Inventory control and point-of-sale system and method
First Claim
1. A method for allowing self-transacted purchases to be coordinated with an electronic article surveillance system, said electronic article surveillance system having a controller computer and at least one exit detection pedestal for initiating an alarm condition and at least one article tag, said method comprising the steps of:
- establishing an identity of a consumer at the time said consumer decides to make a purchase;
receiving a selection of a product for purchase to which said article tag is affixed;
validating said selected product is available for purchase;
completing a purchase transaction by posting an amount to an account associated with said identified consumer; and
allowing physical removal of said selected product from an area secured by said electronic article surveillance system by prohibiting the initiation of an alarm condition when said article tag is detected near said exit detection pedestal associated with said identified consumer.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method allowing a consumer to make a purchase within a retail area and to remove that purchased item from the retail area without causing an alarm by an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system. The system first identifies the consumer and the product to be purchased, then validates the selected item. If the selected product is a valid selection, then the system posts the transaction to the consumer'"'"'s account, optionally including a convenience charge, and commands the EAS to allow removal of the purchased item from the secured retail area, thereby allowing the consumer to make the purchase and avoid waiting for the availability of a human cashier or salesperson.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for allowing self-transacted purchases to be coordinated with an electronic article surveillance system, said electronic article surveillance system having a controller computer and at least one exit detection pedestal for initiating an alarm condition and at least one article tag, said method comprising the steps of:
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establishing an identity of a consumer at the time said consumer decides to make a purchase;
receiving a selection of a product for purchase to which said article tag is affixed;
validating said selected product is available for purchase;
completing a purchase transaction by posting an amount to an account associated with said identified consumer; and
allowing physical removal of said selected product from an area secured by said electronic article surveillance system by prohibiting the initiation of an alarm condition when said article tag is detected near said exit detection pedestal associated with said identified consumer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer-readable medium encoded with software for allowing seif-transacted purchases to be coordinated with an electronic article surveillance system, said electronic article surveillance system having a controller computer and at least one exit detection pedestal for initiating an alarm condition and at least one article tag, said software causing one or more processors to perform the steps of:
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determine an identity of a consumer at the time said consumer decides to make a purchase;
receive a selection of a product for purchase to which said article tag is affixed;
validate that said selected product is available for purchase;
complete a purchase transaction by posting an amount to an account associated with said identified consumer; and
allow physical removal of said selected product from an area secured by said electronic article surveillance system by prohibiting initiation of an alarm condition when said article tag is detected near said detection pedestal associated with said identified consumer. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for allowing seif-transacted purchases of products in a retail space secured by an electronic article surveillance system (EAS), said system comprising:
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a consumer identification receiver for receiving a consumer identity value from a consumer identification unit at the time said consumer decides to make a purchase;
a product selection receiver for receiving a consumer selection of a product for purchase;
a supply chain management (SCM) interface communicative to a store supply chain management system for performing product validation operations;
a purchase subsystem interface for posting a transaction to a consumer account;
an EAS interface communicative to an EAS system; and
a controller for receiving said consumer identity value and said product selection, validating said product selection, posting a transaction to a consumer account, and commanding an EAS system to allow removal of said selected product from said secured retail space by said identified consumer. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification