises at least an item identification.

9. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 8, the adaptive reconfiguring means further including a data table organized as a list of entries, each entry containing a customer profile message script for a particular customer, each entry identified by a unique customer ID specific to that customer.

10. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 9, the adaptive reconfiguring means further comprising means for matching a received customer ID to a corresponding customer profile message script. The matching means further providing the profile message script to the profile decoder circuit.

11. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 8, the customer profile message script held in the memory storage area of the smart card, the profile message script being transmitted to the interrogator unit and thence to the store platform computer along with the customer ID.

12. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 5, the adaptive reconfiguring means comprising:

an item description table containing item information message entries, each entry pertaining to particular ones of merchandise items offered for purchase at corresponding display locations; and

a plurality of conversion rules, each rule for converting an item information message entry into a particular form in accordance with a selection criteria metric selected from a list consisting of preferred national language, gender, date of birth, preferred weights and measures system, preferred currency and special status.

13. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 12, the adaptive reconfiguring means further comprising:

a profile decoder circuit, the circuit decoding a profile message script into selection criteria data;

a selection and presentation circuit for receiving selection criteria data from the profile decoder, the selection and presentation circuit selecting a particular one of the converter rules for converting the item information message into a particular form for presentation on the basis of said selection criteria data; and

wherein the store platform computer directs the converted merchandise item information message to the display unit associated with the interrogator unit which received the customer'"'"'s ID, thereby adaptively reconfiguring the display to present a merchandise item information message in a form specified by a customer'"'"'s profile message script.

14. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 13, wherein the merchandise item information message comprises at least an item identification.

15. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 14, the adaptive reconfiguring means further including a data table organized as a list of entries, each entry containing a customer profile message script for a particular customer, each entry identified by a unique customer ID specific to that customer.

16. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 15, the adaptive reconfiguring means further comprising means for matching a received customer ID to a corresponding customer profile message script. The matching means further providing the profile message script to the profile decoder circuit.

17. The electronic personal shopping system according to claim 14, the customer profile message script held in the memory storage area of the smart card, the profile message script being transmitted to the interrogator unit and thence to the store platform computer along with the customer ID.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

providing a database including a multiplicity of profile specific data sets, each data set including an item description table containing information messages for merchandise items offered for purchase and prospective ones of the display locations, wherein the information messages of each table differ from one another in accordance with a selection criteria metric selected from a list consisting of preferred national language, gender, date of birth, preferred weights and measures system, preferred currency and special status.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

providing a profile decoder circuit, the circuit decoding a customer'"'"'s demographic indicia into selection criteria data;

providing a selection and presentation circuit for receiving selection criteria data from the profile decoder, the selection and presentation circuit selecting a particular one of the profile specific data sets for presentation on the basis of said selection criteria data; and

causing the store platform computer to direct the selected merchandise item information message to the display unit associated with the interrogator unit which received the customer indicia, thereby adaptively reconfiguring the display to present a merchandise item information message in a modified form specified by a customer'"'"'s profile data.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the merchandise item information message comprises at least an item identification.

22. The method according to claim 21, further including providing a data table organized as a list of entries, each entry containing customer profile data for a particular customer, each entry identified by a unique customer indicia specific to that customer.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising;

matching a received customer indicia to a corresponding customer profile data entry; and

providing the customer profile data to the profile decoder circuit.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the customer profile data is held in the memory of the portable customer data card, the customer profile data being transmitted to the store platform computer along with the customer indicia.

25. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

providing an item description table containing item information message entries, each entry pertaining to particular ones of merchandise items offered for purchase at corresponding display locations; and

providing a plurality of conversion rules, each rule for modifying an item information message entry by converting said item information message entry into a particular form in accordance with a selection criteria metric selected from a list consisting of preferred national language, gender, date of birth, preferred weights and measures system, preferred currency and special status.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

providing a profile decoder circuit, the circuit decoding customer profile data demographic indicia into selection criteria data;

providing a selection and presentation circuit for receiving selection criteria data from the profile decoder, the selection and presentation circuit selecting a particular one of the conversion rules for modifying the item information message into a particular form for presentation on the basis of said selection criteria data; and

causing the store platform computer to transmit the modified merchandise item information message to the display unit associated with the interrogator unit which received the customer indicia, thereby adaptively reconfiguring the display to present a merchandise item information message in a modified form specified by a customer'"'"'s profile data.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the merchandise item information message comprises at least an item identification.

28. The method according to claim 27, further including providing a data table organized as a list of entries, each entry containing customer profile data for a particular customer, each entry identified by a unique customer indicia specific to that customer.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising:

matching a received customer indicia to a corresponding customer profile data entry; and

providing the customer profile data to the profile decoder circuit.

30. The method according to claim 27, wherein the customer profile data is held in the memory of the portable customer data card, the profile data being transmitted to the store platform computer along with the customer indicia.

18. In an electronic personal shopping system for use in a retail facility of the type having a plurality of display locations at which merchandise items are offered for purchase, the system including individually addressable electronic display panels associated with each display location and presenting a merchandise related information message, a method for adaptively reconfiguring the form and format of the merchandise information message to conform to a particular customer'"'"'s demographic requirements, the method comprising:

providing an interrogator unit in association with each display panel, each interrogator unit having a unique address assigned thereto, and each interrogator unit defining an interrogation area characterized by a radiation field;

providing a store platform computer, the computer coordinating merchandise related information messages presented over each display panel;

providing a bidirectional interconnection for coupling the computer to receive data communications from the interrogator units and for transmitting merchandise related information messages to the display units for presentation;

providing a portable customer data card, the card including at least a memory containing a customer indicia and means for communicating with an interrogator unit upon entry into an interrogation area;

providing customer profile data, the profile data defining a plurality of demographic indicia specific to a particular customer;

reading the customer indicia upon the customer'"'"'s entry into an interrogation area;

transmitting the customer indicia to the store computer along with the interrogator address;

identifying the merchandise message presented by the interrogator'"'"'s associated display unit;

modifying the form and format of the merchandise message in response to the decoded profile data to conform the message to the customer'"'"'s demographic requirements; and

transmitting the modified merchandise related information message to the corresponding display unit for presentation to the customer.