Abstract:
A system and method for tracking currency in a self-checkout station in one embodiment comprises a currency acceptor for collecting cash payment elements and determining the denominations of the collected cash payment elements, a cash dispenser for dispensing cash payment elements, a denomination counter for counting units of collected and dispensed cash payment elements, a processor, a memory, programmed instructions stored in the memory which, when executed by the processor, close an open accounting log based upon a received accounting period signal, and data storage for storing the number of denomination units counted for collected cash payment elements.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to methods and systems for tracking transactions at a self-checkout station and, more particularly, to methods and systems for balancing funds at self-checkout stations. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Self-checkout stations at grocery stores and other retail stores are well known. The stations permit a consumer to scan items for purchase so the station may identify the items and a corresponding price When the consumer indicates all items for purchase have been presented to the terminal, a sub-total is accumulated, any taxes and discounts are computed, and a total amount due is displayed for the consumer. The station then allows the consumer to select a payment method by presenting menu selections to the consumer. If an electronic payment method is selected funds are transferred from the account corresponding to a token submitted by the consumer to the retailer&#39;s account. Upon confirmation of payment, the items are released to the consumer. Alternatively, the consumer may select a cash payment option and feed paper currency and coinage to the self-checkout station. Any change required from the amount submitted may then be calculated and dispensed to the consumer before releasing the items to the consumer. 
     A self-checkout station typically includes a terminal, a scanner and scales for reading unit price codes (UPC) and determining item weight, a cashier keypad and display, a POS terminal for payment entry, a receipt printer, a change unit, and a checkout area for holding items once they have been scanned. The terminal also includes a display, a processor, memory, programmed instructions, and data peripherals to control the operations of the station. The programmed instructions may contain modules that query for item prices, computing totals and performing other functions related to the purchase of items through a self-checkout station. Most checkout stations also include currency readers for verifying the denominations of currency submitted to the terminal for payment of items when the cash payment option is selected. Likewise, a coinage reader provides the same function for coin verification. The currency and coinage readers are well-known components such as those used in vending machines to reduce the risk of loss that occurs from accepting counterfeit currency and coins. 
     Previously known self-checkout stations do not synchronize the cash collections and disbursements with accounting periods for a store. Instead, manual accounting was used to count the currency and coins collected by a terminal and to count the remaining supply of currency and coins for disbursements. These figures were then manually recorded and provided to accounting personnel for inclusion in the store&#39;s accounting figures for a period. Such manual accounting has a number of drawbacks. For one, manual counting may result in loss from theft by store personnel counting the collected funds or by pilfering the change supplies. Likewise, personnel loading the change supplies at terminal initialization for an operating period may take cash. Such losses are possible because the terminal does not record currency exchanges for transactions. 
     Another problem arising from manual counting is the lack of synchronization with the store&#39;s accounting periods unless personnel service the terminal at times corresponding to the store accounting periods. Consequently, loans made to terminals for the purpose of provisioning change supplies cannot be included in the fund accounting for a store until the self-checkout stations are serviced and the currency collected. Subsequent store accounting periods must include self-checkout station fund accounting for transactions that occurred during a previous store accounting period. 
     What is needed is a way of synchronizing the transaction totals of a self-checkout station with the accounting periods for a store. 
     What is needed is a way of tracking currency and coinage collected and disbursed by a self-checkout station so theft losses during terminal servicing may be reduced. 
     What is needed is a way of associating currency collected with its corresponding transaction for more accurate currency tracking and theft detection that may occur at a self-checkout station. 
     What is needed is a way of tracking currency within a self-checkout station so that funds within the terminal may be accounted during a store accounting period without requiring servicing of the terminal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above-noted limitations of previously known systems and methods for transaction accounting at checkout stations have been overcome by a system and method that operate in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The system of the present invention comprises a currency acceptor for collecting cash payment elements and determining the denominations of the collected cash payment elements, a denomination counter for counting units of determined cash payment elements, and data storage for storing the count of the denomination units. By storing a count of the denomination units collected by the currency acceptor, the system of the present invention provides a record for accounting for the received funds in a self-checkout station. In this specification, the term “cash payment element” refers to units of paper currency and units of coinage that are recognized as legal tender in a nation&#39;s economy. 
     In the system of the present invention, an accounting period synchronizer receives an accounting period signal so an open accounting log may be closed and a next accounting log may be opened. Receipt of this signal and the closing and opening of accounting logs in the self-checkout station permits the collected cash payment elements to be allocated to different accounting periods without requiring servicing of the self-checkout station. The accounting period signal may be received from a server for the store or other establishment in which the self-checkout station is located or it may be received from a switch that may be manually activated to synchronize accounting period logs. 
     Preferably, the system of the present invention includes a transaction generator for generating a transaction identifier for each consumer transaction. A transaction is comprised of a consumer identifying items to be purchased through the components of the self-checkout terminal, presenting payment for the identified items, the presented payment being accepted for release of the items to the consumer. Once presented payment is accepted, the self-checkout station may identify items for another transaction and evaluate the presented payment for this transaction. The transaction generator generates an identifier that may be associated with the count of the denomination units that were counted for the cash payment elements presented for payment of items in a transaction. Using this data, an accounting report generator may generate a report for an accounting period that identifies each transaction and the cash payment elements collected for payment of the transaction. If the collected cash payment elements are collected and maintained in sequential order, such as stacked paper currency, the collected cash payment elements may be associated with a particular transaction in an accounting report. Thus, counterfeit or other bogus currency units may be associated with a particular transaction and, if a customer token, such as a preferred customer card, is used during the transaction, a possible perpetrator may be identified. Alternatively, if the consumer area of a self-checkout station is monitored by a camera and the images stored, the association of a bogus payment element with a particular transaction identifier may be used to select images from the image data files for identification of a possible perpetrator. 
     The system of the present invention may also include a cash dispenser for dispensing cash payment elements. These cash payment elements may be dispensed in request for funds by consumer through an account accessed by a debit card or the like or the elements may be dispensed as change for tendered payment. The denomination counter of the present invention may be coupled to the cash dispenser to count the units of denominations dispensed by the cash dispenser and the resulting count may be stored in data storage. Preferably, the transaction generator associates the count of the denomination units with the transaction identifier for storage in the data storage. The accounting generator may use these data to generate accounting reports that list transactions and the count of the units dispensed for each transaction. 
     The method of the present invention comprises collecting cash payment elements and determining the denominations of the collected cash payment elements, counting units of determined cash payment elements, and storing the count of the denomination units. By storing a count of the denomination units collected by the currency acceptor, the system of the present invention provides a record for accounting for the received funds in a self-checkout station. 
     In the method of the present invention, receipt of an accounting period signal causes an open accounting log to be closed and a next accounting log to be opened. Receipt of this signal and the closing and opening of accounting logs in the self-checkout station permit the collected cash payment elements to be allocated to different accounting periods without requiring servicing of the self-checkout station. The accounting period signal may be received from a server for the store or other establishment in which the self-checkout station is located or it may be received from a switch that may be manually activated to synchronize accounting period logs. 
     Preferably, the method of the present invention includes generating a transaction identifier for each consumer transaction that may be associated with the count of the denomination units that were counted for the cash payment elements presented for payment of items in a transaction. Using this data, a report may be generated for an accounting period that identifies each transaction and the cash payment elements collected for payment of the transaction. The correlation of the collected cash payment elements and the transaction data may be used as discussed above to identify possible perpetrators of fraudulent activity. 
     The method of the present invention may also include dispensing cash payment elements. These cash payment elements may be dispensed in request for funds by consumer through an account accessed by a debit card or the like or the elements may be dispensed as change for tendered payment. The denominational units of the dispensed elements may be counted and the resulting count may be stored in data storage. Preferably, the count of the denomination units is associated with the transaction identifier for storage in the data storage. Accounting reports may then be generated using these data to list transactions and the count of the units dispensed for each transaction. 
     What is needed is a way of synchronizing the transaction totals of a self-checkout station with the accounting periods for a store. 
     It is an object of the present invention to track currency and coinage collected and disbursed by a self-checkout station so theft losses during terminal servicing may be reduced. 
     It is an object of the present invention to associate collected currency and coinage elements with a corresponding transaction for more accurate currency tracking and theft detection that may occur at a self-checkout station. 
     It is an object of the present invention to track currency within a self-checkout station so that funds within the terminal may be accounted during a store accounting period without requiring servicing of the terminal. 
     These and other advantages and features of the present invention may be discerned from reviewing the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention may take form in various system and method components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating an exemplary embodiment and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. 
         FIG. 1  depicts a self-checkout station in which the present invention may be used; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a system incorporation the principles of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an exemplary method for tracking cash payment elements in the system of the present invention shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exemplary accounting report of cash totals for transactions kept in a transaction log; and 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary accounting report listing the number of denomination units in the acceptor and dispenser of a self-checkout station. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A self-checkout station used with the system and method of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . Checkout station  10  may include a feeder unit  14  and a checkstand  18 . Feeder unit  14  includes a feeder belt  20  and housing  22  for the motor and control circuitry that operates feeder belt  20 . Feeder unit  14  is movably coupled to checkstand  18  so the feeder belt may be aligned with scanner/scale unit  26 . Checkstand  18  includes scanner/scale unit  26 , consumer terminal  34 , a payment terminal  38  for entry of payment data, and receipt printer  44 . Scanner/scale unit  26  uses a laser shining on a glass or other transparent platen to input data from bar codes applied to products or packages. Unit  26  may also include a scale for measuring the weight of items that are sold on a price/unit of weight basis. Consumer terminal  34  displays item data as it is entered through scanner/scale unit  26 . Payment terminal  38  may be any known POS terminal that incorporates a keypad and card reader to support credit card, debit card, and other payment methods. Receipt printer  44  provides a consumer with a receipt itemizing the items purchased and the method of payment. 
     Separating receipt printer  44  and scanner/scale unit  26  is a bagwell  46  having a security scale  48  for its floor. Bags for storing items that consumers have scanned and weighed are hung from hanging rails  50  in bagwell  46 . Security scale  48  uses item weight data derived from scanner/scale  26  or a database using a scanned unit product code (UPC) to verify that only the items scanned are placed on the security scale. Security application programs operating within terminal  34  monitor security scale  48  to determine whether items not scanned have been added to the security scale area. An anomalous condition that requires investigation may be signaled by lighting a warning or alert light color within the tri-color indicator mounted at the terminal end of indicator pole  52  of checkstand  18 . Indicator pole  52  may also have mounted thereon a security camera for providing a video signal to a security officer surveillance area or to some storage media. A database, disk drive, or other computer peripheral required for station operation may be housed within peripheral tray  60  located within checkstand  18 . Checkstand  18  also includes currency acceptor  40  for receiving units of paper currency and coins from a consumer as payment for a transaction while cash dispenser  42  returns change to a consumer or funds requested from a debit account or the like. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a consumer may place items on feeder belt  20  and belt  20  is driven to bring items to the end of belt  20  where a shut-off mechanism stops belt  20 . The consumer may commence a transaction by removing items from belt  20  and moving them, one at a time, over scanner/scale  26  for item product data retrieval and/or weighing. The scanned items may then be placed in bags on security scale  48 . Once all of the items are scanned, a consumer may provide payment through payment terminal  38  or currency acceptor  40 , receive change from dispenser  44 , and a receipt from printer  44 . The consumer may then remove the bags from security scale  48  and leave station  10  to complete a transaction. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, a currency tracking program may reside in the computer that controls terminal operation for the checkout stand. The currency tracking program includes components shown in the block diagram of  FIG. 2 . System  80  is coupled to store server  90  and includes terminal  34 , currency acceptor  40 , cash dispenser  42 , denomination counter  82 , data storage  84 , and transaction logger  86 . Terminal  34 , currency acceptor  40  and cash dispenser  42  are components in self-checkout station  10 . Terminal  34  provides signals regarding the various stages of a transaction. Currency acceptor  40  identifies the denomination of a cash payment element as it is verified and accepted by currency acceptor  42 . Cash dispenser  42  identifies the denomination of a cash payment element as it is dispensed. Denomination counter  82  receives the identifications of the units collected and dispensed by acceptor  40  and dispenser  42  and accumulates them. Counter  82  is coupled to terminal  34  through logger  86  to receive signals regarding the status of a transaction. For example, once terminal  34  determines sufficient cash payment elements have been entered to pay for the items of a transaction, a payment tendered signal may be generated for use by logger  86  and counter  82 . In response to this signal, counter  82  may provide the counts of the denomination units to data storage  84 . These counts may be stored in storage  84  in association with a transaction identifier generated by logger  86  if the accounting log is maintained on a transaction by transaction basis. Otherwise, an accumulated count of denominations in storage  84  may be updated by the counts accumulated by counter  82  for a transaction. Logger  86  may use the end of transaction signal from terminal  34  to end data storage associated with a transaction identifier for an ongoing transaction. 
     Store server  90  maintains accounting data for the establishment in which self-checkout station  10  is located. It may generate accounting period signals to mark the beginning and/or end of accounting periods for store reporting purposes. In response to this signal, logger  86  may close the currently open accounting log and identify the last transaction for that accounting period. A next accounting period is opened and subsequent transactions are associated with that accounting period. 
     Self-checkout stations may be coupled to store server  90  by a computer network such as a local area network (LAN). Each station includes computer software that controls the operation of a self-checkout station and communicates with store server  90 . The program or programs used to implement the currency tracking and account logging system and method of the present invention may reside on the computer of a terminal  34  for a station  10  or it may be implemented on its own computer located in association with a station  10 . Terminal  34  typically uses a Pentium processor with 128 MB of RAM and a 10 GB hard drive. The currency tracking and account logging software may be written with programmed instructions in any known computer language supported by and compatible with the operating system of terminal  34 . 
     An exemplary method that may be used to implement the principles of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 3 . Once terminal  34  or the computer on which the currency tracking and logging software resides is initialized (block  100 ), a scanned item is detected (block  104 ). If it is the first item of a transaction (block  108 ), the method determines whether store server  90  has identified a new accounting period (block  110 ). If it has, the current accounting period is closed and a next accounting period is opened (block  114 ). A transaction log is then commenced (block  118 ). A transaction log is commenced without an accounting period close if no signal regarding accounting periods has been received from store server  90 . While server  90  preferably generates the signal for identifying accounting periods, a manually activated switch at a station may generate the signal if independence of accounting periods for stations is desired. 
     The price data for a scanned item is added to a transaction total (block  120 ). The process of detecting a scanned item and updating the transaction total continues until the consumer indicates a readiness to pay (block  124 ). The signal indicating readiness to pay may be generated from a button of a touch screen or from depression of a keypad associated with terminal  34 . The process then determines whether the consumer selected the cash payment method (block  128 ). If a non-cash payment method is selected, the type and amount of the tender is logged (block  130 ). Otherwise, denomination counter  82  receives from currency acceptor  40  the number of denomination units verified and accepted by acceptor  40  (block  134 ) and updates its denomination unit counters (block  138 ) until a sufficient amount has been entered to pay for the transaction (block  140 ). 
     If the exact amount required for payment of the transaction is tendered (block  144 ), the log of the current transaction is complete and stored in data storage  84  (block  148 ). Preferably, the count of the collected denominational units is stored in association with a transaction identifier generated by logger  86  so collected units may be correlated with a particular transaction. If the tendered amount exceeds the amount required for payment of the transaction (block  144 ), the process determines whether errors occurred in dispensing the change (block  150 ). If errors occurred, dispenser  42  is queried for the amount and number of denominational units that were purged (block  154 ) and this data is stored for the transaction log (block  158 ). For the change returned, dispenser  42  provides a count of the total and number of denominational units dispensed (block  160 ) and this data is stored in the transaction log (block  164 ). 
     Transaction logger  86  may also generate accounting reports or it may include one or more components for generating and sending such reports to store server  90 . An exemplary report for a self-checkout station  10  using the transaction logs containing the count of the denomination units collected and dispensed is shown in  FIG. 4 . Heading  200  identifies the total sales in dollars processed by station  10  and this number is broken down into credit sales dollars, debit sales dollars, cash payment received, and debit cash dispensed. Column  204  of the report identifies the cash received total and the total dollar value of the paper currency received and of the coinage received. The count of the denomination units for the cash payment elements collected by acceptor  40  is also identified for the cash received. In like manner, the cash dispensed for change and debit cash is identified in column  208  while a similar breakdown is given in column  210  for the cash payment elements in the purged bin for the errors that occurred in the dispensing of cash by dispenser  42 . These data may be used to identify the total cash in the acceptor  40 , dispenser  42 , and purged bin of a station  10  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The initial count of denomination units and cash total of a dispenser may be initialized during servicing of cash dispenser  42  of a station  10 . 
     A station  10  that incorporates the system and method of the present invention may be used to establish an initial count of the units of each denomination in a cash dispenser of a station. After being placed in service, station  10  may then maintain a transaction log that counts the denomination units collected by the currency acceptor of the station and that also counts the denomination units dispensed by its cash dispenser. Cash dispensing errors are also logged. Accounting reports may be generated to identify the cash total and number of denomination units stored in the acceptor and dispenser of the station as well as accounting for the cash dispensed so all cash stored in a station at operation initialization may be tracked. The transaction log may be synchronized with the accounting periods of a store server. 
     While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of exemplary processes and system components, and while the various processes and components have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will also readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broadest aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, implementations, or illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.