ITEM FINDER SYSTEM FOR FINDING ITEMS STORED IN STORAGE REGIONS
First Claim
1. An item finder (10) for assisting users to find items stored in a prescribed storage region comprising:
- (i) a touch-sensitive input-output display unit (12) for displaying, in an input mode, at least a pattern (20) of touch-sensitive letters for entry of letters by a user and, in an output mode, a listing of items each beginning with at least one letter entered by the user;
(ii) either or both of means for storing data locally and means for accessing remote data storage means storing data, the data representing(ii)(a) a floor plan or layout (40) of at least part of the storage region,(ii)(b) a listing of names of items stored in the storage region associated with their respective item locations in the storage region,(ii)(c) a predetermined installed location of the touch-sensitive input-output display unit itself, and(ii)(d) a plurality of paths each extending between the installed location and a respective one of the item locations;
(iii) processing means coupled to said touch-sensitive input-output display unit and programmed for(iii)(a) controlling the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display an input screen to prompt the user to touch the pattern of letters to enter at least one letter to begin spelling the name of the item sought;
(iii)(b) detecting entry of said letter by the user and, in response, accessing the stored data to select a shortlist (28) of item names each beginning with that letter and displaying said shortlist on the screen;
(iii)(c) detecting whether the user inputs one or more additional letters or selects one of the short listed item names by touching a specified area of the screen,(iii)(d) if the user subsequently enters one or more additional letters, as each letter is entered, accessing the stored data and displaying a revised shortlist of item names each beginning with the sequence of letters entered by the user until either the user has spelled an item name that is not available or the user selects one of the short-listed item names;
(iii)(e) if the user selects a short-listed item name, accessing the stored data to select data for a respective one of said plurality of paths that extends between said installed location an item location of the item whose name has been selected;
(iii)(f) combining the data representing said selected path with the data representing the floor plan or layout; and
(iii)(g) causing the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display said floor plan or layout with the selected path superimposed or overlaid upon the floor plan or layout.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An item finder system for situating in a retail environment for the purpose of assisting customers to find the items they wish to find has a touch-sensitive display screen. Customers enter the name of the sought item by touching letters displayed on the touch-sensitive surface which then displays a list of item names from what the customer can choose. An item name is selected from the list by touching a graphical symbol associated with the item name. The item finder system responds to the customer'"'"'s touch by displaying a floor plan or layout of at least part of the store, a marker symbol representing the location of the item, for example, a section of shelf space that contains the item, and a path line extending from the customer'"'"'s present location, i.e., the location of the touch-sensitive screen, to the location of the item in the store.
50 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An item finder (10) for assisting users to find items stored in a prescribed storage region comprising:
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(i) a touch-sensitive input-output display unit (12) for displaying, in an input mode, at least a pattern (20) of touch-sensitive letters for entry of letters by a user and, in an output mode, a listing of items each beginning with at least one letter entered by the user; (ii) either or both of means for storing data locally and means for accessing remote data storage means storing data, the data representing (ii)(a) a floor plan or layout (40) of at least part of the storage region, (ii)(b) a listing of names of items stored in the storage region associated with their respective item locations in the storage region, (ii)(c) a predetermined installed location of the touch-sensitive input-output display unit itself, and (ii)(d) a plurality of paths each extending between the installed location and a respective one of the item locations; (iii) processing means coupled to said touch-sensitive input-output display unit and programmed for (iii)(a) controlling the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display an input screen to prompt the user to touch the pattern of letters to enter at least one letter to begin spelling the name of the item sought; (iii)(b) detecting entry of said letter by the user and, in response, accessing the stored data to select a shortlist (28) of item names each beginning with that letter and displaying said shortlist on the screen; (iii)(c) detecting whether the user inputs one or more additional letters or selects one of the short listed item names by touching a specified area of the screen, (iii)(d) if the user subsequently enters one or more additional letters, as each letter is entered, accessing the stored data and displaying a revised shortlist of item names each beginning with the sequence of letters entered by the user until either the user has spelled an item name that is not available or the user selects one of the short-listed item names; (iii)(e) if the user selects a short-listed item name, accessing the stored data to select data for a respective one of said plurality of paths that extends between said installed location an item location of the item whose name has been selected; (iii)(f) combining the data representing said selected path with the data representing the floor plan or layout; and (iii)(g) causing the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display said floor plan or layout with the selected path superimposed or overlaid upon the floor plan or layout. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of finding items in a store, especially in a retail store, using a computing device having a touch-sensitive input-output display unit (12), either or both of means for storing data locally and means for accessing remote data storage means storing data, and processing means, the stored data representing:
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(ii)(a) a floor plan or layout (40) of at least part of the storage region, (ii)(b) a listing of names of items stored in the storage region associated with their respective item locations in the storage region, (ii)(c) a predetermined installed location of the touch-sensitive input-output display unit itself, and (ii)(d) a plurality of paths each extending between the installed location and a respective one of the item locations; the method comprising the steps, by the processor, of; (iii) controlling the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display an input screen to prompt the user to touch the pattern of letters to enter at least one letter to begin spelling the name of the item sought; (iii)(b) detecting entry of said letter by the user and, in response, using the detected letter to access the stored data to select a shortlist (28) of item names each beginning with that letter and displaying said shortlist on the screen; (iii)(c) detecting whether the user inputs one or more additional letters or selects one of the short listed item names by touching a specified area of the screen, (iii)(d) if the user subsequently enters one or more additional letters and the total letters do not spell the item name, as each letter is entered, using the letter to access the stored data and select a revised shortlist of item names each beginning with the sequence of letters entered by the user and displaying the revised shortlist; (iii)(e) detecting whether or not the user has spelled an item name that is not available or the user has selected one of the short-listed item names by touching the screen; (iii)(f) if the user selected a short-listed item name, accessing the stored data to select data for a respective one of said plurality of paths that extends between said installed location and said item location of the item whose name has been selected; (iii)(g) combining the data representing said selected path with the data representing the floor plan or layout; and (iii)(h) causing the touch-sensitive input-output display unit to display said floor plan or layout with the selected path superimposed or overlaid upon the floor plan or layout. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification