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US 2001/0056385 A1Published application
Fastener retailing method with graphic interface selection and locator software
OwnerJohn Timms, Michael Federinventors
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OwnerJohn Timms, Michael Federinventors
Estimating the term…
A method for vending fasteners to retail consumers. The fasteners are stocked at a retail outlet in pre-determined locations that are readily identifiable by visible location identifiers. Consumers use software that provides information about the fasteners to facilitate selecting an appropriate fastener product and finding it at the retail outlet. The software is executed by a computer having a graphic interface means for receiving user input. The graphic interface means also displays images of the fasteners and information about their nature and uses. The graphic interface means also displays the location identifiers so the consumers can readily locate the selected fasteners. The consumers are provided public access to the fasteners for self-service shopping prior to payment. In one embodiment the graphic interface means includes a touch screen located at the retail outlet. In an alternate embodiment the graphic interface means includes a personal computer, a monitor and an input device located remote from the retail outlet.
A method of vending fasteners to retail consumers, comprising the steps of:
A system for selecting a fastener comprising:
A method of selecting a fastener suitable for a particular purpose from a collection of numerous varieties of fasteners comprising:
A method of locating a particular fastener substantially similar to a sample fastener comprising:
A computer readable medium containing a collection of pages capable of being displayed on a user interface device, said pages including one or more selection pages for selecting a type of fastener from two or more types of fasteners and including one or more detail pages for describing selected types of fasteners, wherein said pages are organized in a tree structure having a selection page at its root node.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.