Cashierless shopping store and components for use therein
First Claim
1. A cashierless shopping store composing:
- at least one shopping cart into which items to be purchased are placed, said at least one shopping cart including means to detect the weight of items placed therein and means to transmit detected item weight information over a wireless communication link;
at least one portable wireless shopping terminal to accompany said at least one shopping cart and receiving item price and weight information read from items to be purchased prior to placement in said shopping cart, said at least one shopping terminal also receiving the weight information transmitted over said wireless communication link and comparing the read item and transmitted weight information to determine if said weights correlate; and
at least one checkout station including means to detect the total weight of items in said at least one shopping cart and means to transmit detected total weight information over said wireless communication link to said at least one shopping terminal, said at least one shopping terminal comparing the transmitted total weight with the sum of read item weights to determine if said total and sum weights correlate.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cashierless shopping store includes a plurality of shopping carts into which selected items to be purchased are placed by shoppers. Each of the shopping carts includes a weight detector to measure the weight of items placed therein and a transmitter to transmit the measured weights over a wireless communications link. A portable wireless shopping terminal accompanies each of the shopping carts. Each shopping terminal reads item price and item weight data from each selected item to be purchased and receives the measured weight of each selected item transmitted over the wireless communication link by the transmitter. The shopping terminal compares the read item weight data with the transmitted measured weight to determine if the read item weight data and the transmitted measured weight for each selected item correlate. At least one checkout station is provided and includes a scale to measure the total weight of selected items in a shopping cart and a transmitter to transmit the measured total weight over the wireless communications link to the shopping terminal accompanying that shopping cart. The shopping terminal compares the measured total weight with the sum of the read item weight data to determine if the weights correlate.
230 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A cashierless shopping store composing:
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at least one shopping cart into which items to be purchased are placed, said at least one shopping cart including means to detect the weight of items placed therein and means to transmit detected item weight information over a wireless communication link;
at least one portable wireless shopping terminal to accompany said at least one shopping cart and receiving item price and weight information read from items to be purchased prior to placement in said shopping cart, said at least one shopping terminal also receiving the weight information transmitted over said wireless communication link and comparing the read item and transmitted weight information to determine if said weights correlate; and
at least one checkout station including means to detect the total weight of items in said at least one shopping cart and means to transmit detected total weight information over said wireless communication link to said at least one shopping terminal, said at least one shopping terminal comparing the transmitted total weight with the sum of read item weights to determine if said total and sum weights correlate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of shopping for items comprising the steps of:
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scanning item price and weight data from selected items to be purchased using a portable shopping terminal;
placing said selected items into a shopping cart;
detecting the weight of each selected item as each selected item is placed in said shopping cart;
transmitting the weight of each selected item over a wireless communication link to said shopping terminal;
in the shopping terminal, comparing the scanned weight data for each selected item with the received detected weight to determine if the scanned weight data and received detected weight correlate;
measuring the total weight of selected items placed in said shopping cart and transmitting the measured total weight over a wireless communications link to said shopping terminal; and
in the shopping terminal, comparing the measured total weight with the sum of all of the weight data scanned from said selected items. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A shopping cart comprising:
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a wheeled carriage;
a hopper removably supported on said carriage into which items to be purchased are placed, said hopper being partitioned into a plurality of compartments, each of said compartments for receiving a bag into which items may be placed during shopping;
a weight sensor to detect the weight of items placed in said hopper, said weight sensor including a load cell on said wheeled carriage and on which said hopper rests; and
a wireless communication module responsive to said load cell to transmit detected weight information over a wireless communication link.
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8. A cashierless shopping store comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts into which selected items to be purchased are placed by shoppers, each of said shopping carts including a weight detector to measure the weight of items placed therein and a transmitter to transmit the measured weight over a wireless communications link;
a portable wireless shopping terminal accompanying each of said shopping carts, each shopping terminal reading item price and item weight data from each selected item to be purchased and receiving the measured weight of each selected item transmitted over said wireless communications link by said transmitter, said shopping terminal comparing the read item weight data with the transmitted measured weight to determine if the read item weight data and transmitted measured weight for each selected item correlate; and
at least one checkout station including a scale to measure the total weight of selected items in a shopping cart and a transmitter to transmit the measured total weight over said wireless communications link to the shopping terminal accompanying that shopping cart, said shopping terminal comparing the measured total weight with the sum of the read item weight data to determine if said weights correlate. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification