Price marking system for automated check-out of merchandize

Abstract

The invention concerns automated check-out systems of the type where items offered for sale are individually marked with a machine readable code that identifies the item. For flexibility in changing the prices of the goods, prices are not ordinarily marked on the individual items offered for sale but rather the price of each item is automatically marked on it at the check-out station at the time of purchase. At the check-out station, a scanner reads the machine readable code on an item and derives signals that are sent to a computer. The computer correlates the code read by the scanner with the prices of items stored in a programmable memory device and transmits signals representing the price for the item. At the check-out station, a printer responds to the price signals by printing the price in human readable form on an adhesive tag. The tag is then placed by a tag dispensing mechanism upon the item whose code was read. Where the item already is marked with human readable price information prior to the code being read at the check-out station, the printer and tag dispenser can be inhibited so as not to again mark the item with its price.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.