FR2853442A1 - Computerized sales port for shopkeeper, has processing unit with catalogue realized in form of program records, and editing system that edits technical and descriptive files of products and/or purchase order and/or bar codes - Google Patents

Abstract

The port has housing (1) with a central processing unit (3) including a catalogue realized in the form of program records (P1) and a computer program (P2) configured to ensure an operation of the catalogue. An electronic device e.g. computer or a microprocessor, executes instructions of the program. An editing system edits technical and descriptive files of products and/or purchase order and/or bar codes. An independent claim is also included for a sales installation including a computerized sales port.

Description

Gold '

  Computerized autonomous sales station and installation comprising at least one such sales station.

  The present invention relates to a computerized autonomous sales station intended to allow a trader to sell a very wide range of all the products which he has the legal capacity to offer for sale and which he does not present on his shelves accessible to customers, either because of their large number, or because they do not have all these products in stock.

  It also relates to installations comprising one or more of these computerized sales stations connected to a remote PC or management computer 10 of the sales station or of all the sales stations.

  Processes and installations for the purchase of goods or other products or services have already been proposed and some have actually been used for several years. These processes and installations use computer and mechanical equipment controlled by software programs allowing the buyers to choose items available for sale, to order them and to pay for them, from a purchasing station. computerized.

For example:

  - In document WO-99/30291, an online automatic dispenser is described which comprises: a data entry device used by a user for the introduction of a desired product; at least one image and / or sound reproduction device; a memory in which the product designations and the advertising information associated with these products can be stored; a processor which is connected to the data entry device to receive the entered data and which is designed to search the memory for designations relating to the entered data, this processor taking care, in the event of a finding of a existing report, that the memory sends to the reproduction device the information associated with the designation found having a relationship with the data entered, so that this reproduction device reproduces this information, and an interface used for the transmission of the data entered to a central distant.

  - in document WO-02/25602 are described an autonomous machine and a method of selling goods and services comprising a housing containing an assembly of multimedia systems and devices controlled by at least one processor, this machine being designed to be able to be used simultaneously by several users who can make their selection on a number of user interfaces and it also includes a GSM modem or a dial-up modem for connection to a remote service center.

  All known materials and processes allow buyers to select and order goods from a sales point, at any time of the day or night, to settle the price of the order, to transmit this order to merchant or merchants who have the catalog (s) offering the selected items.

  The various assemblies of multimedia systems and devices 15 proposed to date are designed to facilitate sales of products or services and are used fairly frequently with varying degrees of success; their objectives are diverse: order management, preparation of checkout, logistics preparation, catalog consultation, selective presentation of products or services, ..., but none has a definition or an ability to carry out a recordable sale by the merchant, initiated and concluded from start to finish by the customer.

  The present invention aims to meet this need by providing merchants with an autonomous multimedia sales station, allowing them to sell all the products or services that they are legally authorized to offer for sale, without having the physical and / or financial burden.

  According to the invention, this objective is achieved by means of a computerized post or sales terminal comprising a housing, containing: a central unit constituted by a computer system comprising: - a catalog produced in the form of a recorded program and its computer system of consultation; - a program configured to allow and ensure the operation of this catalog; - preferably, a program for managing said catalog; - Browser; an electronic processing device, for example constituted by a computer or a microprocessor for the execution of the instructions of these programs; - At least one user interface accessible from outside said housing, from one of the faces thereof, this user interface being, for example, constituted by a touch screen or similar device; a system for editing technical sheets and descriptions of said articles, and / or order forms and / or bar codes, this system comprising at least one printer.

  The computerized autonomous sales station according to the invention is autonomous in all its aspects, both technologically and in terms of the efficiency of its use. Its original program, supported by the system which controls all of its data processing, frees the latter from any constraint induced by the use of operating systems and programs commonly implemented in known methods and installations. The sales station according to the invention insofar as it is original and completely independent of existing software, may be free, in its operation and management, from existing communication or information exchange networks (Internet, Intranet , ..).

  The computerized autonomous sales station according to the invention can be assimilated to an attractive, user-friendly and interactive computer "salesperson" making it possible to overcome the sales obstacles that constitute the limitations of sales areas and the limitations of budgets. In other words, it is a computerized catalog, self-seller, available to customers at the point of sale.

  The autonomous computerized sales station according to the invention comprises a program, developed and secure, inviting the customer to purchase articles chosen by 5 himself, from among the many products (several thousand articles). The objective of this program is to allow the Customer to access the product they wish to acquire as quickly as possible. To do this, the program is configured to perform at least two types of searches and sorts: - A search by categories and families of products which, in an easy sequence (touch buttons), fast and user-friendly (several levels of sorting) , offers the customer the product they are looking for (photo, technical sheet, code, packaging and price); - A direct alphabetical search, which will lead him pleasantly (progression by photos) to the product to buy.

  The user of the computerized autonomous sales station according to the invention is the sole driver of his research and choice of articles; thanks to the database and the sorting diagram, this sales post allows the store customer to arrive at any product offered by the merchant in said sales post.

  The sales office can edit photos and technical descriptions of the items offered; he issues the purchase orders (or the order preparation vouchers) that the customer will give to the seller, all functions that he is the only one on the market to perform. It can be programmed to communicate, in an animated and attractive form, informative and / or advertising messages. He can also edit quotes.

  The device according to the invention is a real sales tool. He is able to offer for sale as many products, if not more, than the merchant exhibits at his point of sale.

  The aims, characteristics and advantages above, and others still, will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and from the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the computerized sales station or interactive sales terminal according to invention.

  FIG. 2 is a synoptic view of an example of configuration of this computerized autonomous sales station.

  FIG. 3 represents the diagram of the consultation, animation and editing program of the interactive terminal.

  Figure 4 shows the diagram of the security system for the secure sales point.

  Reference is made to said drawings to describe an interesting, although in no way limiting, embodiment of this sales item.

  This sales station comprises a housing 1 which may be constituted by a robust metal or reinforced plastic shell or shell. This housing which in the position of use stands in a vertical or approximately vertical position, can have very diverse external shapes, and its base can be arranged so that it can be permanently fixed to the ground, at the location of use.

  The housing or shell 1 contains: - at least one user interface accessible from the outside, from one of the faces of said housing; this interface is, for example, made up of a touch screen 2 or similar device; a central unit 3 constituted by a computer system comprising an operating system comprising: a catalog produced in the form of a recorded program P1 and its computer consultation system; - 6 - - a P2 program configured operation of this catalog; to enable and ensure - preferably, a P3 program for managing said catalog; - Browser; an electronic processing device such as a computer or a microprocessor for executing the instructions of these programs.

  a system for editing technical and descriptive sheets of said articles, and / or purchase orders and / or bar codes, this system comprising at least one printer 4.

  The catalog is made up of a computer program comprising: - an animated reception sequence developed to invite the customer to purchase among the products selected by the suppliers or the merchant; - one or more selection and / or search pages, for example, by product names, by product categories, by families of 15 products, by product price, etc. - - an illustrated catalog page; - a sales sheet or technical sheet; - a purchase order page.

  The housing or shell 1 of the interactive terminal may also contain one or more of the following devices: - a modem and Internet network; - a Modem and telephone network making it possible to connect said terminal to a remote PC or computer; a bar code reader 5 for automatically bringing the technical data sheet of a product to the viewing window; - a memory card reader; - at least one sound diffuser such as a speaker system with baffles 6; - one or more additional printers; - an inverter 7 The program enabling and ensuring the operation of the recorded catalog mainly consists of the following systems or subroutines: Catalog reading subroutine o0 The program, launched when the terminal starts (after opening the graphical environment of the site) allows, among other things, to deactivate the screen energy saver, to open the database reading software (server and database) and to launch a browser allowing the viewing of the articles presented .

  Before shutting down the PC, a program closes all open software.

  safety subroutine (detection of the use of a keyboard on the terminal by an unauthorized person) this subroutine provides the following functions: - Detection of a keyboard connected to the terminal (on PS2 socket or on a other device) during operation of the terminal; - Password request to authorize the use of a keyboard on the terminal in the event that it is used after the opening of the site's graphic environment. The password request is made using a window that opens automatically. If the password 25 is not validated after 30 seconds of testing, then all the configuration files of the terminal as well as the site of presentation of the articles (database + files) are automatically erased, so to make the interactive terminal unusable.

  - In the case where the use of the keyboard is done before the opening of the graphic environment of the site, then the terminal stops automatically and the configuration files of the terminal are not affected.

  - Browser operation detection subroutine.

  This program constantly detects the presence of the window for presenting the articles of the site (browser used) and the proper functioning of the server and of the database. If the browser is absent (error case) then it is automatically reopened, moreover it restarts if necessary the server and the database. This in order to have a high availability of the sale of articles on the terminal.

  - Subroutine for printing purchase orders from the terminal.

  - From the article presentation site, you can print the order corresponding to the products purchased by the Customer.

  - A computer program manages the printer connected to the terminal and makes it possible to link to the site presenting the articles. This program also makes it possible to convert the format of the order form so that it can be directly printable.

  - Image printing subroutine.

  Allowing the printing of images on demand: Printing of bar codes corresponding to the articles of the order form.

  Printing photos of the items taken from the sales sheet.

  - Data backup subroutine at startup.

  - This program, launched once at the start of the terminal (after opening the graphical environment of the site), makes it possible to save the database and the site consultation file on diskette if it is present and in a directory on the hard drive.

  - Terminal stop management sub-program.

  - The terminal can stop automatically at a specific time of the day provided that this option was chosen when configuring the terminal. Indeed, a program permanently scans the current time and causes the terminal to stop if this 10 hour corresponds to that memorized; this to avoid any external manipulation; - The terminal can also stop on pressing the push button. Indeed, a program permanently scans the signals received from the serial link to which the button is connected. It takes the decision or not to stop the terminal (indeed, if the pressure is not long enough, the stop is not taken into account, this in order to not stop the terminal on signals parasites).

  The computer operating system of the interactive terminal according to the invention also comprises a catalog management program, consisting of one or more of the following sub-programs: Sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles by floppy disk, allowing data transfer by floppy disk: - entry of personal code and access to a page allowing modification of data, from a floppy disk.

  - If the program has detected the presence of a floppy disk in the terminal, it starts updating the site after checking the validity of the data. Depending on the arrangement of the files, the database and / or the images of the articles and / or the files (site functionalities) are updated. - 10

  - The result of this update can be viewed directly on the terminal. Any errors are clarified.

  - Sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles by CD-ROM, allowing data transfer by CD-ROM: 5 - Automatic detection of a CD-ROM in the terminal's CD-player; - If the program has detected the presence of a CD in the terminal, it starts updating the site after checking the validity of the CD.

  Depending on the arrangement of the files on the CD, the database and / or the images of the articles and / or the files (site functionalities) are updated.

  The result of this update can be viewed directly on the terminal.

  Any errors are clarified.

  - Sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles by local network, allowing data transfer by local network: The point-of-sale computer takes full control of the terminal by wire link or radio frequency. You can configure the site for presenting articles by modifying the database and / or by changing the images used. On the other hand, we can view the site of presentation of the articles as the customer will see it, very useful to check an update of prices for example. Finally, you can check the operating status of the terminal (date and time of the terminal, remaining space on the hard disk, etc.).

  - The result of this update can be viewed directly on the terminal. Any errors are clarified.

  - Sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles by telephone network, allowing data transfer by telephone network: - 1I1 - The terminal is directly accessible from any browser on a remote PC or computer (provided that it is also connected to a modem).

  - A program permanently manages the modem connected to the terminal (in the 5 case where remote maintenance has been configured). It can detect incoming calls and answer the call if necessary.

  - Once connected, the remote computer takes full control of the terminal. In particular, you can configure the site for presenting articles by modifying the database and / or by loading the images used. On the other hand, we can view the site of presentation of the articles as the customer will see it, which is very useful to check an update of the prices for example. Finally, you can check the operating status of the terminal (date and time of the terminal, remaining space on the hard disk, etc.).

  - The data transmission between the computer and the terminal is completely secure and encrypted. Many passwords are to be given during the different stages of the connection.

  The invention also relates to installations comprising one or more interactive terminals or autonomous computerized sales stations 20 previously described connected to a PC or computer 8 (FIG. 4) ensuring the management of the computer systems of these sales stations and in particular the management of the catalog. .

  - Sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles, via the user interface, using a secret code. - 12

Claims (3)

  1 autonomous computerized sales station consisting of an interactive terminal comprising a housing (1) containing computer equipment, characterized in that this computer equipment comprises: - a central unit (3) constituted by a computer system comprising: - a catalog produced under form of recorded program (Pi) and its computer consultation system; - a computer program (P2) configured to allow and ensure the operation of this catalog; - an electronic processing device such as a computer or a microprocessor for executing the instructions of these programs.   - At least one user interface (2) accessible from outside of said housing, from one of the faces thereof, this user interface being, for example, made up of a touch screen or similar device; a system for editing technical and descriptive sheets of said 20 articles and / or purchase orders and / or bar codes, this system comprising at least one printer (4).   2. - computerized autonomous sales station according to claim 1, characterized in that the computer system constituting the central unit (3) also comprises a program (P3) for managing the catalog. - 13   3. - Computerized autonomous sales station, according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the catalog produced in the form of a recorded program comprises: - an animated reception sequence; - one or more pages for selection and / or research of the products offered for sale; an illustrated catalog page; - a sales sheet; - a "purchase order" page 4. - Autonomous computerized sales post according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the software or program enabling and ensuring the operation of the catalog comprises one or more of the subprograms herein- after: - a catalog reading subroutine; - a subroutine for detecting the functioning of the browser; - a safety sub-program; - a subroutine for printing purchase orders from the terminal; 5. - Autonomous computerized sales station according to claim 4, characterized in that the program allowing and ensuring the operation of the catalog comprises a sub-program for printing images.   6. - Computerized autonomous sales station according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the program allowing and ensuring the operation of the catalog also comprises one or more of the following subsets: a subroutine for saving data at startup ; - 14 - a subroutine management routine.   7. - Computerized autonomous sales station, according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the catalog management program is constituted by one or more of the following sub-programs: - placing sub-program update of the article presentation site, by diskette; - sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles, by CD ROM; - sub-program for updating the site for presenting articles, by local network; - subroutine for updating the site for presenting articles by telephone network; subroutine for updating the site through the user interface, using a secret code.   8. - Computerized autonomous sales station according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the housing still contains one or more of the following computer equipment: - a modem and Internet network; - a Modem and telephone network; - a barcode reader (5) for automatically bringing the technical data sheet of a product to the viewing window - a memory card reader; - at least one sound diffuser (6); one or more additional printers.   - 15 - 9. - A sales installation characterized in that it comprises at least one autonomous computerized sales station according to any one of claims 1 to 8 connected to a remote PC or computer (8).