GB2071631A - Bar-coding of saleable products - Google Patents
Bar-coding of saleable products Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2071631A GB2071631A GB8107319A GB8107319A GB2071631A GB 2071631 A GB2071631 A GB 2071631A GB 8107319 A GB8107319 A GB 8107319A GB 8107319 A GB8107319 A GB 8107319A GB 2071631 A GB2071631 A GB 2071631A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- bar
- computer
- code
- product
- sales data
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06K17/00—Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
- G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
- G06K19/06009—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code with optically detectable marking
- G06K19/06018—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code with optically detectable marking one-dimensional coding
- G06K19/06028—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code with optically detectable marking one-dimensional coding using bar codes
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G1/00—Cash registers
- G07G1/0036—Checkout procedures
- G07G1/0045—Checkout procedures with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
- G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
- G06K2019/06215—Aspects not covered by other subgroups
- G06K2019/06253—Aspects not covered by other subgroups for a specific application
Abstract
A supermarket with a central computer (I) and a plurality of checkouts (K) each having a bar-code reader (L) and a register (M) connected to the computer (I) for retrieving computer stored sales data pertinent to source- coded saleable products bearing a bar-code label, also comprises a service counter (C) for sales of 'fresh' products whereat a dispenser (D) is provided for issuing bar-code labels having a unique number pre-printed thereon in bar-code form, counter (C) also comprises means (G) connected to computer (I) for determining sales data for each such fresh product (H), reader (F) for identifying the unique number of the pre-printed bar-code label affixed to product (H), reader (F) being connected to computer (I) to thereby address a computer memory location for storage of the fresh product sales data identified by said determining means (G), said fresh product sales data being retrieved from the computer memory location by subsequent operation of the check out bar-code reader (F) by the pertaining pre-printed bar-code label whereby the fresh product sales data is supplied to the check-out register (M). <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Bar-coding of saleable products
This invention relates to bar-coding of saleable products.
A "bar-code" is a graphical code that consists of a number of black bars with variable widths, and of spaces in between the bars with also variable widths (Fig. 1). The widths of the bars, as well as the widths of the spaces in between the bars determine what specific code has been printed. The advantage of such a code is that it is easily readable by an optical scanning system.
However, to make this scanning easy (e.g. that no complicated reading equipment is necessary) and reliable the printed bar-code must meet high standards as to edge sharpness, even density of the bars, etc.
Bar-code scanners, hand-held or otherwise, are employed in the check-outs of supermarkets to identify in rapid succession the products being bought by the customer. Each identification thus made must be unambiguous regarding the type and quantity (size) of the product. Products, which are identical in type and quantity may carry the same identification code (such as all 1-kg bags of white refined sugar from the XYZ Sugar
Company). Since such products are usually manufactured in large series, it is most economical to affix the identification code to the product while manufacturing and packing it; this takes place invariably at a location away from the supermarket ("source coding"). The code of such products usually defines the country of origin, the manufacturer and the type of product including the invariable quantity or size.
When the product with its bar-code is scanned at the check-out, this identification is used to call the appropriate selling price of the product from computer memory, to register the sale of the product on a customer receipt, to add the price of the product to the customer bill, and to record the sale of one unit of the product for stock keeping and accounting purposes.
The majority of food products sold by a supermarket can be source marked by a bar-code
as described above, because quantities have
predetermined and fixed values. However, there
are some types of commodities where the
quantity sold varies from item to item; in particular this is the case for fruit and vegetables,
delicatessen, bread and sweets, cheese and meat
products of a large variety. Such products are
usually sold "fresh", i.e. they are not portioned and
packed until the customer expresses his intent
directly to buy the product, with an indication of
the approximate quantity he desires. Since at this
time exact portioning to standard quantities is
most often not possible, the quantity will vary from portion to portion; and so with the price
which has to be paid. Identifying such products
with codes containing only the origin and nature
is therefore not sufficient.The commonly accepted
notion is that in these cases the code must also
contain information regarding the quantity or size, and/or its related price. The code for such variable weight products should consequently be printed after the quantity or price has been established, i.e. after the portioning according to the customers wish has taken place, and after the quantity of the order has been determined (i.e. by weighing).
Since this situation occurs at service counters of supermarkets, the notion would lead to the necessity of placing a bar-code printer for variable codes on or in the immediate vicinity of such service counters.
However since, as already stated above, a barcode label has to meet high standards as to printing quality, the printers are usually complex, and therefore relatively large machines, so that they require a lot of space at a service counter.
Since they are complex mechanisms they will also usually be sensitive to dirt, so that a supermarket service counter is not the right place to put them.
The problem to be solved by the invention therefore is to be able to code articles with variable qualities, with a bar-code, without having to place a large and sensitive bar-code printer on the service counters.
The present way of reaching this aim has been to make smaller printers. The quality of these printers however has not yet met the standards that are required for an easy and reliable scanning of the printed code.
According to the present invention each saleable product ordered by a customer at a service counter is identified with a bar-code label having a unique number preprinted thereon, the label is scanned and the unique number used to address a computer memory location to which sales data relating to the pertaining product are supplied from the service counter, the sales data being retrieved from the computer memory location and supplied to the check-out in response to scanning of the bar-code label thereat.
Thus the present invention uses a different way of identifying in an unambiguous manner the variable weight products ordered over the service counter and to be paid for at the check-out register(s).
Basically, each item ordered by the customer is "tagged" by a number. Each item ordered by a customer during the course of a certain time period (e.g. a day) carries a different number, such that the identification of each item by that number is unambiguous.
It would be logical to apply sequentially increasing numbers, but any other sequence of numbers will do, provided no number shall be issued more than once during the applicable time frame.
The fact that the length of the time frame is limited also means that the set of numbers to be issued is limited, and therefore manageable. As a consequence, this limited number set can be identified by a prefix (such as an in-house prefix as defined by EAN and UPC specifications) or any other means, and the number set can be used as "carriers" or "addresses" for relevant sales data regarding the product, such as type, origin, freshness, exact quantity and price as well as
method of preparation, ultimate consumption date
etc.
All such information can be stored, processed
or transported, either electronically or by other
means, with its unique identification number
acting as carrier or data address.
The information package pertaining to an item
ordered by a customer is therefore awarded an
identification number at the service counter; this
information package can be retrieved at any time
within the time frame at the check-out register by
identifying th unique item number and recalling
the associated information package.
In particular the bar-coded number is
associated with a specific memory address in the
central computer, at which address all data
concerning the item to be bought by the customer
are stored. As soon as the information has been
withdrawn from the memory, has been printed
upon the bill, and the bill has been paid by the
customer so that there is no longer any need to
store the concerning data, this memory address is
vacated and another bar-code number can be
associated with that specific address. This reduces
the amount of computer memory space that is
necessary. This also means that the memory
address does not have to be, and usually will not
be, the same number as the bar-code number it is
associated with.
One system for implementing the present
invention will now be described by way of
example with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which Fig. 1 illustrates a preprinted
bar-code label, and Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing of the system.
The illustrated system operates as follows:
1) Preprint labels with bar-coded identification
numbers usiny printer A in print shop B and place
label roll on service counter (C) in dispenser (D).
2) When the weight and price of the goods
ordered by a customer have been determined by
scales G, these goods are packed. A bar-code label
(E) is removed from the roll by dispenser (D), its
number is read by reader (F) (for example the Fig.
1 label represents the number 1234567890), and
the label affixed to the package (H).
3) The weight and price information together
with the bar-code label identification number is transmitted by the scale G and reader F to the
computer I.
4) The information is stored temporarily in the
central computer memory or any other back-up
memory.
5) The customer, after having completed his selection of items to be purchased, takes the goods to the check-out K.
6) All goods are scanned by check-out reader L.
7) When an item carries a bar-code identification number, all pertinent information is retrieved from the memory of computer I.
8) The information is forwarded to the checkout register terminal M, where
9) The customer receipt N is printed.
10) When the transaction is complete, the details of the sale can be recorded by the computer for accounting or book-keeping purposes: afterwards the identification number is vacated.
The important quality of this system is the fact that the identification number itself does not contain "variable" information and is "fixed", or at least predetermined in nature (where sequentially increasing numbers are used, of course each identification number is one unit higher than the previous number). Because of this fact, the barcoded identification number can be preprinted, away from the service counter.
A series of bar-code identification numbers can be printed for instance on a roll of labels, and this printing can be done in a professional print shop, assuring high printing standards as well as high scannability at the checkout. What remains to be done at the service counter is to couple the "variable" information of the goods being bought - by the customer to any one bar-code identification number.
This means that virtually all items sold by supermarkets become scannable, including the variable weight/price items served to the customer over the counter.
As a result, check-out time can be drastically reduced because the check-out operator no longer has to mix key entries with scanning operations, nor will he have to decide with each item whether it is scannable or a key entry item.
This overall advantage can be obtained without having to print variable bar-codes on the counter; such printing is technically difficult and operationally cumbersome.
A major condition to be fulfilled, however, is that both scales on the service counters and scanner/registers in the check-out must be connected "on-line" to the central computer; with so-called "scan-alone" registers, the variable information cannot be transmitted from scale to register in a timely manner.
A secondary advantage of this invention is that shrinkage is easily determinable. When at the end of a day a certain identification number has not been vacated from the computer memory the item concerned may have been stolen. The shopkeeper then only has to read the information from the a memory address that has be related to the nonvacated number to see what items and to which amount has been stolen.
It will now be recognised that the present invention provides in a supermarket having a central computer and at least one check-out with a bar-code reader and a register each connected to the computer for retrieving computer-stored sales data pertinent to source-coded saleableproducts bearing a bar-code label, the improvement which comprises providing a service counter C for sales of 'fresh" products said service counter C comprising a dispenser D of bar-code labels having a unique number pre-printed thereon in bar-code form, means G for determining sales data for each such 'fresh' product H, said means G being connected to said computer 1, a reader F for identifying the unique number of a said pre-printed bar-code label and connected to said computer I to thereby address a computer memory location for storage of the fresh product sales data identified by said determining means G, said fresh product sales data being retrieved from the computer memory location by subsequent operation of the check-out bar-code reader F by the pertaining preprinted bar-code label whereby said fresh product sales data is supplied to the check-out register M.
Claims (5)
1. In a supermarket having a central computer and at least one check-out with a bar-code reader and a register each connected to the computer for retrieving computer-stored sales data pertinent to source-coded saleable-products bearing a barcode label, the improvement which comprises providing a service counter C for sales of 'fresh' products said service counter C comprising a dispenser D of bar-code labels having a unique number pre-printed thereon in bar-code form, means G for determining sales data for each such 'fresh' product H, said means G being connected to said computer I, a reader F for identifying the unique number of a said pre-printed bar-code label and connected to said computer I to thereby address a computer memory location for storage of the fresh product sales data identified by said determining means G, said fresh product sales data being retrieved from the computer memory location by subsequent operation of the chek-out bar-code reader F by the pertaining pre-printed bar-code label whereby said fresh product sales data is supplied to the check-out register M.
2. The arrangement claimed in claim 1 , wherein said pre-printed bar-code labels are arranged in sets each of which incorporates set-identification data pre-printed thereon in bar-code form, said dispenser D is arranged to dispense labels from a single set within a predetermined time frame, and said computer I is arranged to prevent said retrieval of said fresh-product sales data outwith said predetermined time frame.
3. The arrangement claimed in either preceding claim, wherein said computer I is arranged to clear each said memory location following retrieval of the pertaining sales data therefrom.
4. The arrangement claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said determining means G is manually operable and said sales data is selected from the group comprising product type, product origina, product freshness, product quantity, product price, product preparation, product consumption date.
5. The arrangement claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8107319A GB2071631B (en) | 1980-03-19 | 1981-03-09 | Bar-coding of saleable products |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8009275 | 1980-03-19 | ||
GB8107319A GB2071631B (en) | 1980-03-19 | 1981-03-09 | Bar-coding of saleable products |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB2071631A true GB2071631A (en) | 1981-09-23 |
GB2071631B GB2071631B (en) | 1983-10-12 |
Family
ID=26274880
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB8107319A Expired GB2071631B (en) | 1980-03-19 | 1981-03-09 | Bar-coding of saleable products |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
GB (1) | GB2071631B (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3144897A1 (en) * | 1981-11-12 | 1983-05-19 | Berkel Gmbh, 4100 Duisburg | Vending system for weight-related products, comprising balances and cash registers |
DE3147274A1 (en) * | 1981-11-28 | 1983-06-09 | Maatschappij van Berkel's, Patent N.V., Rotterdam | Installation with several independent shop scales |
NL1006554C2 (en) * | 1997-07-11 | 1999-01-26 | Jamafa Agricultural Machinery | Registration system and method for recording data of products such as flowers, plants, vegetables and the like. |
EP1271378A2 (en) * | 2001-06-29 | 2003-01-02 | Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd. | Administration process and system for manufacturing and selling products |
DE10220061B4 (en) * | 2002-05-04 | 2010-06-17 | Fendt, Günter | Apparatus for detecting and method for evaluating the remaining minimum period of use and / or remaining minimum shelf life |
-
1981
- 1981-03-09 GB GB8107319A patent/GB2071631B/en not_active Expired
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3144897A1 (en) * | 1981-11-12 | 1983-05-19 | Berkel Gmbh, 4100 Duisburg | Vending system for weight-related products, comprising balances and cash registers |
DE3147274A1 (en) * | 1981-11-28 | 1983-06-09 | Maatschappij van Berkel's, Patent N.V., Rotterdam | Installation with several independent shop scales |
NL1006554C2 (en) * | 1997-07-11 | 1999-01-26 | Jamafa Agricultural Machinery | Registration system and method for recording data of products such as flowers, plants, vegetables and the like. |
EP1271378A2 (en) * | 2001-06-29 | 2003-01-02 | Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd. | Administration process and system for manufacturing and selling products |
EP1271378A3 (en) * | 2001-06-29 | 2004-04-14 | Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd. | Administration process and system for manufacturing and selling products |
DE10220061B4 (en) * | 2002-05-04 | 2010-06-17 | Fendt, Günter | Apparatus for detecting and method for evaluating the remaining minimum period of use and / or remaining minimum shelf life |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB2071631B (en) | 1983-10-12 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |