Patent ID: 7114656

Claim:
A customer-operated self-checkout system for items bearing identifiers, the system comprising: a portable terminal including a data reader and a first RF interface, wherein the portable terminal identifies selected items using the data reader, and transmits information about the selected items via the first RF interface; a base station including a second RF interface, a memory, and a data output port, wherein the base station receives the information about the selected items from the portable terminal via the second RF interface, stores the information in the memory, and outputs the information via the data output port; and a self-checkout station including a data input port, a customer-operated automated payment-accepting subsystem, and a portable terminal interface at the customer-operated automated payment-accepting subsystem for communicating directly with the terminal to identify the portable terminal, wherein the self-checkout station receives the stored information from the base station data output port via the data input port, and accepts payment from the customer for the selected items using the payment-accepting subsystem.