Computer-based system and method for mapping and conveying product location

• US 6,442,530 B1
• Filed: 11/19/1998
• Issued: 08/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, Steven D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H.
• Application Number:
  US09/197,336
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: G06/F 1.760, 705/16, 705/26-28, 705/22-23, 709/26-27
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations

Abstract

In a system for conveying product location information to a retail customer, a retail customer enters a request for the location of a selected retail item into a retail self-service terminal, which is connected to an in-store computer system having product location information stored thereon. Interfaces are provided between the computer system and the retail self-service terminal, the interfaces having access to database tables having stored therein additional product location information. The interfaces further include underlying way-finding logic for plotting a path between the retail self-service terminal and the retail item. The directions to the selected retail item are provided as an output at the retail-self service terminal. This output can take the form of text, audio, and graphical images.

Claims

1. A product location system, comprising:

an in-store computer system in which product location information is stored;

a Location COM interface for providing customized code to interact with the in-store computer system to retrieve product location information; and

a Destinations COM interface for defining a product location as a DestinationLocation object associated with a SourceLocation object, the Destinations COM interface including;

a SourceLocation COM interface for defining, in a SourceLocation object, the location of a retail self-service terminal connected to the in-store computer system, the SourceLocation object including a definition of a point at which the retail self-service terminal is located and a map of the location of the retail self-service terminal, and

a DestinationLocation COM interface for defining, in a DestinationLocation object, the location of a product, the DestinationLocation object including a definition of a point at which the product is located and a MapPaths object including a definition of a path between the retail self-service terminal and the product to be located.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a database accessible by the Destinations COM interface for providing additional product location information to the Destinations COM interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the Location COM interface interacts with the in-store computer system to obtain product location information by extracting a department number from a PLU number.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the PLU number contains SKU, class, and department portions.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the Location COM interface interacts with the in-store computer system to obtain product location information by looking up a PLU number'"'"'s location in planogramming tables.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the Destinations COM interface defines multiple DestinationLocation objects for products with multiple locations.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising the following COM interfaces accessible by the Destinations COM interface:

a Map COM interface for defining, in a Map object, a base static image;

a Point COM interface for defining, in a Point object, multimedia/audio and text information associated with a single point on a map;

a Points COM interface for defining Point objects associated with a single Map object;

a Path COM interface for defining, in a Path object, multimedia/audio, a list of points, and text information associated with a single path segment on a map;

a Paths COM interface for defining a Path object for each path segment associated with a single Map object;

a MapPath COM interface for defining, in a MapPath object, a set of Map, Points, and Paths objects associated with a single base Map; and

a MapPaths COM interface for defining one or more MapPath objects, each associated with a distinct base map.