Settled weight scale for a checkout system
AssigneeNCR Corporation
InventorsDenis M. Blanford, Craig E. Maddox
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A retail terminal includes a scale for weighing items to be purchased. The scale is operative to obtain a settled or stable weight of items placed thereon either after a predetermined time delay from when the items were placed on the scale or the receipt of an actuation signal from a trigger or actuator. This allows time for the scanning of an item of the items on the scale via a scanner of the retail terminal generally associated with the lifting of the item from the scale in order for the item to be scanned.
Claims16
A method of operating a retail terminal comprising the steps of:
- placing items of a type of items to be weighed on a scale of the retail terminal;
- scanning one item of the type of items via a scanner of the retail terminal;
- obtaining a first weight measurement of the items of the type of items on the scale upon successful scanning of the one item of the type of items;
- initiating a timer after the step of obtaining a first weight measurement, the timer having a time duration;
- and
- obtaining a second weight measurement of the items of the type of items on the same scale utilized in the obtaining a first weight measurement step upon actuation of a trigger or the timer reaching the time duration.
A retail terminal comprising:
- a processor;
- memory in communication with said processor and containing program instructions operative to control said processor;
- a scale in communication with said processor;
- and
- a scanner in communication with said processor;
- said scale operative to obtain a first weight measurement of items of a type of items placed on said scale;
- said scanner operative to obtain machine-readable data from one of the items of the type of items;
- said processor operative to initiate a timer after said scale obtains the first weight measurement, the timer having a time duration;
- and
- said scale further operative to obtain a second weight measurement of the items of the type of items on said scale upon receipt of a trigger signal or the timer reaching the time duration.
A checkout system comprising:
- a processor;
- a scale in communication with said processor and operative to obtain weight measurement of items placed on said scale;
- a scanner in communication with said processor and operative to read bar codes;
- and
- memory in communication with said processor and containing program instructions which, when executed by said processor, causes said processor to:
- obtain a first weight measurement from said scale of items of a type of items placed on said scale;
- obtain a bar code associated with one of said items of the items of the type of items from said scanner;
- initiate a timer after said processor obtains a first weight measurement, the timer having a time duration;
- and
- obtain a second weight measurement from said same scale of items of the type of items placed on said scale upon actuation of a trigger or said timer reaching said time duration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.