System and method for home grocery shopping including item categorization for efficient delivery and pick-up

• US 6,246,998 B1
• Filed: 02/25/1999
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Matsumori, Kunihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROSSI, JEFFREY A
• Application Number:
  US09/257,851
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/29, 705/28, 345/349
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system for organizing and categorizing purchases made through an Internet based home shopping system is disclosed. Products offered for sale over the Internet are contained in a server'"'"'s PLU table and are each associated with weights and measures metrics, environmental storage metrics and nutritional content indicia. As items are selected for purchase, and placed in a virtual shopping basket, a user may evaluate the contents of a virtual shopping basket in accordance with any of the physical property, environmental storage, or nutritional content indicia. Goods designated for either pickup or delivery are packaged in accordance with their size and weight criteria and are stored in an appropriate environmental storage facility in accordance with their environmental storage indicia.

Claims

1. An Internet based home grocery shopping system including a personal computer system configured for Internet access, the system comprising:

a store server configured to host an Internet access application program and including an Internet communication interface and a control processor;

a mass storage device coupled to the store server;

a master PLU database stored in the mass storage unit, the PLU database including data representing item identification, price and weights and measures metrics, each said metric associated with an item of merchandise, the PLU database further including an environmental storage metric identifying an environment suitable for storing said item of merchandise; and

means for summing the merchandise item information metrics, including the weights and measures metrics, the means for summing further including means for displaying the summed metrics on a display screen of a personal computer system, thereby allowing a consumer to visually inspect a size and weight characteristic of an electronic order.

2. The system according to claim 1, further including means for categorizing an electronic order according to an environmental storage metric, such that individual items comprising the order are each segregated into common environmental storage groupings.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the order items segregated into common environmental storage groupings are stored in an environment designated by an environmental storage code.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the environmental storage codes are selected from the group consisting of a freezer code, a refrigerator code, and a room temperature storage code.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the means for summing the merchandise item information metrics comprises an application program.

6. The system according to claim 5, further comprising a virtual shopping basket, including an electronic storage area into which items selected for purchase are stored.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the PLU database further includes a size metric assigned to individual items of merchandise stocked by the store.

8. The system according to claim 7, further comprising means for organizing the items contained in the virtual shopping basket in accordance with their weight, size and environmental requirements indicia, such that the contents of the virtual shopping basket may be arranged and viewed by a consumer in accordance with a weight, size or environmental requirements indicia selection.

9. The system according to claim 8, the master PLU database further including nutritional content indicia associated to each merchandise item, the system further comprising means for organizing the contents of the virtual shopping basket in accordance with the nutritional content subject to a consumer'"'"'s selection of a nutritional content indicia.

10. In an Internet based home shopping system, wherein merchandise orders are transmitted to a store server via a personal computer coupled to an Internet network, a system for organizing selected items into categories based on user selected indicia, the system comprising:

a PLU table including merchandise item information, hosted on the store server, the PLU table including weight, size and environmental requirements indica, each assigned to individual items of merchandise stocked by the store;

a virtual shopping basket, comprising an electronic storage area, into which items selected for purchase are stored; and

means for organizing the items contained in the virtual shopping basket in accordance with their weight, size and environmental requirements indicia, such that contents of the virtual shopping basket may be arranged and viewed by a consumer in accordance with a weight, size or environmental requirements indicia selection.

11. The system according to claim 10, the PLU table further including nutritional content indicia associated to each merchandise item, the system further comprising means for organizing the contents of the virtual shopping basket in accordance with nutritional content subject to a consumer'"'"'s selection of a nutritional content indicia.

12. The system according to claim 11, further including means for organizing the contents of the virtual shopping basket in accordance with each item'"'"'s environmental requirements, subject to a consumer'"'"'s selection of the environmental requirements indicia.

13. The system according to claim 12, further comprising means for indicating the total weight of items contained in virtual shopping basket.

14. The system according to claim 13, further comprising means for indicating the total volumetric size of the items contained in the virtual shopping basket.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the means for organizing the items contained in the virtual shopping basket in accordance with their weight, size, environmental requirements and nutritional content comprises an application program executing on the personal computer and communicating with the store server over the Internet network.

16. The system according to claim 15, the personal computer including a display screen for displaying the virtual shopping basket, the display screen further displaying at least a transaction log file record containing at least a total price, total weight, and a total capacity of the items contained in the virtual shopping basket.

17. In an Internet based home shopping system, wherein merchandise orders are transmitted to a store server via a personal computer coupled to an Internet network, a method for organizing selected items into categories based on user selected indicia, the method comprising:

assigning a weight, a size and an environmental requirements indicia to individual items of merchandise stocked by the store;

forming said merchandise item indicia information into a PLU table, hosted on the store server;

providing a virtual shopping basket, including an electronic storage area;

electronically selecting items for purchase;

adding each item selected for purchase to the contents of the virtual shopping basket; and

organizing the items contained in the virtual shopping basket in accordance with their weight, size and environmental requirements indicia, such that contents of the virtual shopping basket may be arranged and viewed by a consumer in accordance with a weight, size or environmental requirements indicia selection.

18. The method according to claim 17, the PLU table further including nutritional content indicia associated to each merchandise item, the method further comprising the step of organizing the contents of the virtual shopping basket in accordance with the nutritional content subject to a consumer'"'"'s selection of a nutritional content indicia.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of segregating the contents of the virtual shopping basket into common environmental storage groupings, subject to a consumer'"'"'s selection of an environmental requirements indicia.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of storing the items, segregated into common environmental storage groupings, in an environment designated by an environmental storage code.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the environmental storage codes are selected from the group consisting of a freezer code, a refrigerator code, and a room temperature storage code.