VISUAL CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION

• US 20150178703A1
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Published: 06/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Lawrence, Jonathan Wesley
• Granted Patent: US 10,115,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions

Abstract

An image of a customer is associated with a transaction at an enterprise. The image is accessible during enterprise transaction processing for visual inspection. In an embodiment, the image is printed as a receipt that is handled by enterprise personnel to visually ascertain a particular customer that is to receive at least one good and/or service associated with the transaction.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a device, an image associated with a customer for processing a transaction of the customer; and

integrating, via the device, the image for visual presentation during processing of the transaction.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, broadcasting the image with at least one transaction detail for the transaction to at least one display of at least one additional device during processing of the transaction.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, sending, via the device, the image with at least one transaction detail for the transaction to a printer for printing a receipt that is handled with processing the transaction.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, sending, via the device, the image with at least one transaction detail to a third-party delivery service responsible for delivering at least one of:

a good and a service associated with processing the transaction.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, receiving, taking, via the device, an updated image for the customer using a camera interfaced to the device and communicating the updated image to a loyalty service for processing at least one subsequent transaction with the customer.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving further includes obtaining the image from a loyalty service in response to at least one loyalty detail supplied by the customer with the transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes obtaining the image from a camera interfaced to the device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes obtaining the image from a customer device operated by the customer.

9. A method, comprising:

identifying, via a server, an image for a customer associated with at least one loyalty detail for the customer; and

associating, via the server, the image with a transaction being performed on behalf of the customer.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising, sending, via the server, the image and at least one or more additional loyalty details to a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device processing the transaction.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein sending further includes altering at least one visual feature of the image to visually highlight a loyalty level associated with the customer before sending the image to the POS device.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising, receiving, via the server, an updated image to replace the image from at least one of:

a customer device operated by the customer and a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device operated by clerk processing the transaction.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising, receiving, via the server, at least one additional image identified by the customer to associate with the at least one loyalty detail.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein identifying further includes acquiring the image as a part of one of:

a loyalty registration process for the customer supplying the at least one loyalty detail and loyalty modification process for the customer.

15. A system, comprising:

a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device configured to facilitate execution of a POS customer identifier module; and

wherein the POS customer identifier module is configured to associate an image of a customer with a transaction being processed for the customer and further configured to integrate the image throughout a lifecycle for processing the transaction.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the POS device is at least one of:

a standalone POS terminal and a portable mobile device.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein POS device is a thin client.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the POS customer identifier module is further configured to direct a printer to print the image as a transaction receipt associated with the transaction.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the receipt is rendered to a sticky media having a side with at least some adhesive to affix to an item associated with the transaction.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the POS customer identifier module is further configured to broadcast the image with at least one transaction detail for the transaction to at least one display of at least one additional device.