Abstract:
In summary, the present invention relates to a portable shopping system including a plurality of portable terminals. Each portable terminal incorporates a scanning unit for acquiring product identification information associated with selected products. The system further includes a wireless communication network for communicating the acquired product identification information provided by the plurality of portable terminals to a central host facility. Included within the central host facility is an access point disposed to receive the product identification information from the wireless communication network and a central database including a plurality of personal shopping files respectively associated with the plurality of portable terminals. The central host facility also includes a central controller operative to update ones of the personal shopping files upon receipt of portions of the product identification information provided by associated ones of the portable terminals. The system may also include at least one self-checkout unit in communication with the central host facility for processing a self-checkout transactions involving items selected using the plurality of portable terminals. The self-checkout transactions each generally involve downloading of a list of items from a personal shopping file in response to presentment of an associated one of the portable terminals at the self-checkout unit.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to a system and method for ordering, supplying and obtaining information relating to selected goods and services using a portable sales assistant terminal.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Consumers often desire to obtain information about products and services that are being offered for sale. Such information may relate to price, product size, instructions for use, product applications, warranty, warnings, rating by independent testing organizations, product demonstrations or samples, service information, and background, biographical or historical information about the creator, service provider, manufacturer, or seller.  
           [0003]    It is common practice to attach certain of such desired information to the relevant product or to supply it as part of the service. However, consumers may still have an unfilled need for accurate, up to date, relevant, and appropriate information for a variety of reasons. For example, space may be limited on the product package or display. In addition, the information may be change rapidly, and obsolete information may be useless or misleading. On the other hand, there may even be too much information, and consumers may require assistance in sorting through it to find the information that is most relevant to their needs. For example, although there is an enormous amount of information available on the Internet, it is often difficult for consumers to locate and even more difficult for consumers to relate the information to the precise product of interest.  
           [0004]    Retailers, distributors, packagers, and service providers may be aware of these needs of consumers for information about products and services, and may wish to provide such information to consumers in order to increase sales and profits. Knowing which consumers show an interest in or purchase various products may help marketing resources be allocated most effectively. Also, obtaining information about which consumers choose not buy a product or service after considering a purchase may be even more important than obtaining information about those consumers who do choose to buy a particular product or service. In addition, different customers may need or desire different types of information. In order for a product or service provider to provide relevant information to the consumer, it is necessary to first obtain information from the consumer about the consumer&#39;s needs.  
           [0005]    Various mechanisms have been proposed for enhancing the delivery of information about certain products and services indicated by consumers to be of interest based upon indications of consumer preference. For example, in certain systems machine readable coded labels are placed upon products and used to encode one or more remote file locations, such as uniform resource locators (“URLs”), used to reference sites on the world wide web (“WWW”). These labels are scanned by a hand-held terminal issued to a consumer, thereby enabling the retrieval of data files including items such as prices, promotions, marketing and general interest data from various local and remote addresses available over a wireless communication network. These URLs can be presented on the terminal display in the form of a hyperlink which submits a data retrieval request to a remote address upon selection. Although such systems enable more targeted distribution of marketing and other product-related information, such distribution is typically based only upon the identity of the product scanned by the hand-held terminal. That is, such systems are limited to obtaining information pertinent to the scanned product, and are not generally designed to provide such information based at least in part upon other indicia of consumer preference (e.g., prior purchasing or browsing history).  
           [0006]    In addition to facilitating the targeted provision of product-related information, such hand-held terminals have also been utilized in other “portable” shopping systems. For example, in one such system an authorized customer is issued a terminal having an integrated bar code scanner to record merchandise purchases. After items are scanned with the bar code scanner, the terminal maintains a record of merchandise selected for purchase by the customer within an internal memory. Prior to exiting the store, the information stored in the memory of the scanner is down loaded through a communication port attached to a terminal dispenser, and a printed ticket of the customer&#39;s purchases is printed on a printer. The customer then proceeds to a check out register where the customer tenders payment for the purchased merchandise.  
           [0007]    In another proposed portable shopping system, a consumer is provided with a hand-held bar code reader and can scan various items at home. The user can order from home over a modem, or can dock the bar code reader in a kiosk at a store, and can then receive a printed shopping list with directions. Yet further, a list of items can be transmitted from the store kiosk to a warehouse for remote picking.  
           [0008]    Consistent with the above, commercially available prior art self-checkout systems have generally employed relatively simple portable computing technologies disposed to provide limited pricing and product itemization information. Moreover, lists of products selected for purchase and other product-related information is often stored within the portable units utilized within such systems, which tends to increase the processing and memory requirements of such units. In addition, although the pervasiveness of networked computing and the Internet has facilitated access to product-related information, it has not yet fundamentally changed the manner in which consumers select, purchase and receive most goods and other items.  
           [0009]    Accordingly, there currently exists a need for a system for enabling more sophisticated and focused delivery of product-related information and for streamlining product ordering and fulfillment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    In summary, the present invention relates to a portable shopping system including a plurality of portable terminals. Each portable terminal incorporates a scanning unit for acquiring product identification information associated with selected products. The system further includes a wireless communication network for communicating the acquired product identification information provided by the plurality of portable terminals to a central host facility. Included within the central host facility is an access point disposed to receive the product identification information from the wireless communication network and a central database including a plurality of personal shopping files respectively associated with the plurality of portable terminals. The central host facility also includes a central controller operative to update ones of the personal shopping files upon receipt of portions of the product identification information provided by associated ones of the portable terminals.  
           [0011]    In another aspect, the present invention relates to a portable sales assistant terminal including a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a scanning unit. The memory preferably stores persistent browser state information externally associated with the shopping terminal. During operation of the portable sales assistant terminal, the scanning unit scans products of interest and provides associated product identification information to the processor. A wireless transceiver circuit coupled to the processor operates to (i) transmit the product identification information via a wireless communication channel, and (ii) receive corresponding product information. The portable sales assistant terminal further includes a display/user input device for displaying the product information through a browser executed by the processor.  
           [0012]    In yet another aspect, the present invention comprises a system for self-checkout by a customer. The system includes a central host facility incorporating a central database in which is maintained a personal shopping file associated with the customer. A portable terminal having a scanning unit is provided for acquiring product identification information from items selected by the customer. A wireless communication network operates to enable communication between the central host facility and the portable terminal. To this end, the portable unit transmits the acquired product identification information to the central host facility via the wireless communication network. In response, a list of the items is stored within the personal shopping file in response to receipt at the central host facility of the product identification information. The system includes at least one self-checkout unit in communication with the central host facility for processing a self-checkout transaction involving the items selected by the customer. The self-checkout transaction includes downloading the list of items from the customer&#39;s personal shopping file in response to presentment of the portable terminal at said self-checkout unit.  
           [0013]    The present invention also relates to a method for providing product marketing information to at least one customer by way of a portable terminal operative in a self-checkout system, the portable terminal having an integrated scanning unit. The method contemplates storing a customer data file associated with the customer at a central host facility, the customer data file being identified by a customer identification number and including customer preference information created on the basis of shopping activity of the customer during one or more prior shopping sessions. During a current shopping session, a customer identification number is entered into the portable terminal and is transmitted to the central host facility via a wireless communication network. The integrated scanning unit is utilized to acquire product identification information associated with a product, and the acquired identification information is transmitted to the central host facility. In response, the central host facility then transmits product marketing information to the portable terminal via the wireless communication network. The product market information may be selected based upon the customer data file and the product identification information.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    For a better understanding of the nature of the features of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 1A and 1B provide similar illustrative overviews of a portable sales assistant terminal system of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 illustratively represents a digital sales assistant (“DSA”) disposed to be used within the system of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 provides a block diagrammatic representation of an exemplary internal architecture of a DSA in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a central host facility configured within a retail establishment in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5A illustratively represents an exemplary data structure corresponding to a product database disposed within the central host facility of FIG. 4.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5A illustratively represents an exemplary data structure corresponding to a customer database disposed within the central host facility of FIG. 4.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 provides a block diagram of an exemplary self-checkout station including a self-checkout terminal and an attached scanning unit.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a flowchart providing a general overview of exemplary operation of the portable terminal system.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a flowchart providing a more detailed representation of an exemplary self-checkout process occurring at a self-checkout station.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is a flowchart providing a more detailed representation of one manner in which the system of the present invention may provide relevant product information to customers within a retail establishment.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting the processing associated with the dedicated keys of the DSA.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 provides a block diagrammatic representation of a corporate data center configured in accordance with the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 1A and 1B provide illustrative overviews of a portable sales assistant terminal system  10  of the present invention. In a particular embodiment, the system  10  is deployed throughout a plurality of retail establishments (e.g., individual stores of a retail chain), one of which is represented in FIGS. 1A and 1B by reference numeral  12 . Within retail establishment  12 , a plurality of portable digital sales assistant terminals (“DSAs”)  14  are communicatively linked to a central host facility  16  by a wireless communication network  18 . As shown, the wireless communication network  18  includes a plurality of access points  20  linked by a local area network (“LAN”)  24  (e.g., an Ethernet LAN). For purposes of clarity, only a portion of LAN  24  is depicted in FIG. 1. A transceiver within each DSA  14  communicates with a similar transceiver in one of the plurality of access points  20  distributed throughout the retail establishment  12 . As shown, each access point  20  interfaces with the central host facility  16  via the LAN  24 . The central host facility  16  also interfaces with a point-of-sale (“POS”) system  38  of the retail establishment, and with a plurality of self-checkout stations  40  via LAN  24 .  
         [0028]    As shown in FIG. 1A, the central host facility  16  is connected to the Internet and a corporate data center  34  through one or more high speed communication links  32  such as, for example, commercially available digital subscriber line (“DSL”) or high speed T1, T2 or T3 type telephone connections. Through these connections the central host facility  16  communicates with the CDC  34 , and may also communicate with other external remote servers  36  via links  32  using standard TCP/IP and other standardized communication protocols. As is discussed below, the CDC  34  stores sales and marketing content distributed to one or more retail centers such as the retail establishment  12 . The CDC  34  may also host various corporate legacy systems and databases, and comparative product information.  
         [0029]    As is discussed below, customers entering the retail establishment  12  have the option of being issued a DSA  14 . Each DSA  14  contains a scanning unit  30  (i.e., a “scanner”) that is capable of scanning information encoded upon items available for purchase with in the retail establishment. Upon identifying an item of potential interest, the customer may use the DSA  14  to scan a machine code label or the like affixed to the item of interest and transmit the scanned product information to central host facility  16  via an access point  20  of LAN  24 . In response, host facility  16  provides information pertaining to the identified product and may also furnish information relating to similar or superior products in order to enhance “up-sell” and “cross-sell” opportunities. If a customer desires to purchase an item, the item may be similarly scanned and the corresponding product identification information provided to central host facility  16  in order to update the contents of a virtual shopping cart for the customer maintained therein. Upon finishing shopping within the retail establishment  12 , the customer proceeds to one of a number of self-checkout stations  40  distributed throughout the retail establishment  12  to checkout and otherwise render payment for the items the customer has previously selected for purchase. As part of this self-checkout process, a self-checkout station  40  accepts identification information from the customer&#39;s DSA  14  and uses this information to recall the contents of the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart maintained by the central host facility  16 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 2 illustratively represents a DSA  14  disposed to be used within the system  10  of the present invention. As shown, the DSA  14  includes the interactive touch display screen  28 , which is typically a conventional video display having a touch sensitive surface. The touch display screen  28  is designed to serve as both a video display and as a user input interface. A stylus  42  attached by a retractable cord  43  will also typically be provided for use in entering information into, and selecting among options presented by, the interactive touch display screen  28 .  
         [0031]    In operation, the DSA  14  generally operates as a TCP/IP web browser which issues product selection and information requests to central host facility  16 . After receiving product-related data in response to such information requests as described above, the DSA displays hyper-text mark-up language (“HTML”) web pages to the requesting customer via an interactive touch display screen  28 . The DSA  14  may generate such requests based upon at least one of: (a) encoded product identification information read by a scanning unit  30  from labels disposed upon articles disposed within the retail establishment  12 , and (b) data input manually via interactive touch display screen  28 . Although the scanning unit  30  preferably comprises a bar code laser scanner integrated with the DSA  14 , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the scanning unit can be a radio frequency identification tag reader, a CCD bar code reader or any other type of scanning unit which can decode encoded indicia on an article.  
         [0032]    The DSA  14  will also preferably be configured to include a number of special purpose keys  44 ,  45 ,  46  and  47  for directly activating various functions. For example, the DSA  14  includes a “Map” key  44  which, upon being selected, results in the touch display screen  28  presenting a map of the particular retail establishment in which the system  10  is disposed. As is discussed further below, a “Scan” key  45  is selected to initiate the scanning by the scanning unit  30  of encoded product identification labels affixed to products of interest. Selection of a “Menu” key  46  causes the display screen  28  to present a “main menu” page comprised of various menu options. Finally, a “Help” key  47  may be chosen when it desired to view a list of available help topics via display screen  20 .  
         [0033]    Referring again to FIG. 2, the DSA  14  is also typically equipped with a speaker  50  used to project information transmitted by the central host facility  16  in an audio format. For example, the speaker  50  could be used to convey information relating to store hours, sales, or general product information. An earpiece (not shown) could be offered as an option to hearing-impaired shoppers, and to all shoppers during periods of increased ambient noise.  
         [0034]    As noted above, the DSA  14  includes a scanning unit  30  capable of scanning encoded product identification information associated with products of interest. In an exemplary embodiment the scanning unit  30  will be designed to scan one and two dimensional bar code labels such as, for example, Uniform Product Code (“UPC”) labels. The scanning unit  30  initiates scanning of such encoded product identification label within its line of sight upon selection of the Scan key  45 . In the preferred embodiment, scanning unit  30  is a laser scanning bar code reader containing a light source and an optical system. The optical system is operative to scan the light produced by the light source, to direct it to the bar code label of interest, and to direct the reflected light to a transducer. The reflected light is converted by the transducer into electrical signals with a suitable evaluating circuit and stored within a barcode input buffer  70  (FIG. 3). In alternate embodiments, the scanning unit  30  of the DSA  14  may be configured to obtain product identification information from products of interest using other techniques. For example, in one such alternate embodiment the products displayed in retail establishment  12  would each be tagged with a unique radio frequency (“RF”) emitting tag, which would be “read” by the scanning unit  30 . Moreover, in yet other embodiments the product identification information associated with a product of interest may be manually entered into DSA  14  via touch display screen  28 , thereby obviating the need for scanning unit  30 .  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 3 provides a block diagrammatic representation of an exemplary internal architecture of a DSA  14 . As shown, each DSA  14  preferably includes a central processing unit (“CPU”)  60 , a memory subsystem  62 , and a wireless transceiver  64 . The memory subsystem  62  holds a copy of the operating system  66  and operations program  67  for the DSA  14 . In an exemplary embodiment, the operating system  66  comprises the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, although any appropriate operating system and permitting code reading could be used. Among other things, operations program  67  contains instructions that (when executed on CPU  60 ) control (i) connection of DSA  14  to an access point  20  of LAN  24  via wireless transceiver  64 , and (ii) the sending and receiving of data to and from such access point  20 . Also included within the memory subsystem  62  are working random access memory (“RAM 68”), barcode input buffer  70 , a web browser  72  (e.g., Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer) disposed to execute on the CPU  60 , and an ActiveX interface module  74 . In addition, the DSA  14  contains an interactive display module  76  incorporating touch display screen  28 . Each of the DSAs  14  need not have this configuration, and this configuration is intended to be merely illustrative.  
         [0036]    In operation, the web browser  72  communicates with the central host facility  16  through a wireless communication channel formed between wireless transceiver  64  and an access point  20 . In an exemplary embodiment the wireless transceiver  64  and the access point  20  communicate in accordance with the Bluetooth™ (“BT”) protocol, which is a computing and telecommunications industry specification for connectivity that is both wireless and automatic. The BT protocol is described in  The Specification of the Bluetooth System,  Version 1.1, Feb. 22, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. However, it will be readily appreciated that other medium to short distance data communication schemes may also be suitably employed. In the exemplary embodiment the wireless transceiver  64  may be realized using low-cost BT microchip transceiver operative at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The BT protocol contemplates that each participating device is assigned a unique 48-bit device address from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802 standard. During operation, BT devices may exchange data at a rate of up to approximately 1 megabit per second using current generation technology.  
         [0037]    Referring again to FIG. 3, the memory subsystem  62  of each DSA  14  further stores persistent client-side state information  84 , informally referred to as a “cookie”, set by the central host facility  16  upon deployment of the system  10 . In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the central host facility  14  maintains a DSA database  116  (FIG. 4) in which a terminal identification number associated with each DSA  14  is stored as a function of the value of the cookie set by the central host facility within such DSA  14 . As the customer associated with a DSA  14  proceeds through the retail establishment  12  and uses its web browser  72  to make product selections and request product information in the manner described below, the central host facility  16  stores such product selections in the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart and optionally in other associated behavioral files. During the customer&#39;s shopping session, the value of the cookie  84  within the DSA  14  transmitting such product selections and requests is made known to or requested by the central host facility  16  in connection with each such transmission. In the exemplary embodiment a customer is assigned a DSA  14  having a known terminal identification number and value of cookie  84  upon entering the retail establishment  12 , and the central host facility  16  stores the product selections and requests made by a given customer on the basis of the cookie value accompanying each such selection or request. As is discussed below, during a self-checkout process the terminal identification number of the DSA  14  assigned to a customer is read and used as an index into the above-described database table to retrieve the cookie value of such DSA. Using this cookie value, the central host facility then retrieves the contents of the virtual shopping cart associated with such customer in order to facilitate the self-checkout process.  
         [0038]    Turning to FIG. 4, the central host facility  16  functions as a local server to the DSAs  14 , and includes a collection of standard server computer components necessary to effect this functionality. In particular, the central host facility  16  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  102  connected via bus  106  to wireless transceiver  108 , standard external network connection  110 , and memory  114  (primary and/or secondary). The central host facility  16  also may include a standard POS interface  112  (e.g., a CORBA or JCA interface) to the legacy point of sale (“POS”) system of the retail establishment  12 . In the exemplary embodiment, the central host facility  16  performs the bulk of the computation and memory storage effected within the retail establishment  12 , thereby reducing the computational, memory and power requirements of the DSA.  
         [0039]    Memory  114  is sufficiently large to hold the necessary programming and data structures. As is described below, memory  114  contains operating system  115 , DSA database  116 , customer database  118  and product database  120 . Memory  114  also contains a network communications program  122  and a shopping program  126  which each provide instructions for execution on CPU  102 . The instructions provided by network communications program  122  facilitate connection of central host facility  16  to LAN  24  and to the Internet. Shopping program  126  provides instructions that, in response to product selections from a given DSA  14 , add selected products to the virtual shopping cart  128  associated with the DSA  14  in memory  114 . In response to requests for information concerning selected products from the DSAs  14 , the shopping program  126  causes the specified information to be retrieved from product database  120 . Similarly, the shopping program  126  directs the retrieval of product comparison information and the like from the CDC  34  via the Internet in response to other informational requests from the DSAs  14 . In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the standard external network connection  110  provides a TCP/IP network connection to the Internet and the CDC  34  via conventional high-speed access lines (not shown). Memory  114  further includes a sales database  132  for recording sales transactions effected using the DSAs  14 , and a corporate database  134  for storing various comparative product information furnished from time to time by the CDC  34 .  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 5A illustratively represents an exemplary data structure corresponding to product database  120 . In operation, product database  120  is queried upon receipt of an informational request from a DSA  14 , which is typically generated following scanning an item of interest and acquisition of the item&#39;s product identification information using scanning unit  30 . Product database  120  is indexed on the basis of product identification code  140 , and preferably contains information such as product name  142 , price  144 , product description  146 , availability  150  and associated special offers  154  (e.g., promotions, rebates, and tie-ins). In the exemplary embodiment the information within product database  120  may be updated using either information supplied by the CDC  34  or information entered locally at the retail establishment  12 .  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 5B shows an exemplary data structure corresponding to a customer database  118 . As shown, customer database  118  is organized on the basis of customer identification number  162 , and contains information concerning customers such as name  164 , address  166 , phone number  168 , prior purchases  170 . In addition, product preference information  174  may be derived from prior purchases  170  and stated or otherwise observed preference information.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 6 provides a block diagram of an exemplary self-checkout station  40  including a self-checkout terminal  180  and attached scanning unit  184 . In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the self-checkout terminal  180  is realized using standard personal computer components configured as described below and the scanning unit  184  comprises a conventional bar code scanner available from, for example, Symbol Technologies. As shown, the self-checkout terminal  180  includes a central processing unit (“CPU”)  186 , a memory subsystem  188 , standard LAN connection  190 , and user interface subsystem  192  including a touch sensitive display screen  194 . The memory subsystem  188  holds a copy of the operating system  196  and a self-checkout program  198  for the self-checkout station  40 . As is described further below, self-checkout program  198  contains instructions that, when executed on CPU  186 , effect the (1) acquisition of terminal identification information from a customer&#39;s DSA  14  via scanning unit  184 , (2) forwarding of such terminal identification information to central host facility  16 , (3) receipt from central host facility  16  of the contents of the virtual shopping cart  128  associated with the scanned terminal identification information, and (4) optional provision of such retrieved shopping cart contents to a conventional point of sale system.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 7 is a flowchart providing a general overview of exemplary operation of the portable terminal system  10 . In a step  220 , a customer enters the retail establishment  12 . Upon entry, the customer is provided with or retrieves a DSA  14  from one of a plurality of slots within a storage rack  22  (step  222 ). If the customer has been assigned a unique customer ID code (described below), then when prompted by the operations program  67  the customer may enter this code or instead opt for an anonymous shopping session (step  226 ). If the customer enters such an ID code, the interactive touch display screen  28  displays a welcome message tailored to the customer&#39;s preferences. In addition, the marketing information provided to the customer via the DSA  14  will be selected as described below based upon preferences of the customer discerned from both the current and previous shopping sessions (step  230 ).  
         [0044]    While shopping within the retail establishment  12 , the customer may encounter items of interest and desire to obtain additional information. In step  234 , the customer uses the DSA  14  to scan such an item and thereby acquire the item&#39;s product identification information. The identification information is then transmitted by the wireless transceiver  64  of DSA  14  to central host facility  16  via an access point  20  of LAN  24  (step  236 ). In response, the shopping program  126  uses the received product identification information as a key into product database  20  and retrieves relevant product information. The shopping program  126  may also retrieve information within product database  120  corresponding to products similar to the product identified by the product identification information. All such product information is then transmitted to the requesting DSA via an access point  20  of LAN  24  and displayed by web browser  72  on touch display screen  28  (step  240 ).  
         [0045]    Upon deciding to purchase an item, the customer similarly scans the item using the DSA  14  (step  244 ). The acquired product identification information is then similarly transmitted by the DSA  14  to central host facility  16  (step  246 ). Upon receipt of this product identification information at the central host facility  16 , in step  250  the shopping program  126  adds the identified product to the appropriate virtual shopping cart  128  (i.e., to the virtual shopping cart identified by the cookie value associated with the web browser  72  of the transmitting DSA  14 ).  
         [0046]    At the conclusion of the customer&#39;s shopping session within the retail establishment  12 , the customer proceeds to a self-checkout station  40  and selects a “self-checkout” option presented by the display screen  194  of the self-checkout terminal  180  of the station  40 . The customer is then prompted via the display screen  194  to use the scanning unit  184  of station  40  to read the terminal identifier affixed to the customer&#39;s DSA  14  (step  254 ). This terminal identifier is provided to the shopping program  126  within central host facility  16 , which retrieves the cookie value corresponding to the web browser  72  of the customer&#39;s DSA  14  from DSA database  116 . This enables identification of the file corresponding to the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart  128 , which as described above is stored as a function of this retrieved cookie value (step  256 ). In step  258 , the contents of the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart associated with this cookie value are provided to the requesting self-checkout station  40  and listed on its screen  194 . The customer is then prompted via screen  194  for purchasing approval, and is given the option of rendering payment at the self-checkout station  40  or at a POS terminal  39  within the POS system  38 . In the former case, the customer swipes a credit or debit card through a card reader  202  of the self-checkout station  40  and receives a printed receipt (step  260 ). If the customer elects to pay for all or part of the selected items at a POS terminal  39 , the customer would present any printed receipt obtained from the station  40  at the POS terminal  39 . Any items desired to be purchased by the customer which are not listed on the receipt could then be paid for at a POS terminal  39  using conventional means (step  264 ).  
         [0047]    In an alternate embodiment the customer could proceed directly to a POS terminal  39  upon concluding shopping, at which point the customer&#39;s DSA  14  would be scanned as described above and the contents of the associated virtual shopping cart  128  would be downloaded directly to the POS terminal  39  and paid for using conventional means. In any event, a record of the purchases actually made by the customer either via the self-checkout station  40  and/or the POS terminal  39  are provided to the central host facility  16  and used by the shopping program  126  to update the customer&#39;s file maintained within customer database  118  (step  268 ).  
         [0048]    Subsequent to rendering payment for purchased items at one or both of a self-checkout station  40  and a POS terminal  39 , the customer returns the assigned DSA  14  to a cradle within storage rack  22  (step  272 ). As is described in further detail below, a cradle interface  52  (FIG. 2) of the DSA  14  detects this placement within storage rack  22 , which results in termination of the customer shopping session. In particular, the DSA  14  transmits a message to the central host facility  16  via an access point  20  notifying it of termination of the customer&#39;s shopping session (step  274 ). In response, the shopping program  126  clears the applicable virtual shopping cart  128  and forwards a “welcome” page of the retail establishment  12  for display by the DSA  14  (step  276 ). In the event the customer abandons a shopping session prior to purchasing products, steps  274  and  276  would nonetheless be performed upon return of the DSA  14  to the storage rack  22 .  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 8 is a flowchart providing a more detailed representation of an exemplary self-checkout process occurring at a self-checkout station  40 . When not being utilized by a customer, the touch display screen  194  of the self-checkout terminal  180  at each self-checkout station  40  displays a welcome menu presenting a variety of options (step  302 ). In the exemplary embodiment these options include self-checkout  306 , product information  308  and a link to the main web page  310  for the retail establishment  12  or a related entity. Upon selecting the product information option  308  presented by the interactive touch display screen  194 , the customer is prompted via display screen  194  to use the scanning unit  184  of station  40  to read the product identification code affixed to the item of interest (step  312 ). Information concerning the scanned item of interest is then retrieved from product database  120  within the central host facility  16  and presented to the customer via display screen  194  (step  314 ) and optionally printed (step  316 ). Upon selecting the link  310 , the customer is connected to the web site for the retail establishment  12  or related corporate entity and may then interact with such site in a conventional manner (step  320 ).  
         [0050]    As was generally described above with reference to FIG. 7, upon selecting the self-checkout option  306  presented by the touch display screen  194 , the customer is prompted via screen  194  to use the scanning unit  184  of station  40  to read the terminal identifier affixed to the customer&#39;s DSA  14  (step  344  of FIG. 8). As was also mentioned above, this permits the contents of the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart to be provided to the requesting self-checkout station  40  and listed on the customer&#39;s purchase list displayed on screen  194  (step  348 ). To the extent the customer desires to purchase additional items not previously scanned via the customer&#39;s DSA  14  and recorded in the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart, the customer may utilize the scanning unit  184  of the self-checkout station  40  to acquire the product identification codes of any such additional items (step  350 ). These additional items are then added to the customer&#39;s purchase list displayed upon screen  194  (step  352 ).  
         [0051]    As indicated by FIG. 8, in step  356  the customer is prompted to select any of various optional services (e.g., delivery, warranty) desired to be applicable to the items identified in the completed purchase list. Upon approving the completed purchase list and optional services (step  358 ), the customer slides a credit or debit card through card reader  202  (step  362 ) in connection with rendering payment for the items identified in the purchase list. Alternatively, the customer may select from among other financing options presented via display screen  194 . In step  364 , a receipt is printed at the self-checkout station  40  or at a POS terminal  39  as described above. Once the receipt is printed, a “thank you” message is displayed by screen  194  (step  368 ) and the customer may proceed to exit the retail establishment  12  through a dedicated lane (step  376 ). If the customer has not previously purchased items from retail establishment  12 , the receipt printed for customer (step  364 ) will preferably include a unique ID assigned to the customer. During the customer&#39;s next visit to the retail establishment  12  and as was described above with reference to FIG. 7, the customer may opt to shop anonymously or to enter this unique customer ID into the DSA  14  assigned to the customer at that time. Upon completion of the customer&#39;s interaction with the self-checkout station  40 , a list of the items actually purchased by the customer is (unless the customer has opted for an anonymous shopping session) transmitted to the central host facility  16  and stored within the file in customer database  118  associated with the customer.  
         [0052]    As was mentioned above, upon exiting the retail establishment  12  (step  376 ), the customer will return the DSA  14  assigned to customer to a cradle or the like within storage rack  22  for recharging. This placement within storage rack  22  is detected by the cradle interface  52  of the DSA  14 , which provides a detection signal to the ActiveX interface module  74 . In response, the ActiveX interface module  74  assembles an HTTP POST message for transmission to the central host facility  16 . This message notifies the central host facility  16  of the termination of the customer&#39;s shopping session, and specifies a main HTML frame provided by the web browser  72  of the DSA  14  as the HTTP response target. In response, the shopping program  126  within the central host facility  16  clears the associated virtual shopping cart  128 , and responds to the HTTP POST with the “welcome page” of the retail establishment  12  at the specified main HTML frame. This process ensures that the web browser  72  of the returned DSA  14  will display such “welcome page” to a new customer subsequently assigned to the DSA  14 , and the associated virtual shopping cart  128  will be empty upon initiation of a new shopping session.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 9 is a flowchart providing a more detailed representation of one manner in which the system  10  may provide relevant product information to customers within retail establishment  12 . In step  402 , the customer instructs DSA  14  to scan the product identification code affixed to an item of interest. In the exemplary embodiment the customer provides this instruction by depressing scan key  45 , although the instruction could also be provided through other conventional techniques (e.g., by choosing an option on a menu generated by web browser  72  and displayed by interactive touch screen  28 ). In response to the instruction, operations program  67  causes scanning unit  30  to scan the item of interest and store the scanned code within input buffer  70 . The operations program  67  may then prompt the customer via interactive display  28  as to the type of information that is desired to be obtained (step  406 ). For example, if the customer requests information of a type stored within product database  120 , then operations program  67  issues a request for such information from the central host facility  16  using the scanned code as an index into product database  120  (step  408 ). The central host facility  16  then provides this information to the interactive touch display screen  28  (step  410 ) for display to the customer. This information may include, for example, price, product description, links or references to compatible products, and product availability information. The content of the information provided to the customer during the preceding operation may also be influenced by the nature of the product selections currently maintained with the customer&#39;s virtual shopping cart  128 , as well as by the selections made by the customer during prior shopping sessions (to the extent the customer has elected to be identified by the customer ID assigned during an initial one of such prior sessions).  
         [0054]    If, on the other hand, the customer requests product comparison or the like, then the operations program  67  causes a request for such information to be transmitted to the central host facility  16  along with the scanned code (step  412 ). Within the central host facility  16 , shopping program  126  may retrieve the retrieve the requested comparative information from within corporate database  134 . In other embodiments the shopping program  126  may instead retrieve a corresponding URL from corporate database  134  and a product name or the like from within product database  120 . The central host facility  16  may then transmit a request for information to the external server  36  corresponding to the retrieved URL, with the retrieved product name serving as an argument to the URL (step  414 ). In yet another embodiment, the central host facility could issue an XML-based request to the CDC  34 , which would then transmit a similar request to the external server  36  or retrieve the requested information from a previously aggregated product information database  622 . In the case where the request is issued to an external server  36  by either the central host facility  16  or CDC  34 , the external server  36  provides the requested comparative information to the requesting entity for forwarding to the applicable DSA  14 . As an example, if the retrieved URL identifies a web site hosted by the external server  36  that is devoted to providing product comparison information, then the site would provide comparative information on products related to the retrieved product name (i.e., the argument to the retrieved URL) to the central host facility  16  or CDC  34 . Upon receipt at the DSA  14  of such comparative information from the central host facility  16 , the operations program  67  causes the comparative information to be displayed by the web browser  72  via interactive touch display screen  28  (step  418 ).  
         [0055]    In order to facilitate the concurrent display of multiple types of information via the interactive touch display screen  28 , the ActiveX interface module  74  may be disposed within memory subsystem  62  of the DSA  14 . In general, the interface module  74  monitors the activity of at least two of the elements of the DSA  14  responsive to the external environment, i.e., the scanning unit  30  and the cradle interface  52 . One exemplary function of the ActiveX interface module  74  is to ensure that the customer is provided some indication of the activity of the scanning module, irrespective of the nature of any other information being provided to the customer via web browser  72 . For example, it may be desired that the customer be informed that the scanning unit  30  is actively scanning a product or item of interest even while the customer is viewing other information via web browser  72 . This ActiveX interface module  74  effects this functionality by managing a process thread operative to detect read operations of the scanning unit  30 . Upon detecting such a read operation, the ActiveX interface module  74  assembles an HTTP POST request for transmission to the central host facility  16 . This request passes the product identification code acquired by the scanning unit  30  and identifies a main HTML frame provided by the web browser  72  of the DSA  14  as the HTTP response target. The central host facility responds by retrieving product information from product database  120  as described above with reference to FIG. 9, and returning the retrieved product information to the specified target HTML frame. The retrieved product information may be formatted as static content, or instead may comprise dynamic streaming media. In addition, the web browser  72  may generate additional display windows in order to present related promotional opportunities.  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting the processing associated with the dedicated keys of the DSA  14 . As mentioned above, a customer may select from among the Map key  44 , the Scan key  45 , the Menu key  46  and the Help key  47  upon being assigned a DSA  14  (step  500 ). Upon selecting the Map key (step  502 ), a map of the retail establishment  12  is presented on the display screen  28  (step  504 ). In an exemplary embodiment each store department within the establishment  12  is labeled, and the display  28  may be adjusted to focus upon particular areas (step  506 ). When the Scan key  45  is selected with an item of interest proximate scanning unit  30  (step  508 ), the web browser  72  (via display  28 ) presents information specific to the item and a list of menu options which may be selected in order to obtain additional information (step  510 ). An exemplary list ( 512 ) of such item-specific information and menu options is depicted in FIG. 10.  
         [0057]    As is shown by FIG. 10, selection of the Menu key  46  (step  516 ) causes web browser  72  to display a “main menu” page comprised of various menu options (step  518 ). In an exemplary embodiment the main menu page includes a list of promotions or “specials” currently available within the retail establishment  12 , a browse/search option, a shopping list option, and a “wish list” option (step  520 ). Selection of the browse/search option prompts the user to enter a search term identifying a product of interest. In turn, the DSA  14  queries the product database  120  and displays any available returned information via display  28 .  
         [0058]    Upon selection of the Help key (step  526 ), a list of available help topics is presented via display  28  (step  528 ). In particular, this list may include a search field and a specific list of topics (e.g., “Tech Advice”, “Services”, “How to use DSA”) for which additional information is available (step  532 ). In the exemplary embodiment selection of any of these topics, or entry of a term within the search field, causes the DSA  14  to query the memory  114  of central host facility  16 . In response, the host facility  16  returns the requested information to the DSA  14  for presentation via display  28 . Alternatively, certain of the information relating to the displayed list of help topics (step  532 ) may be stored within memory  62  of the DSA  14 .  
         [0059]    Turning now to FIG. 11, the CDC  34  serves marketing, sales and other product-related information to the central host facilities of one or more related retail facilities (e.g., central host facility  16  of retail establishment  12 ), and includes a collection of standard server computer components necessary to effect this functionality. In particular, the central CDC  34  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  602  connected via bus  606  to standard external network connection  610 , and memory  614  (primary and/or secondary). The CDC  34  also may include a standard POS interface  616  to the legacy point of sale (“POS”) system of the retail establishment  12 .  
         [0060]    Memory  614  contains operating system  620 , a product information database  622  and a sales/marketing database. Memory  114  also contains a network communications program  630  and a CDC operations program  632  which each provide instructions for execution on CPU  602 . The instructions provided by network communications program  630  facilitate connection of the CDC  34  to the Internet and to central host facility  16 .  
         [0061]    During operation of the system  10 , the CDC operations program  632  compiles the information within the product information database  622  by procuring product-related information from the web sites of associated vendors hosted by external servers  36 . Additional such information may also of course be manually entered into the product information database  622 . In one exemplary embodiment, the CDC operations program  632  replicates the information stored in the product information database  622  within the product database  120  of the central host facility  16 . To the extent the central host facility  16  requests product-related information from the CDC  34  not contained within the host facility&#39;s product database  120 , the CDC operations program  632  causes the specified information to be retrieved from product information database  622  or the applicable external server  36  and forwarded to the host facility  16 . The CDC operations program  632  also records, within sales/marketing database  626 , the product sales and customer preference information originally stored within the databases of the central host facility  16  (e.g., customer database  118  and sales database  132 ) and those of other retail establishments.  
         [0062]    The CDC operations program  632  is also disposed to utilize information within the sales/marketing database  626  in implementing marketing and sales strategies and initiatives developed for the retail establishment  12  and other retail facilities. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, this enables marketing and sales initiatives to be personalized based upon customer preferences and purchasing trends. For example, products related to those items selected or investigated by a customer during a given shopping session can be recommended to the customer at the conclusion of the current shopping session (prior to checkout). Similar recommendations of product models of higher quality or price can also be made during the same shopping session on the basis of items selected earlier. This capability to offer customers “cross-sell” and “up-sell” opportunities during the same shopping session is not known to be offered by prior systems, which typically do not contemplate updating of customer preferences until after checkout has occurred. Moreover, different marketing and sales campaigns defined for retail establishments within different regions may be developed at, and deployed from, the single location of the CDC  34 .  
         [0063]    The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. In other instances, well-known circuits and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessary distraction from the underlying invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, obviously many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the following Claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.