1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a merchandise checkout system for increasing the speed of throughput at peak customer volume periods and, more particularly, to a system including a computerized cash register station and an interactive portable first scanning device. The first scanning device is brought into service by auxiliary store personnel at peak times to scan the bar codes of goods held for purchase by a waiting customer in a single checkout lane; upon scanning, the purchase information is transmitted to a temporary holding memory linked with the computerized cash register, whereupon a queue slip including a queue bar code (readable by a second scanning device at the cash register) is generated and presented to the waiting purchaser for later presentation to the cashier. The cashier handles his immediate customers in an ordinary manner and subsequently scans only the queue slips of customers serviced by the first scanning device to verify and tender only the payments of these customers, thereby increasing throughput.
2. Description of Prior Art
Every consumer is familiar with the problem and frustration of waiting in line at the checkout counter during store peak volume periods. Most working persons must shop or run errands on a weekend day or late afternoon weekday, thus contributing to the peak volume as well as cutting into needed relaxation time. So, it becomes particularly frustrating to the consumer when lines build up contributing to the waste of the consumer's time.
However, even the fastest checkout clerk is limited by the serial nature of ringing up goods being purchased, and therefore reaches a maximum throughput speed. Therefore, traditionally, the only way to increase volume of throughput was to open another checkout lane. However, this too leads to problems. Customers feel unfairly treated if the last customer is first in the newly opened lane, shopping carts are jostled about, registers must be opened with accounted cash drawers, no additional lanes may be available, and so on. Accordingly, an expedient and flexible means of itemizing a customer's intended purchases for later presentation to a cashier for tendering of payment is proposed herein.
Checkout systems directed at increasing throughput are found in the prior art. Of particular interest is U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,965 issued Feb. 28, 1995, to Bravman et al., which describes a two stage retail checkout system for use during peak customer traffic, in which a customer's purchase is first itemized and totalled by a specially adapted bar-code gun (referred to therein as terminals) and then payment is made at a base cash register. The description referring to Bravman's FIG. 8A and FIG. 9A notes a single payment station operated by a cashier for receiving customers from checkout stations equipped with terminals operated by a different clerk. As antifraud measures, a cart with a bar code is scanned to identify a purchase and a transaction bar code is printed on a sales slip having assorted security-related information identified, including the cart code. The sales slip and purchases are then taken to the payment station. The payment station operator scans the sales slip bar code for cart identification and balance due.
Unlike the present invention, the Bravman patent fails to include a two-part queue slip system wherein the queue slip must be tendered for acceptance of payment, before an itemized sales is provided by the cashier. Such a two-part system provides several advantages later described. Moreover, the Bravman patent further ties the cart code with the sales slip, requiring the specialization of shopping carts. The present invention may be applied as a retrofit device and method for use in preexisting shopping facilities without the need for specialized carts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,969, issued May 17, 1994 to Dickover et al. describes a cashier checkout system with a lane configuration including a first checkout module, having a first bar code scanner and a first conveyor leading from the first scanner to the first bagging area and defining a first lane for customers. A second checkout module, having a second bar code scanner and a second conveyor leading from the second scanner to a second bagging area is positioned as an adjacent second lane. A single cashier station is positioned between both lanes for the purpose of receiving payment only; the scanners are intended for use by customers who may scan simultaneously in each lane, thereby increasing throughput time by freeing the cashier to tender a previous customer payment. Such a system has numerous disadvantages, including reliance on the skill and honor system of scanning by a customer.
Other two stage checkout systems are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,270, issued Jan. 12, 1993 to Taussig et al. describes a two-stage retail checkout system in which a customer's items are first scanned by a specially adapted bar-code gun which is in direct communication with a separate cash register device by means of an improved internal interface, whereupon the customer moves on to a cash register to complete the transaction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,838 issued Aug. 22, 1989, to Okiharu describes a point of sale terminal for reading bar codes which can continue registration processing even if memory units containing price look up files develop trouble.
Portable or individually held bar code scanning devices are also known in the prior art, elements of which may be incorporated into the present invention. For example, each of the following patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,183 issued Jul. 2, 1991, to Tymes; U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,106 issued Jan. 31, 1995, to Kumar; U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,009 issued Jul. 18, 1989, to Zook et al.; Pat. Application No. 199,252 published by the European Patent Office on Oct. 29, 1986; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,046 issued Sep. 5, 1995, to Swartz, disclose hand held bar code guns with various combinations of components including a visual display device, a numeric key pad, additional feature buttons, a means to print a preliminary receipt, a means to read a credit card, and external communication means and data downloading means.
In particular, the Kumar patent discloses a hand held bar-code gun which has a visual display, a numeric key pad with additional feature buttons, a magnetic card swipe, the ability to print a receipt, and wireless communication ability with a register. The Kumar patent suggests that such a device furnishes all functions necessary to facilitate a complete a point of sale credit card transaction. This patent, however, fails to teach the use of the gun for increasing throughput in the manner described by the present method, nor in combination with a computerized cash register or a queue ticket having a bar-code for scanning and retrieval of the pre-scanned merchandise. The Zook and Tymes patents describe portable handheld optical bar code readers using a radio frequency transceiver to wirelessly and interactively communicate with a remote computer system. Finally, the Swartz patent describes the use of an optical bar code reader on a field-portable housing on a belt or shoulder strap which communicates with a host computer, which may be a cash register, to provide retail price information which in turn is used to update labelling of inventory. The invention of the European Patent is also an optical reader with a printer directed at labelling. Each of these patents fails to teach a use for increasing throughput in the manner described by the present method, or a combination of readers with both a computerized cash register and a bar code readable queue ticket read by a second scanner at the cash register.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,524 issued Jun. 13, 1995 to Ruppert et al. and Publication No. 90/16051 of the World Intellectual Property Organization, dated December 1990, describe the use of personal bar code scanning devices for aiding shoppers to keep track of expenditures and speeding the process of check-out. Although information is first stored by the personal scanning devices and then downloaded to the store computer, the patent fails to teach its use in combination with a queue ticket for speeding the throughput when an existing line of customers is already present.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a merchandise checkout system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.