Transaction terminal with vertical weigh scale and methods of operation
AssigneeNCR Corporation
InventorRafael Yepez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A transaction terminal includes a vertically integrated bagging weigh scale and a vertically integrated scanner. The scale includes two posts that extend horizontally out from the terminal and upon which a bag hangs. Items placed in the bag cause displacement of the posts and/or pressure detected on the posts resulting in a recorded weight by a weight sensor of the scale. A current recorded weight of the bag is reported from the scale to the terminal during a transaction as each item is placed into the bag. The terminal uses the item weights to record prices for those items sold by weight and to verify that items scanned by the scanner and placed in the bag have expected weights for those items.
Claims13
A transaction terminal, comprising:
- a weigh scale integrated into the transaction terminal, wherein the weigh scale comprises:
- two posts that extend horizontally out from a front surface of the weigh scale;
- a weight sensor attached to first ends of the two posts and located within a housing of the weigh scale;
- and
- second ends of the two posts adapted to receive and to hold a bag that hangs from a portion of the two posts while the weigh scale records a weight for the bag and reports the weight to the transaction terminal;
- wherein the two posts are adapted to have a post height adjusted by custom raising or lowering the post height by a customer performing a transaction at the transaction terminal.
A weigh scale, comprising:
- two posts extending horizontally out from a housing and perpendicular to a front surface of the housing, wherein the two posts extend from first ends located within the housing to second ends that extend away from the housing;
- and
- a weight sensor attached to the first ends of the two posts within the housing;
- wherein the weigh scale is adapted to connect to a peripheral port of a transaction terminal to provide weights recorded by the weight sensor of non-empty bags that hang from the second ends of the two posts during transactions at the transaction terminal;
- and
- an integrated scanner comprising a vertical scan window that is adapted to capture item codes of items that pass in front of the vertical scan window and provide the item codes to the transaction terminal during a given transaction at the transaction terminal;
- wherein the two posts and the vertical scan window are height adjustable by a customer during a given transaction at the transaction terminal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.