Retail Information Collection

• US 20090045260A1
• Filed: 08/16/2007
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Retail Information Systems Pty Ltd. (USG Tech Solutions Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Retail Information Systems Pty Ltd. (USG Tech Solutions Ltd.)
• Inventors: Blake, Phil Anthony, Best, Robert Henry
• Granted Patent: US 7,699,223 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/462.150
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An apparatus for collecting and transmitting a retail data comprising a barcode data of the products purchased over each transaction. The apparatus comprises a terminal device that has loaded onto it a retail information collection application that receives, stores, processes, and transmits the retail data. Financial data such as credit card numbers and personal identification numbers are removed from the retail data before it is encrypted and transmitted over a network to a retail database. Clients including but not limited to goods suppliers and goods manufacturers may view retail data, including sales history and sales performance, on one or more products.

Claims

1. An apparatus for retail information collection, comprising:

a Y-cable having an input port and two output ports;

the input port being connected to a barcode scanner, one output port being connected to a card reader, and the other output port being connected to an electronic cash register;

the Y-cable being adapted to route a barcode data from the barcode scanner simultaneously to the card reader and to the electronic cash register;

the card reader having loaded onto it a software comprising a retail information collection application;

the application being adapted to process the barcode data and transmit a retail information data over a network;

wherein

the retail information data is based on the barcode data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the card reader comprises a display area for depicting a display based on the barcode data of products purchased in a transaction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising,

the application compiles a product list for the transaction.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein,

the card reader further comprises an auxiliary port buffer that is adapted to temporarily store incoming barcode data when the application cannot immediately compile the product list.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application supports two different types of network connections, a first type being a default connection, a second type being a backup connection.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the card reader further comprises a built-in timer for time-stamping the retail information data, and for timing a deployment of the retail information data to the computer.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

the application is adapted to transmit the retail information data to the computer at a predetermined time interval after a last barcode scan.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the card reader further comprises a memory bank for receiving and storing the barcode data.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application receives a data from a computer that receives the retail information data over the network.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising,

a printer that is adapted to receive and print the data from the computer, wherein the data from the computer comprises a targeted advertising message.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application removes a financial data from the retail information data prior to transmitting the retail information data to the computer.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application encrypts the retail information data transmitted to the computer.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application further comprises a user management module, the user management module allowing a first user a first level of security access to the application, and a second user a second level of security access to the application.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application further comprises a manual override module, and the credit card reader further comprises a keypad area, wherein a user manually enters the barcode data using the keypad area.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the computer comprises in its memory a data source for a website that a client can log onto to view the retail information data.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application further comprises a log-on module, the log-on module transmitting a unique terminal device identifier for identifying the card reader.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the application further comprises a user interface module, the user interface module allowing a user to pause a barcode collection, resume the barcode collection, cancel the barcode collection, or view a list of collected barcodes.

18. An apparatus for retail information collection, comprising:

a terminal device that is adapted to receive a retail information data, the retail information data being based on a barcode data;

the terminal device having loaded onto it a retail information collection application;

the application processing the retail information data;

the application being adapted to transmit the retail information data over a communications network.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein,

the application removes a financial data from the retail information data prior to transmitting the retail information data.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein,

the application is adapted to receive a data from a computer that receives the retail information data over the network.