Alarm solution for securing shopping checkout

• US 7,889,068 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Haas, Norman, Flickner, Myron D., Hampapur, Arun, Pankanti, Sharathchandra U., Connell, Jonathan H. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland; Donnie L
• Application Number:
  US12/052,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20090237232A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: 340/522, 340/692, 340/5.91, 340/5.9, 340/5.92, 705/22, 705/24, 235/383
• US Class Current: 340/522
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/00 Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/246 Check out systems combined with EAS, e.g. price information stored on EAS tag anti-theft systems in point of sale systems G07G3/003

Abstract

Under the present invention, a single, overall alarm for an entire set of shopping items will be used for any and all discrepancies. The metric used for creating an alarm for the overall set of shopping items can be based on any one of the following candidate policies: if at least one item generated an alarm; if some fixed number of items generated an alarm; if some threshold discrepancy metric got exceed; if basket size is larger than certain threshold cash value and the alarm exceeded certain threshold alarm rate; a randomly generated alarm (e.g., random audit); the customer'"'"'s identity and track record (e.g., loyalty card); and/or any combination of the above. Regardless, if an overall alarm is generated one or more of the following actions can be taken: no action send the customer to customer service; appropriately record customer track record (e.g., loyalty card) when customer identity is available; audit the customer at the “shop exit; and/or any combination of thereof.

Claims

1. A method for securing shopping checkout, comprising:

processing a set of shopping items pursuant to a shopping checkout, the set of shopping items being an entirety of shopping items for a single customer; and

generating only one single overall alarm for the set of shopping items if at least one of a set of alarm criteria occurred during the shopping checkout regardless of a total number of alarm criteria that occurred during the shopping checkout.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating is in response to an indication that the processing has completed.

3. The method of claim 1, the set of alarm criteria including if some fixed quantity of the set of items generated an alarm.

4. The method of claim 1, the set of alarm criteria including if a threshold discrepancy metric got exceed.

5. The method of claim 1, the set of alarm criteria including a random generation of an alarm that is unrelated to the set of shopping items.

6. The method of claim 1, the set of alarm criteria including a history pertaining to a customer associated with the set of shopping items that is unrelated to the set of shopping items themselves.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising taking at least one action if the overall alarm is generated.

8. The method of claim 7, the at least one action being selected from a group consisting of:

a referral to customer service, a logging of events, and audit of set of shopping items.

9. A system for securing shopping checkout, comprising:

a module processing a set of shopping items pursuant to a shopping checkout, the set of shopping items being an entirety of shopping items for a single customer; and

a module for generating only one single overall alarm for the set of shopping items in its entirety if at least one of a set of alarm criteria occurred during the shopping check out regardless of a total number of alarm criteria that occurred during the shopping checkout.

10. The system of claim 9, the set of alarm criteria including if at least one of the set of items generated an alarm.

11. The system of claim 9, the set of alarm criteria including if some fixed quantity of the set of items generated an alarm.

12. The system of claim 9, the set of alarm criteria including if a threshold discrepancy metric got exceed.

13. The system of claim 9, the set of alarm criteria including a random generation of an alarm that is unrelated to the set of shopping items.

14. The system of claim 9, the set of alarm criteria including a history pertaining to a customer associated with the set of shopping items that is unrelated to the set of shopping items themselves.

15. The system of claim 9, further comprising a module for taking at least one action if the overall alarm is generated.

16. The system of claim 15, the at least one action being selected from a group consisting of:

a referral to customer service, a logging of events, and audit of set of shopping items.

17. A computer program product loaded into the internal memory of a computer for securing shopping checkout, the computer readable program code configured to:

process a set of shopping items pursuant to a shopping checkout, the set of shopping items being an entirety of shopping items for a single customer; and

generate only one single overall alarm for the set of shopping items in its entirety if at least one of a set of alarm criteria occurred during the shopping checkout regardless of a total number of alarm criteria that occurred during the shopping checkout.

18. The program product of claim 17, the set of alarm criteria including if at least one of the entire set of items generated an alarm.

19. The program product of claim 17, the set of alarm criteria including if some fixed quantity of the entire set of items generated an alarm.

20. The program product of claim 17, the set of alarm criteria including if a threshold discrepancy metric got exceed.

21. The program product of claim 17, the set of alarm criteria including a random generation of an alarm that is unrelated to the set of shopping items.

22. The program product of claim 17, the set of alarm criteria including a history pertaining to a customer associated with the entire set of shopping items that is unrelated to the set of shopping items themselves.

23. The program product of claim 17, further comprising taking at least one action if the overall alarm is generated.

24. The program product of claim 23, the at least one action being selected from a group consisting of:

a referral to customer service, a logging of events, and audit of set of shopping items.

25. A method for deploying an application for securing shopping checkout, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure being operable to;

process a set of shopping items pursuant to a shopping checkout, the set of shopping items being an entirety of shopping items for a single customer; and

generate only one single overall alarm for the set of shopping items in its entirety if at least one of a set of alarm criteria occurred during the shopping checkout regardless of a total number of alarm criteria that occurred during the shopping checkout.