Method and system for merchandise retail management and portable terminal

• US 8,036,906 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kojima Company Limited (BIC Camera Incorporated), Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Kojima Company Limited (BIC Camera Incorporated), Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kojima, Akitoshi, Tsuda, Yasuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Araque, Jr.; Gerardo
• Application Number:
  US09/995,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,603 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• 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 20/343 Cards including a counter
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices

Abstract

An object of the invention is to reduce necessary costs in a merchandise retail store, and to reduce customer inconvenience and waiting time. A customer entering a merchandise retail store borrows a RFID portable terminal at the store entrance. The customer selects a sample commodity from a store sales area, and a commodity code is read out from a wireless tag in a wireless tag label and stored with the RFID portable terminal, which simultaneously relays that information to the outside. An information-processing apparatus in the store receives this message, and prepares the commodity that the customer wishes to purchase. The customer returns the RFID portable terminal to the sales counter, settles payment, and receives his wrapped commodity.

Claims

1. A merchandise retail management method comprising the steps of:

putting a tag on display together with a sample commodity in a display area, commodity information including an identification code of the commodity, being allowed to be read from and written to the tag;

lending out a portable terminal capable of reading the tag to a customer entering the display area;

reading the commodity information from the tag, which is put on display together with the corresponding sample commodity, with the portable terminal when the customer indicates an interest in purchasing the commodity;

storing the corresponding commodity information in the portable terminal and relaying it to an information-processing apparatus for merchandise management and sales management;

comparing at the information-processing apparatus the commodity information which has already been relayed to the information-processing apparatus, with commodity information which is sent from the portable terminal to a POS apparatus at a sales counter and is then entered into the information-processing apparatus;

the customer returning the portable terminal when leaving; and

handing over the commodity to the customer after the commodity to be sold has been prepared in accordance with the comparison result of commodity information at the information-processing apparatus.

2. The merchandise retail management method of claim 1, wherein a wireless tag is used which commodity information is allowed to be read from and written to via radio waves, and the commodity information is relayed to the information-processing apparatus at the same time when the commodity information is read from the wireless tag.

15. The merchandise retail management method of claim 1, wherein the portable terminal reads via radio waves customer identifying information written onto another wireless tag, and transmits the customer identifying information to the information-processing apparatus via radio waves.

3. A merchandise retail management system for aggregating commodity information of commodities that a customer indicates an intent to purchase from among sample commodities which are on display in a display room, and for preparing the commodities, comprising:

a wireless tag displayed on each sample commodity, wherein commodity information, including an identification code of that commodity can be read from and written to the wireless tag via radio waves;

a portable terminal that is held by customers that have entered the display room, and which is capable of reading the commodity information on the wireless tag, that stores commodity information that has been read out and relays the commodity information to the outside;

a POS apparatus adapted to receive the commodity information sent from the portable terminal at a sales counter; and

an information-processing apparatus for receiving the relay from the portable terminal, indicating what commodity to have prepared in accordance to what the customer has indicated the intent to purchase and comparing the commodity information which has already been relayed to the information-processing apparatus, with commodity information which is sent from the portable terminal to the POS apparatus and is then entered into the information-processing apparatus.

4. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, further comprising a rewriting apparatus for rewriting the commodity information on the wireless tag.

5. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, wherein the portable terminal includes:

input means with which the customer commands an arithmetic process relating to stored commodity information; and

arithmetic means for conducting arithmetic processing according to the command to the input means.

6. The merchandise retail management system of claim 4, wherein the portable terminal includes:

input means with which the customer commands an arithmetic process relating to stored commodity information; and

arithmetic means for conducting arithmetic processing according to the command to the input means.

7. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, wherein the portable terminal includes:

input means with which the customer designates stored commodity information; and

display means for displaying commodity information in accordance with the designation made to the input means.

8. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, wherein the portable terminal relays commodity information to at least one of a POS apparatus and an information processing apparatus at the same time that the portable terminal reads out the commodity information from the wireless tag.

9. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, wherein the information-processing apparatus includes:

wireless communication means for wireless communication with the portable terminal held by a customer checking out; and

customer specification means for specifying customers by wireless communication via the wireless communication means.

10. The merchandise retail management system of claim 9, wherein the information-processing apparatus further includes:

commodity information readout means for reading out the commodity information stored in the portable terminal through wireless communication with the portable terminal via the wireless communication means;

display means for displaying a list of commodity information that has been read out by the commodity information readout means;

correction input means for receiving corrected input from customers who have viewed the list displayed by the display means; and

commodity correction means for correcting commodity information in accordance with the corrected input when the corrected input means receives corrected input.

11. The merchandise retail management system of claim 10, wherein the information-processing apparatus carries out revision and addition of information to the list through wireless communication with the portable terminal via the wireless communication means.

12. The merchandise retail management system of claim 10, wherein the information-processing apparatus is further provided with payment processing means capable of processing payment for sales, displayed by the display means.

13. The merchandise retail management system of claim 11, wherein the information-processing apparatus is further provided with payment processing means capable of processing payment for sales, displayed by the display means.

16. The merchandise retail management system of claim 3, wherein the portable terminal reads via radio waves customer identifying information written onto another wireless tag, and transmits the customer identifying information to the information-processing apparatus via radio waves.

14. A portable terminal comprising:

a tag reader for reading via radio waves commodity information written onto a wireless tag located on a sample commodity remote from a checkout area and customer identifying information written onto another wireless tag;

a storage for accumulating and storing commodity information that has been read by the tag reader;

a wireless communication device for transmitting commodity information to an information-processing apparatus via radio waves at the same time that the commodity information is stored in the storage, and transmitting the customer identifying information to the information-processing apparatus via radio waves; and

a display for displaying the commodity information that has been read out.