Electronic cash register enabling to select recommendation commodities to a customer

• US 6,529,879 B1
• Filed: 10/18/1999
• Issued: 03/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Hiroyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, Robert P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JAKETIC, BRYAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/419,652
• Time in Patent Office: 1,233 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

An electronic cash register for registering sales of commodities sold to a customer is stored with a list of predetermined commodities to be recommended to customers. The predetermined commodities are compared one after another according to priority orders with the commodities sold and extracts items in the predetermined commodities which are different from the commodities sold. Then, the extracted items are displayed on a monitor display, and are recommended to the customer.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a recommendation of commodities to a customer by use of an electric cash register which is operated when selling commodities to the customer in order to register sales of ordered commodities being sold to the customer, said method comprising the steps of:

periodically storing into the electric cash register a list of selected ones of predetermined commodities to be recommended, said list containing different priority orders which are previously assigned to the predetermined commodities, respectively;

when registering sales of the ordered commodities being sold to the customer, making the electronic cash register perform the steps of;

(1) comparing the ordered commodities with said list of predetermined commodities to select, as a selected Item, independently of an amount of change due, one of said predetermined commodities which is different from said commodities sold;

said predetermined commodities being compared one after another according to the priority orders with the ordered commodities, one of said predetermined commodities which is first found to be different from the ordered commodities being selected as a first selected one; and

(2) indicating said selected item, said first selected item being displayed as said selected item, then recommending, as recommendation commodities, said selected items to the customer.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

making the electronic cash register perform further operations of;

(3) continuing said operation (1) after indication of said selected item, to select, as a subsequently selected one, another of said predetermined commodities which is subsequently found to be different from the commodities sold; and

(4) indicating said subsequently selected one as said selected item.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein operations (3) and (4) are repeated a predetermined number of times in order to recommend a number of recommendation of commodities to the customer.

4. A recording medium storing a recommendation of a commodities selection program executed by a computer in an electronic cash register, said computer comprising an input unit, a storage unit, a display unit and a processing unit, said recommendation of commodities selection program consisting of the steps of:

(1) periodically storing into said storage unit a list of selected ones of predetermined commodities to be recommended to customers, said list containing different priority orders which are previously assigned to the predetermined commodities, respective;

(2) accepting ordered commodities, said ordered commodities being inputted through said input unit when selling the ordered commodities to a customer;

(3) comparing, by said processing unit, said predetermined commodities in said list with said ordered commodities to select, as a selected item, independently of an amount of change due, one of said predetermined commodities which is different from said ordered commodities, said predetermined commodities being compared one after another according to the priority orders with the ordered commodities, one of said predetermined commodities which is first found to be different from the ordered commodities being selected as a first selected one; and

(4) displaying said selected item on said display unit.

5. A recording medium as claimed in claim 4, wherein said recommendation of commodities selection program further comprising processes of:

(5) continuing said process (3) after displaying said selected item in process (4), to select, as a subsequently selected one, another of said predetermined commodities which is subsequently found to be different from the ordered commodities; and

(6) displaying said subsequently selected one as said selected item.

6. A recording medium as claimed in claim 4, wherein said recommendation of commodities selection program further comprising processes of:

registering a predetermined number of repeating times; and

repeating processes (5) and (6) the predetermined number of times.

7. An electronic cash register, comprising:

a storage device for periodically storing a list of selected ones of predetermined commodities to be recommended to customers, said list containing different priority orders which are previously assigned to the predetermined commodities, respectively;

an input device for imputing ordered commodities when selling the ordered commodities to a particular customer, said predetermined commodities being compared one after another according to the priority orders with the ordered commodities, that one of said predetermined commodities which is first found to be different from the ordered commodities being selected as a first selected one;

an extracting device for extracting, as a recommendation of commodities, independently of an amount of change due, those items in the predetermined commodities in said list which are different from said ordered commodities; and

a display device for displaying said recommendation of commodities, said first selected commodity being displayed as a said selected item;

continuing said process after displaying said selected item, to select, as a subsequently selected one, another of said predetermined commodities which is subsequently found to be different from the ordered commodities; and

displaying said subsequently selected commodity as said selected item.

8. An electronic cash register as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said list contains recommendation priority orders of the predetermined commodities; and

said extracting device comparing said predetermined commodities one after another according to the priority orders with said ordered commodities to sequentially select items, as said recommendation commodities of the predetermined commodities which are different from said ordered commodities.

9. An electronic cash register as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

the storage device further stores a predetermined number which prescribes the maximum number of commodities; and

the extracting device extracts commodities to the maximum of the predetermined number of commodities.