System and method for customer recognition using wireless identification and visual data transmission

• US 6,513,015 B2
• Filed: 09/25/1998
• Issued: 01/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ogasawara, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKERS, GEOFFREY R
• Application Number:
  US09/160,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20020016740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 235/372, 340/828, 340/643, 340/825
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/10 Movable barriers with registering means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/253 visually
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures

Abstract

An electronic shopping system, providing for customer recognition using wireless identification and visual data transmission to point-of-sale terminals and other terminal types located in a commercial establishment. A customer'"'"'s visual image is taken as a customer enters the establishment and, that customer'"'"'s identification number is obtained from a customer identification card, if the customer possesses such a card. The visual image data is bundled with the customer'"'"'s demographic profile data, transaction history data and the customer'"'"'s current accrued store loyalty or incentive points into a customer data record. The customer data record is forwarded to point-of-sale terminals, store workstations, mobile terminals, or other I/O devices capable of displaying multiple customer records. The establishment staff is able to access each of the customer records in order to visually identify customers as they enter the establishment, without the customers needing to announce themselves or otherwise advertise their presence. A customer'"'"'s visual image can also be acquired as a customer accesses a check-in kiosk terminal prior to beginning a shopping excursion. The acquired customer visual image is bundled with customer preference data and made available to the establishment'"'"'s staff for visual recognition of each individual customer.

Claims

1. An electronic shopping system for use in a retail facility, the system comprising:

an entrance/exit sensor, positioned to identify the presence of a customer as the customer moves through the entrance/exit of a retail facility;

digital visual image recording means for capturing a visual image of a customer as they pass through an entrance/exit of the retail facility, the image recording means capturing a customer'"'"'s visual image in response to a trigger signal provided by the entrance/exit sensor;

an interrogator unit, including an antenna, positioned in proximity to the entrance/exit of the retail facility, each interrogator defining an interrogation area characterized by a radiation field;

a portable customer ID card including at least a memory storage area, the memory storage area holding at least a customer indicia, the customer indicia being communicated to the interrogator unit when a customer moves in proximity to the interrogation area;

a control unit, coupled to the interrogator, sensor and image recording means, the control unit for receiving at least the customer indicia from the interrogator unit, the control unit causing the customer indicia to be bundled with that customer'"'"'s visual image into a customer specific data set; and

at least one in-store terminal, the in-store terminal including communication means for receiving customer specific data sets and a display, wherein a customer'"'"'s recorded visual image is displayed on the in-store terminal such that a store employee may recognize that customer from their recorded image.

2. The electronic shopping system according to claim 1, the customer indicia held by the memory storage area comprising a unique customer ID number, the ID number being read from the customer ID card by the interrogator unit.

3. The electronic shopping system according to claim 2, wherein each unique customer ID number is associated to a corresponding customer information record characterized by a multiplicity of information fields, each customer record containing profile entries specific to that customer including personal identification information, demographic information, information relating to a customer'"'"'s personal shopping preferences and a customer'"'"'s shopping transactional history.

4. The electronic shopping system according to claim 3, the portable customer ID card comprising a contactless-type smart card, including an RF transceiver circuit for communicating with an interrogator unit, the smart card further comprising an integrated circuit processor for managing data information transfer between the memory storage area and the RF transceiver circuit, wherein the interrogator unit is configured to enter into wireless RF communication with the card'"'"'s RF transceiver circuit so as to read at least the customer ID number from the memory storage area.

5. The electronic shopping system according to claim 4, the customer information record being held in the memory storage area of the smart card, the customer record being transmitted to the interrogator unit and thence to the control unit along with the customer ID number.

6. The electronic shopping system according to claim 3, the system further including a database of customer specific entries, each entry identified by a corresponding unique customer ID number, each entry containing that customer'"'"'s information record.

7. The electronic shopping system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the control unit causes a customer'"'"'s information record to be bundled with their recorded visual image into a customer specific data set.

8. The electronic shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the in-store terminal is coupled to a store server, the store server including storage means for hosting the data base of customer specific entries, the store server bundling each customer'"'"'s information record with that customer'"'"'s recorded visual image into a customer specific data set, in operative response to a command from the control unit.

9. The electronic shopping system according to claim 8, further comprising a multiplicity of in-store terminals, including a plurality of point-of-sale terminals, the multiplicity of in-house terminals coupled to the store server over a local-area-network configuration, the store server transmitting a customer specific data set to each of the in-house terminals connected to the server over the local-area-network configuration.

10. The electronic shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the in-store terminal is a hand-held mobile terminal.

11. The electronic shopping system according to claim 10, wherein the communication means includes an RF antenna and a transmitter/receiver circuit integrated into said hand-held mobile terminal, the mobile terminal configured to receive at least the customer ID from the card over the antenna and transmitter/receiver circuit.

24. An electronic shopping system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a kiosk terminal including a customer ID card interface unit, the customer indicia being communicated to the kiosk terminal through the customer ID card interface unit.

25. The electronic shopping system according to claim 2, the portable customer ID card comprising a contact-type smart card, wherein the customer ID card interface unit is a smart card reader.

26. The electronic shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the portable customer ID card is a magnetic stripe-type card and wherein the card reader is a magnetic stripe-type card reader.

12. In an electronic shopping system for use in a retail facility, a method for assisting the facility'"'"'s sales staff to identify particular customers as they enter/leave the facility and to recognize such customers visually, the method comprising:

positioning an entrance/exit sensor in proximity to the entrance/exit of a retail facility, so as to identify the presence of a customer as the customer moves through the entrance/exit;

capturing a visual image of a customer as they pass through the entrance/exit of the retail facility, the customer'"'"'s image recorded in response to a trigger signal provided by the entrance/exit sensor;

providing an interrogator unit, including an antenna, positioned in proximity to the entrance/exit of the retail facility, each interrogator defining an interrogation area characterized by a radiation field;

providing a portable customer ID card including at least a memory storage area, the memory storage area holding at least a customer indicia, the customer indicia being communicated to the interrogator unit when a customer moves in proximity to the interrogation area;

receiving the customer indicia;

bundling the captured visual image of the customer together with the customer indicia into a customer specific data set;

providing at least one in-store terminal, the in-store terminal including communication means for receiving customer specific data sets and a display; and

displaying a customer'"'"'s recorded visual image on the in-store terminal'"'"'s display such that a store employee may recognize that customer from their recorded image.

13. The customer recognition method according to claim 12, the customer indicia held by the memory storage area comprising a unique customer ID number, the ID number being read from the customer ID card by the interrogator unit.

14. The customer recognition method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of associating each unique customer ID number to a corresponding customer information record, each information record characterized by a multiplicity of information fields, each information record containing profile entries specific to that customer including a personal identification information, demographic information, information relating to a customer'"'"'s personal shopping preferences and a customer'"'"' shopping transactional history.

15. The customer recognition method according to claim 14, the portable customer ID card comprising a contactless-type smart card, including an RF transceiver circuit for communicating with an interrogator unit, the smart card further comprising an integrated circuit processor for managing data information transfer between the memory storage area and the RF transceiver circuit, wherein the interrogator unit is configured to enter into wireless RF communication with the card'"'"'s RF transceiver circuit so as to read at least the customer ID number from the memory storage area.

16. The customer recognition method according to claim 15, the customer information record being held in the memory storage area of the smart card, the customer record being transmitted to the interrogator unit and thence to the control unit along with the customer ID number.

17. The customer recognition method according to claim 16, further including the step of defining a database comprising customer specific entries, each customer specific entry identified by a corresponding unique customer ID number, each so-identified customer specific entry containing that specific customer'"'"'s information record.

18. The customer recognition method according to claim 16 or claim 17, further including the step of bundling a specific customer'"'"'s information record with that customer'"'"'s recorded visual image into a customer'"'"'s specific data set in operative response to a command from the control unit.

19. The customer recognition method according to claim 18, further comprising:

displaying each customer specific data set bundled with that customer'"'"'s recorded visual image, such that a sales clerk is able to efficiently address that specific customer'"'"'s shopping needs.

20. The customer recognition method according to claim 19, wherein the in-house terminal is coupled to a store server, the store server including storage means for hosting the database of customer specific entries, the store server bundling each specific customer'"'"'s information record with that customer'"'"'s recorded visual image into a customer specific data set, in operative response to a command from the control unit.

21. The customer recognition method according to claim 20, the method further comprising:

providing a multiplicity of in-house terminals, including a first plurality of point-of-sale terminals and a second plurality of mobile terminals;

coupling the multiplicity of in-house terminals to the store server over a local-area-network configuration; and

transmitting a customer specific data set to each of the in-house terminals connected to the server over the local-area-network configuration upon that customer'"'"'s entry into the retail facility.

22. The customer recognition method according to claim 21, further comprising the step of deleting a customer specific data set from the in-house terminals upon that customer'"'"'s leaving the retail facility.

23. The customer recognition method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of:

establishing a list of received customer ID numbers;

comparing a received customer ID number to the customer ID numbers comprising the list;

determining whether the received customer ID number matches a customer ID number presently on the list; and

whereby, if the received customer ID number is determined to match a customer ID number presently on the list, it is assumed that the customer has previously entered the store and is, therefore, leaving, that customer'"'"'s specific data set being deleted in response, if the customer ID number is not determined to be among the customer ID numbers comprising the list, it is assumed that the customer is entering the facility, the customer'"'"'s visual image and information record being bundled into a customer specific data set in response.

27. A customer identification system for use in a particular facility, the system comprising:

a sensor positioned to identify a presence of a customer as the customer passes through an entrance/exit of the facility;

an image recorder capturing an image of the customer as the customer passes through the entrance/exit of the facility, the image recorder capturing the image in response to a trigger signal provided by the sensor;

an interrogator positioned in proximity to the entrance/exit of the facility, the interrogator communicating with a customer ID card when the customer ID card is in proximity to the interrogator unit, the customer ID card having a memory storage area storing a customer indicia;

a processor coupled to the interrogator, sensor, and image recorder, the processor receiving the customer indicia from the interrogator and the captured image from the image recorder, the processor further associating the customer indicia with the captured image and transmitting the customer indicia and the captured image; and

an in-store terminal including a display, the in-store terminal displaying the recorded image of the customer on the display for allowing a store employee to visually recognize the customer.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein the system is used in a retail facility having an electronic record of purchases made by the customer, and the customer indicia held by the memory storage area comprise a unique customer ID number associated with a corresponding customer information record, each customer record including profile entries specific to that customer.

29. The system according to claim 27, wherein the customer information record is held in the memory storage area of the ID card, the customer record being transmitted to the interrogator and thence to the processor along with the customer ID number.

30. The system according to claim 29 wherein the processor causes a customer'"'"'s information record to be bundled with their recorded image into a customer specific data set.