CN106104645B

CN106104645B - System and method for customer deactivation of secure elements

Info

Publication number: CN106104645B
Application number: CN201580014397.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: P·B·拉斯班德; D·A·德鲁; S·E·霍尔; H·A·帕特森; N·L·范奈斯特
Original assignee: Tyco Fire and Security GmbH
Current assignee: Tyco Fire and Security GmbH
Priority date: 2014-01-21
Filing date: 2015-01-16
Publication date: 2020-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2035-01-16
Also published as: KR102293266B1; WO2015112446A1; CA2940398C; EP3869476A1; CA2940398A1; AU2015209627A1; EP3097546A1; CN106104645A; AU2015209627B2; KR20160131000A

Abstract

Systems (100) and methods (1100) for activating an electronic article surveillance ('EAS') element deactivator are disclosed. These methods involve: obtaining customer-related data from a customer of an enterprise organization that is attempting to deactivate an EAS element of at least one item; acquiring transaction data contained in an issued receipt when a customer's checkout transaction is completed; transmitting customer-related data, transaction data, and a unique identifier for the EAS element deactivation system to a remote computing device; processing the customer-related data and the transaction data to obtain confirmation that the customer has recently successfully completed a checkout transaction for the item and that an EAS element of the item has not been deactivated; and activating an EAS element deactivator of the EAS element deactivation system subsequent to the confirmation being obtained.

Description

System and method for customer deactivation of secure elements

Technical Field

The present invention relates to deactivation of security elements, such as electronic article surveillance ("EAS") elements. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for activating an EAS element deactivator (deactivator) in response to customer activity.

Background

A typical retail sales transaction occurs at a fixed point of sale ("POS") site operated by a store sales assistant. A store sales assistant (associate) assists the customer in the checkout process by receiving payment for the item. If an item has an EAS element, such as an acousto-magnetic ("A-M") tag, the store sales associate deactivates (deactivates) the EAS element after the customer pays for the item. In a transaction, a store sales assistant has the opportunity to visually inspect an item and notice whether the item has a price label with a suspect low price.

An item may have an abnormally low price tag because the customer has fraudulently exchanged the price tag by replacing the original price tag with a low price tag corresponding to a less expensive item. By keeping track of inconsistent price tags, the store sales associate has the opportunity to prevent such fraud and determine the correct price for the item.

Although conventional POS stations are advantageous because they allow store sales assistants to oversee checkout transactions, to control costs, many retailers have implemented self-checkout POS stations that allow customers to self-checkout. The self-checkout station is not supervised by the store sales assistant. In a self-checkout transaction, a customer independently completes (ring up) the sale of an item in a ring. If an item has an EAS element associated therewith, the store sales associate deactivates the EAS element attached to the item.

Allowing the customer to self-checkout may be risky. For example, a customer may wish to purchase expensive items, but may not want to pay the full price. A customer may swap the price label on an expensive item for a much cheaper price label. The customer may then use the self-checkout POS station to make a payment. After payment is complete, the store sales associate may use the EAS element deactivator tool to deactivate the EAS element associated with the item. Once the EAS element is deactivated, the customer may exit the store without paying the full price for the item.

Similarly, if the retail store does not provide a self-checkout POS station, the customer will use a conventional POS station to purchase the item. Store sales assistants overseeing transactions at conventional POS sites may collude with customers and exchanged price tags may be intentionally ignored by the store sales assistants, i.e., loveviewing. The store sales associate deactivates the EAS element and the customer may leave the store without paying the full price for the item.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to implementing systems and methods for activating an EAS element deactivator. These methods involve obtaining, by an EAS element deactivation system, (1) customer-related data from a customer of a business organization that is attempting to deactivate an EAS element of at least one item, and/or (2) transaction data contained in a receipt issued upon completion of a checkout transaction by the customer. The customer-related data, transaction data, and/or the unique identifier of the EAS element deactivation system is then transmitted to the remote computing device. In the remote computing device, the customer-related data and/or transaction data is processed to obtain confirmation that the customer has recently successfully completed a checkout transaction for the item and that the EAS element of the item has not been deactivated. Following the confirmation being obtained, the EAS element deactivator is activated.

In some cases, the customer-related data is obtained from a portable customer-specific medium (e.g., a loyalty card) via short-range communication (e.g., NFC communication or magnetic stripe reading). Additionally or alternatively, the customer-related data includes a unique identifier assigned to a mobile communication device at the disposal of the customer. The transaction data may include a one-time-use transaction code that may uniquely identify the purchase transaction. The one-time-use transaction code can be generated based on customer-related data, business-related data, or time-related data, and/or in accordance with a pseudo-random or random number generation algorithm.

In these or other cases, the methods further involve, when the confirmation is obtained, performing the following steps: providing, by the remote computing device, first item identification data for specifying an item approved for deactivation by the customer to the EAS element deactivation system; obtaining second item identification data from an item at the discretion of the customer; and determining whether the first item identification data matches the second identification data. If the first and second identification data match each other, the EAS element deactivator is activated.

Drawings

Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like items throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary EAS element deactivation system useful for understanding the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary camera that is useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary item database useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary purchase receipt useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an exemplary process for using item data to activate an EAS element deactivator that is useful for understanding the present invention.

Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary article useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another exemplary process for using an image of an item to activate an EAS element deactivator that is useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of another exemplary process for using the weight of an item to activate an EAS element deactivator that is useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of another exemplary process for activating an EAS element deactivator using an image of a tracked item that is useful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of another exemplary process for activating an EAS element deactivator that is useful for understanding the present invention.

Detailed Description

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments as generally described herein and illustrated in the figures can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of various embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of various embodiments. While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing detailed description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used herein, the term "comprising" means "including, but not limited to".

As used herein, relational terms, such as "first" and "second," "top" and "bottom," and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements.

In retail stores where products are tagged with security devices, customers typically rely on a sales assistant to deactivate EAS elements when items have been purchased. The deactivation process occurs at the physical POS terminal. Retailers would like to offer mobile checkout options to shorten the queue of customers that line up at the POS terminal. The mobile checkout option will allow customers to purchase products and/or checkout items in the aisles of a commercial establishment (e.g., a retail store or library). For retailers offering mobile self-checkout smartphone applications, customers can use their smartphones to scan and purchase/check out products. Retailers may also provide handheld mobile solutions on desktop personal computers ("PCs"). The customer may use this option to scan and buy/check out products. Enterprise organizations need to provide solutions where customers can deactivate EAS elements during mobile checkout. At the same time, there is also a need for policies that prevent unauthorized use of devices by customers and others who have not yet been authorized.

There are several factors to this problem. First, some customers may decide to deactivate the EAS element using a deactivation tool without having paid for the item to which the EAS element is attached. Second, the method of protecting a deactivated instrument from unauthorized access may cause the instrument to become no longer conveniently and timely accessible to authorized customers. Third, the customer's use of deactivated hardware may need to be associated with a mobile sales/checkout transaction.

Other attempts to solve the above problem are minimal. Deactivation of the security tag or label is almost always done at the usual (or fixed) POS station to which the deactivation tool is physically connected. Also, the deactivation hardware is used exclusively by store personnel or sales assistants. Handheld devices are sometimes used to deactivate EAS elements, but these devices are generally unprotected (except for the simple act of latching them up when not in use). The handheld device is still typically located at a fixed POS station and cannot be carried around throughout the commercial establishment and/or awarded to a customer for use thereby.

To date, the importance and value of creating advanced authorization and access control methods for mobile deactivators has not been recognized, particularly when it comes to granting access to customers participating in mobile MPOS transactions. Some retailers provide self-checkout lanes that allow customers to scan product labels and then autonomously submit (tenter) transactions. However, there is no label deactivation or label peeling performed by the customer.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig. 1-11B. In general, the present invention provides a system and method for activating an EAS element deactivator. These methods involve: establishing an EAS element deactivation session for a particular customer; receiving, at an EAS element deactivation system, item data including physical attributes of an item; determining whether the item data corresponds to a purchased item in a purchase receipt associated with the particular customer; and activating the EAS element deactivator upon determining that the item data corresponds to the purchased item.

Exemplary System for customer deactivation of EAS elements

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of an exemplary system 100 useful for understanding the present invention is provided. System 100 includes a computer 102 in communication with an item database 132 and an EAS element deactivation system 104 via a communication network 106. In some cases, the computer 102 may be part of the EAS element deactivation system 104, and/or vice versa. Thus, the computer 102 may be remote from or located with the EAS element deactivation system 104.

The EAS element deactivation system 104 is generally configured for deactivating an EAS element 134 attached to an item 120 for sale or inspection (check out) by a commercial organization (e.g., a retail store or library) and/or purchase by a customer 126 of the commercial organization. EAS element 134 can include, but is not limited to, a remotely readable one-bit element, a checkpoint, an RFID element, an NFC element, or other element attached to an item. In this regard, the EAS element deactivation system 104 may include, but is not limited to, a deactivation kiosk (kiosk) within a retail store, a locked cabinet, and/or a dedicated self-checkout location. In all cases, EAS element deactivation system 104 may include a camera (camera)108, a scanner 110, a meter (scale)112, an EAS element deactivator 114, and/or a display 116. The components 108 and/or 110 can be used to obtain data from the price tag 118, the item 120, an electronic receipt, and/or a customer's mobile device (e.g., mobile phone) that can be used during EAS element deactivation. In the case of an electronic receipt, the scanner 110 includes an optical scanner. Optical scanners are well known in the art and therefore will not be described herein. The scanner 110 may also include a magnetic stripe reader and/or other types of communication devices (e.g., RFID readers and/or RF transceivers).

Thus, each price label 118 has label data 122 printed directly thereon, affixed thereto via a label (e.g. a barcode label) and/or stored in its data store (e.g. in the data store of a short-range communication device). Similarly, each item 120 may have a manufacturer code 124 and/or other item-related data printed directly thereon, affixed thereto via a label (e.g., a bar code label), and/or stored in its data store (e.g., in the data store of a short-range communication device). The electronic receipt may have a bar code contained therein for encoding transaction data. The customer's mobile device may have a unique identifier (e.g., a media access control ("MAC") address) associated with it that can be used to identify the customer. Data obtained from the

price tags

118, 120, electronic receipts, and/or the customer's mobile device may be transmitted by the EAS element deactivation system 104 to the computer 102 for processing and/or storage in the item database 132.

Additionally or alternatively, the EAS element deactivation system 104 may prompt the user to enter customer authentication information (e.g., a username, password, and/or biometric data) that can be used to authenticate the customer via the touch screen display 116 or other input devices (e.g., a display and a keyboard). Such customer authentication information may likewise be obtained from the customer via user input of the customer's mobile device, rather than user input of the EAS element deactivation system 104. The customer authentication information data may then be transmitted by the EAS element deactivation system 104 to the computer 102 for processing and/or storage within the item database 132. If the user is authenticated by the computer 102, the computer 102 may send a message to the EAS element deactivation system 104 indicating that the customer has been authenticated and obtained permission to stop the EAS element of the one or more items. The manner in which such permissions are determined will be described in detail below. Further, it should also be understood that such permissions may be determined based on data obtained from the

price labels

118, 120, the electronic receipt, and/or the customer's mobile device.

The item 120 may be purchased by a customer using the POS device 128. During operation, the POS device 128 communicates with the computer 102 and the EAS element deactivation system 104 via the communication network 106 to submit a purchase transaction. POS device 128 may include, but is not limited to, a self-checkout POS device having an input device 130. The self-checkout POS device may be a stationary self-checkout POS device or a mobile self-checkout POS device (e.g., a wireless mobile device running a retailer application). The POS device 128 may be owned by a retail store, rented by the retail store from another party, and/or owned by a customer. In all cases, POS device 128 may include, but is not limited to, a mobile communication device, a smart phone, a tablet computer, and/or a personal data assistant running a retailer software application. The retailer software application may be configured to facilitate scanning of the price label 118 to retrieve data therefrom and/or to facilitate data communication with the item database 132 and/or the computer 102. The retailer software application may also facilitate user software interaction for entering payment details for one or more items 120 and submission of a purchase transaction. In this regard, the retailer software application may communicate with the retailer's backend software. The retailer's back-end software may confirm that the purchase transaction is complete and then signal the EAS element deactivator 104 indicating the completion of the purchase transaction.

communication network 106 may include a cellular communication network, a public switched telephone network ("L AN"), AN internet protocol ("IP") network, a wide area network ("WAN"), and/or a local area network ("lan") (e.g., AN ethernet local area network) communication network 106 may be a wireless network, such as Wi-Fi, satellite, infrared, Bluetooth (Bluetooth), ultra-wideband ("UWB"), ZigBee, wireless personal area network ("WPAN"), or other communication network computer 106 and EAS element deactivation system 104 may be connected to other computers via communication network 106, such as a computer associated with AN item provider, a computer storing item database 132, or any other third party (not shown) located at a retail establishment or some other location accessible by the internet or world wide web.

The price label 118 and EAS element 134 may be associated with the item 120, for example, by being affixed or removably affixed to the item 120. The EAS element 134 may be separate hardware or integrated within hardware (e.g. electronic price label 118), i.e. the EAS element 134 may be integrated as part of the price label 118. The EAS element 134 is typically secured to an item or book, such as item 120. When the item 120 is properly purchased or checked out (checkout), the EAS element 134 is removed or deactivated by the store sales associate. At the exit of the retail store, when the detection system senses an active EAS element 134 that has not been properly deactivated, the detection system sounds an alarm or otherwise alerts the salesperson.

EAS element 134 may be an acousto-magnetic element made from a metal strip. Detection of EAS element 134 is accomplished by sensing harmonics and signals generated by the magnetic response of EAS element 134 when exposed to a magnetic field. EAS element 134 may be demagnetized such that it may no longer produce harmonic signals. In a radio frequency system, EAS element 134 may contain a circuit having a capacitor and an inductor. The circuit may have a resonant peak. To deactivate EAS element 134, EAS element 134 may be exposed to a strong electromagnetic field that induces a voltage that exceeds the voltage of the capacitor, thereby destroying the capacitor. EAS element 134 may be imprinted with a code, such as a barcode.

Price tags 118 may likewise be associated with objects and/or fixtures (e.g., shelves or displays) in the retail store. Price tag 118 may be a price tag that contains a radio frequency identifier ("RFID") tag configured to transmit an RFID signal in response to a received RFID interrogation signal, among other types of tags. The price tag 118 may contain a transmitter (e.g., a near field communication ("NFC") transmitter), a receiver (e.g., an NFC receiver), and a memory for storing tag data 122. Alternatively, the label data 122 may be printed on the price label 118.

The tag data 122 may optionally include optically readable data, such as stock keeping units ("SKUs"), quick response ("QR") codes, universal product codes ("UPCs"), and other optically readable codes. For example, the label data 122 may include an optical one-or two-dimensional barcode that can be scanned by the scanner 110 and the input device 130, the scanner 110 may be, for example, a barcode scanning application or a barcode scanning device (e.g., an optical scanner). The tag data 122 may include numbers, letters, symbols, combinations of these items, or any other type of code.

The price label 118 may be configurable and/or programmable. In particular, the price label 118 may be programmed wirelessly by the computer 102 using a wireless sensor protocol or using other label programming methods known in the art. Since the price label 118 can receive and transmit signals, the in-store communication network 106 can communicate with the price label 118 to update the label data 122.

Tag data 122 may include any data associated with item 120. For example, tag data 122 may include data stored within item database 132. A more detailed schematic of the item database 132 is provided in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, various data can be stored as one or more item information records 402 within the item database 132. Each item information record 402 can include, but is not limited to, data specifying an item name 404a, an item description 404b, an item shape 404c, an item price 404d, an item specification 404e, an item color 404f, an item dimension (dimensions)404g, an item size 404h, an item brand 404i, an item identification 404k, an item weight 404p, item tag information 404r, and an item tag SKU 404 s. Additionally or alternatively, the item information record 402 may include item tag data 404q, item barcode data 404t (e.g., item barcode data from barcode 124), and/or other item data 4040.

In some cases, the purchased item is authenticated using the computer 102. For example, the computer 102 may use the size, shape, dimensions, or image of the item to match the scanned price and product description of the item. Price label 118 may contain a price, and price label 118 may be scanned using POS device 128. In addition, the price label 118 may include data that contains or can be used by the computer 102 to obtain a product description of an item. Additionally or alternatively, the computer 102 may use the photographic image to authenticate the purchased item. The EAS element deactivation system 104 may be equipped with a low cost video camera 108. Customer 126 may present the item to be deactivated. Further, the camera 108 captures an image of the article. The images may be matched in a store inventory database. Computer 102 makes a determination as to whether the item corresponds to an image in the database and the purchased item 142 in purchase receipt 140.

According to another aspect, a method for activating an EAS element deactivator 114 includes receiving a weight of an item from a scale 112. The item is associated with an item weight stored in the computer 102 (the item weight may be stored in a database). The weight of the item received from the scale 112 is compared to the weight of the item stored in the computer 102. The computer 102 makes a determination as to whether the weight corresponds to an item given for deactivation based at least on a comparison of the weight to item product identification or tag data 122. If, based at least on the analysis of the tag data 122 and the weight of the item, it is determined that the price tag 118 corresponds to the item given for deactivation, then the EAS element deactivator 114 is activated for use. The meter 112 may be an electromagnetic weight meter.

The retailer's building may be equipped with a video monitoring device, such as a video camera. The video camera identifies items pulled from the shelves of the retail store by the customer 126 based at least on the location and shelves of the items in the retail store. The computer 102 may store a database that may be used to identify products based on their location. When a customer 126 (e.g., a shopper) scans the price label 118 corresponding to an item, the price and image of the item is verified.

The customer 126 may use the self-checkout POS device 128 to pay for the item. Customer 126 may use input device 130 (e.g., a scanner) to scan price label 118 associated with item 120 (e.g., a television). The customer 126 may use the POS device 128 to enter payment information. The POS device 128 may receive the tag data 122 and payment information. The tag data 122 and payment information may be transmitted by the POS device 128 to the computer 102. In response to receiving the tag data 122 and the payment information, the computer 102 may send a confirmation to the POS device 128 that the item has been purchased. The payment confirmation may include a purchase receipt 140, and the purchase receipt 140 may be a paper receipt or an electronic receipt. An electronic receipt may be displayed on the display screen of POS device 128. Purchase receipt 140 contains a list of identifiers that identify one or more purchased items 142. In this example, the item 142 purchased is the item 120 because the item 120 has the correct price label 118. However, if the item 120 has an incorrect price tag (e.g., a tag corresponding to a baseball), the purchased item 142 will not be the item 120, but another item (e.g., a baseball).

The customer 126 approaches the EAS element deactivation system 104 to deactivate the EAS element 134 associated with the item 120. When a customer 126 presents an item 120 containing an EAS element 134 to be deactivated, the camera 108 captures an image 144 of the item 120. To determine whether the purchased item 142 is an item 120, the EAS element deactivation system 104 sends the image 144 to the computer 102 for analysis. Computer 102 analyzes image 144 using visual recognition techniques to determine whether image 144 corresponds to purchased item 142 in purchase receipt 140. Computer 102 examines purchase receipt 140, which purchase receipt 140 contains label data 122 for determining whether purchase receipt 140 indicates that item 142 purchased is item 120 in image 144. Thus, computer 102 verifies that item 120 shown in image 144 matches purchased item 142 in purchase receipt 140.

If the computer 102 determines that the image 144 corresponds to the purchased item 142 shown in the purchase receipt 142, the computer 102 will activate the EAS element deactivator 114. Customer 126 may then deactivate EAS element 134 using EAS element deactivator 114. Otherwise, if computer 102 determines that image 144 does not correspond to purchased item 142 in purchase receipt 140, computer 102 will send a message to the store sales assistant using communication network 106. The message may indicate that: the customer attempts to deactivate the secure EAS element 134 associated with the item 120, but the item 120 does not match or correspond to the purchased item 142 identified by the purchase receipt 140.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary architecture of camera 108 of fig. 1. The camera 108 of the EAS element deactivation system 104 may be a low cost video camera configured to capture the shape, size, dimensions, and any other physical characteristics of the item 120. The camera 108 may include a camera receiver 204, a camera transmitter 206, a camera processor 210, a camera imager 208, and a camera memory 212. The listed components 204-212 are capable of communicating directly with each other. Further, camera transmitter 206 is in communication with communication infrastructure 202. It should be understood that the interconnection of the components is not limited to the arrangement shown in fig. 2. For example, multiple components can be interconnected and transmitted via the communication infrastructure 202. The camera imager 208 is configured to capture an image 144 of the item 120. The camera receiver 204 is configured to receive the image 120. The image 120 is stored in a camera memory 212. The camera transmitter 206 is configured to transmit the image 120 to the computer 102 for visual image analysis.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary architecture of the computer 102 of FIG. 1. The computer 102 may be located within the retail store or at a remote location. The computer 102 contains one or more processors 302 programmed to perform the functions described herein. The processor 302 is operatively coupled to a communication infrastructure 332. The communication infrastructure 332 can include, but is not limited to, a communication bus, cross-connect, and/or network. The processor 302 may execute computer programs that are stored on disk storage via the secondary memory 312 to be executed. The processor 302 may be configured to perform image analysis to extract meaningful information from an image (e.g., the image 144 or photograph of the item 120). The processor 302 may analyze the image using image processing techniques. For example, processor 302 may identify item 120 in image 144 using techniques such as pattern recognition, digital geometry, 2D/3D object recognition, image segmentation, motion detection, particle tracking, video tracking, optical flow, signal processing, and/or other image recognition techniques.

In addition, the processor 302 may extract quantitative information from the image 144 using geometry. The processor 302 may process the image 144 to extract image data including physical features of the item 120. The extracted image data may be used to identify, describe, interpret, and evaluate the image 144. The processor 302 may analyze the image 144 to obtain useful information and image data from the image 144. The processor 302 may be configured to recognize shapes in the image 144 and use algorithms to measure, for example, the size of the shapes, determine the topology and general structure of the shapes of the items 120. The processor 302 may also determine a physical characteristic (e.g., length, height, width, color, size, shape, texture, and/or dimension) of the image 144 of the item 120. Image data obtained from the images 144 may be derived and stored in the item database 132. Likewise, the image 144 may be stored within the item database 132.

the computer 102 may optionally include or share a display interface 308, the display interface 308 forwarding graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 332 (or from a frame buffer, not shown) for display on the display unit 310, the display unit 310 may be a cathode ray tube ("CRT") display, a liquid crystal display ("L CD"), a plasma display, a light emitting diode ("L ED") display, or a touch screen display, among other types of displays.

Computer 102 also includes a main memory 304 and a secondary memory 312. Main memory 304 can include, but is not limited to, random access memory ("RAM") and/or read only memory ("ROM"). The secondary memory 312 may include, but is not limited to, a hard disk drive 314 and/or a removable storage drive 316 (e.g., a removable hard disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, and/or an optical disk drive). The removable storage drive 316 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage media 318 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Removable storage media 318 may include, but is not limited to, the following computer usable storage media: floppy disk, external hard disk, magnetic tape, and/or optical disk. Removable storage media 318 has computer software and/or data stored thereon.

In alternative embodiments, secondary memory 312 may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system and for storing data. Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage device 322 and an interface 320. Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (e.g., of the type found in video game devices), flash memory, a removable memory chip (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 322 and interfaces 320 for allowing software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 322 to the other devices.

Computer 102 may also include a communications interface 324. The communication interface 324 allows software and data to be transferred to external devices. Examples of communication interface 324 may include, but are not limited to, a modem, a network interface (e.g., an ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, and/or a wireless transceiver/antenna. Communication interface 324 may include a transmitter 328 and a receiver 330. Software and data transmitted via communications interface/module 324 may be, for example, electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 324. These signals are provided to communications interface 324 via a communication link (i.e., channel) 326. Communication link 326 carries signals and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link, and/or other communication channels.

it should be appreciated that computer 102 can have more than one set of communication interfaces 324 and communication links 326. for example, computer 102 can have a communication interface 324/communication link 326 pair for establishing a communication zone for wireless communication, a low speed second communication interface 324/communication link 326 pair (e.g., wlan, wireless communication), a third communication interface 324/communication link 326 pair for communicating with a low speed wireless network, and a fourth communication interface 324/communication link 326 pair for other communications.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in main memory 304 and/or secondary memory 312. For example, computer programs are stored on secondary memory 312 (e.g., disk storage) for execution by processor 302 via main memory 304 (e.g., RAM). Computer programs may also be received via communications interface 324. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the methods and systems to perform the features of the present invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 302 to perform the features of the corresponding methods and systems. Such computer programs therefore represent controllers of the respective devices.

Although a single computer 102 is mentioned, the invention is not so limited. It is contemplated that multiple computers 102 can also be implemented. Thus, the functions of the computer 102 may be performed by a single computer or distributed among multiple computers or computing devices. For example, the functions of the computer 102 may be performed by an in-store or an out-of-store computer 102. Alternatively, the functionality of computer 102 may be performed by several computing devices that may be located in substantially the same location or different locations (e.g., via cloud computing). In other words, each computing device may execute one or more particular sub-processes of computer 102. Thus, the computer 102 may be a system of components that operate together to receive, process, and analyze the image 144.

Various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system. It should be understood that computer systems and/or computer architectures other than those specifically described herein can also be used to implement the present invention. It should also be understood that the capabilities and number of components of the architecture described above may vary with the device, the number of devices to be supported, and the anticipated interactions with the device. For example, configuration and management of computer 102 may be designed to be performed remotely through a web browser. In this case, it may not be necessary to include the display interface 308 and the display unit 310. Even though computer 102 is described herein as comprising a hardware device, computer 102 may be implemented in software executing in a cloud server infrastructure.

The computer 102 may contain or may be in communication with an item database 132. The item database 132 may be stored in the main memory 304, an external storage device, or in another computer (not shown) in communication with the computer 102. The item database 132 may contain data related to a confirmation as to whether item data (e.g., weight or image 144) corresponds to the purchased item 142. It is noted that although the item data is described as being stored in a database, the invention is not so limited and other data structures may be used to store the data. For example, the data may be stored in a text file or a hash table.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary item database 132. Item database 132 may be a business or store inventory database for storing information about items to be sold and/or checked out by. Item database 132 may contain a plurality of item information records 402 a. Each item information record 402a, 402c corresponds to an item to be sold. For example, item information record 402a stores information related to first item 120. The item information record 402b stores information about a second item. The article information record 402c stores information about a third article. Although only three item information records 402a, 402c are shown in fig. 4, the present invention is not so limited. Item database 132 may store any number of item information records. Further, even though fig. 4 only shows the exemplary item information record 402a in expanded form, each item information record 402a,.. 402c stored within the item database 132 may contain the same or similar information stored within the item information record 402 a.

Item information record 402a may store any type of information associated with item 120. For example, item information record 402a may include, but is not limited to, an item name 404a, an item description 404b, an item shape 404c, an item price 404d, an item size 404e, an item color 404f, an item dimension 404g, an item size 404h, an item brand 404i, an item image 404j, an item identification 404k, an item length 4041, an item width 404m, an item location 404n, other item data 4040, an item weight 404p, item tag data 404q, item tag information 404r, item tag SKU 404s, and item barcode data 404 t. The item information record 402a may also store images of items (e.g., the images 120) available from sales and/or check-outs, measurements of the items 120, the size of the packages associated with the items 120, and/or other item-related data. In addition, item database 132 may contain item models and other item physical characteristics. The item database 132 may be associated with a supplier and may be stored within the supplier's computer in communication with the computer 102 via the communication network 106.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary purchase receipt 140. Purchase receipt 140 may include, but is not limited to, an electronic receipt sent by computer 102 to POS device 128. Purchase receipt 140 may contain the item 142 purchased and the date 94 of purchase. The purchased item 142 may contain any data corresponding to the purchased item including, but not limited to, tag data 122, item name 404a, item description 404b, item identification 404k, item tag data 404q, item tag information 404r, item tag SKU 404s, and/or item barcode data 404 t. For example, purchase receipt 140 in FIG. 5 may include "television" as purchased item 142.

In an exemplary embodiment, a retailer may wish to control the use of an EAS element deactivation tool (e.g., the EAS element deactivation system 104 of fig. 1) to prevent its unauthorized use to deactivate an EAS element (e.g., the EAS element 134 of fig. 1). A customer (e.g., customer 126 of fig. 1) may use a mobile or fixed POS device (e.g., POS device 128 of fig. 1) to pay for an item (e.g., item 120 of fig. 1). The customer may use the self-checkout POS device to scan a price label (e.g., price label 118 of fig. 1) associated with the item. In turn, the POS device receives tag data 122 that may include a purchase price. The POS device then transmits the tag data to a computer (e.g., computer 102 of fig. 1) for processing and/or storage in a database (e.g., database 132 of fig. 1).

The customer may choose to pay for the item using any means of purchase (e.g., credit card). The POS device 128 receives the payment information and sends it to the computer 102. In response, computer 102 may verify tag data 122 and payment information. Computer 102 may send purchase receipt 140 to POS device 128 as proof of purchase. Purchased items 142 may be identified in purchase receipt 140. Once the customer pays for the item, the customer accesses the EAS element deactivation system 104 to deactivate the EAS element 134 associated with the item 120.

The EAS element deactivation system 104 is used to authenticate the article 120 prior to deactivating the EAS element 134 associated with the article 120. The EAS element deactivation system 104 ensures that the item 120 has been paid for prior to activating the EAS element deactivator 114 to allow deactivation of the EAS element 134 by acquiring item data including physical attributes of the purchased item 142. The item data may include, among other things, an image 144 of the item 120 and a weight of the item 120.

In an exemplary embodiment, the item data includes an image 144 of the item 120. The camera 108 captures the image 144 and sends the image to the computer 102 for visual analysis. The computer 102 receives the item data and analyzes the image 144 to determine which item is shown therein. The computer 102 may also determine image data, such as physical characteristics of the item shown by the image, from the image 144. The physical properties may include, but are not limited to, length, height, width, color, size, shape, texture, and/or geometric dimensions. In addition, the computer 102 may analyze the image data to determine which item is shown therein.

The item data (e.g., the image 144 and/or image data obtained therefrom) may correspond to an item associated with the item information record 402 a. Computer 102 may use visual analysis to match item information stored in item database 132 to the item shown in image 144. For example, computer 102 may determine that the item that matches image 144 is item 120 (e.g., a television) associated with item information record 402 a.

Thus, computer 102 checks purchase receipt 140 to determine if the item 142 purchased is a television. If the purchased item 142 matches the determined item 120, the computer 102 sends an activation signal to the EAS element deactivator 114. Customer 126 may then deactivate EAS element 134 using EAS element deactivator 114. Otherwise, the computer 102 may send a message to the store sales assistant indicating that the purchased item 142 does not match the item in the image 120 because the purchase receipt 140 does not indicate that the customer 126 paid for the item 120 in the image 144.

Exemplary method for activating an EAS element deactivator

Referring now to fig. 6, a flow diagram of an exemplary method 600 for activating an EAS element deactivator 114 using item data (e.g., item data 404 a.,. 404r) is provided. The method 600 begins at step 602 and proceeds to step 604 where item data is received at step 604. The item data may include an image (e.g., image 144 of fig. 1) of an item (e.g., item 120 of fig. 1). In a next step 606, a determination is made as to whether the item identified by the item data matches a purchased item (e.g., purchased item 142 of fig. 1 and 5) identified in a purchase receipt (e.g., purchase receipt 140 of fig. 1 and 5). If the item identified by the item data matches the purchased item [ 606: YES ], then the EAS element deactivator is activated, as shown at step 608. Otherwise [ 606: no ], a message stating that the purchased item does not match the item identified by the item data is sent to at least store personnel or security personnel, as shown in step 610. Subsequently, step 612 of method 600 ending or other processing is performed.

The invention is not limited to the details of method 600. Additionally or alternatively, method 600 can involve making a determination as to whether an item corresponding to the item data matches an item specified by data stored within an item database (e.g., item database 132 of fig. 1). In this case, a computer (e.g., computer 102 of FIG. 1) may query the item database using the item data and/or the image data. For example, an item information record (e.g., record 404a of fig. 4) corresponding to an item (e.g., item 120 of fig. 1) may contain an item image 404 j. The item image 404j may be an image of an item (e.g., a television). Thus, the item image 404j is an image of the same item as shown in the image of the image data.

Using visual analysis, computer 102 may determine that the item identified in the image matches the item identified in item image 404 j. Since item image 404j corresponds to item information record 404a of item 120 (e.g., a television), computer 102 proceeds to determine whether the purchased item 140 is of the same type as item 120 (e.g., a television). If the computer 102 determines that the purchased item 142 in the purchase receipt 140 is an item 120, the computer 102 activates the EAS element deactivator 114.

Additionally or alternatively, the computer 102 may use visual analysis to determine the size, measurement, length, width, and/or color of the item identified in the image. For example, computer 102 may determine that the determined size of the item shown in the image matches item size 404h and/or that the determined dimension of the item matches item dimension 404 g. Because the determined size and dimension match the item size 404h and item dimension 404g corresponding to the item information record 402a associated with the item 120, the computer 102 determines that the item in the image 144 is the item 120.

In some cases, the item data may match any item information record stored in item database 132. For example, computer 102 may compare item data with any of the information in item information record 402 a. If the computer 102 determines that the item data matches the information in the item information record 402a of the item 120, the computer 102 may use the information in the item information record 402a to compare to the purchased item 142. The comparison may allow computer 102 to determine whether purchase receipt 140 indicates that the determined item has been paid.

For example, computer 102 may compare item name 404a (or any information in item information record 402 a) with information of purchased item 142 contained in purchase receipt 140. Computer 102 may examine purchase receipt 140 to determine whether the purchased item 142 is the same as the item determined to match image 144. The purchased item 142 may contain the name of the item (e.g., item name 404 a). The computer 102 may compare the item name 404a in the item information record 402a with the item name 404a in the purchased item 142. If the determined item name (e.g., item name 404a) matches the name of the purchased item 140, the computer 102 sends an activation signal to the EAS element deactivation system 104 to activate the EAS element deactivator 114.

The purchased item 142 identified in the purchase receipt 140 may match or correspond to any information in the item information record 402a, including but not limited to item name 404a, item description 404b, item shape 404c, item price 404d, item specification 404e, item color 404f, item dimension 404g, item size 404h, item brand 404i, item image 404j, item identification 404k, item length 404l, item width 404m, item location 404n, other item data 4040, item weight 404p, item tag data 404q, item tag information 404r, item tag SKU 404s, and item barcode data 404 t.

For example, purchased item 142 identified in purchase receipt 140 may contain an item identification, such as item identification 404 k. Computer 102 may determine that the item data corresponds to item 120 associated with item information record 402 a. Computer 102 verifies that purchase receipt 140 indicates that the customer has paid for the item in the image. Computer 102 may compare item identification 404k in purchase receipt 140 with item identification 404k of item information record 402a because purchased item 142 contains item identification 404 k. If the computer 102 determines that the purchased item 142 matches the item identification 404k corresponding to the item 120, the computer 102 sends an activation signal to the EAS element deactivator 114.

On the other hand, the computer 102 may determine that the purchased item 142 does not match the item data. If the computer 102 determines that the purchased item 142 does not match the image 144, the computer 102 denies deactivation of the EAS element 134. The computer 102 may also send a message to be displayed on the display 116 of the EAS element deactivation system 104. The message may inform the customer: store sales assistants are overtaking to facilitate the transaction. The computer 102 may also send an assistance request message to the store sales assistant. The message may inform the store sales assistant to: there is a discrepancy between the item 142 purchased and the item data and the store sales associate should assist the customer in deactivating the EAS element 134.

Referring now to fig. 7, a schematic diagram of an exemplary article (article) that may make up an item 700 associated with an EAS element 702, a price tag 704, and a manufacturer barcode 706 is provided. Price label 704 may contain label data 708. In some cases, a customer may exchange the price label 118 of an item 120 with the price label 704 of another item 700. For example, a customer may wish to purchase an item 120 (e.g., a high-resolution flat-panel television) that is relatively high in price (e.g., $1, 000.00). The customer considers the item 120 to be too expensive. Thus, the customer finds another item 700 (e.g., baseball) that is relatively low in price (e.g., $ 10.00). Tag data 708 may include a price for item 700 that is lower than the price for item 120. The customer then exchanges the price label 118 with the price label 704. After exchanging the price label 118 with the price label 704, the customer may use a self-checkout station (e.g., POS device 128 of fig. 1) to make a payment. In this regard, the self-checkout station is used to scan price label data 708. In effect, the customer pays the amount indicated by price label data 708 rather than paying the full price of item 120. A purchase receipt 140 is then generated containing information identifying the item 142 purchased. Purchase receipt 140 indicates that item 700 was purchased, rather than item 120. The purchase receipt 140 may further indicate that the customer paid a relatively low price (e.g., $10.00) for the purchased item.

Then, upon completion of the purchase transaction, the customer may approach the EAS element deactivation system 104 with the item 120 and attempt to deactivate the EAS element 134 attached to the item 120. The camera 108 of the EAS element deactivation system 104 may take a picture/image 144 of the item 120 and transmit the image 144 to the computer 102 for visual analysis. In response to receiving the image 144, the computer 102 processes the image 144 to determine the type of item (e.g., television) shown in the image 144. Computer 102 then determines whether purchase receipt 140 indicates that the customer has paid for the item shown in image 144. If it is determined that the purchase receipt 140 indicates that the customer has paid for an item other than that shown in image 144, the computer 102 denies activation of the EAS element deactivator 114. In addition, computer 102 may send a message to the store sales assistant stating that the purchased item identified on purchase receipt 140 does not match the item shown in image 144.

Additionally or alternatively, computer 102 may perform visual analysis on image 144 to determine image data including physical attributes of the articles described herein. For example, computer 102 may determine that image 144 shows an item 120, which item 120 is a large square item. In addition, computer 102 checks purchase receipt 140 to match an item (e.g., an item that is a large square item). To do so, the computer 102 may look up item record information corresponding to the purchased item 142 (e.g., baseball) in the item database 132. Once computer 102 finds an item information record corresponding to the purchased item, computer 102 may analyze the item information record to determine the size and/or shape of the item identified in purchase receipt 140 (e.g., the item is a small circular item). Computer 102 may then compare the description of the "large square item" for item 120 with the description of the "small round item" in the item information record corresponding to the item (e.g., item 700) identified by purchase receipt 140. Because the item descriptions do not match, computer 102 determines that the item identified in purchase receipt 140 (e.g., item 700) does not match the item shown in image 144. Thus, computer 102 determines that the item shown in image 144 has not been paid for. Because the computer 102 determines that there is a discrepancy between the item shown in image 144 and the item identified by the purchase receipt 140 (e.g., item 700), the computer 102 does not activate the EAS element deactivator 114. Instead, the computer 102 may issue a message (e.g., an assistance request message or an alert message) notifying the store sales assistant that the customer is attempting to deactivate the items that have not yet been paid for. The message may also state that purchase receipt 140 indicates that the customer paid for an item (e.g., item 700) that is different from the item depicted in image 144.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another exemplary method 800 for determining whether to activate an EAS element deactivator 114 based on an analysis of the image 144. The method 800 begins at step 802 and continues with step 804. In step 804, a customer (e.g., customer 126 of FIG. 1) presents an article (e.g., article 120 of FIG. 1) for deactivating an EAS element (e.g., EAS element 124 of FIG. 1) at an EAS element deactivation system (e.g., system 104 of FIG. 1). Then, in step 806, a camera (e.g., camera 108 of fig. 1) captures an image of the item. The image is used by a computer (e.g., computer 102 of fig. 1) in decision step 808. Decision step 808 involves: querying an item database (e.g., item database 132 of FIG. 1) to determine which item is shown in the image; and determines whether the item shown in the image matches an item identified by a purchase receipt (e.g., purchase receipt 140 of fig. 1). If the item shown in the image matches the item identified by the purchase receipt [ 808: YES ], then an EAS element deactivator (e.g., EAS element deactivator 114 of FIG. 1) is activated in step 812. Otherwise [ 808: no ], a message is sent to summon customer assistance in step 810. Thereafter, step 814 at the end of method 800 is performed or other processing is performed.

In some cases, the computer 102 may initiate a secondary security procedure when the item shown in the image does not match the item identified by the purchase receipt. For example, when a customer carries an item to the EAS element deactivation system to deactivate its EAS element and the computer denies the deactivation, the computer may send a message to be displayed on the display of the EAS element deactivation system. The message may request that the customer scan a barcode (e.g., barcode 124 of fig. 1) and a price label (e.g., price label 118 of fig. 1) affixed to the item presented for deactivation. In response to the request, the customer performs a user-software interaction to scan the barcode and price label. The EAS element deactivation system then transmits the scan data to the computer. Upon receiving the scan data, the computer determines whether the scanned bar code data corresponds to or matches price label scan data. If the barcode scan data does not match the price label scan data, the computer may send an assistance request message to the store sales assistant so that the store sales assistant can resolve the inconsistency problem. The message may state that the price label scan data does not correspond or match the barcode scan data.

If the barcode scan data matches the price label scan data, the computer may send a message indicating: although the price label scan data matches the barcode scan data, the computer cannot verify that the purchase receipt identifies the item 120. Further, if the computer determines that the purchased item identified by the purchase receipt does not match the item identified by the barcode scan data and/or the price label scan data, the computer may send a message indicating: the purchase receipt does not show that the item corresponding to the price label scan data and the barcode scan data has been paid. Alternatively, the computer may be configured to activate the EAS element deactivation system when (i) the barcode scan data matches the item identified by the purchase receipt and/or the price label scan data or (ii) the price label scan data matches the item identified by the purchase receipt.

The computer may determine whether the item identified by the bar code scan data matches the item identified by the purchase receipt purchased by: comparing the item identifier information contained in the barcode scan data with the item identifier information contained in the purchase receipt; and/or query an item database to determine item information records associated with purchased items identified by the purchase receipt. The computer may use the barcode scan data to query the item database. The computer may determine that the item barcode data (e.g., data 404t of fig. 4) in the item information record (e.g., record 402t of fig. 4) matches the barcode scan data. Thus, the computer determines that the item information record corresponds to the item associated with the barcode scan data. The computer may proceed to compare any information in the item information record with information associated with the purchased item identified by the purchase receipt. For example, if the information associated with the purchased item contains an item tag SKU, the computer may compare the item tag SKU associated with the purchased item 45 to the item tag SKU contained within the item information record. If the item tag SKU associated with the purchased item matches the item tag SKU of the item information record, the computer determines that the barcode scan data corresponds to the purchased item identified by the purchase receipt.

In some cases, the article data received by the computer includes measurements of the weight of the article presented at the EAS element deactivation system 104 for deactivating its EAS element. The measured weight value can be obtained by using the gauge 112 of the EAS element deactivation system 104. The scale 112 may include, but is not limited to, an electromagnetic type weight scale. The measured weight value may then be transmitted by the EAS element deactivation system 104 to the computer 102. At computer 102, purchase receipt 140 is analyzed to determine the weight of the purchased items identified therein. The computer then compares the measured weight value to the determined weight of the purchased item identified by the purchase receipt. If the measured weight value is the same or approximately the same as the measured weight of the purchased item, the computer sends an activation signal for activating the EAS element deactivator. Otherwise, if the measured weight value is not approximately equal to the measured weight of the purchased item, the computer sends a message to the store sales assistant. The message may indicate that the weight of the purchased item is not the same as the measured weight of the item presented for deactivation.

To determine the weight of the purchased item, the computer may query the item database using information obtained from the purchase receipt. The computer 102 may determine that a given item information record stored in the item database corresponds to the item purchased. The item information record may contain data specifying the weight of the item. The article weight value contained in the article information record may then be compared to the measured weight value obtained by the scale 112. If the weight values are within a predetermined amount of each other, the computer activates the EAS element deactivator. Conversely, if the weight values differ from each other by more than a predetermined amount, the computer denies deactivation of an EAS element coupled to the article (e.g., article 120). In addition, the computer may also send a message to the store sales associate indicating that the weight of the item presented for EAS element deactivation does not match the weight of the item purchased.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flow diagram is provided of another exemplary method 900 for determining whether to activate an EAS element deactivator based on the weight of an article. The method 900 begins at step 902 and continues with step 904. In step 904, the customer places the item on a scale (e.g., scale 112 of FIG. 1) to obtain a weight measurement thereof. Then, in step 906, the meter generates a measured weight value for the article (e.g., article 120 of fig. 1). Method 900 then begins at decision step 908. Decision step 908 involves: checking a purchase receipt (e.g., receipt 140 of FIG. 1) to determine what items have been purchased; querying an item database for a weight value associated with the purchased item; and determining whether the measured weight value matches a weight value associated with the purchased item. If the weight values match [ 908: yes ], then the EAS element deactivator is activated, as shown in step 912. Otherwise [ 908: no ], a message is sent to summon customer assistance, as shown in step 910.

In some cases, a computer and scanner (e.g., scanner 110 of fig. 1) may be used to verify that an item (e.g., item 120 of fig. 1) matches an item identified on a price label (e.g., price label 118 of fig. 1). The scanner may be used to scan a manufacturer code (e.g., code 124 of fig. 1) associated with an item. The scanner may also be used to scan price labels to obtain label data (e.g., data 122 of fig. 1) therefrom. The EAS element deactivation system (e.g., system 104 of fig. 1) may transmit the manufacturer code and tag data to a computer. At the computer, it is determined whether the label data corresponds to or matches the barcode scan data. For example, the computer may determine whether the description associated with the barcode or the barcode data matches the label data by comparing the barcode scan data to the label data. If the tag data matches the barcode scan data (i.e., both belong to and correspond to the same item), the computer sends an activation signal for activating the EAS element deactivator. Otherwise, the computer may send a message indicating: the label data does not match the barcode scan data. Notably, these operations may be used as a secondary security check when the item identified in the image does not match the purchased item identified in the purchase receipt.

In other cases, cameras (e.g., video cameras of a video system of a store) may be positioned throughout a retail store. At least one camera (e.g., camera 108 of fig. 1) may be used to track customers passing through the retail store. The computer is in communication with the camera and may be configured to control the camera. The camera may also track (track) items within the retail store and may take pictures/images of items within the retail store. The pictures and images captured by the camera may be stored within the item database (i.e., may be used to update the pictures and images stored within the item database).

In these or other cases, the camera may record which item has been picked up by the customer. For example, a customer may pick up an item (e.g., item 120 of FIG. 1) from a shelf and may place the item in a shopping basket or cart. The camera may take images of items in a shopping basket or cart. The image may be sent to a computer. At the computer, the customer may be associated with the item shown in the image. The computer may also identify the item shown in the image by determining the location within the store where the item was picked up by the customer. The location may be identified using a planogram of the retail store (e.g., to provide a visual chart or plot detailing where items are placed within the retail store). The planogram may contain a layout of the retail store and shows which aisle and which shelf the item is located on. In addition, the item database may contain item information record information corresponding to the location of the item. As another example, the computer may analyze the image to determine which portion of the store is shown in the image.

For example, the POS device may be a mobile POS device, e.g., a wireless mobile device that can be used by a customer to perform self-checkout at any location where an item is located (e.g., an aisle within a retail store). The POS device may be hand-held equipped with a mobile POS application. The POS device may be provided to the customer by a retail store or may be provided by the customer. POS device 36 may be equipped with a retailer mobile POS application. The customer may use the POS device to complete (ring up) the sale and scan the price label in a ring. After completing the sale in a sound, the customer may walk to a deactivation station or self-checkout station to deactivate the EAS element affixed to the item. The computer may transmit an authorization to deactivate the EAS element to the EAS element deactivator. The authorization to deactivate the EAS element may include data containing characteristics of the product associated with the price within the price tag, such as the size, shape, and dimensions of the product matching the scanned price within the price tag. Thus, a customer may purchase items within the aisles of the store without having to go to a self-checkout station to purchase the items. The EAS element deactivation system may be a verification and deactivation site for verifying sales completed by a customer or sales assistant using a POS device in a ring. The EAS element deactivation system may verify a transaction completed in a sound by a customer or sales assistant by, for example, verifying/verifying that the item corresponds to a received characteristic of a product associated with a price within the price tag.

For example, to pay for an item, a customer may scan a price label containing label data (e.g., data 122 of fig. 1) using an input device (e.g., input device 130 of fig. 1) of a POS device (e.g., POS device 128 of fig. 1). The computer may receive the tag data and determine whether the tag data matches information derived from an image associated with the customer. For example, the computer may determine whether the price associated with the price tag matches the price of the item identified in the image. Thus, the item is verified during scanning of the price label (e.g., while the POS device is processing the transaction) by determining whether the price of the scanned item corresponds to the item shown by the image.

The computer activates the EAS element deactivator if the price within the price tag corresponds to the price of the item shown in the image. To match the price tag to the price of the item shown in the image, the computer may determine an item information record (e.g., item information record 402a) corresponding to the item shown in the image. The computer may compare the tag data obtained from the price tag with the information in the item information record.

In some cases, a customer may "check out" and pay for items as they are picked up from store shelves. For example, the price label may be scanned when the customer picks up the item, and the customer may pay for the item on the spot without using a checkout register located at the exit of the retail store. The customer may then proceed to deactivate the EAS element at an EAS element deactivation system, which may be located near the exit of the retail store.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flow diagram of another exemplary method 1000 for activating an EAS element deactivator to deactivate an EAS element coupled to a tracked item is shown. The method 1000 begins at step 1002 and continues with step 1004. In step 1004, a price label (e.g., price label 118 of FIG. 1) associated with an item (e.g., item 120 of FIG. 1) is scanned. Price label scan data (e.g., label data 122 of fig. 1) includes price information. Then, in step 1006, a camera (e.g., camera 108 of fig. 1) captures an image (e.g., image 144 of fig. 1) of an item that has been picked up by a customer (e.g., customer 126 of fig. 1). The customer then proceeds to an EAS element deactivation system (e.g., system 104 of fig. 1) where a determination is made, as shown at decision step 1008. A determination is made as to whether the information obtained from the captured image matches the price information on the price label (i.e. whether the item shown in the image corresponds to the price information shown in the price label). If the information obtained from the image matches the price information on the price label (i.e. the price of the item shown in the image is the price shown on the price label) [ 1008: yes ], then an EAS element deactivator (e.g., deactivator 114 of fig. 1) is activated in step 1012. Otherwise [ 1008: no ], a message is sent to summon customer assistance in step 1010.

In other cases, the shopper may be authorized to use the EAS element deactivation system without departing from the supervision of the store sales associate. For example, a retailer may perform a background check on a customer to determine whether the customer may be granted the status of a trusted shopper (i.e., a honest customer). The computer may store a list of trusted shoppers and their images. If the computer identifies the customer as a trusted shopper, the EAS element deactivation system is activated.

In other cases, the computer tracks the time period each time a refusal deactivation event occurs. If deactivation is denied, a camera may be used to capture facial images of the customer. The image may be added to a report, which may be a virtual report accessible by retail loss prevention personnel. The report may also contain information regarding the number of EAS elements that were rejected for deactivation, the time period during which the rejection occurred, and the type of product involved in the exchange of the tag. Over time, trends and averages may be established as to how attempts to deactivate tags are rejected.

Facial images of customers may be analyzed during forensic investigation of potential retail fraudulent activities. In the case of a confirmed retail fraud event, the facial image may be shared with law enforcement personnel. The facial image may be used as evidence of fraud committed by the customer. The reports may be retrieved via a data mining function. For example, a report may be identified by a report number. The report database storing the reports may be queried using the report numbers. In addition, the report database may also be queried for potential fraudulent activity on a given date or within a certain range of dates.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flow diagram of another exemplary method 1100 for activating an EAS element deactivator (e.g., EAS element deactivator 114 of FIG. 1) to deactivate an EAS element (e.g., EAS element 134 of FIG. 1) coupled to an article (e.g., article 120 of FIG. 1) is provided. Method 1100 will be described with respect to a purchase transaction of one or more items. The invention is not limited in this respect. For example, the method 1100 can be modified according to any type of checkout transaction (e.g., a transaction for checking out a book at a library).

As shown in fig. 11A, method 1100 begins at step 1102 and continues with optional step 1104. In optional step 1104, the customer is issued a portable customer-specific medium (e.g., a loyalty card) from which customer-related data can be obtained via short-range communication. Customer-related data can include, but is not limited to, a customer identifier, a customer account number, and/or customer authentication data (e.g., a username, password, and/or biometric data).

In a next step 1106, operations are performed to complete a purchase transaction in which the customer successfully purchased at least one item (e.g., item 120 of FIG. 1). The purchase transaction can be implemented using a fixed self-service POS device or a mobile POS device (e.g., POS device 128 of fig. 1). POS operations for completing purchase transactions are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described herein. Any known or to be known POS operation can be used herein without limitation.

Upon completion of the purchase transaction, a one-time-use transaction code may be generated and assigned to the purchase transaction to provide an increased level of security for subsequent EAS element deactivation procedures, as shown at optional step 1108. The one-time-use transaction code is then provided to the customer via a printed/electronic receipt. In some cases, alternatively or in addition, the one-time-use transaction code is provided to the customer via an electronic message (e.g., a text message, an email message, or a web page message) transmitted to its mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or smart phone). The one-time-use transaction code may include, but is not limited to, a one-time-use N-digit PIN code, where N is an integer. In some cases, the one-time-use transaction code is generated from the customer's account number, name, username, address, phone number, password, biometric data, token number (e.g., membership card identifier or RFID device identifier), mobile device identifier, wearable electronic device signature (e.g., signal characteristics), email address, number of visits to the store in a given time period, and/or other customer-related data. The transaction code may also be generated from business related data (e.g., store identifiers, location identifiers, personnel identifiers, etc.), time related data (e.g., the date and/or time the purchase transaction was submitted), and/or item related data (e.g., product identifiers, results of merging two or more product identifiers via an algorithm, identifiers for identifying aisles in which the items are located within the retail store, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the one-time-use transaction code is generated in accordance with a pseudo-random number or random number generation algorithm. Pseudo-random number or random number generation algorithms are well known in the art and therefore will not be described herein. Any known or to be known pseudo-random number or random number generation algorithm can be used herein without limitation.

In a next step 1110, the transaction data is stored in a database (e.g., database 132 of FIG. 1) for association with a particular customer. The transaction data may uniquely identify the purchase transaction completed in the previous step 1106 and identify the items purchased by the customer during the purchase transaction. In this regard, the transaction data may include a one-time-use transaction code, an identifier for each purchased item, a purchase price for each purchased item, a date on which the purchase transaction was submitted, a location of a store where each item was purchased, and/or other information specifying one or more characteristics of each purchased item (e.g., item name, item description, item shape, item specification, item color, item size, item image, item brand, etc.). The transaction data can be stored within an item information record (e.g., item information record 402a of fig. 4) and/or a customer information record (e.g., customer information record 402 a.., 402n of fig. 4). The customer information record can include, but is not limited to, a customer identifier, a customer account number, customer contact information, and information about the customer's previous and/or current purchasing activities.

Thereafter in optional step 1112, the customer carries his portable customer-specific media (e.g., a loyalty card) and/or mobile device (e.g., a smart phone or wearable sensing device, such as a headset or wristband) within range of a communication device (e.g., the scanner 110 or RF transceiver of fig. 1) of the EAS element deactivation system (e.g., the system 104 of fig. 1). In turn, the EAS element deactivation system obtains customer-related data from the portable customer-specific media, unique identifier data from the customer's mobile device, and/or authentication data from the customer, as shown in optional step 1114. The unique identifier can include, but is not limited to, a network address of the customer's mobile device, an electronic identifier associated with the customer, and/or at least one signal characteristic (e.g., frequency) of the device. For example, an IP address, MAC address, and/or port number can be obtained from a customer's mobile device and used to identify the customer for the purpose of allowing or denying deactivation of an EAS element of the item. This has certain advantages, such as significantly reduced cost and hardware/software strength, as compared to systems that employ loyalty cards or other entities' tokens for distribution to customers.

Steps 1112 and 1114 can be performed if: the identity of the customer will then be verified and/or authenticated to ensure that the correct customer is attempting to deactivate the EAS element of the purchased item associated with the particular purchase transaction and/or purchase receipt (e.g., purchase receipt 140 of fig. 1). In some cases, the identity of the customer can be verified and/or validated using a customer identifier and/or account number obtained from a portable customer-specific medium (e.g., a membership card), a device identifier (e.g., a MAC address) obtained from the customer's mobile communication device, and/or other customer authentication data entered by the customer obtained in step 1116.

The customer authentication information obtained in step 1116 can include, but is not limited to, a password and/or biometric data. The customer authentication information can be obtained via user software interaction facilitated by user input of the EAS element deactivation system and/or a user interface of the customer's mobile device (e.g., a smart phone). Step 1116 may be performed to ensure that the correct person is holding the portable customer-specific media and/or mobile communication device (e.g., a smart phone).

In optional step 1118, receipt information is obtained by the EAS element deactivation system from a printed or electronic receipt. Receipt information may be encoded in a bar code contained in or on a printed or electronic receipt. A scanner (e.g., scanner 110 of fig. 1) may read a barcode from a printed or electronic receipt. Receipt information may include a transaction code, a customer identifier, a time of the purchase transaction, a location of the purchase transaction, an identifier of the item purchased, and other transaction related information. Additionally or alternatively, receipt information can be obtained from a receipt sent to the EAS element deactivation system, not viewed by and/or provided to the customer.

The method 1100 then proceeds to step 1120, where the customer-related information, unique identifier data, receipt information, customer authentication information, and/or unique identifier of the EAS element deactivation system is transmitted to a remotely located computing device (e.g., computer 102 of fig. 1) in step 1120. At the computing device, operations are performed to confirm that the customer has recently successfully completed the purchase transaction and that the EAS element of the purchased item has not been deactivated, as shown in step 1122 of fig. 11B. The confirmation is accomplished using data received by the computing device from the EAS element deactivation system. For example, the computing device may compare the received data to stored data related to the customer and/or the purchased item.

Then, in step 1124, the computing device performs operations to obtain first item identification data stored in a database (e.g., database 132 of FIG. 1). The first item identification data identifies one or more items having EAS elements that may be deactivated by a customer. In some cases, the first identification data includes a list of item identifiers specifying items that are approved by the remote computing device to the EAS element deactivation system to be deactivated by the customer. In other cases, the first identification data includes an image of the item and/or information indicative of one or more physical characteristics of the item (e.g., size, color, brand, etc.). The first item identification data is then transmitted by the computing device to an EAS element deactivation system for use in a subsequent EAS element deactivation procedure. The EAS element deactivation flow is performed in steps 1128-1140 of fig. 11B. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the EAS deactivation flow depicted in fig. 11B. For example, steps 1128-1140 may be replaced with some or all of the steps of

methods

600, 700, 800, 900, and/or 1000 described above.

As shown in fig. 11B, step 1128 involves obtaining second item identification data from the items held by the customer. In some cases, the second item identification data includes a string of numbers that uniquely identifies the item. Thereby, the second item identification data can be obtained by scanning a bar code printed and/or affixed on the item and/or a price label (e.g. price label 118 of fig. 1) coupled to the item. Additionally or alternatively, the second item identification data includes an image of the item and/or information indicative of one or more physical characteristics of the item (e.g., size, color, brand, etc.). In this case, the second item identification data can be obtained via a camera and/or other sensor means.

The second item identification data is then used in decision step 1130 to determine whether it matches all or a corresponding portion of the first item identification data. If the second item identification data does not match all or a portion of the first item identification data [ 1130: no ], then step 1134 is performed in which a message indicating that the first and second item identification data do not match is output to the customer and/or store personnel. Conversely, if the second item identification data does match all or a portion of the first item identification data [ 1130: YES ], then step 1132 is performed in which an EAS element deactivator (e.g., EAS element deactivator 114 of FIG. 1) is activated such that an EAS element coupled to the corresponding item can be deactivated. Once the EAS element has been deactivated, step 1136 is performed. Step 1136 involves transmitting information from the EAS element deactivation system to the computing device indicating which items purchased by the customer were deactivated. This information is stored in a database, as shown in step 1138. Thereafter, step 1140, where the method 1100 ends, or other processing is performed.

All of the apparatus, methods, and algorithms disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the present invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the apparatus, methods and in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. More particularly, it will be apparent that certain elements may be added to, combined with, or substituted for the elements described herein while the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined.

The above-described features and functions, and alternatives, may be combined in many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) element deactivator configured to deactivate an EAS element, the method comprising:

Obtaining, by an EAS element deactivation system, customer-related data from a customer of an enterprise organization that is attempting to deactivate an EAS element of at least one item;

Obtaining transaction data directly from a receipt previously issued upon completion of a checkout transaction of the customer by an EAS element deactivation system;

Transmitting the customer-related data, the transaction data, and a unique identifier of the EAS element deactivation system from the EAS element deactivation system to a remote computing device;

Processing, by the remote computing device, the customer-related data and the transaction data to obtain confirmation that the customer has recently successfully completed a checkout transaction for the item and that an EAS element of the item has not been deactivated;

Upon obtaining the confirmation, providing, by the remote computing device, first item identification data to the EAS element deactivation system specifying an item approved for deactivation by the customer;

Obtaining, by the EAS element deactivation system, second item identification data from an item owned by the customer;

Determining whether the first item identification data matches the second item identification data; and

Activating an EAS element deactivator of the EAS element deactivation system when the first item identification data and the second item identification data match each other.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer-related data is obtained from a customer's portable medium via short-range communication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer-related data comprises a unique identifier assigned to a mobile communication device owned by the customer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction data comprises a one-time-use transaction code that uniquely identifies a purchase transaction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one-time-use transaction code is generated from customer-related data, business-related data, time-related data, or item data.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the one-time-use transaction code is generated in accordance with a pseudo-random number or random number generation algorithm.

7. A deactivation system, comprising:

An EAS element deactivation system configured to deactivate an EAS element, the EAS element deactivation system

Obtaining customer-related data from a customer of an enterprise organization that is attempting to deactivate an EAS element of at least one item,

Obtaining transaction data directly from a receipt previously issued upon completion of a checkout transaction by the customer, an

Transmitting the customer-related data, transaction data, and a unique identifier of the EAS element deactivation system to a remote computing device; and

The remote computing device processing the customer-related data and transaction data to obtain confirmation that the customer has recently successfully completed a checkout transaction for the item and that an EAS element of the item has not been deactivated;

The remote computing device further providing, upon obtaining the confirmation, first item identification data for specifying an item approved for deactivation by the customer to the EAS element deactivation system;

Wherein the EAS element deactivation system further

Obtaining second item identification data from an item owned by the customer;

Determining whether the first item identification data matches the second item identification data;

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the customer-related data is obtained from a customer's portable medium via short-range communication.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the customer-related data comprises a unique identifier assigned to a mobile communication device owned by the customer.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the transaction data includes a one-time-use transaction code that uniquely identifies a purchase transaction.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one-time-use transaction code is generated from customer-related data, business-related data, time-related data, or item-related data.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the one-time-use transaction code is generated in accordance with a pseudo-random number or random number generation algorithm.