Patent ID: 7815113
Filing Date: 2010-10-19
Classification: G06K,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of returning a consumer products purchased in a retail environment and preventing or reducing employee theft of returned consumer products, said method comprising the steps of: (1) installing a digital image capturing and processing system at a point of sale (POS) station in said retail environment, including a housing having an imaging window and generating and projecting a field of view through said imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volume definable relative to said imaging window, for producing digital images of each said consumer product within said 3D imaging volume, and capable of processing said digital images and reading code symbols applied to each said consumer product; and (2) providing a host system, in communication with said digital image capturing and processing system; (3) identifying said consumer products to be purchased by moving each said consumer product through said 3D imaging volume to read a code symbol on said consumer product, produce symbol character data for each read code symbol on each said consumer product, and transmit said symbol character data to said host system and identify said purchased consumer product; (4) entering into the host system, identification (ID) data for the consumer returning the purchased consumer products and also identification (ID) data for the employee to whom the purchased consumer products are being returned to said retail environment; (5) identifying each said purchased consumer product to be returned to said retail environment by using said digital image capturing and processing system to capture one or more digital images of each said purchased consumer product being returned to said retail environment, and producing said one or more captured digital images of each said returned consumer product to said retail environment; (6) generating at said host system, an electronic document containing information including the customer's ID data and the employee's ID data along with said one or more digital images of each returned consumer product; and (7) transmitting said electronic document from said host system to a database server associated with said retail store environment, for storage and subsequent processing to prevent or reduce employee theft of returned consumer products in said retail environment.