Shopping cart system with automatic shopping item total calculator

• US 7,648,068 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2008
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess; Daniel A
• Application Number:
  US12/043,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20080149710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 684 Days
• Field of Search: 235/383
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10554 Moving beam scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10623 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10693 for omnidirectional scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10772 Moved readers, e.g. pen, wand
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/59 by controlling the amount of charge storable in the pixel, e.g. modification of the charge conversion ratio of the floating node capacitance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/671 for non-uniformity detection or correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/745 : Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 : Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/767 : Horizontal readout lines, multiplexers or registers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/778 : comprising amplifiers shared between a plurality of pixels, i.e. at least one part of the amplifier must be on the sensor array itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/1568 : for disturbance correction or prevention within the image-sensor, e.g. biasing, blooming, smearing correction circuits H04N25/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 : Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

A shopping cart system includes a shopping cart. The shopping cart includes a receptacle to hold shopping items bearing coded data tags. A scanning device is mounted to the shopping receptacle and is configured to scan the data tags of the shopping items to thereby determine the identity of the shopping items. A computer system is configured to calculate the total cost of the scanned shopping items using the determined identity of the shopping items.

Claims

1. A shopping cart system comprising:

a shopping cart including a receptacle to hold shopping items, said shopping cart having a shopping cart identity, said shopping items bearing coded data tags identifying a shopping item identity and a plurality of locations on the shopping item;

a scanning device mounted to the shopping receptacle and configured to;

scan a user identity card bearing coded data tags identifying a user identity; and

scan the data tags of the shopping items to determine the identity of the shopping items; and

a computer system configured to;

associate the user identity with the shopping cart identity at the start of a shopping session;

calculate the total cost of the scanned shopping items using the determined identity of the shopping items; and

dissociate the user identity from the shopping cart identity at the end of the shopping session,

wherein said scanning device is an optical scanning device configured for reading the coded data tags of both the user identity card and the product items.

2. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer system is mounted to the shopping receptacle and is configured to communicate the total cost to a cashier.

3. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scanner is configured to transfer the determined identity of each item along with the shopping cart identity to the computer system, each time an item is added to the shopping receptacle.

4. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scanning device is provided with a user interface to allow a shopping list of scanned shopping items to be displayed to the user.

5. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the user interface further allows product information relating to a particular item to be displayed, the product information including at least one of the following:

manufacturer;

item identity;

expiry date; and

nutritional information.

6. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the user interface is configured to allow the user to select items in the shopping list.

7. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer system is further configured to re-calculate the total cost when an item is removed from the receptacle by deducting the cost of the removed item from the previous total cost.

8. A shopping cart system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shopping receptacle is a basket and is further modified to include a weighing device that is configured to weigh items placed in the basket.