Abstract:
A method of operation is provided of a retail terminal having: a housing; a take away belt having a first end adjacent the housing and a second end remote from the housing; a cover plate positioned over a gap between the housing and the first end of the take away belt; a sensor positioned adjacent the first end of the take away belt; a scale arranged to measure the weight of items placed on the belt; and a controller arranged to control the movement of the take away belt. The method includes the steps of: allowing placement of an item on the take away belt; moving the item away from the housing; detecting the weight of the item, and if a new weight item is detected; moving the item towards the housing, until the item is detected by the sensor, and then moving the item the opposite direction, away from the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a self-checkout system, for retail businesses, having a takeaway belt. 
   2. Background Information 
   General merchandise stores and retail grocery, supermarket, or food stores utilize retail purchase transaction terminals or checkout systems such as assisted and non-assisted (self) checkout systems (collectively, checkout systems) to consummate the purchase transaction. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a self-checkout terminal suitable for use by a customer who wishes to purchase a small quantity of items, as will be described in more detail below. When larger quantities of goods are to be purchased a take away belt (or conveyor belt) is utilized. The belt, as depicted in accordance with the present invention, in association with  FIGS. 2 to 5 , will be described in detail below. However, it should be noted that the belt is located between the housing  11 , adjacent the scanner  18  and the bag well  62  of the checkout of  FIG. 1 . 
   The use of a takeaway belt assembly with self-checkout equipment presents unique challenges related to the integration of the security scale with the belt assembly. One such challenge is the learning of new item weights. 
   A design objective for the takeaway belt self-checkout system is to present to the shopper a smooth and responsive system interface. The system should be supportive to the shopping operation, not obstruct it. Unfortunately, the detection of an unexpected weight for a regular item is one instance where intervention of the attendant is required. The attendant generally makes the determination that a new item weight exists versus an incorrect item has been substituted. 
   The behavior of the takeaway belt becomes integral to the resolution of this issue.  FIG. 2  illustrates the typical takeaway belt assembly  100 . The leading edge  102  of the takeaway belt  104  is protected by a hinged cover  106  that prevents small items from falling into the cabinetry. The cover  106  also provides a smooth transition from the scanner area  18  ( FIG. 1 ) to the surface of the belt  104 , and opens allowing service to be performed on the belt components. When the scale  16  ( FIG. 1 ) detects an unexpected weight, the belt  104  is commonly reversed to bring the item back to the shopper for possible corrective action. It is at this point that the attendant commonly intervenes and approves the unexpected item weight as a new weight for the item. This commonly happens as a result of packaging changes, attached free items, etc. 
   When the belt  104  is reversed carrying the item back to the shopper, the event of the item interrupting a sensor  108  near the extreme leading edge  102  of the belt at which point the checkout stops the belt motor (not shown). Unfortunately, odd shaped items such as bottles may miss interrupting the sensor beam until several additional inches of belt travel have occurred. This often results in the item coming to rest partially on the belt cover  106 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . This creates a problem when the attendant recognizes that the item on the belt is in fact a new weight variation for the previously known item and approves it. Unfortunately, because the item is resting partially on the cover, the scale is not supporting the full weight of the item. This results in an invalid weight being added to the security database for that item. 
   It would thus be advantageous to have a checkout system that alleviates the above-noted shortcomings and/or problems in current checkout systems. 
   SUMMARY 
   In accordance with an aspect of the subject invention, there is provided a method of operation of retail terminal comprising: a housing; a take away belt, having a first end adjacent said housing and a second end remote from said housing; a cover plate positioned over a gap between said housing and said first end of said take away belt; a sensor positioned adjacent said first end of said take away belt; a scale arranged to measure the weight of items placed on the belt; and control means arranged to control the movement of the take away belt, the method comprising the steps of: allowing placement an item on the take away belt; moving said item away from said housing; detecting the weight of said item, and if a new weight item is detected; moving said item towards the housing, until the item is detected by said sensor, and then moving said item the opposite direction, away from said housing. 
   In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a retail terminal comprising: a housing; a take away belt, having a first end adjacent said housing and a second end remote from said housing; a cover plate positioned over a gap between said housing and said first end of said take away belt; a sensor positioned adjacent said first end of said take away belt; a scale arranged to measure the weight of items placed on the belt; and control means arranged to control the movement of the take away belt so as to move an item towards the housing if the scale detects a new weight item, until the item is detected by said sensor, and then to move the item in the opposite direction, away from said housing. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a retail terminal embodied as a self- checkout terminal; 
       FIG. 2  is an illustration of a typical takeaway belt, sensors, and scale; 
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of the belt of  FIG. 2 , on which a bottle has been reversed, because of a weight mismatch, coming to rest partially on the cover plate producing an invalid scale weight; 
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of the belt of  FIG. 2  in which the bottle has been pulled forward off the belt cover, coming to rest completely on the belt/scale thereby producing a valid weight measurement; 
       FIG. 5  is an illustration of the belt of  FIG. 2  used to properly position a large item, for weighing. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is depicted a retail terminal (such as a self-service checkout or self checkout system) generally designated  10  representing the retail terminal  10  previously discussed in which the subject invention may be utilized. The retail terminal  10  includes housing  11 . Typically the retail terminal  10  is within a retail store such as a grocery store. 
   The retail terminal  10  is configured to perform a number of retail functions such as unassisted or “self-service” checkout functions. What is meant herein by the term “self-service checkout functions” or “self-service checkout transaction” or “self-service purchase transaction” are those checkout functions or transactions that are performed by a checkout system by the customer himself or herself without the assistance of a clerk or other personnel employed by the retailer. For example, a self-service checkout (purchase) function or transaction would be performed on the retail terminal  10  in response to a customer himself or herself scanning or otherwise entering items for purchase into the checkout system, and thereafter depressing a payment key on the checkout system that indicates the manner by which the customer intends to pay for such items (e.g. by interaction with a credit/debit card reader or currency acceptor). Accordingly, what is meant herein by the phrase “self-service mode of operation” is a configuration of the retail terminal  10  that allows the system  10  to perform a self-service checkout (purchase) function or transaction. 
   In addition, what is meant herein by the term “customer” or “consumer” (in the context of the subject invention) is a person who enters a retailer&#39;s store, selects his or her items for purchase from the shopping area of the store, checks out his or her items for purchase at a checkout system such as the retail terminal  10  (including tendering payment for his or her items for purchase), and then exits the store subsequent to tendering payment. Hence, as used herein, a customer or consumer is distinguished from retail personnel such as a checkout clerk or other employee of the retailer in that a customer or consumer enters the place of business for the purpose of purchase items from the store. Moreover, what is meant herein by the term “retail personnel” is a person that is employed by the retailer to perform a retail activity such as assistance in operation or other function of the retail terminal  10 . Also, the term “user” is herein used to refer to any operator of the retail terminal  10 . Accordingly, a user may be retail personnel, a customer or consumer, or any other person who operates the retail terminal  10 . 
   The retail terminal  10  includes a housing  11  that defines a pre-scan area  50 , an itemization area  52 , a bagging area  54 , and a payment area  56 . The pre-scan area  50  includes a shelf  58  on which a customer may place a shopping basket (not shown) or items for eventual scanning. In particular, the pre-scan area  20  provides a place where the customer can place items for purchase before scanning. It should be appreciated that the shelf  58  is only representative of a pre-scan area wherein a customer may place items for purchase. 
   The itemization area  52  of the retail terminal  10  includes the scanner  18  and the produce scale  16 . The scanner  18  conventionally scans or reads a product identification code such as a Universal Product Code (UPC), industrial symbol(s), alphanumeric character(s), or other indicia associated with an item to be purchased. One scanner that may be used in the subject invention is a model number 7875 bi-optic scanner that is commercially available from NCR Corporation of Dayton, Ohio. 
   The scanner  18  includes a first scanning window  19   a  and a second scanning window  19   b . The first scanning window  19   a  is disposed in a substantially horizontal manner, whereas the second scanning window  19   b  is disposed in a substantially vertical manner. The horizontal or first scanning window  19   a  is disposed in a relatively flush-mount arrangement with the produce scale  16  such that the produce scale  16  is integrated with the scanner  18 . If an item such as produce is placed upon the produce scale  18  or the first scanning window  19   a , the produce scale  18  may be used to determine the weight of the produce (item). 
   The scanner  18  includes a light source (not shown) such as a laser, a rotating mirror (not shown) driven by a motor (not shown), and a mirror array (not shown) such as is conventional in the art. In operation, a laser beam from the laser reflects off the rotating mirror and mirror array to produce a pattern of scanning light beams. As the product identification code on an item is passed over in front of the scanner  18 , the scanning light beams scatter off the product identification code and are returned to the scanner  18  where they are collected and detected. The reflected light is then analyzed electronically in order to determine whether the reflected light contains a valid code pattern. If a valid code pattern is detected or present, the product identification code may then be utilized to retrieve product information associated with the item (e.g. the price of the item, product description, or the like). This information or code data is forwarded to the processor  12 . The scanner  18  (or the scanner housing) also includes an activator  20  (in the case the produce scale is not an integral scale/actuator), the speaker  36  for providing sound, and the light  38  as an indicator. The scale  16  is operative in the manner set forth above. 
   The bagging area  54  includes a bagwell  62  that is of sufficient size to accommodate a first bag holder/bagging area  64  and a second bag holder/bagging area  66 . The first and second bag holder/bagging areas  64  and  66  each are adapted to retain a plurality of paper and/or plastic bags (not shown) for holding scanned items to be purchased. The bagwell  62  is configured such that a bag and its contents (items scanned for purchase) rest upon a security scale  68 . The security scale  68  is a weight scale that monitors the weight of items placed into a bag located in the bagwell  62 . Such monitoring during a checkout transaction is particularly useful to prevent improprieties during the checkout transaction. The bagging area  54  also includes a post-scanning or set-aside area or shelf  60 , on which a customer may place items before being bagged as described above. Items place on shelf  60  are weighed. 
   Particularly, the security scale  68  is utilized to monitor the ingress and egress of items into and out of the bagging area  54 . More particularly, the security scale  68  is utilized to detect placement of items into and out of the bag wells  64  and,  66  and the shelf  60 . Such item movement monitoring may be utilized to determine if the customer is unintentionally or intentionally committing an impropriety such as theft. For example, a control signal is generated when the scanner  18  successfully captures a product code associated with an item being entered into the retail terminal  10 . The security scale  68  may be used to detect placement of an item into the bagging area  54  instead of being scanned by the scanner  18  in the itemization area  52 . Moreover, when an item is scanned with the scanner  18  and thereafter placed into a bag in the bagwell  64  or  66 , the detected weight of the item (as detected by the security scale  68 ) may be compared to a known weight value of the item that is stored in a database in the storage  30  in order to confirm that a different, more expensive item was not substituted for the scanned item or the settled or stable weight obtained by the produce scale  16  in the manner of the principles of the subject invention. It should be appreciated that the database may be in the form of a master database that includes every item sold by the retailer, or may be a “transaction level” database that is constructed locally at the retail terminal  10  during operation thereof. 
   The retail terminal  10  also includes a user interface terminal  70  for receiving input from and providing information to a customer. In particular, the retail terminal  10  includes an interactive customer interface terminal  70 . The interactive customer interface terminal  70  includes a display monitor  24  that is provided to display retail information to the customer during operation of the retail terminal  10 . For example, transaction information such as item price, item description, total amount of the transaction, instructions, weight on the scale  16 , etc. is displayed to the customer via the display monitor  24  during operation of the retail terminal  10 . Moreover, instructions may be displayed on the display monitor  24  that assist or otherwise guide the customer through operation of the retail terminal  10 . 
   Additionally, customer-specific messages may be displayed to the customer on the display monitor  24  at certain times during a checkout transaction. What is meant herein by the term “customer-specific” in regard to messages is a retail message that is customized for a given customer based on the purchasing habits or other information that is unique to the customer. For example, a customer-specific message may include a customer-specific advertisement that advertises a product that was purchased by the customer during a previous visit to the retailer&#39;s store. The retail terminal  10  is configured to retrieve information from a customer profile database that contains information about each of the retailer&#39;s customers. Moreover, a customer-specific message may include a customer-specific advertisement that advertises a product that may be used in conjunction with a product that was previously scanned or otherwise entered into the retail terminal  10  during the current checkout transaction. As well, the customer-specific message may indicate that the customer needs to deactivate a detected EAS tag. 
   The display monitor  24  of the interactive customer interface terminal  70  preferably incorporates a known touch screen monitor  72  that can generate data signals when certain areas of the screen are touched by a customer. Hence, the display monitor  24  may be utilized by the customer to input information into the retail terminal  10 . For example, the customer may manually enter retail information such as item codes and quantities into the retail terminal  10  by use of the touch screen  72  associated with the display monitor  24 . The customer may indicate his or her preferred method of payment (e.g. cash, credit card, or debit card) by touching the appropriate area of the touch screen  72  associated with the display monitor  24 . A portion of the touch screen  72  associated with the display monitor  24  may also be used as a signature capture area wherein a stylus  74  is used to input a customer&#39;s signature in the case of a credit card purchase or other type purchase requiring a signature. 
   The payment area  56  of the retail terminal  10  includes the system components necessary to allow a customer to perform retail finalization functions such as tendering payment for his or her items for purchase and printing of purchase transaction receipts. In particular, the payment area  56  of the retail terminal  10  includes an electronic payment terminal  76  having a card reader and keypad, a pair of currency acceptors such as a coin acceptor  78  and a bill acceptor  82 , a corresponding pair of currency dispensers such as a coin dispenser  80  and a bill dispenser  84 , and a receipt printer  86 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system components associated with the payment area  56  are positioned to face the customer. 
   The system components associated with the payment area  56  of the retail terminal  10  are provided to allow the customer to tender payment for his or her items for purchase. In particular, once the customer has entered all of his or her items for purchase into the checkout terminal  10  during a self-service checkout/purchase transaction, the components associated with the payment area  56  are utilized to complete the self-service checkout/purchase transaction by (1) allowing payment to be tendered by either insertion of currency into a currency acceptor (i.e. the coin acceptor  78  and/or the bill acceptor  82 ), charging a credit card or debit card account, or decreasing a value amount stored on a smart card, cash card, or gift certificate card via the electronic payment terminal  76 , and (2) printing a purchase transaction receipt with the receipt printer  86 . In the case of when a customer inserts currency into the coin acceptor  78  and/or the bill acceptor  82 , the retail terminal  10  may provide change via the coin dispenser  80  and/or the bill dispenser  84 . The payment area  56  also includes a coupon acceptor  88  that is adapted to receive coupons. The coupon acceptor  88  is operative to read indicia on a coupon to determine if the coupon has expired, the amount, and to correlate whether an item corresponding to the coupon has been scanned for purchase. At the end of the payment area is a set-aside shelf  90 . The set-aside shelf  90  may be used for various purposes such as putting aside bread before placing the same into a bag until the bag is essentially full with heavy items. 
   The retail terminal  10  also includes an accessory pole  92  that supports a status light device  94 , and an antenna/paging device  96 . The accessory pole  92  may also support a camera (not shown). The status light device  94  and the antenna/paging device  96  are provided in order to notify store personnel, such as a customer service manager, if intervention into the current checkout transaction is needed. In particular, if during operation of the retail terminal  10 , an intervention-needed activity is detected, the status light device  94  and/or the antenna/paging device  96  are operated so as to summon retail personnel, such as the customer service manager. What is meant herein by the term “intervention-needed activity” is (1) activity by the customer or retail personnel in which the retail terminal  10  is unintentionally operated improperly, (2) activity by the customer or retail personnel in which it can be inferred with a high degree of confidence that the retail terminal  10  is intentionally operated improperly for illicit purposes such as theft, (3) activity by the customer or retail personnel in which the customer or retail personnel operates an in put device associated with the retail terminal  10  in a manner that indicates the he or she is in need of assistance, and (4) activity by the components associated with the retail terminal  10  that has rendered the system in need of maintenance or other type of service. 
   An intervention-needed activity may take the form of a security-breach activity in which the retail terminal  10  is being operated in a manner that is placing the retailer in a position of potential financial loss due to goods being taken from the store without having first been paid for (either intentionally or unintentionally), less than all the goods being weighed in the case of produce that results in a false total price for the produce, or a non-security-breach activity in which the customer is in need of assistance or the retail terminal  10  is in need of maintenance, but wherein the retailer is not at risk of financial loss due to goods being taken from the store without having been paid for first. The retail terminal  10  may also have a video monitoring system (not shown). 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate operation of a self-checkout take away belt, in accordance with the present invention. When an item of new weight is detected, by the scale  110 , take away belt  104  is reversed until the item interrupts a reverse stop sensor  108 , possibly leaving the item partially on the belt cover  106 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The belt is then reversed briefly so as to pull the item off the cover plate  106  so as to rest fully on the belt  104  and the underlying scale  110 . With the full item resting on the belt and thus the scale, the correct weight is now measured by the system and processed, as normal. As a result, an attendant is presented with a correct new item weight to approve without direct intervention. Note that the reverse stop sensor  108  is an RF sensor. 
   The checkout further includes a scale stop sensor  112 , positioned adjacent the opposite end of the belt  104  from the reverse stop sensor  108 . This sensor  112  becomes significant when the belt is fully reversed because of a long item of new weight, and is subsequently moved forward to pull the long item off the belt cover, see  FIG. 5 . The long item then interrupts the scale stop sensor  112 , resulting in the forward motion of the belt  104  (away from the scanner  18 ) being immediately stopped. This will occur when an unusually long item is placed on the takeaway belt and a new weight is registered. The stopping of the belt in response to the actuation of the scale stop sensor  112  makes it much more likely that the complete item will come to rest fully on the scale producing a correct weight measurement, as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   Modifications may be incorporated without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.