Distributed personal automation and shopping method, apparatus, and process

A method of improving acquisition of items by a buyer, a personal automation and shopping system, comprising two or more components selected from the group consisting of:

• (a) means chosen by a GSET buyer or user from a plurality of know devices, including keyboardless-and-mouseless data entry devices (KDED) and methods for capturing and storing item identifier, such as goods, services, recipe ingredients, and project materials from a multitude of similar and different said GSET's;
• (b) one or more catalogs of said items from which buyer can select said GSET using human readable and searchable information such as name, description, composition, size, quantity, picture and a unique identifier readable by said KDED,
• (c) a means of transferring said selected items identifiers a programmable data processor a buyer or seller;
• (d) a means for said data processor to retrieve, manipulate, store, display, and convey said GSET information organized and containing sufficient detail about said GSETs to be meaningful and useful to a user, buyer, seller, or a data processor automating some portion of the acquisition or accomplishment of said GSET;
• (e) a means for each sellers to determine the degree of access to their database or inventory of said items, point-of-sale system, and other data processing systems they want to provide to said buyers, what kinds of information they want to make available to said buyers, and what services they want to provide to said buyers including but not limited to:
• self checkout, pulling all or a portion of said buyer's acquisition for pickup by said buyer, and delivery of acquired items to said buyer;
• (f) a means of providing feedback to said buyer's data processor for update of said stored GSET information after the preceding said GSET output has been acted upon by said user, buyer, seller, or their said automating machine;
• whereby buyer can acquire said GSETs from any seller of buyer's choosing from a multitude of said sellers in less time, with greater accuracy, more privacy, more efficiency, and in ways buyer feels most natural and comfortable using than offered by current methods and past systems with their shortcomings, including limited flexibility, limited vendor selection, and limited methods
• whereby buyers can acquire said items in a variety of different ways at different times, depending on the acquisition method best for buyer during each acquisition event, such as, but not limited to:
• online ordering for delivery, self-shopping at a retail store of any convenient and suitable seller.

A method and apparatus for speeding checkout by a clerk or a self-checkout by said buyer using an existing, scanner-enabled, point of sale system (POS), comprising:

• (a) a computer system and database for generating a printout listing items to be purchased or downloading said list to a portable display device (e.g. PDA, TabletPC) with their corresponding UPC barcode,
• (b) a mean for conveying the UPC of items pulled for purchase to the merchant's POS by scanning the printed UPC or uploading the UPC from said portable device using any of several means including via a serial or USB cable connection, wirelessly using any of several known means of communication, including but not limited to Bluetooth, wireless Ethernet, infrared
• whereby the consumer saves the time it would have taken the clerk to scan each of the items pulled for purchase individually, the time and effort to move the items selected from an in-store conveyance such as a shopping cart, basket, bag to said POS and then to any one of several out-of-store conveyances such as bags, boxes, cart
• whereby the a seller saves time and money by reducing the number of clerks necessary to check out said buyers, reduces the amount of time it takes to check out said buyers thereby increasing buyer satisfaction, and increases the buyer throughput, which can reasonably improve buyer satisfaction and loyalty;
• hence future profits by retaining happy buyers instead of having to continually acquire new buyers using money losing promotions;

A machine for distributed, personal automation and shopping (dPASS) that improves and speeds a user/buyer's:

• 1) selection, acquisition and usage of items from a multitude of similar and different items from one or more of a multitude of sellers of said buyer's choosing, 2) capturing and tracking data about various tasks or events of interest to said buyer using an identifier of or information about said event or task in one or more KDED and human readable formats, comprising:
• (c) a keyboardless-and-mouseless data entry device (KDED) chosen by said buyer from a plurality of KDEDs which capture an identifier of said goods, services, events and tasks (GSET or item) from said item's packaging and from sources of GSET data chosen from the group including:
• (d) printed catalogs containing GSET information;
• (e) printed instructional books such as building projects or cooking recipes containing instructions and needed materials or ingredients in both human and KDED readable formats and a unique project/recipe identifier which when captured by the KDED or entered manually by said buyer and manipulated by a data processor which will add all said ingredients to a shopping or pull list necessary for said buyer to complete said project/recipe;
• (f) quick-scan media containing human and KDED readable of data those GSETs most frequently selected by said buyer or which normally lack a KDED readable identifier such as:
• 1) fruits, vegetables, and loose screws, 2) GSETs and quantity frequently consumed by said buyer or member of said buyer's household for dietary tracking purposes, 3) types and duration or quantity of exercise performed by said buyer for health tracking purposes, 4) one-time or recurring tasks completed or performed by said buyer, 5) business related information such as client identifiers, frequent billable tasks, frequent expenses;
• various codes for informing said processor how to interprete preceding or subsequent GSET identifiers captured, seller identifiers;
• (g) coupons, specials and other marketing, informational, or promotional material containing human and KDED readable data about GSETs and distributed to buyers by said sellers, item manufacturers or service providers;
• and
• (h) restaurant menus or other media containing meal or side dish information and KDED readable identifiers which when combined by said data processor described below and combined with matching nutritional information about said meals or side dishes and acquisition of said items intended for human consumption provides buyer with feedback on said buyer or member of said buyer's household on consumption of individual nutrients, food group components, and other dietary, medicinal and exercise information;
• (i) a programmable data processor capable of including means for input and output from and to devices and media using communication channels, temporary and permanent data storage, and data transformation to accomplish tasks selected from the group comprising:
• accepting data captured by said KDED and combining said data with other stored or available data into:
• (1) various lists such as:
• shopping, task, and wish lists for use by said buyer, pull lists for use by said seller, electronic orders delivered to said sellers, combinations of said lists;
• databases of GSETs offered by various said sellers or manufacturers;
• said buyer's preferred route through the real world location of said seller or manufacturer;
• (4) annotations on said lists and other buyer prompts of said seller specials;
• other buyer prompts such as appointments, reminders;
• other information for use by buyer such as client billing information, feedback on various goal attainment;
• (7) recipes, projects completable with items already possessed by said buyer;
• (8) quick-scan media of frequently selected GSETs or GSETs which usually don't have KDED readable identifiers;
• (9) outputting said lists, prompts, store routing to display-capable KDEDs and other display devices;
• (10) interacting with an operator using real time input and output (I/O) such as mouse, keyboard, LCD/CRT display, voice recognition, direct cerebral I/O enabling said operator to control said operations of said data processor, including:
• uploading data from said KDED;
• receiving information;
• finding, selecting, and routing GSETs and other data to the desired storage location
• selecting transformations to be performed on data such as sort order of lists, seller from which to obtain said GSETs;
• determining data for output and desired output medium;
• (11) presenting said buyer with GSET information from electronic catalogs, lists, databases stored on said data processor, on removable media such as CDs and DVDs, and from other sources accessible via communications networks and adding selected GSETs to the said lists, databases, appointments, recipes/projects, quick-scan media designated by said buyer;
• whereby buyerss without their own said data processor can use said KDED with said catalogs or other lists of said GSETs, or said data processor of said seller to enjoy the benefits of faster and more accurate GSET selection, acquisition or feedback;
• whereby sellers can chose their degree of interaction and integration with PASS buyerss such as making available to said buyerss the GSETs they carry, layout of their store, pulling of said items desired by said buyer for pickup by or delivery to said buyer in either an open, cooperative marketplace where said seller competes with other sellers for patronage of said buyers or a closed system where said buyer can only interact with certain said sellers in exchange for some consideration from said certain sellers
• whereby said buyer can acquire said items from any Seller of buyer's choosing from a multitude of said sellers in less time, with greater accuracy, more privacy, more efficiency, less stress over forgotten items or getting the wrong item, and in ways most natural and comfortable to said buyer;
• whereby said buyer can acquire said items in a variety of different ways at different times, depending on the acquisition method that is best for the buyer during each acquisition event chosen from the group including:
• electronic ordering for home/office delivery from a participating seller, said electronic ordering for quick pickup at retail store of said seller, self-shopping at retail store of any convenient and suitable Seller, sending a representative to pickup or shop for said items;
• and
• whereby adoption resistance of said system by said buyers and sellers and item manufacturers is reduced through incremental adoption of said method in affordable increments that are more easily integrated into current methods,
• whereby buyers a single machine system controlled by an integrated suite of processing for automating one or more activities, including:
• acquiring items, tracking one-time and recurring tasks, dietary and health GSETs.