Multi-device supervisor support for self-checkout systems

• US 7,328,170 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2003
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Frontech North America Incorporated (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Optimal Robotics Corporation (7293411 Canada, Inc.)
• Inventors: McVicar, Bruce, Leroux-Demers, Thierry, Kloubakov, Iouri, Jacobs, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUCHANAN, CHRISTOPHER R
• Application Number:
  US10/364,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20030149630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,820 Days
• Field of Search: 705/21
• US Class Current: 705/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/206 comprising security or operator identification provisions, e.g. password entry
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0054 with control of supplementary check-parameters, e.g. weight or number of articles
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 3/00 Alarm indicators, e.g. bells
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A customer self-checkout system includes one or more checkout stations and multiple supervisor terminals. The supervisor terminals provide support to, and control over, the self-checkout system and checkout stations. The supervisory terminals may be wireless terminals that can capture self-checkout customer identification information including signatures, fingerprints, images, and other forms of identification.

Claims

1. A self-checkout system comprising:

a self-checkout station configured for customer-operated self-checkout of items for purchase;

a plurality of supervisory terminals comprising stored program instructions that configure the supervisory terminals to conduct supervisory activities controlling operation of the self-checkout station, at least one of the supervisory terminals being a mobile data terminal comprising a wireless network interface and a user identification capture interface; and

a controller operatively coupling the plurality of supervisory terminals to the self-checkout station and comprising stored program instructions to coordinate operation of the plurality of supervisory terminals to enable more than one of said supervisory terminals to conduct supervisory operations controlling operation of the self-checkout station, said controller further comprising stored program instructions that configure the controller to send data over a wireless network to the mobile terminal instructing the mobile terminal to initiate a user identification capture operation, said user identification capture operation being related to a self-checkout transaction.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the self-checkout station is one of a plurality of self-checkout stations and the mobile terminal is operatively coupled to the plurality of self-checkout stations;

the data sent to the mobile terminal to initiate the user identification capture comprises data identifying at least one self-checkout station for which customer identification capture is to be performed.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the user identification capture operation captures a user-identification comprising identification data other than an alpha-numeric keypad input.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the user-identification further comprises an alpha-numeric keypad input.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the user identification capture interface comprises a signature capture interface and the user identification data comprises a representation of a captured signature.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the user identification capture interface comprises an interface selected from the group consisting of a biometric data capture interface and an image capture interface.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein initiating user identification capture comprises displaying on the mobile terminal a self-checkout station selection interface.

8. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the controller is one of a plurality of controllers;

each self-checkout station comprises a co-located one of the plurality of controllers; and

each of the controllers is operatively coupled to the data terminal.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the controller is a shared controller operatively coupled to each of the plurality of self-checkout stations; and

the controller is configured to administer user identification capture for multiple ones of the plurality of self-checkout stations.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the mobile data terminal is one of a plurality of supervisory terminals;

a first one of the supervisory terminals is operatively coupled to the controller by a wireless data network; and

a second one of the supervisory terminals is operatively coupled to the controller by a wired data network.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the mobile data terminal is a battery operated mobile supervisory device.

12. The system of claim 2 wherein the mobile data terminal comprises a card reader configured to clear a weight violation at the self-checkout station in response to a reading of an authorization card.

13. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the mobile data terminal and the controller interoperate to perform a plurality of supervisory functions associated with customer self-checkout at the self-checkout station;

the supervisory functions comprise processing of a payment transaction comprising a user identification capture operation.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the payment transaction comprises a payment type selected from the group consisting of a credit card payment, a debit card payment, and an electronic funds transfer payment; and

the user identification capture operation comprises receiving a signature input at the mobile data terminal.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the controller comprises a processor operatively coupled to a program storage device comprising the stored program instructions.