System and method for operating a point-of-sale (POS) system in a retail environment
AssigneeToshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation
InventorsBrad M. Johnson, Robert Andrew Myers, Scott Graham, William Laird Dungan, Timothy W. Crockett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A self-checkout (SCO) terminal in a retail store controls banks of lights to communicate context information to a customer in order to better inform them about various events. The context information may be related to a predetermined event, such as a self-checkout process or an emergency event, and is enhanced using the personal preferences of the customer using the SCO terminal.
Claims16
A method for communicating context information to a user of a self-checkout (SCO) system in a retail store, wherein the SCO system has a plurality of light elements visible to a user, the method comprising:
- determining context information associated with a predetermined event, wherein the context information indicates a particular stage of a self-checkout process and/or an action the user is to perform during the particular stage of the self-checkout process;
- determining user preference information associated with the user of the SCO system, wherein the user preference information identifies a medical condition of the user;
- generating control signals to control operation of the plurality of light elements based on the context information;
- modifying the control signals to control the operation of the plurality of light elements according to the medical condition of the user;
- and
- controlling the plurality of light elements to communicate the context information to the user according to the modified control signals.
A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program comprising instructions that, when executed on a processing circuit of a self-checkout (SCO) system having a plurality of light elements visible to a user, configures the SCO system to:
- determine context information associated with a predetermined event, wherein the context information indicates a particular stage of a self-checkout process and/or an action the user is to perform during the particular stage of the self-checkout process;
- determine user preference information associated with the user of the SCO system, wherein the user preference information identifies a medical condition of the user;
- generate control signals to control operation of the plurality of light elements based on the context information;
- modify the control signals to control the operation of the plurality of light elements according to the medical condition of the user;
- and
- control the plurality of light elements to communicate the context information to the user according to the modified control signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.