ES2462815A1 - Sale device (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Sale device. It allows you to buy without exposing a large number of units of products for sale. It comprises: a) a shelf (1) provided with a bottom support (2), which defines the bottom of the shelf (1); and supporting elements (5) integrated in the bottom support (2), to support products for sale or representations of said products for sale; b) screens (6), preferably tactile, interconnected with each other, and connected in turn with a central computer system to control the information of the products; and c) card readers (7), to receive data from a buyer and make the purchase. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be included in the technical field of the shelves, in particular that of the display shelves of products for sale. Additionally, the present invention may be included in the field of sales devices, intended to facilitate purchasing operations to a user.

More specifically, the present invention is directed to a sales device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, the operation of any store is based, at least in most cases, on the so-called classic picking, in which the customer or end user normally uses a car / basket to cover the sales area in Search for the goods you want to acquire, which are accumulated in the cart / basket until the purchase process is completed, and then go to the cash lines where all the goods are checked, make the sum of the amounts and carry out the corresponding packing. Thus the formula used mostly is self-service, where the product is exposed directly to the user.

This is extensible to any sales area, in which, in addition to exposing the products for sale, they are also stored and it is the final customer who picks them up and takes them to the cashier lines to make the purchase, such as a retail store. clothes, or a perfumery or a spare parts shop for the car, where the mode of action is the same.

In general, the start-up of a sales area has, since its inception, numerous barriers that must be overcome, such as the necessary investment for the acquisition of the premises, its renovation, its equipment, both in facilities and furniture, In fact, today different types of shelves and furniture for families of products are needed, according to the characteristics of the same, with which we find a heterogeneous furniture throughout the commercial area.

There are other disadvantages such as the provision of all merchandise for sale, the human resources necessary for the normal operation of the business, the maintenance of the center itself, and the logistics and warehouse load required. All this generates a series of inconveniences, many of which can be resolved with the implementation of the system proposed in this document, as we will analyze later.

The state of the art provides a wide variety of options in the shelving industry, although these options do not solve the main drawbacks of the current shelves, which are discussed below.

Some related systems, shelves and shelves are known, as we shall see, with the proposed invention, but which do not have the same characteristics or the same advantages. Thus, in document ES2312717T3 a shelf and shelf system assembly is presented, the shelf comprising a storage surface and at least one mounting element that forms a down-facing corner, mounting element that forms an integral part of the shelf and is formed by two lips that fold and overlap each other at least partially, characterized in that the two lips that have been folded, are inserted into a corresponding mounting element provided in a shelf system support.

In another document, the Spanish patent with publication number ES1039434 describes a bookcase characterized in that it is composed of several pieces of cardboard that fit together, one of the pieces constitutes the back and the two sides of the shelf, another the base of the same and the remaining pieces the shelves.

Document ES1049975 describes a folding shelf consisting of a central portion and two lateral wings, on which foldable and self-assembling cardboard boxes are fixed that are vertically aligned on the shelf and are provided with interior flaps that make up the base of those boxes.

While these documents reflect exhibitors and shelves with slightly different characteristics, they keep the inconveniences of traditional shelves unresolved. Since all products are within reach of the customer, there is the possibility of theft or damage to them, the customer is obliged to travel the entire sales area with cars that can be heavy, difficult to handle and uncomfortable. For this type of shelving and commercial furniture, the investment in the sales area is very high because a large enough space is required for the placement of products and for the passage of shopping carts. A change in prices can be extremely tedious and expensive, as it is done manually by changing all product price tags. Another drawback is that the information presented by the products is very limited due to the space available, in addition to the fact that current establishments are not adapted to people with reduced mobility PMR.

In addition, the cost associated with the maintenance of these surfaces is very high because it is necessary to maintain a high surface area in perfect conditions of cleanliness and sanitation, as well as properly heated, which also implies higher expenses in anti-theft elements, security cameras, maintenance of sales surface items, etc ...

There are other innovations that seek a solution to the inconveniences presented by traditional shelves, innovations that are on the one hand small steps to improve business management and that aim to respond to the different types of demand present in the current framework, such as for example the purchase through the Internet, the presence of positions with interactive sales terminals in the establishment itself and the stores open 24 hours,

or finally mention the franchises of the type at all hours, where from a screen you choose the products you want to buy and automatically serve us at the same point of purchase.

Internet sales have two main drawbacks that are the distrust prevailing in this area and that the customer does not see or touch the product he wants to buy before buying, which reduces the sales effect.

On the other hand, a large amount of money is invested in customer service personnel throughout the day, and in cameras, equipment and security personnel. As for automatic machines, continuous and personal maintenance is required for the normal daily exchange of products. In addition to the limitation of products that a machine can offer, in many cases, it presents the additional disadvantage of the lack of user confidence about the origin and quality of the products offered.

While the traditional sales system allows greater control, keeps merchandise better organized and presents a higher level of advice to customers, it also requires more sellers and attention is very slow, in addition to losing the advantages of the self-service system, where the customer sees, touches, checks, compares, and the product is sold through its packaging, or products can be placed in higher areas of higher sales.

In the semi-self-service system the degree of protection or constant ordering of the goods that is achieved in the traditional system is not achieved, as well as the level of management and advice is reduced, however it has as an advantage, the speed in the customer service and is cheaper than the traditional system, requiring fewer vendors.

The self-service system has the same disadvantages of semi-service, but with regard to the advantages, in addition to being faster, because the customer takes the goods that he has selected directly to the box, requires less staff in the salon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The sales device according to the invention solves the aforementioned drawbacks, without losing the advantages of traditional systems.

In fact, it is not known a bookshelf, shelf or display that, based on a set of methods, materials and elements, presents such innovative features and brings such significant benefits against the state of the art, providing a series of advances in the elements already known with their corresponding advantages.

In particular, the following advantageous features of the invention stand out:

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All products will be placed in the upper sales areas, since there is enough space to place all products at levels accessible to most users.

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The areas that are free, such as the lower and upper, can be used for advertising, thus enhancing the purchase process, as the product is advertised in the same sales room.

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The exposure of the product is enhanced, as there is sufficient space and the necessary means of information for it.

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The change of place of a product is very simple, since you just have to change the location of the sample product and not all associated units, or in the case of a product / family of fully digitized products, it would only be enough to reorient your "logical" and non-physical location.

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In case of breakdown or repair, or changing the decoration of a certain area, it would be necessary to carry out works, change furniture or replace merchandise, although with the proposed system it is a much simpler task. With the new model it is no longer necessary to isolate the entire area of influence, or remove all the merchandise exposed for later replacement, nor is it necessary to have different specialists to repair the different types of furniture, considerably reducing the times of action.

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The computer systems allow to configure the information quickly and comfortably, by remote control from a station or stations arranged for it.

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The computer systems allow me that the information that is shown in each terminal point or set of terminal points, is different every time, showing more or less information, or that the formats are different according to the needs.

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In the event that the product is replaced by a model or a non-perishable item, the digital shelving allows you to combine all the different references that can be found in a supermarket under the same format, regardless of the size, volume, or weight of the products. same, even if they need special conditions to maintain their characteristics for consumption, such as frozen products, which would need to be exposed in furniture that maintains certain physical characteristics to preserve their condition / properties, etc ...

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It saves space and therefore considerably reduces investment, as storage is no longer carried out on the same sales area. This leads to the fact that since the products are only presented and not stored, more references can be placed in the same physical space, or the same number of references of a current supermarket in a smaller area.

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In the event that the set of products is replaced by a model or by a single unit of the product in question, the absence of different types of shelves or commercial furniture, in pursuit of a homogeneous model, will enhance its qualities, as a lower price by production in large quantities, repairs or replacements easier and cheaper both in money and time.

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By having digital systems, a higher amount of information is displayed on the screens, such as the product's own qualities or characteristics, its recommendations for use, its interactions, its nutritional strengths, etc., with what is available of a large space to show all the information you want about the product in question, and where each product will have a “digital product sheet” where, through tabs, you can access the different product information. These digital files, all managed from a central system of the sales area, can be completely adapted to the needs of each situation, such as not showing a specific tab on the sales surface screens.

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The system allows interconnection with external applications, such as interactive cooking recipes, recommendations for use, compatible foods, advertising of the brand itself or the product itself, product presentations, interactive videos and comparisons with other products. The supermarket sells time slots in interactive systems for brands to promote their products. In addition, you can use the mobile as a payment item and / or you can use a tablet to browse the supermarket and choose the products you want, exchange information through specific social networks, etc ... and in general the system will be Open to the introduction of new applications compatible with it.

In this way the entire purchase is digitized, which records all the steps performed by each and every user, which will provide the business operator with valuable information about the consumption habits of its customers , to be able to manage it in the way it deems appropriate, and where new concepts of personalized advertising may be included, in which, for example, according to the consumption habits of a certain client, other products can be offered to stimulate their consumption .

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The removal of carts / baskets to carry the merchandise, the aisles of 3 m. wide they are no longer necessary, since it is no longer necessary to drive with cars on the surface, which will allow people with reduced mobility (PMR) to make the purchase more easily, without needing the help of third parties.

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By having a single sample of each product on the shelf, damage by theft or mishandling of the products by the customer is completely eliminated.

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Similarly, by having a single sample of each product on the shelf, replacement tasks are completely eliminated, with the inconvenience caused by these tasks in the sales room itself, both for the company and for the customer.

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By means of this system, the personnel, especially the cashier, are completely reduced. This reduces the task of the human resources department and greatly reduces costs.

A new possibility opens up so that the existing personnel can help the customer directly in the purchase process, either by recommending specific products, they indicate location, solving doubts in the interaction with the system. That is to say, the current situation in which the client goes to the sales area is reversed and he must look for an employee to help him find the products or solve the doubts.

In the digital shelving system of the present invention everything revolves around the customer, the customer reaches the sales area and has multiple possibilities: you can request the same purchase made before, you do not need to load all the products, no You need to queue to pay for the products, you do not need to package the products, etc ...

Thus, the shelving with digital system according to the present invention is constituted from the most basic elements of a traditional type shelf, consisting of a bottom support, preferably a vertical sheet of suitable material; where support elements are integrated by appropriate fastening means to support, as will be seen below, sales products and / or means of representation of said sales products, such as, for example, models or audiovisual media (monitors , etc.) Preferably, the support elements may be shelves, or horizontal supports fixed to the bottom support, but in general they are any general support elements.

The shelf also includes screens and card readers, where said screens are interconnected with each other, and in turn connected to a central computer system from which the information presented on the screens is controlled, and said connected screens also to a central user recognition device by reading card or other similar system, such as bar codes, mobile, fingerprint, magnetic cards, etc ..., where the central device allows payment using payment methods such as cards credit or debit card, since the central device is connected to a card reader. The shelf can incorporate in its upper and / or lower ends advertising spaces, speakers, additional screens and fragrance generators.

The operation is as follows: a small number of representations of each product is placed on the shelf depending on the number of customers / hour that the system / sales area wants to support, where the higher demand / clientele / hour, more products associated with screens to capture larger orders), and preferably a single representation of each product, which is offered at the establishment. The representations can be, as mentioned before, the product itself or, among others, a mock-up or an audiovisual medium, such as a monitor. In front of each representation is a screen, usually touch, a card reader and other elements such as keyboards. When a user is interested in acquiring a product, it is authenticated, validated or not by password, by means of a card, a barcode reader, customer's mobile phone, RFID support, etc., in a reader that is in front of the chosen product, then enter the desired number of units via the touch screen (or by keyboard) and close your session by means of a button designed for it. This procedure is repeated throughout the selection of the products to be purchased.

The central computer system receives the order placed with the payment receipt and transfers said order to a warehouse for the collection, packaging and delivery of the products requested by the customer.

According to a preferred embodiment, touch screens are used. According to another different embodiment, non-touch screens equipped with an alphanumeric keyboard are used. Alternatively the keyboard presents a space with Braille alphabet,

or characters of different sizes for people with reduced vision.

In another embodiment, the user recognition device comprises at least one item selected from the list consisting of:

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password recognition means,

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facial recognition means

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means of fingerprint recognition,

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electronic ID recognition means, and

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personal barcode recognition means, or other means deemed appropriate.

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recognition means by magnetic card, or RFID tag,

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recognition means through the user's mobile.

In a different embodiment, the payment device allows payment in cash.

In another different embodiment, speakers or sound elements are included to reproduce the desired sounds.

In another variant, the system presents generators of certain fragrances, so that, in the event that the smell of the product is a decisive parameter in its acquisition, the customer can know that smell before acquiring the product, as in the whole range of products of perfumery, drugstore, cleaners, deodorants, etc ...

Alternatively the screen and the other accompanying elements (card readers) are not subject to the shelves but to another more convenient area of the shelf.

Alternatively, the system has one screen per shelf, per family of products or per shelf.

By means of the present invention, a new type of shelving or commercial furniture is presented, based on digital systems interconnected to one or several computer systems, which provide a series of really advantageous features that will be highly beneficial for both merchants who have a place to sell their products. products, such as manufacturers of shelves, furniture and commercial equipment, representatives, distributors, and also for buyers interested in such products. This drives a new form of sale that differs in several aspects with the traditional system called picking, contributing to the latter economy, efficiency, speed and quality of service. The system is applicable to shelves of any type of business, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, textile, food stores, hardware stores, perfumeries, household goods, sports elements, DIY, as well as any type of furniture or equipment commercial, display cabinets for drinks, refrigerated display cabinets, frozen islands, murals, and in general all those systems / elements that allow the exhibition, storage and sale of the different products.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a perspective of the shelf of the invention.

This figure highlights the following numbered elements:

1.- Shelving 2.- Bottom support

3.- Right side 4.- Left side 5.- Horizontal shelves 6.- Touch screens

5 7.- Card readers

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the proposed invention is constituted from

10 of the most basic elements of a traditional type shelf (1) consisting of a vertical sheet of suitable material that acts as a bottom support (2), a right side (3) and a left side (4), among which horizontal shelves (5) are integrated by appropriate fastening means. Conveniently attached to the front of the shelves (5) are some

15 touch screens (6) and card readers (7), said touch screens (6) interconnected with each other, and connected in turn with a central computer system from which information is controlled, about products, presented in the screens (6), and also connected to a central user recognition device by means of credit or debit card reading, which is also found

20 connected to the central computer system. The shelf (1) has advertising spaces at its upper and lower ends.

Claims (15)

 R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S 1.- Sales device, characterized in that it comprises:

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a shelf (1), comprising:

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a bottom support (2), which defines the bottom of the shelf (1);

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support elements (5), connected to the bottom support (2) by means of fastening means, to support a product for sale or a representation of said product;

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screens (6) interconnected with each other;

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a central computer system, connected to the screens (6), to control information about the products represented; Y

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card readers (7), connected to the central computer system, and configured to receive information from a buyer and purchase the product.

2.-Sales device according to claim 1, characterized in that the screens (6) are tactile. 3.-Sales device according to claim 1, characterized in that the screens (6) are non-touch screens connected to an alphanumeric keyboard. 4.-Sales device according to claim 3, characterized in that the alphanumeric keyboard has a space with braille alphabet. 5.-Sales device, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the screens (6) and card readers (7) are connected to a user recognition device connected to the central computer system, to recognize payment methods of part of a user. 6.-Sales device, according to claim 5, characterized in that the payment means comprise credit or debit cards. 7. Sales device according to claim 5, characterized in that the user recognition device comprises at least one element selected from the list consisting of:

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password recognition means,

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facial recognition means,

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means of fingerprint recognition,

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electronic ID recognition means, and

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Means of personal barcode recognition.

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recognition means by magnetic card or RFID tag,

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recognition means through the user's mobile.

8.-Sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it additionally includes sound emitting elements for reproducing sounds. 9.-Sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it additionally incorporates fragrance generators. 10. Sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the support elements (5) are selected from a list consisting of:

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shelves (5);

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horizontal supports fixed to the bottom support (2).

11.-Sales device according to claim 10, characterized in that the screen (6) is attached to the shelves (5) or to the horizontal supports. 12.-Sales device, according to claim 1, characterized in that the representation of the product is selected between a model of the product, and a representation through an audiovisual medium. 13.-Sales device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a screen (6) for each shelf (5), for each family of products or for each shelf (1). FIG. 1 SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201131459 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 06.09.2011 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: G06Q30 / 06 (2012.01) A47F1 / 00 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

X

US 4896791 A (SMITH WILLIAM C) 30.01.1990, 1-13

column 2, line 12 - column 5, line 43; Figures 1-4.

X

US 5933814 A (ROSENBERG ANDREAS) 03.08.1999, 1-13

column 2, line 34 - column 7, line 32; Figures 1-7.

X

US 2011093316 A1 (BAKER BRIAN A D et al.) 04/21/2011, 1-13

page 1, paragraph [0007] - page 4, paragraph [0069]; Figures 1-15.

X

US 2002010654 A1 (YONEZAWA KAY et al.) 24.01.2002, 1-13

page 1, paragraph [0005] - page 5, paragraph [0038]; Figures 1-8.

X

US 5176224 A (SPECTOR DONALD) 05.01.1993, 1-13

column 4, line 30 - column 8, line 10; Figures 1-4.

X

US 5907275 A (BATTISTINI MICHAEL et al.) 25.05.1999, 1-13

column 2, line 14 - column 8, line 63; Figures 1-6.

X

US 2003172563 A1 (HIGGINS CHARLES T et al.) 18.09.2003, 1-13

page 1, paragraph [0005] -page 2, paragraph [0022]; figures 1-2.

X

US 6087927 A (BATTISTINI MICHAEL et al.) 11.07.2000, 1-13

column 2, line 25 - column 10, line 19; Figures 1-9.

X

EN 2098587 T3 (ACCUMULATA VERWALTUNGS GMBH) 01.05.1997, 1-13

column 1, line 3 - column 8, line 6; Figures 1-3.

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 19.02.2013

Examiner E. Álvarez Valdés Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201131459 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) G06Q, A47F Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201131459 Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 02.19.2013 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims 1-13 Claims IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-13 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201131459 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

US 4896791 A (SMITH WILLIAM C) 30.01.1990

D02

US 5933814 A (ROSENBERG ANDREAS) 03.08.1999

D03

US 2011093316 A1 (BAKER BRIAN A D et al.) 04/21/2011

D04

US 2002010654 A1 (YONEZAWA KAY et al.) 01/24/2002

D05

US 5176224 A (SPECTOR DONALD) 05.01.1993

D06

US 5907275 A (BATTISTINI MICHAEL et al.) 25.05.1999

D07

US 2003172563 A1 (HIGGINS CHARLES T et al.) 18.09.2003

D08

US 6087927 A (BATTISTINI MICHAEL et al.) 11.07.2000

D09

ES 2098587 T3 (ACCUMULATA VERWALTUNGS GMBH) 01.05.1997

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The invention described in claim 1 relates to an appropriate device for sale, consisting of: a shelf; -a few elements to support a product for sale or a representation of said product; -a screens interconnected with each other; -a central computer system, connected to the screens to control information about the products represented; and -a card readers connected to the central computer system, and configured to receive information from a buyer and purchase the product. D01 is considered the closest prior art document to the object of claim 1. Document D01 discloses (references of D01) an appropriate device for sale representations of the products (22, 24), a central computer system, connected with screens to control information about the products represented; and a card reader connected to the central computer system, and configured to receive information from a buyer and purchase the product. The inventive concept disclosed in the first claim is anticipated in document D01 considering the differences between both documents as mere design variations. It would therefore be obvious to one skilled in the art to apply the characteristics of document D01 and arrive at the invention as disclosed in claim 1. Therefore, the object of this claim meets the novelty requirement, but does not meet the requirement. of inventive activity (Art. 6.1 and 8.1 of Patent Law 11/1986). For their part, documents D02 to D09, each of them separately, propose different design options, which would be evident to the man of the trade, with which the same technical effect proposed in claim 1 is achieved. The remaining claims 2 to 13 disclose: The screens are tactile (claim 2); the screens are non-touch screens connected to an alphanumeric keyboard (claim 3); the alphanumeric keyboard has a space with braille alphabet (claim 4); the screens and card readers are connected to a user recognition device connected to the central computer system (claim 5); the means of payment comprise credit or debit cards (claim 6); The user recognition device comprises at least one item selected from the list consisting of password recognition means, facial recognition means, fingerprint recognition means, electronic DNI recognition means, and code recognition means. personal bars, means of recognition by magnetic card or RFID tag, means of recognition by the user's mobile (claim 7); includes sound emitting elements (claim 8); incorporates fragrance generators (claim 9); the support elements are selected from a list consisting of horizontal shelves or supports fixed to the bottom support (claim 10); the screen is attached to the shelves or horizontal supports (claim 11); the representation of the product is selected from a model of the product, and a representation through an audiovisual medium (claim 12); It comprises a screen for each shelf, for each family of products or for each shelf (claim 13). The technical characteristics disclosed in claims 2 to 13 are mere design variations with respect to what is anticipated by documents D01 to D09, each separately, or are considered widely known in the state of the art. Therefore, claims 2 to 13 meet the requirement of novelty, but do not meet the requirement of inventive activity (Art. 6.1 and 8.1 of Patent Law 11/1986). State of the Art Report Page 4/4