Computer operation control and item selection and vending methods and systems

• US 7,703,682 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: John A. Kenney
• Inventors: Kenney, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess, Daniel A
• Application Number:
  US12/362,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138382A1
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.01, 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 235/462.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

A signal is transmitted into a computer in response to an image on a display screen of the computer such that the computer operates in response to the signal; this includes moving a scanner in optical communication with the display screen such that the scanner detects an image (for example, a bar code) displayed on the screen and generates the signal in response. One or more computers may be used, and this may be used for vending a product or other purposes. With or without such scanning, a portion of a store environment may be displayed on a screen of a computer, including showing images of actual products for sale at the store, in which images of actual products are accessed via the computer from a database containing in-store images recorded in the store during a period of non-existent or minimal customer presence in the store. A vending system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. An item selection communication method, comprising:

displaying an image on a computer screen, said displayed image including image indicia defining decodable information;

scanning said image indicia defining decodable information by detecting said image and comparing said image with a data basis of images;

generating a signal containing said indicia defining decodable information;

communicating said signal to a computer associated with said computer screen in response to the selection of identifier indicia, thereby generating a list of at least one item associated with said displayed image and selecting said item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the display of the image on the computer screen includes a portion of a store environment, including showing images of actual products for sale at the store and showing images respectively associated with the products and further including the step of changing the portion of the store environment displayed on the screen until an image of an actual product to be selected is shown on the screen.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of displaying includes transmitting signals representing the images of actual products over the Internet to the computer.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of displaying includes obtaining signals representing the images of actual products from a memory of the computer.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of changing the portion of the store environment displayed includes transmitting signals representative of real time images in a store environment.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of recording in-store images during a period of nonexistence or minimal customer presence.

7. An item selection communication method, comprising:

displaying an image on a computer screen, said displayed image including image indicia defining decodable information;

scanning said image indicia defining decodable information by detecting said image and comparing that image with the data basis of images;

generating a signal containing said indicia defining decodable information;

communicating said signal to a second computer in response to the selection of identifier indicia, thereby generating an order for the selected item.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the display of the image on the computer screen includes a portion of a store environment, including showing images of actual products for sale at the store and showing images respectively associated with the products and further including the step of changing the portion of the store environment displayed on the screen until an image of an actual product to be selected is shown on the screen.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of displaying includes transmitting signals representing the images of actual products over the Internet to the computer.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of displaying includes obtaining signals representing the images of actual products from a memory of the computer.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of changing the portion of the store environment displayed includes transmitting signals representative of real time images in a store environment.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of recording in-store images during a period of nonexistence or minimal customer presence.