Traffic and population counting device system and method

• US 7,944,358 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2008
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shopper Scientist LLC
• Original Assignee: Shopper Scientist LLC
• Inventors: Sorensen, Herb, Albers, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout; Brent
• Application Number:
  US12/135,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20080303662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/541, 340/573.1, 235/382, 235/385, 705 7- 10, 705/23, 377/6, 701/207
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00 Individual registration on entry or exit

Abstract

A traffic and population counting device system and method is provided. The traffic and population counting device may be executable by a computing device and may include an entry selector configured to be selected to indicate that a shopper has entered a shopping zone and to keep a running count of a number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone. An exit selector may be configured to be selected to indicate that a shopper has exited a shopping zone and to keep a running count of a number of shoppers who exit the shopping zone. Further, a display may be configured to display a running population count of shoppers within the shopping zone. The running population count may be determined by a running difference between the running count of the number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone and the running count of the number of shoppers who exit the shopping zone.

Claims

1. A device executable by a computing device for counting shoppers, comprising:

an entry selector coupled with the computing device configured to be selected to indicate that a shopper has entered a shopping zone and to keep a running count of a number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone, the entry selector displayed as a first arrow pointing into a shopping zone graphical element;

an exit selector coupled with the computing device configured to be selected to indicate that a shopper has exited a shopping zone and to keep a running count of a number of shoppers who exit the shopping zone, the exit selector displayed as a second arrow pointing out of the shopping zone graphical element; and

a display configured to display a running population count of shoppers within the shopping zone determined by a running difference between the running count of the number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone and the running count of the number of shoppers who exit the shopping zone, the display further configured to graphically display the shopping zone graphical element configured in a shape of a floor plan type graphic to correspond to an actual floor plan of the shopping zone.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein a selection by the entry selector causes an absolute entry time to be saved by a memory each time a shopper enters the shopping zone, and wherein a selection by the exit selector causes an absolute exit time to be saved by the memory each time a shopper exits the shopping zone, and wherein a total dwell time is calculated and saved in the memory by subtracting a sum of all the absolute entry times from a sum of all the absolute exit times.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the display is further configured to display an average dwell time that is calculated by dividing the total dwell time by the number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the display is configured to display the running count of the number of shoppers who enter the shopping zone and the running count of the number of shoppers who exit the shopping zone.

5. A system for counting shoppers, comprising:

computer software which, upon execution by a computing device is configured to display a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface being configured to display a pair of directional entry and exit selectors, the graphical user interface further configured to graphically display a shopping zone graphical element configured in a shape of a floor plan type graphic to correspond to an actual floor plan of the shopping zone, the entrance selector and the exit selector being configured to respectively represent an entrance of a shopper into a shopping zone and an exit of the shopper, or another shopper, out of the shopping zone, the entry selector being selectable to effect an incrementing running count of a population in the shopping zone, and the exit selector being selectable to effect a decrementing running count of the population in the shopping zone, the entry selector displayed as a first arrow pointing into the shopping zone graphical element, the exit selector displayed as a second arrow pointing out of the shopping zone graphical element.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the entry selector is further configured to increment a total number of shoppers who have entered the shopping zone and to increment a total number of shoppers who have exited the shopping zone, and the graphical user interface is further configured to display the total number of shoppers who have entered the shopping zone the total number of shoppers who have exited the shopping zone.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to display a population of shoppers who are presently in the shopping zone, based on the number of shoppers who have entered the shopping zone minus the total number of shoppers who have exited the shopping zone.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to display an average dwell time that individual shoppers stay in the shopping zone.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the computer software is configured to calculate a total dwell time by using the formula:

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the computer software is configured to calculate an average dwell time by dividing the total dwell time by a total number of shoppers who have entered the shopping zone.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein there are two or more thresholds into and out of the shopping zone, and a corresponding pair of directional entry and exit selectors for each respective threshold.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the shopping zone graphical element includes a threshold element graphically representing access into and out of the shopping zone.

13. A computing device enabled method of counting traffic and a population of shoppers comprising:

receiving an input from an entry selector to effect an incremented count on the computing device as a running total of shoppers who have entered into a shopping zone;

receiving an input from an exit selector to effect an incremented count on the computing device as a running total of shoppers who have exited the shopping zone;

calculating a running population of shoppers in the shopping zone as the running total of shoppers who have entered into the shopping zone minus the running total of shoppers who have exited the shopping zone;

displaying the running population of shoppers in the shopping zone; and

receiving one of a corrected input from the entry selector or from the exit selector to provide a corrected running population count based on a user input wherein the corrected input is based on user observation.

14. The computing device enabled method of claim 13, further comprising:

calculating a total dwell time using the formula;