Patent ID: 7463147
Filing Date: 2008-12-09
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for identification, tracking, and notification of abandoned items in a store, comprising: providing a plurality of shopping carts with locating devices so that the location of the shopping carts within a store can be identified and tracked; associating a plurality of areas in the store each with a particular zone identification, and providing each of the areas in the store with a reader that can identify specific shopping carts within the area; associating shopping carts with at least one zone; identifying shopping carts in each area and tracking shopping carts to determine when shopping carts have entered a new area to which the shopping carts are not associated; determining an amount of time shopping carts remain within new zones, and if shopping carts remain within a new zone for a specified period of time, designating the shopping carts as abandoned and alerting store personnel of abandoned carts and grocery store products; and wherein certain tracking of carts is assigned higher priority than other tracking of carts, such that a cart that has passed through a frozen meat products area will be assigned a higher priority than a cart that has passed through a frozen vegetables area but not through a frozen meat products area; and the cart that has passed through the frozen meat products area will result in an earlier abandonment alert than the cart that has passed through the frozen vegetables area but not the frozen meat products area.