SELF-CHECKOUT COUPON SHARING
First Claim
1. A self checkout system comprising:
- a server; and
at least one self checkout station coupled to the server, wherein the at least one self checkout station comprises;
a scanner for scanning at least one item for purchase by a customer;
a coupon reader for receiving a coupon from the customer, wherein the coupon is a paper coupon that is fed into a coupon reader of the at least one self checkout stations; and
a coupon manager for validating the coupon against the at least one item scanned by the customer, wherein the coupon manager is operable to;
allows the customer to choose whether to store the Invalidated coupon;
if the customer chooses to store the Invalidated coupon, convert the paper coupon into an electronic coupon;
collect tracking information related to the coupon and storing the tracking information in a file at the server;
transmit the electronic coupon from the one self checkout station to the server;
destroy the paper coupon after the paper coupon has been converted into an electronic coupon;
store the electronic coupon into one of two coupon pools at the server if the coupon fails to validate against the at least one item, wherein one coupon pool is a global pool having coupons stored in the global pool are accessible by all customers, wherein the other coupon pool is a personal pool that is associated with the customer such that coupons stored in the personal pool are accessible only by the customer, wherein the tracking information comprises the coupon pool in which the coupon is stored, wherein the stored electronic coupon can be utilized at a subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows the second customer to search the global pool for a coupon that validates against an item scanned by the second customer during the subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows a second customer in the subsequent sales transaction to utilize the coupon, wherein a value of the coupon is deducted from a price of the item if the coupon and the item are validated, and wherein the personal pool allows the customer to access the global pool, select at least one coupon in the global pool, and transfer the selected coupon to a personal account at the server; and
allow the customer to search one or more of the global pool and the personal pool for coupons that can be applied to any scanned items by the customer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a system for processing coupons by a self checkout system, where the self checkout system includes at least one self checkout station coupled to a server. In a first aspect, a self checkout system includes a server for managing the self checkout system and at least one self checkout station coupled to the server, where the self checkout station includes a scanner for scanning at least one item for purchase by a customer, a coupon reader for receiving a coupon from the customer, and a coupon manager. The coupon manager attempts to validate the coupon against the at least one item scanned by the customer, and if the coupon fails to validate, the coupon manager stores the coupon in a coupon pool at the server such that the stored coupon can be utilized at a subsequent sales transaction.
-
Citations
4 Claims
-
1. A self checkout system comprising:
-
a server; and at least one self checkout station coupled to the server, wherein the at least one self checkout station comprises; a scanner for scanning at least one item for purchase by a customer; a coupon reader for receiving a coupon from the customer, wherein the coupon is a paper coupon that is fed into a coupon reader of the at least one self checkout stations; and a coupon manager for validating the coupon against the at least one item scanned by the customer, wherein the coupon manager is operable to; allows the customer to choose whether to store the Invalidated coupon; if the customer chooses to store the Invalidated coupon, convert the paper coupon into an electronic coupon; collect tracking information related to the coupon and storing the tracking information in a file at the server; transmit the electronic coupon from the one self checkout station to the server; destroy the paper coupon after the paper coupon has been converted into an electronic coupon; store the electronic coupon into one of two coupon pools at the server if the coupon fails to validate against the at least one item, wherein one coupon pool is a global pool having coupons stored in the global pool are accessible by all customers, wherein the other coupon pool is a personal pool that is associated with the customer such that coupons stored in the personal pool are accessible only by the customer, wherein the tracking information comprises the coupon pool in which the coupon is stored, wherein the stored electronic coupon can be utilized at a subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows the second customer to search the global pool for a coupon that validates against an item scanned by the second customer during the subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows a second customer in the subsequent sales transaction to utilize the coupon, wherein a value of the coupon is deducted from a price of the item if the coupon and the item are validated, and wherein the personal pool allows the customer to access the global pool, select at least one coupon in the global pool, and transfer the selected coupon to a personal account at the server; and allow the customer to search one or more of the global pool and the personal pool for coupons that can be applied to any scanned items by the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. A computer-readable medium including program instructions for processing coupons by a self checkout system, the program instructions which when executed by a computer system cause the computer system to execute a method comprising:
-
receiving a coupon from a customer, wherein the coupon is a paper coupon that is fed into a coupon reader of the at least one self checkout stations; attempting to validate the coupon against at least one item scanned by the customer; allowing the customer to choose whether to store the unvalidated coupon; if the customer chooses to store the unvalidated coupon, converting the paper coupon into an electronic coupon; collecting tracking information related to the coupon and storing the tracking information in a file at the server; transmitting the electronic coupon from the one self checkout station to the server; destroying the paper coupon after the paper coupon has been converted into an electronic coupon; storing the electronic coupon into one of two coupon pools at the server if the coupon fails to validate against the at least one item, wherein one coupon pool is a global pool having coupons stored in the global pool are accessible by all customers, wherein the other coupon pool is a personal pool that is associated with the customer such that coupons stored in the personal pool are accessible only by the customer, wherein the tracking information comprises the coupon pool in which the coupon is stored, wherein the stored electronic coupon can be utilized at a subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows the second customer to search the global pool for a coupon that validates against an item scanned by the second customer during the subsequent sales transaction, wherein the global pool allows a second customer in the subsequent sales transaction to utilize the coupon, wherein a value of the coupon is deducted from a price of the item if the coupon and the item are validated, and wherein the personal pool allows the customer to access the global pool, select at least one coupon in the global pool, and transfer the selected coupon to a personal account at the server; allowing the customer to search one or more of the global pool and the personal pool for coupons that can be applied to any scanned items by the customer. - View Dependent Claims (4)
-
Specification