# US 2016/0355352 A1 · Systems and methods for controlling checkout belt speed > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0355352 A1 - Document ID: US20160355352A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/175,335 - Filed: 2016-06-07 - Published: 2016-12-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-06-08 - Assignees: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Applicants: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Inventors: Nicholaus Adam Jones; Robert James Taylor; Matthew Allen Jones - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160355352A1 ## CPC - G06Q 10/06398: {Performance of employee with respect to a job function} - G06Q 20/20: Point-of-sale [POS] network systems - G07G 1/0018: {Constructional details, e.g. of drawer, printing means, input means} - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G07G: REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS ## Abstract Exemplary embodiments provide for controlling a speed of the checkout belt at a point-of-sale terminal. A belt at a point-of-sale terminal is provided for moving an item from a distal end of the POS terminal toward a proximal end of the POS terminal. A drive motor is provided in electrical communication with the POS terminal operative to drive the belt. A sensor is disposed with respect to the belt to sense a distance between the item on the belt and the cashier area of the POS terminal. A processor associated with the POS terminal is provided in communication with the drive motor and the sensor, and is configured to control the drive motor to adjust a speed of the belt in response to the distance between the item and the proximal end of the POS terminal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for controlling a speed of a belt at a point-of-sale terminal, the system comprising: a belt at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal for moving an item from a distal end of the POS terminal toward a proximal end of the POS terminal, wherein the proximal end of the POS terminal is closer to a cashier area than the distal end of the POS terminal; a drive motor in electrical communication with the POS terminal operative to drive the belt; a sensor disposed with respect to the belt to sense a distance between the item on the belt and the cashier area of the POS terminal; and a processor associated with the POS terminal, the processor in communication with the drive motor and the sensor, and configured to control the drive motor to adjust a speed of the belt in response to the distance between the item and the proximal end of the POS terminal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising: a modulation unit in communication with the processor coupled to the drive motor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to adjust the speed of the belt by wirelessly transmitting communications to the modulation unit to adjust a voltage provided to the drive motor for moving the belt. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising: an input device in electrical communication with the drive motor and coupled to the POS terminal, wherein actuation of the input device enables a cashier to manually adjust the speed of the belt. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a database in communication with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to determine the speed of the belt over a period of time, and the database stores data indicating the speed of the belt over a period of time for a cashier operating the POS terminal. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, further comprising an additional processor in communication with the database, and configured to determine cashier performance metrics based on the speed of the belt over the period of time. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein the additional processor is configured to determine a number of items scanned by a cashier during a period of time, and is configured to determine an average belt speed for the cashier. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a laser-based measurement mechanism. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a size of the item on the belt. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to automatically increase the speed of the belt when the item on the belt is farther away from the proximal end of the POS terminal than the distal end of the POS terminal. ### Claim 11 A method for controlling a speed of a belt at a point-of-sale terminal, the method comprising: sensing, via a sensor disposed with respect to a belt, a distance between an item on the belt at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal and a cashier area of the POS terminal, a proximal end of the POS terminal being closer to the cashier area than a distal end of the POS terminal, wherein the belt is for moving the item from the distal end of the POS terminal toward the proximal end of the POS terminal via a drive motor in electrical communication with the POS terminal operative to drive the belt; and controlling, via a processor associated with the POS terminal, the drive motor to adjust the speed of the belt in response to the distance between the item and the proximal end of the POS terminal. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting communications from the processor to a modulation unit coupled to the drive motor to adjust the speed of the belt; and adjusting a voltage provided to the drive motor for moving the belt via the modulation unit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: enabling a cashier to manually adjust the speed of the belt via actuation of a input device coupled to the POS terminal and in electrical communication with the drive motor. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: determining, via the processor, the speed of the belt over a period of time, and storing, in a database in communication with the processor, data related to the speed of the belt over the period of time for a cashier operating the POS terminal. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining cashier performance metrics for the cashier based on data related to the speed of the belt over the period of time. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein automatically adjusting the speed of the belt comprises automatically increasing the speed of the belt when the item on the belt is farther away from the proximal end of the POS terminal than the distal end of the POS terminal. ### Claim 17 A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processing device, wherein execution of the instructions causes the processing device to implement a method for controlling a speed of a belt at a point-of-sale terminal, the method comprising: sensing, via a sensor disposed with respect to a belt, a distance between an item on the belt at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal and a cashier area of the POS terminal, a proximal end of the POS terminal being closer to the cashier area than a distal end of the POS terminal, wherein the belt is for moving the item from the distal end of the POS terminal toward the proximal end of the POS terminal via a drive motor in electrical communication with the POS terminal operative to drive the belt; and controlling, via the processor device, the drive motor to adjust the speed of the belt in response to the distance between the item and the proximal end of the POS terminal. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting communications from the processing device to a modulation unit coupled to the drive motor to adjust the speed of the belt; and causing an adjustment in a voltage provided to the drive motor for moving the belt via the modulation unit. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising: determining the speed of the belt over a period of time, and storing, in a database in communication with the processing device, data related to the speed of the belt over a period of time for a cashier operating the POS terminal. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising: determining cashier performance metrics for a cashier based on data related to the speed of the belt over a period of time. ### Claim 21 A system for controlling a speed of a belt at a point-of-sale terminal, the system comprising: means for sensing a distance between an item on the belt at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal and a cashier area of the POS terminal, a proximal end of the POS terminal being closer to the cashier area than a distal end of the POS terminal, wherein the belt is for moving the item from the distal end of the POS terminal toward the proximal end of the POS terminal via a drive motor in electrical communication with the POS terminal operative to drive the belt; and means for controlling the drive motor to adjust the speed of the belt in response to the distance between the item and the proximal end of the POS terminal.