Abstract:
A self-checkout system is presented which may include at least two self checkout stations and a single self-payment module for effecting payments and/or completing transactions conducted on each of the at least two self-checkout systems. The self-payment module may determine which of the two self-checkout stations utilizes the self-payment module upon both self-checkout stations being used at the same time.

Description:
CLAIM TO PRIORITY 
   The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/390,721, filed Jun. 21, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. 

   FIELD OF INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to self-service checkout systems (“self-checkout systems”), and more particularly to self-service checkout systems that may be installed into existing checkout counters/systems. Embodiments also include a self-payment unit that is capable of servicing one or more self-checkout stations, and which may be also operated in any of a first mode for self-checkout and an attendant mode. 
   BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   The retail merchandiser, drugstore and supermarket industries have placed an impetus on reducing labor costs. Additionally they have expended energy in a variety of different ways to reduce or eliminate the amount of time required to process items to be purchased by a customer. To this end, there have been a number of self-service checkout systems developed which attempt to substantially eliminate the need for a checkout clerk. Self-service checkout systems/stations permit customers to process and pay for their purchase with little or no retailer personnel assistance. 
   Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,343 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,018, hereby incorporated by reference, disclose systems for the self-checkout of articles selected by a customer for purchase in supermarkets and other retail establishments. The former patent involves an arrangement for purchasing articles which bear a “universal product code” (UPC), a unique code for indicating the identity of the article bearing the code. The UPC of each article selected for purchase is scanned or read into the self-checkout station and a signal indicative of the article identity is generated and sent to a central processing unit (CPU) which has stored (in an associated memory) a list of the UPCs of all articles available for purchase which are so encoded. Accordingly, the list may be a lookup table that includes the price and other characteristics for the scanned in articles (e.g., weight). 
   Scanned articles are placed on a conveyor following UPC scanning and are then led into a security tunnel, which is used to guard against customer fraud using, for example, various “light curtains” to indicate whether the article has been placed in the tunnel (for example). In the course of article conveyance, its weight is physically measured and a signal is generated indicative of the measurement. This signal is then compared to the weight of the article stored in the memory associated with the CPU. If the measured weight is not within a predetermined range of the weight of the article in memory, the article is rejected (e.g., direction of conveyor is reversed). 
   In the latter patent, a number of further security measures are affected to detect customer fraud or checkout failure. In one such additional measure, article shape is detected, such as by the light curtain at the entry to the security tunnel. The CPU storage includes, along with the article identity code, a cross-correlation of article shape. This compilation is desirably made from the system itself, as by storage of detected article shape in a system set up mode, through use of the light curtain output signals. 
   There are typically two methods of payment for self-checkout devices. In one method, when a shopper completes the transaction a receipt is printed at the scanning location, which is then brought by the shopper to a checkout clerk who then completes the transaction by processing payment. This results in the retail establishment requiring personnel to be assigned to a payment station, which, depending upon the number of self-checkout station the store contains, may create a backup of people who want to pay for the their purchase, but must wait for others. 
   In the other method, the shopper tenders payment at the individual lane when a transaction is complete. Accordingly, in order to perform this method, the self-checkout system must include a payment device/mechanism, which accepts, for example, cash and/or credit (debit/ebt, etc.). Although this method removes the need for a store attendant, it requires a larger self-checkout device (e.g., the self-checkout counter and payment mechanism) which takes up more space that a non self-checkout station, and is substantially higher in cost. 
   Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide smaller self-checkout stations which may be easily integrated into an existing checkout counter/system area of a retail establishment, especially small retailers who do not have floor space to spare for housing currently available self-checkout systems. 
   SUMMERY OF THE INVENTION 
   Embodiments of the present invention address the above concerns and are directed to systems which take up less space than existing self-checkout systems by, for example, fitting into an existing checkout counter/system and are more cost effective. In that regard, some embodiments of the present invention may be integrated with one or more existing checkout counters/systems of a retail establishment. 
   Specifically, some embodiments of the present invention include a single payment module and multiple self-checkout stations that can be easily integrated into a retail establishment&#39;s existing checkout counter/system, thereby eliminating the need to clear floor space to accommodate the self-checkout unit. The common payment module may allow for multiple self-service tendering configurations, including the ability to convert back and forth between self-checkout and conventional checkout mode using an attendant. 
   A payment module according to some of the embodiments of the present invention may include means for accepting payment by way of cash, credit, debit, electronic benefits, and/or promotional/gift cards. To that end, the payment module for particular embodiments of the present invention may be customized or configured to handle only one type of payment (e.g. credit only, cash only) and include appropriate devices for handling such payments (e.g., bill/coin acceptors and/or dispenser(s), electronic payment card reader, pin-pad, signature capture device, and the like). 
   Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, a checkout system for conducting purchasing transactions is provided which may include at least two self-checkout stations and a single self-payment module for effecting payments for transactions conducted on each of the at least two self-checkout systems. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, a self-checkout system for conducting purchasing transactions may include at least two self-checkout stations. At least one of the self-checkout stations may include a display and one or more security devices for aiding in the prevention of customer fraud. The one or more security devices may comprise at least one of a physical characteristic measurement device (PCMD), which produces a signal indicative of a measured characteristic of an item for comparison to a stored value of the measured characteristic. The at least one of the self-checkout stations is configurable for use as an attendant checkout system. The system may also include a single self-payment module for effecting payments for transactions conducted on each of the at least two self-checkout systems. The self-payment module may include at least one or more of a coin acceptor, a bill acceptor, a electronic payment card reader, a signature capture device, a pin-pad, a coin dispenser, a bill dispenser and a coupon compartment. 
   In still another embodiment of the present invention, a method for conducting transactions for a self-checkout system is provided using, for example, either system described in the above two embodiments. The method may include receiving a first signal at a first time, the first signal indicating that a first self-checkout, station is ready to tender payment and complete a transaction conducted on the first self-checkout station. The method may also include receiving a second signal at a second time, the second signal indicating that a second self-checkout station is ready to tender payment and complete a transaction conducted on the second self-checkout station. A determination of priority for completing a respective transaction of the first self-checkout system and the second self-checkout system is conducted based upon the earlier of the first time and the second-time. Completing the transaction may include at least tending payment in at least one of cash, credit, debit and EBT at the self-payment module. 
   Upon completing a transaction, the self-payment module may be set to process another payment for a self-checkout station. The method may further include selecting the self-checkout station for completing the respective transaction first based upon the determined priority. Upon the first time being the same time as the second time, the priority is awarded to the first self-checkout station. The transaction is then completed for the selected self-checkout system determined to have first priority, and the transaction for the remaining self-checkout system determined to have second priority is then completed. 
   Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a checkout system for conducting purchasing transactions which may include a self-checkout station having a payment module, a shopper side accessible by a shopper and an attendant side different from the shopper side which is accessible by an attendant. The self-checkout station may be configurable to operate in a first mode for operation by a shopper and a second mode for operation by an attendant. 
   Still other embodiments of the present invention may include computer readable media and one or more computer application programs for enabling a computer system to perform any method embodiment of the present invention. 
   These and other advantages, objects and features of the invention will be apparent through the detailed description of the embodiments and the drawings attached hereto. It is also to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and not restrictive of the scope of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a flowchart illustrating a process flow for a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of a self-checkout system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of the self-checkout system according to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a front view of the self-checkout system shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , illustrating the capability of one or more self-checkout stations being converted into an attendant checkout system. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of another self-checkout system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a front view of the self-checkout system illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a top view of an alternative arrangement for a self-checkout system using conveyors for security and/or for transporting scanned items to a bagging area. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
   The embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. For example purposes only, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the context of use in a retail store setting. This example is not meant to limit the present invention, as one of skill in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention may be used in any purchasing establishment, retail or otherwise, as well as non-retail establishments such as public libraries. 
     FIG. 1  is a flowchart which illustrates the process flow of a self-checkout system having two stations available for checkout and a single payment module. Examples of self-checkout areas having two or more self-checkout stations with a single payment module are shown in  FIGS. 2–7 . Accordingly, in a first station, a shopper scans articles for checkout, which may include placing the scanned articles (one at a time or together) in a security device (e.g., weighing mechanism, dimension analyzer, and/or the like) (see steps  101 ,  103  and  105 ). At substantially the same time, for example, a shopper at a second station may begin a purchasing process and initiates the scanning of articles and placing them in the corresponding security device (see steps  102 ,  104  and  106 ). 
   At the end of a respective shopping transaction, each respective shopper selects a payment (tender) option (see steps  107  and  108 ). At that time, the payment module may then make a determination as to which shopper has priority (e.g., the first shopper in time to select the payment option) ( 110 ). At that point, the payment module processes the first shopper who selected a payment option. The station which is then tendering payment may be indicated as such by a light and/or sound ( 112 ). Of course, if both shoppers select to make payment at exactly the same time, a default procedure may be run which selects the shopper at one or the other self-checkout stations to complete his/her transaction (e.g., station one, then station two). 
   Accordingly, the shopper at the particular selected station then tenders payment (e.g., coins, cash, debit, credit and/or EBT) ( 114 ). Once the payment has been accepted, and the transaction is complete, the payment module may then be reset (preferably automatically), and may then be ready to process payments from other stations (e.g., station  2 )( 116 ). 
     FIGS. 2–4  illustrates one embodiment of a self-checkout system  200  according to the present invention. The self-checkout system preferably includes an attendant side  220  and a shopper side  222 . The checkout system may be positioned among one or more existing checkout counters  201 , where each may include an attendant station  202  and various point-of-sale displays  218 . Two self-checkout stations  203   a ,  203   b  may be provided at the checkout area and positioned between the two attendant stations. For convenience, a shared self-service payment module/system  204  is provided between the two self-checkout stations for shoppers at the self-checkout stations so that each may tender payment at the completion of a respective transaction. 
   Each self-checkout area may include a display  206   a ,  206   b , a UPC scanner/scale  205   a ,  205   b  to scan article UPC codes and/or weigh produce (for example), a bagging and security area  209   a ,  209   b , as well as an integrated electronic payment card reader/pin-pad, and signature capture device  207   a ,  207   b . An audio speaker  214   a ,  214   b  may be provided in each station so that each shopper may be provided with verbal prompts for guiding the shopper,through the self-checkout transaction. An attendant notification light  212   a ,  212   b  notifies store personnel that a shopper needs assistance at a respective self-checkout station. The self-payment module may include a shopper priority payment notification indicator  210 , cash input devices  215  (e.g., coin acceptor, bill acceptor), cash dispensing devices  216  (coin dispenser  216 - 1 , bill dispenser  216 - 2 ) and a coupon collection compartment  217 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates the ability of one or more of the self-service stations being used in an attendant mode. As shown, display  206   b  is swiveled so that it can be seen by an attendant on the opposite side of the checkout area than the shopper. Also, the bagging and security area  209   b  may be closed with a cover  224 , so that it may be clear to a shopper approaching that station that it is not presently operating in a self-checkout mode. Moreover, in such a system a cash box  219  (see  FIG. 5 ) may be positioned on the attendant side so that the attendant may accept and/or dispense cash. 
     FIGS. 5–6  illustrate a checkout area having two self-checkout stations which may used in both a self-checkout mode as well as an attendant mode. As shown in the figures, display  206   a  may be swiveled to operate in an attendant mode, while  206   b  is swiveled to operate in a self-checkout mode. Upon self-checkout station being converted to an attendant mode, cover  224  may be placed in the bagging and security area  209   a , for example. In these embodiments, each self-checkout station may be provided with a respective scanner  205   a ,  205   b  and a self-payment module  204   a ,  204   b . Each self-payment module may include an integrated pin-pad, credit-card reader and signature capture device  207   a ,  207   b , printer  226   a ,  226   b  (for printing receipts, coupons, and the like), cash input devices  215   a ,  215   b , cash dispensing devices (coin dispenser  216 - 1   a ,  216 - 1   b , bill dispenser  216 - 2   a ,  216 - 2   b  and coupon collection compartment  217   a ,  217   b .  FIG. 7  illustrates a similar self-checkout system as that illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , except that a conveyor system  226   a ,  226   b , which may include one or more conveyors and which may also include an integrated security device as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,343, directs scanned articles for purchase to a bagging area  228   a ,  228   b.    
   As illustrated, the self-checkout stations of  FIGS. 5–6  may be easily integrated into an existing checkout counter arrangement providing great space savings from existing self-checkout systems of the prior art and at a lower cost. 
   Having now described a few embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereto. The contents of any references cited throughout this application are hereby incorporated by reference. The appropriate components, processes, and methods of those documents may be selected for the present invention and embodiments thereof.