Scale

• US 6,998,542 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2001
• Issued: 02/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mettler Toledo GmbH
• Original Assignee: Mettler Toledo GmbH
• Inventors: Wallisch, Gebhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Gibson, Randy W.
• Application Number:
  US10/332,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20040040753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 705/22, 705/414, 177/25.15, 177/25.19
• US Class Current: 177/25.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

The invention relates to a device to be used for the sale of goods in a store. Said device comprises a unit for generating goods-related signals, a unit for generating identification signals, which represent the type of the goods to be sold, and comprises a display unit for generating a visual representation of information contents that are determined on the basis of the goods-related signals and/or identification signals. For generating a visual representation, the invention provides that the sales device is operated by quantity information that represents the present quantity of the goods of the type indicated by the identification signals.

Claims

1. Scale for use in the sale of merchandise in a store with a device comprising at least one weighing cell for generating signals representing the weight of the merchandise for the generation of merchandise-specific signals which include signals representing the weight, with a unit for generating identification signals representing the type of merchandise being sold, and with a display unit for generating a visual representation of information .content determined on the basis of the merchandise-specific signals and/or the identification signals, wherein the scale for generating a visual representation can be operated on the basis of the quantitative information representing the existing inventory quantity of the merchandise of the type indicated by the identification signals.

2. Scale according to claim 1, wherein the quantitative information is displayed by the display unit.

3. Scale according to claim 1, wherein a data storage device for storing quantitative data representing the existing inventory quantities of merchandise is assigned to the scale.

4. Scale according to claim 3, wherein an updating unit for updating the quantitative data during and/or after the sales transaction is assigned to the data storage device.

5. Scale according to claim 1, wherein a unit for indicating data indicating the type of merchandise, on the basis of which data the identification signals are generated.

6. Scale according to claim 1, wherein the device for generating merchandise-specific signals is designed to generate signals representing the sale price of the merchandise.

7. Sales system with a scale according to claim 1 and a central data processing system for recording and processing the sales data transmitted to it from the minimum of one scale.

8. Sales system according to claim 7, wherein the data storage device and/or the updating unit is provided in the central data processing system.

9. Sales system according to claim 7, wherein an input unit for entering the quantitative information is assigned to the data storage device.

10. Sales system according to claim 7, wherein the central data processing system is realized in the form of said scale.

11. Process for visually representing merchandise-specific information content during a sales transaction, in the course of which process information content is displayed on the display unit of a scale, this content being generated by the scale on the basis of merchandise-specific signals which include signals representing the weight of merchandise and identification signals representing the type of merchandise being sold, wherein the scale generates a visual representation of quantitative information representing the existing quantity of merchandise of the type indicated by the identification signals.

12. Process according to claim 11, wherein the merchandise-specific signals and/or the identification signals are transmitted to a central data processing system, and in that data corresponding to the information content to be represented are generated in the central data processing system and transmitted to the scale for the visual representation of the information content or quantitative information.