Patent ID: 6131814
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: G06K,G06Q,G07F,G07G

Abstract:
An arrangement for advising customers of the prices of products offered at a self-service store prior to checkout, comprising:a) a host having a database in which product identity and price information of each of the products are stored;b) an actuatable, hand-held, portable unit supported and operated by a respective customer, includingi) an electro-optical reader for reading a coded indicium associated with and identifying a respective product selected by the respective customer,ii) a terminal for accessing the database to retrieve the stored price information of the selected product identified by the reader, andiii) a display on the portable unit within sight of the respective customer; andc) a transaction actuator on the portable unit and operable by the respective customer, for actuating the portable unit to initiate automatic identification and automatic price retrieval of the selected product, and for automatically displaying the stored price information on the display.