Wearable mobile scanner system with mobile tablet having a mobile POS and enterprise resource planning application for POS customer order fulfillment and method in store inventory management for retail establishment

• US 9,092,765 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2013
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Retail Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Retail Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: Hicks, Bruce J., McWhirter, Brian K., McArthur, DeVan, Williams, Bromley
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, F. Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEIN, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US13/783,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20140249943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/08 Payment architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• 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 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3263 characterised by activation or deactivation of payment capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00

Abstract

A retail store purchasing system has a plurality of wearable mobile scanner systems with mobile tablet devices integration capability therein adapted to be carried by employees. Each wearable mobile scanner system comprises a mobile tablet device attached to a wearable base housing directly below it, and connected by a base mount universal receiver with rotational coupling. The Main PCB has an EEPROM controlling operations of a USB scanner and MSR. The mobile tablet device has an application which allows wireless communication with a POS store systems server and also commands the EEPROM. A product to be purchased is scanned by activating a button associated with said wearable mobile scanner system. This scanned data is received through the Main PCB to the mobile tablet device USB port and is sent wirelessly to the POS store systems server to obtain product data concerning description, price, inventory and promotions.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a wearable mobile scanner system, the wearable mobile scanner system comprising;

a mobile tablet device having mobile application software and secure Wi-Fi and wireless cellular communicative capability with a store'"'"'s POS store systems server, as well as a corporate ERP system;

said mobile tablet device being attached to several USB input devices, including a scanner and an MSR (magnetic swipe reader) through a specialized universal serial bus wiring harness; and

a Main PCB (printed circuit board) having a previously programmed E EPROM controlling all actions of said scanner USB input device and a button in a palm or along an index finger of said wearable mobile scanner system for activating a scan operation of an item of interest to a customer by an employee of a retail establishment, said EEPROM controlling all actions of said MSR USB input device by swiping a customer payment card through the MSR slot for processing customer payment through a PCI certified bank card processing network;

wherein said mobile tablet device is removably connected to a wearable base housing through a base mount universal receiver with rotational coupling,

activating said scan operation causing said EEPROM to communicate with said mobile tablet device, launching said application software to ready said mobile tablet device for receiving a scanned barcode;

activating said MSR operation causing said EEPROM to communicate with said mobile tablet device, launching said application software to ready said mobile tablet device for receiving customer payment card data;

said application communicating with said corporate ERP system to obtain detailed information for daily inventory management purposes for such tasks as physical inventory, cycle counting, inventory receiving, store to store transfers, return to vendor and product re-ticketing;

said application software communicating with said POS store systems server to obtain detailed information of a product scanned, its inventory, selling price, electronic and physical coupons, promotions and customer loyalty data and rewards available, and displaying product data on a display screen of said mobile tablet device;

said employee of the store communicating item description, price and promotion data to the customer by scanning the product'"'"'s barcode;

said customer deciding to purchase the product and the employee accessing a purchase routine of said application software, entering customer name, address and e-mail address if not already in customer loyalty database and swiping a customer payment card through USB MSR input device communicating formatted customer data securely to said POS store systems server and PCI (payment card industry) certified bank card processing network;

said POS store systems server contacting said PCI certified bank card processing network, that in turn, authorizes said purchase and communicates to the mobile tablet device that the customer has purchased the scanned product;

said corporate ERP system adjusting an allocation of said product sold, visible across a store chain that the store belongs to,

said mobile tablet device communicating to the POS store systems server to send a receipt to the e-mail address of the customer or printing a hard copy of the transaction on a central printer of the store;

said mobile tablet device being operative, in the event that said authorization is denied, to inform the employee of this credit denial on the mobile tablet device display and alternate payment requested, so that said customer is informed;

whereby the customer purchases a product from any retail store employee having a wearable mobile scanner system receiving full product details, price, electronic and physical coupons, promotions, customer loyalty data and rewards and charges the purchase without having the need to bring the product to a central check out station and waiting in queue to check out.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wearable mobile scanner system is wearable on the forearm and hand of an employee in a retail store.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein rotation sets the mobile tablet device in portrait or landscape viewing format.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said wireless communication is in the form of Wi-Fi on the retailer'"'"'s corporate wide area network through a plurality of links located within the retail establishment or wireless cellular through a standard cellular carrier.

5. The method of claim 1, said application software communicating with the corporate ERP system through a second application through which real-time store level inventory management is inputted and stored for managing inventory from a wearable mobile scanner system in any location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said mobile tablet device includes a second application for processing customer sales transactions and performing in store inventory management functions directly from the corporate ERP system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said second application communicates with said POS store systems server to provide access to customer loyalty data and rewards, promotions, physical and electronic coupons, gift cards, and end to end encrypted payment card processing.