Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6619546?dq=645576
Timestamp: 2015-05-23 04:26:00
Document Index: 73943210

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n12', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'art 10']

Patent US6619546 - Systems and methods for pre-scanning merchandise in customer's shopping cart ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA mobile scanning station for pre-scanning retail merchandise includes a frame, and a pair of arms mounted to the frame, positioned to hold an open bag for receiving pre-scanned items. A platform is mounted to the frame, positioned under the pair of arms for providing a supporting surface for items contained...http://www.google.com/patents/US6619546?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6619546 - Systems and methods for pre-scanning merchandise in customer's shopping cart while customer is waiting in checkout lineAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6619546 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/097,952Publication dateSep 16, 2003Filing dateMar 14, 2002Priority dateMar 14, 2002Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS7575161, US20040094620Publication number097952, 10097952, US 6619546 B1, US 6619546B1, US-B1-6619546, US6619546 B1, US6619546B1InventorsDung Nguyen, Aime V. RodriguezOriginal AssigneeWal-Mart Stores, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (20), Referenced by (13), Classifications (12), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSystems and methods for pre-scanning merchandise in customer's shopping cart while customer is waiting in checkout line
US 6619546 B1Abstract
A mobile scanning station for pre-scanning retail merchandise includes a frame, and a pair of arms mounted to the frame, positioned to hold an open bag for receiving pre-scanned items. A platform is mounted to the frame, positioned under the pair of arms for providing a supporting surface for items contained in an open bag held by the pair of arms. The frame further includes an EAS deactivator support for holding an EAS deactivator for deactivating EAS tags on pre-scanned items before they are placed in the open bag. In a method for pre-scanning retail merchandise, a mobile pre-scanning station is positioned proximate to a shopping cart of a retail customer waiting in a checkout line, and a transaction identifier card is scanned. Bar-coded items from the customer's shopping cart are then scanned. If the scanned item has an EAS tap, an EAS deactivator seated in the mobile pre-scanning station is used to deactivate the EAS tag. The scanned item is then placed into a bag held open by the pre-scanning station.
We claim: 1. A mobile pre-scanning station, comprising:
a frame including a handle and first and second side posts extending downward from first and second ends of the handle; a pair of arms projecting forward, respectively, from the first and second side posts, the pair of arms being positioned to hold therebetween an open bag for receiving pre-scanned items; and a platform projecting forward from the first and second side posts, the platform being positioned under the pair of arms for providing a supporting surface for items contained in a bag held by the pair of arms, the frame further providing a support for holding an electronic article surveillance tag deactivator proximate to an open bag held by the pair of arms, the EAS deactivator being used to deactivate EAS tags on pre-scanned items before they are placed in the open bag, the mobile pre-scanning station being maneuverable among customer shopping carts in a retail checkout line for use by a store employee in performing a pre-scanning function. 2. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1 further including a post mounted to the frame proximate to the pair of arms for holding a bag stack.
3. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 2, wherein the pair of arms and post are positioned with respect to each other for receiving a bag stack, each bag in the bag stack having a pair of handle slits through which the pair of arms is inserted and a central opening fitting over the post.
4. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1, wherein the support for the electronic article surveillance tag deactivator includes a slot for receiving a tab on an electronic article surveillance tag deactivator.
6. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1, further including wheels mounted to the frame for rolling the cart into position.
7. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1, wherein the pair of arms extend forward from an arm unit mounted to the side posts.
8. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 7, wherein the arm unit includes a crossbar mounted between the side posts.
9. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 8, further including a central post mounted to the crossbar for receiving a bag stack.
10. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 8, further including a slot mounted to the crossbar for receiving an EAS deactivator.
11. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 8, further including a slot for receiving a cardholder for holding a transaction identifier card.
12. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1, wherein the platform is mounted to a bracket that is mounted to the frame.
13. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 12, further including a rectangular cutout section at the rear of the platform for receiving a bottom portion of a bag stack held by the pair of arms.
14. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 1, wherein the frame includes a handle, a pair of side posts extending downward from the handle, a pair of legs extending downward from the side posts, a pair of ankles extending downward from the legs, and a pair of feet extending forward from the ankles, and wherein the handle and feet are substantially horizontal, and wherein the side posts are substantially vertical and positioned over the feet.
15. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 14, further including a pair of wheels mounted to the ankles, the wheels engaging a floor when the cart is tipped backwards.
16. The mobile pre-scanning station of claim 14, further including a basket mounted between the feet.
17. A method for pre-scanning retail merchandise, comprising:
(a) positioning a mobile pre-scanning station proximate to a shopping cart of a retail customer waiting in a checkout line, the pre-scanning station having a frame including a handle and first and second side posts extending downward from first and second ends of the handle, a pair of arms-projecting forward, respectively, from the first and second side posts, the pair of arms being positioned to hold therebetween an open bag for receiving pre-scanned items, and a platform projecting forward from the first and second side posts, the platform being positioned under the pair of arms for providing a supporting surface for items contained in a bag held by the pair of arms, the frame further providing a support for holding an electronic article surveillance tag deactivator proximate to an open bag held by the pair of arms, the EAS deactivator being used to deactivate EAS tags on pre-scanned items before they are placed in the open bag; (b) scanning a transaction identifier card; (c) scanning a bar-coded item from the customer's shopping cart; (d) if the scanned item has an electronic article surveillance tag, using an electronic article surveillance deactivator seated in the mobile pre-scanning station to deactivate the electronic article surveillance tag; (e) placing the scanned item into a bag held open by the pre-scanning station; (f) repeating steps (c) through (e) for other bar-coded items in the customer's shopping cart; and (g) giving the transaction identifier card to the customer. 18. The method of claim 17 wherein, after pre-scanning has been completed, pre-scanning is finalized by making an input into a scanning device used to scan bar-coded items from the customer's shopping cart.
hanging full bags of pre-scanned items onto hooks on the bag of the pre-scanning station. 20. The method of claim 17, further including:
roaming among checkout lines to find a retail customer for pre-scanning.
FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the bag stack shown in FIG. 4 through the plane 5—5.
3 . Using a portable EAS deactivating unit to deactivate EAS tags on the pre-scanned items; and
The platform bracket 54 may be fabricated from a single length of metal tubing or from a metal rod that is bent or otherwise shaped to form the bracket. The platform 52 may be fabricated separately from a sheet of metal that is cut and then mounted to the bracket 54. Once the platform 52 has been mounted to the bracket 54, the resulting platform unit 50 may then be welded or otherwise mounted to the side posts 14. According to a further aspect of the invention, there may be provided at the rear of the platform 52 a rectangular cutout section 56, not shown in FIGS. 1-3 but seen in FIG. 12, extending across the platform under the arm unit crossbars 34 and 36. As described further below, the cutout section is dimensioned and positioned to receive the bottom portion of a bag stack mounted into the cart.
12.5″ (width) � 15.5″ (length)
FIG. 5 shows an elevation view of a bag stack 100 suitable for use in the Line Rusher™ system, and FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the bag stack 100 through the plane 6-6. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the stack 100 includes a plurality of individual shopping bags 102 stacked on top of each other, and attached to each other at a number of spot welds 104. The welds 104 are designed to release when bags 102 are pulled apart from each other. The bag stack 100 may suitably be fabricated from a plastic material using thermoforming and die cutting techniques.
FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show, respectively, perspective, bottom, and side views of a portable EAS deactivation unit 200 suitable for use in the Line Rusher™ system. The deactivation unit 200 includes a deactivation surface 202. When an EAS tag is passed proximate to the deactivation surface 202, the EAS tag is deactivated. As shown in FIG. 8, the EAS deactivation unit 200 includes a tab 204, which is used to lock the unit 200 into a security base (not shown). The tab 204 is also used in the Line Rusher™ system to hold the deactivation unit 200 in position on a cart, such as the cart 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3. As shown in FIG. 9, the tab 204 is seated in slot 40 of the cart 10. The back of the head of the deactivation unit 200 rests against the cart handle 12. As described in further detail below, the position of the EAS deactivation unit 200 on the cart 10 allows a user of the cart 10 to use one hand to operate a scanning gun and to use the other hand to remove an item to be pre-scanned from a customer's cart, deactivate an EAS tag on the pre-scanned item, and place the item in a shopping bag.
FIG. 12 shows a front perspective view and FIG. 13 shows a rear perspective view of the above-described components loaded onto a cart 10. FIG. 13 further illustrates the cardholder 260, which is used to hold Line Rusher™ cards. FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the cart 10 that has been tipped backward to allow the wheels 270 to engage the floor, and to allow the cart to be rolled into position by a store employee. As described above, when the cart 10 is in its normal, standing position, the wheels 270 do not engage the floor at all. If necessary, the store employee may place his or her foot at the rear of the cart's basket 62 to provide a steady pivot axis for the cart 10 as it is tipped backwards. As shown in FIG. 15, the EAS deactivation unit 200 is conveniently located to deactivate each pre-scanned item 280 before it is bagged. FIG. 16 shows the Line Rusher™ cart 10 with bags of pre-scanned merchandise 290 hanging from the back hooks 44.
In step 426, the customer gives the Line Rusher™ card to the cashier at the checkout station. In step 428, the cashier scans the Line Rusher™ card at the checkout terminal, manually keys in any non-bar-coded items, deactivates these items, and then bags them. In step 430, the cashier handles payment and any promotions or coupons. It should be noted that all transactions in which the Line Rusher™ system is used may be voided out of the system at any time, similar to the way in which normal transactions are voided out. A Line Rusher™ transaction may be voided either using the handheld scanning gun 250, or at the checkout terminal.
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DawkinsSelf service retail check out using smart phoneWO2004066595A2 *Jan 23, 2004Aug 5, 2004Info Logix L L CMobile wireless computer system including devices and methods related thereto* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification235/383, 235/462.13International ClassificationG07G1/00, G06K7/10, A47F9/04Cooperative ClassificationB62B5/0096, A47F9/047, G07G1/0054, G06K7/10861European ClassificationG06K7/10S9E, A47F9/04D1, G07G1/00C2DLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMar 16, 2015FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12Mar 14, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Jan 23, 2007FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Mar 14, 2002ASAssignmentOwner name: WAL-MART STORES, INC., ARKANSASFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NGUYEN, DUNG;RODRIGUEZ, AIME V.;REEL/FRAME:012701/0187Effective date: 20020228Owner name: WAL-MART STORES, INC. 702 S.W. 8TH STREETBENTONVILFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NGUYEN, DUNG /AR;REEL/FRAME:012701/0187Owner name: WAL-MART STORES, INC. 702 S.W. 8TH STREETBENTONVILFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NGUYEN, DUNG /AR;REEL/FRAME:012701/0187Effective date: 20020228RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services