CUSTOMER CHECKOUT ACCELERATOR

• US 20080265022A1
• Filed: 06/16/2008
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Prorock, Thomas Joseph, Werdel, William S., Gerken, John Kenyon
• Granted Patent: US 9,171,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 9/047 for recording self-service articles without cashier or assistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures

Abstract

A system and method for accelerating customer sales transactions in a retail store. A customer checkout accelerator provides a customer user interface to initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction before reaching the point of sale terminal for completion of the purchase transaction. A card reader integrated into the customer checkout accelerator reads a customer payment card number when the payment card is swiped through the reader. A customer checkout accelerator server module resident on a store controller server determines a preapproval amount for the sales transaction and transmits the request to an external card services system for payment approval. The customer checkout accelerator also provides the ability to purchase additional promotional items in the checkout lane with this process integrated into the payment preapproval process. Once payment approval is obtained from the external card services system, an entry is placed in a preapproval database associated with the customer checkout accelerator server module on the store controller server. The server module forwards the approval notification to the point of sales terminal where it is placed in a preapproval cache for use in completing the actual sale transaction.

Claims

1-45. -45. (canceled)

46. A system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:

a customer checkout accelerator that provides a customer user interface that is used to initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction;

a card reader attached to, or integrated into, the customer checkout accelerator that reads a customer payment card number when the card is swiped through the card reader;

a customer checkout accelerator server module residing on a store controller server that determines a preapproval amount for the sales transaction and transmits the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; and

a preapproval cache located at a point of sales terminal that stores the approval amount for use in completing the sales transaction.

47. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 further comprising a preapproval database for storing a record for each approved sales transaction amount.

48. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 47 wherein the preapproval database is a keyed access file.

49. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 47 wherein the preapproval database is a relational database.

50. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) that receives customer input from a terminal sales application and displays the customer input in a full screen display of the customer checkout accelerator.

51. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that provides interfaces between a plurality of operational customer checkout accelerators in the retail store and credit or debit card service providers for payment authorization.

52. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 47 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that provides interfaces between a plurality of terminal sales applications, each operating on a point sales terminal, and the preapproval database.

53. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 47 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that provides access to the preapproval database.

54. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that sends payment approval amount information to a terminal sales application at a point of sales terminal for caching in a preapproval cache.

55. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that maintains and updates the preapproval cache and a preapproval database.

56. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that updates and maintains a vendor tracking database to bill a vendor for displaying on the customer checkout accelerator a vendor advertisement for merchandise that can be made available through a hyperlink to the vendor'"'"'s Internet web site.

57. The system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store of claim 46 wherein the customer checkout accelerator server module contains processing logic that displays either store-configured or customer-configured hyperlinks to Internet web sites for the purchase of additional items in a checkout lane.