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| United States Patent |
7,599,855 B2 |
|
Sussman, Lester
| October 6, 2009 |
System and method for a complete and convenient shopping
experience
Abstract
A method and system whereby a consumer creates a shopping list using a
portable barcode scanner and an intelligent base-station. The entered barcodes
are downloaded to the base-station from the barcode scanner. The base-station
retrieves related barcode information from a barcode database via the Internet.
The barcode database can belong to a merchant, or a generic shopping service.
The base-station can be a consumer's computer, or some other smart electronic
device. The base-station maintains a predictive shopping list database for all
barcodes entered via the barcode scanner. The database learns the shopping
consumption habits of the consumer over a period of time and ensures that when
the consumer is ready to shop no previously needed, but currently forgotten,
items are left off of the shopping list. The consumer uses this method to shop
in a store, or via Mail-Order/Telephone-Order or on the internet using the
created shopping list.
| Inventors:
|
Sussman; Lester (9213 Bulls Run Pkwy., Bethesda, MD 20817)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
09/781,698 |
| Filed:
|
February 13, 2001 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
705/26 |
| Intern'l Class: |
G06Q 30/00 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
|
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner:
Zeender; F.
Assistant Examiner: Shaawat; Mussa
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A method for creating a consumer's shopping list prior to entering a
store, comprising the steps of:
(a) using a portable barcode scanner;
(b) scanning a needed product barcode or a needed product
coupon barcode using said portable barcode scanner prior to
entering to said store;
(c) using one or more consumer's first computers comprising
the steps of;
(i) receiving
data from, and transmitting data to, said portable barcode
scanner over a consumer's first network infrastructure;
(ii) storing
said data in a memory means on said first computer as a
current shopping list under control of each said product
barcode or each said product coupon barcode and under
control of a date and time; wherein said date and time
indicative of when each said product barcode or each said
product coupon barcode was scanned by said portable barcode
scanner;
(iii)
communicating with a second computer system using said first
computer, over a second network infrastructure to request
and to receive additional shopping list information based on
each said product barcode or each said product coupon
barcode;
(iv)
collecting and storing a multiplicity of said dates and
times that each said product barcode has been scanned by
said portable barcode scanner and stored in said first
computer memory means; wherein said collecting and storing
of said multiplicity of dates and times providing a means to
learn said consumer's rate of consumption of each said
product; wherein said means of learning said consumer's rate
of consumption of each said product is a consumption
tracking frequency of each said product; said consumption
tracking frequency of each said product providing a means to
predict when each said product needs to be replaced;
(v) providing
a specific notification of previous shopping list
information stored in said first computer's memory without
needing a current scanned entry of one or more barcodes
associated with said previous shopping list information,
wherein said specific notification occurring at a date and
time when said consumer creates said current shopping list;
said notification provided by said means to predict when
each said product needs to be replaced;
(vi) adding
automatically a list of one or more products stored in said
previous shopping list information to said current shopping
list commensurate with said means to predict when each said
product needs to be replaced at said date and time of
creating said current shopping list;
(vii)
displaying a multiplicity of said product barcodes or said
product coupon barcodes, together with additional shopping
list information, on said consumer's first computer display;
(viii)
indicating on said first computer display that said consumer
has obtained said current shopping list in-hand from said
consumer's first computer; and
(ix)
indicating that said data transmitted to and said data
received from said portable barcode scanner has been
successfully sent and received;
(d) transferring each said scanned product barcode or each
said product coupon barcode to said consumer's first
computer, over said first network infrastructure from said
portable barcode scanner;
(e) storing each said transferred product barcode or each
said product coupon barcode in a shopping list database on
said consumer's first computer, said shopping list database
includes other product information, wherein said other
product information includes: a product description, a
product cost, a date and time on which each said product
barcode or each said product coupon barcode was scanned by
said portable barcode scanner and an indicator for a
required quantity of each said product;
(f) obtaining in-hand said stored current shopping list from
said consumer's first computer in order to go to a first
store and purchase products listed on said current shopping
list, said obtaining in-hand is selected from the group
comprising:
(i) printing
said stored current shopping list on a printing device
attached to said consumer's first computer,
(ii)
transferring said stored current shopping list to a
consumer's portable computer device, and
(iii) using
said portable barcode scanner,
(g) using said first computer comprising an optional step of
either:
(a) sending
said current shopping list from said consumer's first
computer to a second store connected to said second network
infrastructure, said second store shipping products listed
on said current shopping list to said consumer, thereby not
requiring said consumer to shop in-store for said products;
or
(b) sending
said current shopping list from said consumer's first
computer to a second store connected to said second network
infrastructure, said second store making said products
listed on said current shopping list available to said
consumer for pick up, thereby not requiring said consumer to
shop in-store for said products.
2. The portable barcode scanner of claim 1, wherein said first network
infrastructure is a wireless link between said portable
barcode scanner and said consumer's first computer; wherein
said wireless link is selected from the group comprising: an
infrared link and a Bluetooth-enabled radio-frequency link.
3. The portable barcode scanner of claim 1, wherein said first network
infrastructure is a wired link between said portable barcode
scanner and said consumer's first computer; wherein said
wired link is selected from the group comprising: an RS-232
link, a USB link, a parallel link and an IEEE 1394 link.
4. The first computer of claim 1 is selected from the group comprising:
a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, an
internet appliance, and a cell phone..
5. The first computer of claim 1, wherein said second network
infrastructure is the internet.
6. The portable
computer device of claim 1 is selected from the group
consisting: a personal digital assistant and a cell phone.
7. The shopping list of claim 1 is selected from the group
comprising: beauty aids, books, clothing, computer hardware,
computer software, computer supplies, drugs, footwear,
groceries, gifts, health aids and music.
8. A method for creating a consumer's shopping list prior to entering a
store, comprising the steps of:
(a) using a portable barcode scanner;
(b) entering manually a needed product barcode or a needed
product coupon barcode using said portable barcode scanner
prior to entering to said store;
(c) using one or more consumer's first computers comprising
the steps of;
(i) receiving
data from, and transmitting data to, said portable barcode
scanner over a consumer's first network infrastructure;
(ii) storing
said data in a memory means on said first computer as a
current shopping list under control of each said product
barcode or each said product coupon barcode and under
control of a date and time; wherein said date and time
indicative when each said product barcode or each said
product coupon barcode was manually entered into said
portable barcode scanner;
(iii)
communicating with a second computer system using said first
computer, over a second network infrastructure to request
and to receive additional shopping list information based on
each said product barcode or each said product coupon
barcode;
(iv)
collecting and storing a multiplicity of said dates and
times that each said product barcode has been manually
entered into said portable barcode scanner and stored in
said first computer memory means; wherein said collecting
and storing of said multiplicity of dates and times
providing a means to learn said consumer's rate of
consumption of each said product; wherein said means of
learning said consumer's rate of consumption of each said
product is a consumption tracking frequency of each said
product; said consumption tracking frequency of each said
product providing a means to predict when each said product
needs to be replaced;
(v) providing
a specific notification of previous shopping list
information stored in said first computer's memory without
needing a current manual entry of one or more barcodes
associated with said previous shopping list information,
wherein said specific notification occurring at a date and
time when said consumer creates said current shopping list;
said notification provided by said means to predict when
each said product needs to be replaced;
(vi) adding
automatically a list of one or more products stored in said
previous shopping list information to said current shopping
list commensurate with said means to predict when each said
product needs to be replaced at said date and time of
creating said current shopping list;
(vii)
displaying a multiplicity of said product barcodes or said
product coupon barcodes, together with additional shopping
list information, on said consumer's first computer display;
(viii)
indicating on said first computer display that said consumer
has obtained said current shopping list in-hand from said
consumer's first computer; and
(ix)
indicating that said data transmitted to and said data
received from said portable barcode scanner has been
successfully sent and received;
(d) transferring each said manually entered product barcode
or each said product coupon barcode to said consumer's first
computer, over said first network infrastructure from said
portable barcode scanner;
(e) storing each said transferred product barcode or each
said product coupon barcode in a shopping list database on
said consumer s first computer, said shopping list database
includes other product information, wherein said other
product information includes: a product description, a
product cost, a date and time on which each said product
barcode or each said product coupon barcode was manually
entered into said portable barcode scanner and an indicator
for a required quantity of each said product;
(f) obtaining in-hand said stored current shopping list from
said consumer's first computer in order to go to a first
store and purchase products listed on said current shopping
list, said obtaining in-hand is selected from the group
comprising:
(i) printing
said stored current shopping list on a printing device
attached to said consumer's first computer,
(ii)
transferring said stored current shopping list to a
consumer's portable computer device, and
(iii) using
said portable barcode scanner,
(g) using said first computer comprising an optional step of
either;
(a) sending
said current shopping list from said consumer's first
computer to a second store connected to said second network
infrastructure. said second store shipping products listed
on said current shopping list to said consumer, thereby not
requiring said consumer to shop in-store for said products;
or
(b) sending
said current shopping list from said consumer's first
computer to a second store connected to said second network
infrastructure, said second store making said products
listed on said current shopping list available to said
consumer for pick up, thereby not requiring said consumer to
shop in-store for said products.
9. The portable barcode scanner of claim 8, wherein said first network
infrastructure is a wireless link between said portable
barcode scanner and said consumer's first computer; wherein
said wireless link is selected from the group comprising: an
infrared link and a Bluetooth-enabled radio-frequency link
10. The portable barcode scanner of claim 8, wherein said
first network infrastructure is a wired link between said
portable barcode scanner and said consumer's first computer;
wherein said wired link is selected from the group
comprising: an RS-232 link, a USB link, a parallel link and
an IEEE 1394 link.
11. The first computer of claim 8 is selected from the group comprising:
a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, an
internet appliance, and a cell phone.
12. The first computer of claim 8, wherein said second network
infrastructure is the internet.
13. The portable computer device of claim 8 is selected from the group
consisting: a personal digital assistant and a cell phone.
14. The shopping list of claim 8 is selected from the
group comprising: beauty aids, books, clothing, computer
hardware, computer software, computer supplies, drugs,
footwear, groceries, gifts, health aids and music.
15. A barcode scanning system for aiding a consumer in
creating a new shopping list to which products are
automatically added based in part on previously entered
shopping lists, said automatically added products not having
been considered by said consumer at a date and time of
creating said new shopping list, said barcode scanning
system comprising:
(a) a portable barcode scanner with a means to scan a
product's barcode prior to entering a store;
(b) one or more consumer's first computers connected to said
portable barcode scanner over a first network means, wherein
said first computer includes a means to store in a memory
means one or more barcodes and one or more dates and times
that said one or more barcodes were scanned, said barcodes
and said dates and times received over said first network
means from said barcode scanner in order to create said new
shopping list, and wherein said first computer includes a
means to store said received barcodes in said memory means
comprising barcodes previously received from said barcode
scanner;
(c) a computer program in said first computer, wherein said
computer program enables collecting and storing of a
multiplicity of said dates and times that each said product
barcode has been scanned by said barcode scanner and stored
in said first computer memory means, received over said
first network means; wherein said collecting and storing of
said multiplicity of dates and times providing a means to
learn programmatically said consumer's rate of consumption
of each said product; wherein said means of programmatically
learning said consumer's rate of consumption of each said
product is a consumption tracking frequency of each said
product; said consumption tracking frequency of each said
product providing a means to predict programmatically when
each said product needs to be replaced;
(d) wherein said computer program providing a specific
notification of previous shopping list information stored in
said first computer's memory without needing a current
scanned entry of one or more barcodes associated with said
previous shopping list information, wherein said specific
notification occurring at a date and time when said consumer
creates said new shopping list; said notification provided
by said means to predict programmatically when each said
product needs to be replaced;
(e) wherein said computer program enables automatically
adding a list of one or more products stored in said
previous shopping list information to said new shopping list
commensurate with said means to predict programmatically
when each said product needs to be replaced at said date and
time of creating said new shopping list;
(f) one or more second computers connected to said first
computer over a second network means, wherein said second
computer includes a means to receive said barcodes from said
first computer over said second network means, as well as
wherein said second computer includes a means to send
product information about said barcodes to said first
computer;
(g) a printer attached to said consumer's first computer,
wherein said printer prints said new shopping list for said
consumer; and
(h) a portable computing device with a means to receive said
new shopping list from said first computer and a means to
store said new shopping list in a memory means,
(i) wherein said first computer includes an optional means of
either:
(a) sending
said new shopping list from said first computer to a second
store connected to said second network infrastructure, said
second store shipping products listed on said new shopping
list to said consumer, thereby not requiring said consumer
to shop in-store for said products; or
(b) sending
said new shopping list from said first computer to a second
store connected to said second network infrastructure, said
second store making said products listed on said new
shopping list available to said consumer for pick up,
thereby not requiring said consumer to shop in-store for
said products.
16. The portable barcode scanner of claim 15, wherein said
first network infrastructure is a wireless link between said
portable barcode scanner and said consumer's first computer;
wherein said wireless link is selected from the group
comprising: an infrared link and a Bluetooth-enabled
radio-frequency link.
17. The first computer of claim 15 is selected from the
group comprising: a personal computer, a personal digital
assistant, an internet appliance, and a cell phone.
18. The first computer of claim 15, wherein said second
network infrastructure is the internet.
Drawings
Select the following links to
view the associated figures:
-
Figure 1
is a schematic of the process that a
consumer goes through when shopping for
merchandise.
-
Figure 2
is a schematic of the invention's preferred
embodiment of the shopping process outlined
in FIG. 1.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Today shoppers have a number of choices to shop for and to buy
merchandise.
The usual way is for a consumer to go to a store, with or without
a shopping list, locate the required items on the store's
shelves, purchase them and then take the items home, or to
work.
The first major evolution of shopping was the mail order catalog,
which was first established in Chicago by Aaron Montgomery
Ward and his brother-in-law George R. Thorne. By 1904, three
million catalogs weighing 4 pounds each were being mailed to
consumers. The next step in the shopping experience
evolution was the advent of telephone catalog ordering.
Today these two shopping methods have been combined into a method
called MOTO, i.e. Mail Order/Telephone Order. The MOTO
purchasing model has a consumer browse a catalog that was
mailed to the consumer; the consumer calls the mail order
house's phone number and purchases the selected item,
usually with a credit card. The merchandise is shipped to
the consumer.
A recent historical evolution for shoppers occurred when the
Internet exploded on the marketplace around about 1996. The
current terminology for this method of consumer shopping is
called
e-commerce and
B2C (i.e. Business To Consumer).
According to the October 2000 report by NetValue
(www.netvalue.com), 74.2 percent of the 52 million Internet
connected US households visited an e-commerce web site. 40.6
percent of these households connected using a secure
connection. This usually implies that a purchase was made or
was considered over the Internet. The e-commerce shopping
model is similar to the MOTO model, i.e. a consumer browses
an online catalog, purchases the selected item with a credit
card and the merchandise is shipped to the consumer. Various
retailers have adopted this business model, e.g. groceries
can be ordered online and delivered to a consumer. Examples
of these grocery businesses include WebVan and
Peapod. Other
consumer e-commerce sites include
Amazon.com and
StoreRunner.
According to an Aug. 11, 2000 US Census Bureau news release, in
1997 sales of all kinds of merchandise from electronic
shopping (e.g. via the Internet) and mail-order houses sold
$79 billion of goods. Computer hardware, software and
supplies accounted for 29 percent; clothing and footwear, 15
percent; and drugs, health aids and beauty aids, 13 percent.
Details of this
1997 US Census Bureau report can be found on
the Internet at
www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html.
Another interesting consumer shopping business model is the one
from Qode Inc. (www.qode.com) This model has consumers
scanning in Uniform Product Code (UPC) bar codes with a
portable device called a Qoder. The bar codes are then
transferred via a Qoder "base-station" device attached to
the keyboard port on a PC. The bar codes are then uploaded
to the Qode web site on the Internet and into a consumer's
personal directory. Qode then searches for online deals and
special promotions, or provides the nearest stores to the
consumer that sells the scanned products. Qode is working on
extending the means by which the consumer accesses their
pricing web site, e.g. by manually entering the bar code via
a cell phone or regular phone. A similar methodology is
claimed by BarPoint.com (www.barpoint.com), which claims to
have a patent pending on "search engine technology to allow
businesses and consumers to use the UPC barcode number that
appears on more than 100 million retail items to instantly
obtain detailed product and price information from the
Internet. This information includes detailed product
descriptions, comparative prices, links to order the product
from vendor partners, product reviews, manufacturer contact
information and much more. Problems with this system
include forcing the consumer to connect to a central site to
obtain a list of the scanned in bar codes and their
description. Furthermore the keyboard interface requires
specialized device drivers to be written for each personal
computer (PC) operating system, e.g. MS Windows
95/98/NT/2000/ME/CE, Apple, Linux, Palm OS, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,276 from Jelen, et al. teaches a similar
model to the Qode shopping model. The '276 patent teaches
the use of a user terminal that has a UPC bar code scanner
through which the user compiles a shopping list database. At
this stage the user can selectively transmit the acquired
shopping list database to a base unit located at a retailer
via a network, such as the Internet. The central database
can then shop for competitive products on the users shopping
list, provide information on any coupons related to items on
the shopping list and provide information on various options
for specific products, e.g. various packaging sizes, etc.
Similar problems with the Qoder apply to this patent as
well, i.e. every time the consumer must connect to a central
site to obtain a list of the scanned in bar codes and their
description.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,281 from Smith, et al. teaches an electronic
grocery list device which provides the consumer with a
predetermined list of various common groceries from which
the consumer assembles his own grocery list. The consumer's
grocery list can be transmitted to a grocer via either a fax
or data modem. Furthermore the consumer can print her
grocery list via a printer attached to the '281. The '281
does not use a bar code scanner for input, not does it
provide comparison-shopping like the '276 and Qode system
do.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,472 from Overman teaches a portable
electronic food shopper similar to a pocket calculator. The
'472 does not interface with bar code scanners, or a central
database, which provides other services including
comparative online shopping.
An application on the Cybiko wireless appliance (www.cybiko.com)
called the Grocery List provides consumers with a portable
device in which to enter and carry a shopping list within.
This is similar in principal to using various Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs) such as from Palm, Handspring and
Psion in which a consumer can use the To Do List function to
maintain a shopping list.
Consumers use newspaper advertisements to help them shop. The
Sunday newspapers are usually full of ad's that help guide a
consumer. Another tried and tested method to shop is by word
of mouth. Consumers share information about where they have
purchased items, etc.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The objective is to provide the consumer with an array of
convenient and easy to use choices with which the consumer
is comfortable with in any variety of shopping experience.
These shopping experiences include:
Routine groceries, e.g. weekly milk, bread, vegetable, etc.
needs.
One-time merchandise, e.g. for gifts, clothing, etc.
Choices for taking the product in hand, i.e. delivery, pickup,
etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic of the process that a consumer goes through
when shopping for merchandise.
FIG. 2 is a schematic of the invention's preferred embodiment of
the shopping process outlined in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Before describing the preferred embodiment of the current
invention, we first must consider what a consumer generally
does today when shopping for any item. In FIG. 1 it can be
seen that the shopping process a consumer undertakes is
described Table 1:
|
TABLE 1
General Consumer's Shopping Experience Process The
Average Shopping Experience |
|
Process Step |
Process Step Description |
| 1 |
The consumer identifies
a need for the merchandise 1. This could simply be
the fact that a family member or friend's birthday
is fast approaching, or it could be the fact that
the consumer has thrown out an empty milk container
and he is dying for a cup of coffee with milk. |
| 2 |
Once a need for an item
has been identified 1, the consumer usually browses
for the merchandise. This can be done in a store
aisle 8, in a mail order catalog 9 or on a web site
10 on the Internet. Some consumers use the newspaper
ad's 99 to browse for merchandise. |
| 3 |
The next step in the
shopping experience is to select the merchandise 3
that the consumer wishes to acquire. Once again,
this can be done in a store aisle 8, in a mail order
catalog 9 or on a web site 10 on the Internet. |
| 4 |
At this stage, the
consumer has in mind what he is looking for. The
next step is usually to comparative shop for the
item 4. For example, if the consumer is in a store,
then the consumer will search various shop aisles 8
for similar products that are cheaper; or may have
different features for the same price. Similarly, a
consumer may browse through more than one mail order
catalog 9 and locate a similar item that was
selected 3. It is relatively common for a web store
10, e.g. buy.com or pricewatch.com, to
locate similar items as the one selected by the consumer 3. |
| 5 |
Finally the consumer
decides to get the merchandise, i.e. to order
merchandise 5. Depending on the type of shopping
that the consumer is doing, this could be either in
a store 24 (i.e. what's called these days a
`brick-and-mortar` store), via the telephone and
MOTO 25, or on the Internet via a web store 10. |
| 6 |
The next step is to pay
for the merchandise 6. Depending on which shopping
model the consumer is engaged in; this step can be
one of the following payment forms; a. Cash, b.
Check, c. Credit card, d. Cash on delivery (COD), or
e. Money order. Generally in a store 24, the
consumer will pay by credit card, check or cash. For
a MOTO 25 transaction the consumer usually uses a
credit card, but sometimes uses COD. Shopping online
at a web store 10, the consumer will generally pay
using a credit card. Other forms of payment methods
have attempted to be incubated on the Internet 23,
e.g. cybercash (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,665
issued to Bahreman et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,657 issued
to Williams et al.), but none have caught on to date. |
| 7 |
The final step,
ignoring for the moment a `normal` shopping
experience of returning purchased merchandise, is to
get the merchandise `in hand` 7. The consumer
generally has a choice of taking the merchandise
from the store aisle 8, having the merchandise
delivered 12 or picking up the merchandise 13.
Generally in this embodiment, pickup 13 is
considered as a drive-through pickup, similar to
drive-through banks, fast food stores, etc. The
pickup 13 methodology is discussed further in Table
4. |
We will now consider some of the problems that the average
consumer encounters in the above shopping experience method,
i.e. steps 1 through 7 as outlined in FIG. 1.
Shopping Lists
As attested in the Background of the Invention, one of the
greatest hassles in shopping is remembering what you must
buy. The simplest way is to write down a list of items on a
piece of paper from which you cross off items as you buy
them. One of the problems with this method is the case when
you are compiling the list of a period of time, e.g. days.
In this case you need to remember where you put your slip of
paper and preferably keep it at hand wherever you are.
Inspiration tends to arrive at odd and unexpected moments.
Let us consider an example in this shopping list case, i.e.
groceries. It is extremely rare that a household's groceries
all run out at the same time. It is more common that you run
out of say broccoli sprouts on Monday evening, oranges on
Monday morning, coffee on Tuesday morning, bread on Tuesday
evening, yogurt on Wednesday morning, milk on Thursday, fish
on Friday, etc. Sure you can keep a running list of items as
they run out and some people attach the list to a magnet on
the fridge. Now that's ok for items that are kept in the
kitchen. What happens when you need household items outside
of the kitchen? For example, if a consumer's washing machine
is in his basement. What happens when he needs washing
powder or bleach? If he is keeping a shopping list on his
fridge, the consumer needs to remember that he needs washing
powder and bleach the next time he is in the vicinity of the
master list.
Let us now consider another shopping list case, e.g. Christmas
gift shopping. Sometimes we know exactly what we want to buy
people for Christmas, but often we don't have a clue except
when we see something in a store or in a catalog. At the
time we see the item, we may not be ready to buy it, perhaps
because we believe that we can get a better price somewhere
else, or perhaps we hope that another item may be more
inspirational. But, we should note the item's price and
who's selling it. Once again the tried and tested method is
a pen and paper. The more organized shopper may have a
diary/planner in which she writes this information. On the
other hand, she may be open to high tech and may use a PDA
20. Yet again, the consumer may simply rely on her memory.
The problem with the pen and paper is that the consumer may
loose or misplace the piece of paper. It's also a bit of a
hassle to write down all of the item's details. The problem
with the PDA 20 is that you have to lug it around with you
and then manually enter the pertinent information. It's
another unseemly bulge in a man's pocket and further clutter
in a woman's wallet. A person's memory is generally not 100%
reliable and hence as we've all experienced the
situation--"where did I see that really cool and reasonable
thingy for Mom?".
Shopper's Barcode Scanner
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of the
invention solves this problem, i.e. maintaining the shopping
list, with the following method and system. The consumer
primarily uses a small wireless bar code scanner 17 that he
uses to scan in merchandise UPCs 14 and or catalog UPCs 15,
depending on whether he is shopping via a store 24, MOTO 25
or on a web store 10. For purposes for brevity, newspaper
ad's 99 are included in the grouping of merchandise
catalogs. The wireless bar code scanner 17 could for example
be the Qoder from Qode, or the CS 1504 Consumer Memory
Scanner from
Symbol Technologies.
This means that (a) mail order catalogs/newspaper advertisements
99 need to include UPC barcodes and (b) web pages need to
include UPC barcodes as well, that can be scanned, or
transferred, to the barcode scanner 17.
The barcode scanner 17 need not necessarily be a portable device
that is homed via a magnet on the fridge door. It could, for
example, be incorporated (i.e. fixed) into the fridge door
itself as proposed by a number of home appliance
manufacturers, or it could be part of the trashcan. GE
revealed such a kitchen appliance, i.e. a refrigerator, in a
press release titled "GE Appliances Reveals Consumer
Benefits of Concept Smart Appliances", Apr. 6, 2000,
PRNewswire.
If the scanner 17 is part of, say the lid of a trash can, then as
the consumer discards an empty item, she could easily scan
the UPC. The problem with fixed barcode scanners 17 is that
there are numerous situations in which a portable barcode
scanner 17 is needed. For example, consider the scenario
where goods are not stored in the fridge, but are stored in
various cupboards and in the pantry. The preferred
embodiment uses a portable barcode scanner 17, but envisages
consumers using fixed appliance barcode scanners as well.
Furthermore, the consumer may also have multiple portable
bar code scanners 17. The key to multiple scanners 17 is
that they need to communicate 200 with a base station 50.
This function 200 is considered later in the description of
the preferred embodiment.
The scanned in UPCs need to be interpreted by a more intelligent
device, i.e. a base station 50, for example an Internet
Appliance 19, or a PDA 20, or a PC 21 or a cell phone 22.
Examples on the marketplace of Internet Appliances 19
include the Touch Pad from Gateway and the iPAQ from Compaq.
Examples of PDAs include the Palm from Palm Inc., the Visor
from Handspring and similar devices from Psion and other
companies. The realm of UPCs and their description consist
of a huge database, i.e. millions upon millions of products.
To store this size of database on a PDA 20, etc. is not a
good idea, because a primary reason being that products are
constantly added and removed from the UPC system. Hence it
would be a huge task to update all of the UPC databases on
each and every consumer's intelligent device. It is a better
solution to centralize this task as Qode and the '276 from
Jelen, et al. have done. The preferred embodiment implements
a similar scheme to resolve bar codes in which central
databases are maintained by the merchandise store 24, the
MOTO 25 vendor and the web store 10, i.e. the merchant 51.
In FIG. 2, another model is shown to resolve the UPCs, i.e.
a centralized UPC database 27, that holds all known UPCs.
The Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) is a not-for-profit
organization that provides standards and processes in the
bar code industry. UCC also assigns unique blocks of bar
codes to a company. UCC (www.uc-council.org)
has over 850,000 member companies that are using the
EAN.UCC
Systems standards. The UCC could potentially be a candidate
for the Central UPC Database 27.
After transmitting 200 the UPCs that the consumer is considering
to a base station 50 that can import the UPCs stored on the
bar code scanner 17, the base station 50 connects via the
Internet 23 to the UPC database stored at the merchant 51,
or at the Central UPC Database 27, to download the textual
description of the UPC that the consumer had scanned into
her bar code scanner 17. Coupons (i.e. e-coupons) and other
information can also be downloaded at this instant. This is
the method whereby the consumer maintains her shopping list
in whichever device she is most comfortable with, i.e. her
Internet Appliance 19, her PDA 20, her PC 21, her cell phone
22, etc. The preferred embodiment of the invention allows
the consumer to share her various shopping lists on multiple
devices, i.e. base stations 50. More about this feature
later in the detailed description of the preferred
embodiment.
A word about e-coupons based on an article in Business Week
magazine titled "Penny-Pincher's Paradise", Jan. 22, 2001:
in the US approximately 256 billion coupons are distributed
annually. Currently less than 1% is distributed as e-coupons
and Sunday newspapers distribute about 80% of coupons. Only
1.2% of Sunday newspaper coupons are redeemed, whereas 57%
of e-coupons are redeemed. According to a report by the
NPD
Group Inc., grocery e-coupons are the most popular
accounting for a redemption rate of 59%, followed by books
with 32%, health products 30% and music products with 26%.
Today web sites such as coupons.com and coolsavings.com
allow a consumer to print a coupon and redeem it at a local
store. The preferred embodiment provides the means for a
consumer to scan the e-coupon and other coupons into a
barcode scanner 17, which is then made available via a base
station 50 for redemption.
The preferred embodiment's barcode scanner 17 includes
firmware
such that UPC descriptions can be stored and displayed on
the device. This allows the consumer to take the barcode
scanner on a shopping expedition, e.g. to a store 24. As is
indicated in FIG. 2, the communication link 200 between the
scanner 17 and the base station 50 is bi-directional. This
enables UPC descriptions and e-coupons to be uploaded and
stored in the scanner 17. This feature is configurable by
the consumer, either as a system default, or on an as-needed
basis. Furthermore features are provided on the scanner 17
such that the consumer can scroll through the list of items
stored in the device, select an item and mark it as
purchased, etc. An indicator is also provided on the scanner
17 that informs the consumer when the UPCs were transmitted
200 to a base station 50, and the identity of that base
station 50. Various consumer product manufacturers are
incorporating a barcode scanner into their products, e.g.
the CSM 150 Bar Code Scanner for the Handspring Visor PDA
20, which is produced by Symbol Technologies.
There could be circumstances in which scanning in a bar code is
not optimal. In this situation the consumer may have to
manually enter the bar code number into the scanner 17, or
base station 50. Adding a numeric keypad to the scanner 17
increases the consumer's product cost. The preferred
embodiment of the invention does not incorporate a keypad on
the scanner 17, but in place uses a selectable menu of
numbers from which to choose from. The user interface is via
four arrow keys, i.e. "up", "down", "left" and "right"
movements. An example of this system interface is the COMAND
system from Mercedes, which provides the consumer with
vehicle GPS navigation.
Another form of product identification technology is evolving and
the preferred embodiment does not exclude the incorporation
of this technology if and when it becomes an industry
standard. This technology is being developed by Motorola in
partnership with International Paper and has been dubbed
"smart cardboard". Basically this technology involves
embedding a cheap chip (projected cost between 10 cents and
30 cents) that employs a capacitive technique called BiStatix to operate an electronic tag. An article titled
"`Smart` Cardboard Ready To Roll"; Nov. 3, 2000 provides
greater details on this technique and can be found on the TechWeb site (www.techweb.com)
Communications and
Networking
Let us now consider the data transmission medium, i.e.
networking. Today the most common form of media transmission
is via a fixed cable. For example, via
RS232 to a serial
port or keyboard port on a base station 50. The Qoder
implemented a device attached to the keyboard port on a PC
20. Another common way is via a
USB, parallel or
FireWire
(i.e. the IEEE 1394 standard) port on a base station 50. PDA
20 devices use serial and USB cable interfaces and also use
infra-red (IRDA) transmission between other PDAs. A new
technology that is beginning to appear in the marketplace is
one called
Bluetooth. A consortium of companies including
3COM, Eriksson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Toshiba,
Lucent Technologies and others developed Bluetooth
(www.bluetooth.com).
Bluetooth wireless technology is a low-cost, low-power,
short-range radio frequency (RF) link for mobile devices and
for
Local Area Network (LAN) access points. It offers fast
and reliable digital transmissions of data over the globally
available 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical)
bandwidth. Bluetooth uses the spread-spectrum wireless
technique that maps out all of the unused frequencies within
its assigned frequency bandwidth and then spreads
information over available frequency slots. Bluetooth
increases or decreases the strength of its transmission
signal according to how far away the receiver is, thereby
saving power, which is especially important in portable
devices such as the preferred embodiment's bar code scanner
17. Bluetooth encrypts the signal and also uses frequency
hopping to reduce the possibility of signal interference and
interception. This is important in densely populated areas
so that information remains private and available.
A key feature of Bluetooth for incorporation into the invention's
preferred embodiment, is the special way in which it scans
its surrounding area, which is normally a sphere of about 10
meters, looking for devices that are in range and checking
their identification and access privileges. When Bluetooth
finds compatible devices, it establishes an ad-hoc network
called a piconet. Hence after scanning in a merchandise UPC
14, or a catalog UPC 15 into the barcode scanner 17, the
scanner 17 using Bluetooth automatically checks to see if a
registered base station 50 is within 30 feet of it.
Registration implies that the base station 50 has been
granted access privileges, and visa versa, with the bar code
scanner 17. The barcode scanner 17 transmits any UPC that is
currently stored in its memory to the available base station
50. It is possible that the consumer could manually initiate
the transmission of information 200 from the scanner 17 to
the base station 50 if this feature was incorporated into
the barcode scanner 17. The preferred embodiment allows the
scanner 17 to automatically scan its perimeter for available
base station 50 devices and to then transmit 200 any
available UPCs that it has stored.
What this means for the preferred embodiment, is that no cables
need to connect the bar code scanner 17 to any of the base
station 50 devices. Furthermore, provided that all of the
base station 50 devices are Bluetooth enabled, then they can
communicate among themselves via a Bluetooth piconet. One
advantage of this system is that copies of a shopping list
can be resident and kept in synch on multiple base stations
50. This multiplicity of synchronized copies is maintained
without the consumer's intervention, provided that each base
station 50 is configured to synchronize data with each
other.
Another advantage of a piconet is that any peripheral device
attached to a base station 50, in effect becomes a
peripheral to any other base station 50 on the piconet. For
example, the consumer can print out a shopping list stored
on his PDA 20 on a USB interface printer 18 that is attached
to a PC 21, even if the printer 18 is not Bluetooth enabled.
Currently
Ericsson Mobile Communications AB has a systems
development kit (SDK) called "The Bluetooth Tool Kit/The
Bluetooth Application and Training Tool Kit" and "The
Bluetooth Development Kit". Lucent Technologies produces a
Bluetooth Transceiver Module, i.e. a chip set to be
incorporated, e.g. in the various base stations 50. Toshiba
released a device called the Toshiba Bluetooth PC Card that
enables PCs to communicate over a Bluetooth piconet.
Local UPC Database
A process running on the base station 50 stores the transmitted
200 UPCs in a local database. The local UPC database (LUD)
eliminates duplicate UPCs, but records the date and time
which it received the UPC. Table 2 illustrates the record
structure of the LUD.
|
TABLE 2 Local UPC Database (LUD) Record
Structure |
| Field Name |
Definition |
Data Type |
| UPC |
Uniform Product Code
|
Integer |
| Description |
UPC merchant product
description |
String |
| Quantity |
Number or
measure (e.g. 2.5 lbs Decimal of flour or 12 eggs)
of items interested in |
Decimal |
| Price |
Cost of UPC item |
Decimal |
| Merchant |
Name
of UPC supplier, e.g. String Safeway, Amazon.com, etc. |
String |
| Date/Time |
Date and time at
which this record was entered into the database |
Integer |
| Category |
Consumer UPC categories,
e.g. Groceries, Gifts, Books, Music, Clothing, etc. |
String |
| Comments |
Free text for consumer String information, e.g.
"grandpa birthday". |
String |
It is a possible embodiment of the invention such that a third
party provides merchants with the lookup and maintenance of
the UPC database 27, which is then accessible by consumers.
This implementation falls in line with the
business-to-business (B2B) model that is taking root in the
business world today. This third party could also provide
competitive product information for the UPCs. General store
web sites on the Internet, e.g. buy.com and pricewatch.com
provide this type of service.
To illustrate how the LUD system works, let us consider the
shopping scenario in which a consumer needs to replenish his
groceries. The preferred embodiment of the invention enables
the consumer to implement the following methodology as
outlined in Table 3.
TABLE 3 Preferred Embodiment's Grocery Shopping
Experience Process
The New Shopping Experience |
| Process Step |
Process Step
Description |
| 1. |
When either the grocery item has run out or
needs to be restocked shortly, the consumer uses his
barcode scanner 17 and scans in the UPC on the item in question. For
example, the consumer's milk supply is down to a pint and
will run out after a day's quota of coffee. The consumer
simply scans in the milk container's UPC. Similarly, the
consumer would scan in the UPC for other groceries, e.g.
eggs, bacon, coffee, tomatoes, chocolate, etc. |
| 2. |
As mentioned previously the preferred
embodiment's communication system automatically
transmits this information 200 to any Bluetooth
enabled base station 50 that has been authorized to
accept this information, provided it is within a 10
meter radius of the scanner 17. If no base station
50 is within the perimeter of the scanner's
Bluetooth capability, the consumer simply walks with
the barcode scanner 17 in-hand to where the base
station 50 is located, thereby bringing the base
station 50 within the communications perimeter of
the scanner 17. The scanned UPCs are automatically
uploaded 200 into the base station 50. If no base
station 50 can be located in the Bluetooth
perimeter, then the scanner 17 indicates this
predicament. |
| 3. |
The base station 50 then determines if it needs
to acquire the Uniform Product Code's Description
(see Table 2) from the merchant's UPC Database 26, or the Central UPC
Database 27. This is done by checking whether or not the
uploaded 200 UPC already exists in the base station's Local
UPC Database (LUD). If the UPC already exists in the LUD and
has pertinent associated data, then the base station 50 does
not attempt to retrieve other data about the UPC. The new
Date/Time (see Table 2) is noted in the LUD for the relevant
UPC. If the UPC does not exist in the LUD, then the base
station 50 retrieves pertinent information from the UPC
Database 26 or 27. |
| 4. |
Depending upon how the consumer wants to shop,
any of the following steps can be implemented: |
| 4.1 |
If a printer 18 is attached to the base station
50, and is Bluetooth enabled, the consumer's grocery
list can be printed out. If a non- Bluetooth printer
is attached to a base station 50, then the list can
also be printed out. |
| 4.2 |
If the consumer likes to shop in a store 24
using her PDA 20, then she simply goes to the store
24 with her PDA 20, because the grocery list has
been loaded in a LUD on
the device from step [2.] above. |
| 4.3 |
If the store 24 that the consumer shops at
provides a method to receive the consumer's shopping
list, then the consumer would send the list from her
base station 50, e.g. her PC 21, or cell phone 22,
or Internet Appliance 19, etc. which is connected to
the Internet 23. Note that the consumer could send
her shopping list to multiple stores (`both `brick
and mortar` 24 and online 10 stores) to obtain price
comparisons and product information. |
| 4.4 |
Another form of transmitting the shopping list
to a store 24 is by fax, or dial-up modem. These
options are not shown in FIG. 2. |
| 5. |
The next step in the shopping experience is to
shop for the groceries. Depending upon which method
the consumer elected to do in step [4.] above, the
consumer can implement any of the following methods:
|
| 5.1 |
The consumer can simply take the barcode scanner
17 to the store 24. In the store 24, the display on
the scanner 17 displays the item to be purchased,
i.e. it is the consumer's shopping list. The
consumer can: |
| 5.1.1 |
Scan the item's UPC to "cross off" the item from
the list. |
| 5.1.2 |
If the scanner 17 provides the interface, the
consumer can highlight the item and mark the item as
purchased. |
| 5.1.3 |
Simply make a mental note that the item has been
purchased. |
| 5.2 |
If step [4.1] above was chosen, then the
consumer takes the printed grocery list to the store
24 and shops for the items in the store aisles 8. |
| 5.3 |
If step [4.2] above was chosen, then the
consumer takes her PDA 20, which contains the
selected grocery list to the store 24 and shops for
the items in the store aisles 8. This process is
illustrated by arrow 101 in FIG 2. 5.3. If step
[4.3] was chosen, then the consumer can implement
any of the following, provided that the specific
service is offered by the store 24 |
| 5.3.1 |
The grocery list is picked out and packed by the
store 24 for delivery 12 to the consumer. This
process is illustrated by arrow 100 in FIG. 2. |
| 5.3.2 |
The grocery list is picked out and packed by the
store 24 for pickup 13 by the consumer. This process
is illustrated by arrow 102 in FIG. 2. |
| 5.3.3 |
The grocery list is uploaded into a store's base
station 50, which can then be transmitted upon
consumer identification, to a cart enabled with the
relevant technology, e.g. as described in `276
patent from Jelen et
al. The preferred embodiment does not implement this
methodology, but it is a possible embodiment. |
For items that are ordered on a regular basis, the preferred
embodiment applies the following methodology. Either the
base station 50, or a 'smart' bar code scanner 17 maintains
frequently entered items in a Local UPC Database (LUD). The
system tracks the frequency that the consumer enters the
items into the LUD. Obviously a fair of amount of memory is
needed to keep track of item frequency, hence this method
would only be available in a base station 50 that has the
required memory, and e.g. a PC 21 would be an ideal
candidate for implementing such a methodology. Once an
ordering pattern has been established, the base station 50
can be configured to either (a) order, or (b) print out the
regular items. In the U.K. the milkman delivers to the
consumer's doorstep regularly consumed dairy products, as
well as bottled water and soda.
Payment
Besides the conventional methods of payment that is currently
accepted in the shopping trades, a relatively new method of
payment is also incorporated in the preferred embodiment.
Banks and credit-card issuers (e.g. American Express,
MasterCard, Visa) are trying to encourage the adoption of a
new system called
Secure Electronic Transaction SET (U.S.
Pat. No.
5,790,677). On Aug. 4, 1998 the '677 patent was
granted to Fox et. al. and assigned to Microsoft
Corporation. It is a good invention that uses digital
certificates to validate all parties involved in the
electronic transaction and encrypts credit card information
and other financial data prior to transmission on a network.
To date, SET has not been adopted to any critical mass either by
merchants 51 or customers. A list of merchants that have
adopted the SET protocol can be seen on the Internet, e.g.
for Visa SET merchants at
www.visa.com/nt/ecomm/shopping/set_merchants.html and
MasterCard SET merchants at
www.mastercard.com/shoponline/set/bycountry.html. As can be
seen from these merchant lists, most of the SET registered
merchants are based in Europe and currently the total number
is less than 1000. No indication is given as to how many
customers use SET, although given the age tested economic
principles of supply and demand, the fact that the number of
merchants using SET is relatively low, it is a fair
indication that too few consumers use SET. On these listed
web sites it can be seen that very few US merchants are SET
enabled. Today the US merchants 51 on the Internet prefer to
use
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL only guarantees that
data is safely (i.e. encrypted) transmitted between the
customer and the merchant. It does not guarantee that the
data will be electronically stored and handled safely by the
merchant 51. Furthermore financial information that the
merchant 51 does not need to see is visible. An example of
information that the merchant does not need to see is the
customer's credit card number. Practically all that the
merchant needs to be concerned with is that he will be paid
for the merchandise that he is selling to the customer and
the customer's shipping address. This visibility of
financial information could lead to abuse. The primary
payment methods 6 in the preferred embodiment are detailed
in Table 1, step [6.]. When SET gains market acceptance, the
preferred embodiment will incorporate this payment
methodology.
Delivery
MOTO 25 and web store 10 items are usually delivered delivery
service 12, e.g. via UPS, FedEx, the US Postal Service, etc.
In the grocery domain, as mentioned previously a similar
model is available to consumers, but currently these
companies, e.g. Webvan, are struggling to become profitable
("Cash Supply Shrinks While Webvan Losses Continue", The
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25, 2001).
The preferred embodiment of the invention offers an alternative
delivery service, i.e. pickup 13. Continuing to use the
grocery shopping method as an example, this method is
outlined in Table 3, step [5.3.2.], and is further expanded
upon for clarification as follows in Table 4;
|
TABLE 4 Drive-Thru Delivery Method |
| Process Step |
Process Step
Description |
| 1. |
The consumer sends her shopping list to a
participating grocery store. The shopping list can
be sent by one of the following methods; a) Fax b)
Web site via the Internet 23 c) Email via the
Internet 23 Note that the method that the consumer
used to create her shopping list is outlined in
Table 3, steps [2] and [3].
|
| 2. |
The consumer pays 6 in advance for the
groceries, e.g. using a credit card. |
| 3. |
A certain time period before leaving for the
grocery pickup point, the consumer contacts the
grocery store 24 to notify them that she is on her
way. This time frame is important because the
grocery store 24 requires a fixed amount of time to
assemble the consumer's shopping list for pickup 13.
At this moment in time the consumer cannot cancel
the order. The shopping order is committed, i.e.
there is no refund on payment 6 if the consumer does
not pick up the packed groceries. Prior to this
commitment, the consumer could cancel the order
either by contacting the grocery store 24, or simply
by not making the commitment call. In the case of a
cancellation, the consumer's payment 6 (step [2.]
above) is also cancelled, or refunded. |
| 4. |
The grocery store 24 picks and packs the
groceries in order to meet the consumer's committed
pick up time of arrival. The preferred embodiment
includes the option for the store 24 to provide the
means to notify the customer that her order is ready
for pickup 13, e.g. a message to her cell phone 22,
an email message to her wireless PDA 20, etc. 5. The
consumer drives to her participating grocery store
and goes through the drive-through pickup line to
collect her groceries. As with any pickup situation,
the consumer is asked for a form of identification
to prevent fraudulent abuse of the system. |
* * * * *
