Radio frequency identification system for inventory handling, tracking, and checkout
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- providing a plurality of for-sale items in a brick-and-mortar store, wherein each item comprises an identification tag that uniquely identifies the item or category of item;
placing one or more of the items in a first shopping cart, and transporting the first shopping cart to a checkout station;
positioning the first shopping cart at an unloading zone at the checkout station and positioning a second shopping cart at a loading zone at the checkout station;
moving the items from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart and using at least one tag-reading machine to remotely machine-read the identification tags on each item being moved to the second shopping cart;
identifying each item having an identification tag in response to the machine-reading; and
detecting when the first shopping cart is in the unloading zone and, in response, automatically locking the first shopping cart in place until all of the items have been moved from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
One embodiment provides a method of handling for-sale items while shopping at a brick-and-mortar store, including inventorying, tracking, and scanning the for-sale items at checkout. Customers select and bag items while they shop. Each item includes an RFID tag uniquely identifying the item or category of item. The customer brings the shopping cart to an unloading zone of a checkout station. Another, empty shopping cart is positioned in an unloading zone. The customer may receive electronic guidance in positioning the shopping carts. As the customer moves the bags from the shopping cart in the unloading zone to the shopping cart in the loading zone, the bags are scanned by the RFID scanner without removing the items from the bags. Redundant RFID scanners may be provided to increase reliability, and a UPC scanner may be provided as a backup. The shopping carts at the loading zone and unloading zone may be weighed and the weights compared, to guard against possible theft of goods.
31 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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providing a plurality of for-sale items in a brick-and-mortar store, wherein each item comprises an identification tag that uniquely identifies the item or category of item; placing one or more of the items in a first shopping cart, and transporting the first shopping cart to a checkout station; positioning the first shopping cart at an unloading zone at the checkout station and positioning a second shopping cart at a loading zone at the checkout station; moving the items from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart and using at least one tag-reading machine to remotely machine-read the identification tags on each item being moved to the second shopping cart; identifying each item having an identification tag in response to the machine-reading; and detecting when the first shopping cart is in the unloading zone and, in response, automatically locking the first shopping cart in place until all of the items have been moved from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method, comprising:
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providing a plurality of for-sale items in a brick-and-mortar store, wherein each item comprises an identification tag that uniquely identifies the item or category of item; placing one or more of the selected items in a first shopping cart, and transporting the first shopping cart to a checkout station; positioning the first shopping cart at an unloading zone at the checkout station and positioning a second shopping cart at a loading zone at the checkout station; locking the second shopping cart in the loading zone; moving the items from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart and using at least one tag-reading machine to remotely machine-read all of the identification tags on each item being moved to the second shopping cart; identifying each item having an identification tag in response to the machine-reading weighing the first shopping cart at the unloading zone prior to moving the items from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart; weighing the second shopping cart after the items have been moved from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart; and generating an alert in response to determining the actual weight of the second shopping cart does not equal an expected weight of the second shopping cart after all of the items have been moved from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart; and unlocking the second shopping cart only if the weight gained by the second shopping due to receiving the items is substantially equal to the weight loss of the first shopping cart due to removal of the items. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method, comprising:
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providing a plurality of for-sale items in a brick-and-mortar store, wherein each item comprises an identification tag that uniquely identifies the item or category of item; placing one or more of the selected items in a first shopping cart, and transporting the first shopping cart to a checkout station; positioning the first shopping cart at an unloading zone at the checkout station and positioning a second shopping cart at a loading zone at the checkout station; moving the items from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart and using a plurality of tag-reading machines positioned at different locations at the checkout station to collectively, remotely machine-read the identification tags on each item being moved to the second shopping cart; identifying each item having an identification tag in response to the machine-reading; and using each of the plurality of tag-reading machines to obtain a list of the machine-read items, comparing the lists obtained by the tag-reading machines, and identifying any discrepancies between the lists of tagged items. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A method, comprising:
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providing a plurality of tagged for-sale items in a brick-and-mortar store, each tagged item comprising a remotely machine-readable identification tag that uniquely identifies the tagged item or category of item; providing untagged for-sale items that do not have the identification tag; providing containers for the untagged items and a tag-making machine for tagging the containers, the customer placing the untagged items in the container and creating a tag using the tag-making machine for the container that identifies the contents of the untagged items in the container; placing one or more of the selected tagged items and the tagged container in a first shopping cart, and transporting the first shopping cart to a checkout station; positioning the first shopping cart at an unloading zone at the checkout station and positioning a second shopping cart at a loading zone at the checkout station; moving the items and the containers from the first shopping cart to the second shopping cart and using at least one tag-reading machine to remotely machine-read all of the identification tags on the items and the containers being moved to the second shopping cart; and identifying each tagged item in response to the machine-reading. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification