System and method for managing assets using a portable combined electronic article surveillance system and barcode scanner
First Claim
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1. A method of managing an asset carrying a barcode and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, the method comprising:
- providing a point of sale (POS) network comprising a processor configured for accessing a database;
providing a portable EAS/Scanner wirelessly connected to said POS network for bi-directional communication with said processor, said EAS/Scanner comprising an EAS system for modifying an activation state of said EAS tag and a barcode scanner for scanning said barcode;
scanning said barcode using said EAS/Scanner;
transmitting a signal representative of said barcode from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor;
scanning said item using said EAS/Scanner to detect said EAS tag status;
transmitting a signal representative of said EAS tag status from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor;
accessing asset information in said database in response to said signal representative of said barcode; and
deactivating said EAS tag using said EAS/Scanner in response to said asset information, the deactivating of the EAS tag being performed without regard to purchase of the asset.
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Abstract
A system and method of managing assets using a combined electronic article surveillance (EAS) and barcode scanning device. The combined EAS/Scanner is portable and wirelessly connected to a network for facilitating a number of asset management functions, including personal shopping, pre-checkout, data mining, and inventory tracking.
19 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of managing an asset carrying a barcode and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, the method comprising:
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providing a point of sale (POS) network comprising a processor configured for accessing a database; providing a portable EAS/Scanner wirelessly connected to said POS network for bi-directional communication with said processor, said EAS/Scanner comprising an EAS system for modifying an activation state of said EAS tag and a barcode scanner for scanning said barcode; scanning said barcode using said EAS/Scanner; transmitting a signal representative of said barcode from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor; scanning said item using said EAS/Scanner to detect said EAS tag status; transmitting a signal representative of said EAS tag status from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor; accessing asset information in said database in response to said signal representative of said barcode; and deactivating said EAS tag using said EAS/Scanner in response to said asset information, the deactivating of the EAS tag being performed without regard to purchase of the asset. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of facilitating purchase of an asset carrying to which is affixed a barcode and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, the method comprising:
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providing network comprising a processor configured for accessing a database; providing a portable EAS/Scanner wirelessly connected to said POS network for bi-directional communication with said processor, said EAS/Scanner comprising an EAS system for modifying an activation state of said EAS tag and a barcode scanner for scanning said barcode; scanning said barcode using said EAS/Scanner; transmitting a signal representative of said barcode from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor; scanning said item using said EAS/Scanner to detect said EAS tag status; transmitting a signal representative of said EAS tag status from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor; accessing asset information in said database in response to said signal representative of said barcode; storing said asset information in a customer-specific database; and deactivating said EAS tag using said EAS/Scanner in response to said asset information, the deactivating of the EAS tag being performed without regard to purchase of the asset. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of verifying an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag status of an asset carrying a barcode, the method comprising:
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providing a point of sale (POS) network comprising a processor configured for accessing a database; providing a portable EAS/Scanner wirelessly connected to said POS network for bi-directional communication with said processor, said EAS/Scanner comprising an EAS system for modifying an activation state of said EAS tag and a barcode scanner for scanning said barcode; scanning said barcode using said EAS/Scanner; transmitting a signal representative of said barcode from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor;
accessing asset information in said database in response to said signal representative of said barcode, the asset information including information regarding which items are to be tagged;scanning said item using said EAS/Scanner to detect said EAS tag status; transmitting a signal representative of said EAS tag status from said EAS/Scanner for receipt by said processor; storing data representative of said EAS tag status in a status database; and comparing the signal representative of said EAS tag status with the information regarding which items are to be tagged to determine if a tag has been improperly placed. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A network for use with an asset to which is affixed a
barcode and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, the network comprising: -
a processor configured for accessing a database; and
at least one portable EAS/Scanner wirelessly connected for bi-directional communication with said processor, said EAS/Scanner comprising an EAS system configured to scan said item to detect said EAS tag status;
transmit a signal representative of said EAS tag status for receipt by said processor, and modify an activation state of said EAS tag, and a barcode scanner configured to scan said barcode,said EAS/Scanner being configured to access said database in response to information carried by said barcode to obtain asset information, said EAS system being configured for deactivating the EAS tag in response to said asset information, without regard to purchase of the asset. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification