Self-checkout point-of-transaction system including deactivatable electro-optically coded surveillance tags
First Claim
1. A self-checkout apparatus for processing a sales transaction of an article selected from a plurality of articles having respectively associated attached surveillance tags, each surveillance tag having encoded data, an activated state and a deactivated state, the self-checkout apparatus including a deactivating region in which a surveillance tag from a selected article is positioned in order to change the surveillance tag from the activated state to the deactivated state, the apparatus comprising:
- a) acquisition means for producing a position signal indicative of the positioning of the surveillance tag of the selected article in the deactivating region, and for remotely acquiring from the positioned surveillance tag the encoded data representing the selected article to generate a purchase signal indicative of the identity of the selected article;
b) verification means for verifying, on the bases of the purchase signal and the position signal, whether the positioned surveillance tag is associated with the selected article, and for generating a positive verification signal when the positioned surveillance tag is indeed associated with the selected article; and
c) deactivation means for deactivating the positioned surveillance tag attached to the selected article in response to generation of the positive verification signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A self-check apparatus is operative for processing a sales transaction of an article having an attached surveillance tag, each attached surveillance tag bearing a coded indicia such as a bar code. The self-checkout apparatus stores an indication of the articles which have been selected for purchase. When the surveillance tag is presented to the apparatus for deactivation, the bar code on the tag is scanned, and a check is made to verify that the surveillance tag is attached to an article which has been selected for purchase, and provided such verification is made, the surveillance tag is deactivated.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A self-checkout apparatus for processing a sales transaction of an article selected from a plurality of articles having respectively associated attached surveillance tags, each surveillance tag having encoded data, an activated state and a deactivated state, the self-checkout apparatus including a deactivating region in which a surveillance tag from a selected article is positioned in order to change the surveillance tag from the activated state to the deactivated state, the apparatus comprising:
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a) acquisition means for producing a position signal indicative of the positioning of the surveillance tag of the selected article in the deactivating region, and for remotely acquiring from the positioned surveillance tag the encoded data representing the selected article to generate a purchase signal indicative of the identity of the selected article; b) verification means for verifying, on the bases of the purchase signal and the position signal, whether the positioned surveillance tag is associated with the selected article, and for generating a positive verification signal when the positioned surveillance tag is indeed associated with the selected article; and c) deactivation means for deactivating the positioned surveillance tag attached to the selected article in response to generation of the positive verification signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A self-checkout method of processing sales transactions of articles by a customer, the articles having attached surveillance tags, each surveillance tag initially having an activated state when attached to a respective article, and a deactivated state, each surveillance tag further including a machine-acquirable representation of data associated with the respective article, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) selecting an article to be purchased by the customer and bringing the tag attached to the selected article into registration with a deactivating unit; b) deactivating the surveillance tag brought to the deactivating unit; and c) acquiring the data from the deactivated surveillance tag to identify the selected article. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification