KR860002005B1 - Shoppers coupon calculator - Google Patents

Abstract

The appts. includes a memory for storing numerical values corresponding to the product prices, the product sizes and the amount of a coupon. Circuitry is provided for deducting the stored coupon value from each of the stored prices, providing adjusted proces. Price/size ratios may be calculated corresponding to each of the adjusted prices and stored sizes and circuitry is provided for determining the smallest of the price/size ratios. A numerical display shows the outcome of the determination.

Description

Coupon Calculator for Buyers

1 is a plan view of the basic model of the present invention,

2 is an internal configuration of FIG.

3 is a plan view of an intermediate model of the device including cumulative and realizing capabilities in addition to four computational functions,

4 is an internal configuration of FIG.

5 is a unit conversion table attached to the model of FIGS. 1 and 3,

6 is an internal configuration diagram of the most sophisticated model of the present invention including various types of input prices, direct unit entry, calculation of four functions, memory of four functions, and the like.

7 is a plan view of the model shown in FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

2: basic model 4, 8: push button

10: switch 14: coupon price push button

12: 'GO' push button 18: indicator light

22: power switch 24: keyboard

32: arithmetic unit 34: input memory register

38: output memory register 40: minimum value comparator

42: Logic Controller 54: 'RECALL' Push Button

56: operation function push button 62: logical sum memory register

The present invention relates to a coupon calculator for a buyer, and more particularly, to a portable calculator that performs accumulation and calculation of prices from data entered by a buyer.

A number of sales price calculation devices are described in the literature, and according to various manufacturing stages, as the prior art, the machine operation price calculator (Kellogg-U.S. Pat. 2262639) and an electronic automatic price calculator (Kussens, J. R.- U.S. Patent # 3806711).

In such inventions, the selling price is usually calculated based on a price entry and a unit number per unit.

Data entries include automatic computing devices (e.g., Newell-U.S. Patent No. 4039805), automatic tag-reading devices (e.g., Gogulski-U.S. Patent No. 4071740), and manually operated key entries. (Eg, Cousins, J. R.-U.S. Patent No. 3875511).

Many conventional computing devices as described above have been specialized and complicated.

Such uniqueness and complexity make it not only suitable for the average consumer to use in a supermarket or the like, but also because of its high cost and bulkiness, a simple and easy-to-operate device is needed for such a situation.

Market strategies used in supermarkets and the like complicate matters more for consumers.

Although a single pricing scheme by law may assist the buyer in making a purchase decision, such a scheme is further complicated when it relates to a discounted discount coupon.

Further complicating the situation is that when retailers repurchase a coupon two or three times higher than the face value, not all products are priced at the same unit-based unit price.

Thus, particularly suitable for supermarket buyers, a sophisticated but simple device is required.

The present invention is to meet this need.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device with fast and precise computational ability to optimize purchasing decisions influenced by manufacturing and other cent-off coupons.

Another object of the present invention is to provide buyers with the advantages of innovative modern technology.

Another object is to provide a corrected computing ability without requiring sufficient mathematical or arithmetic skills.

These objectives can be performed as a device for the most economical purchasing decision among products of at least two sizes and different prices in association with a cent-off production price discount coupon. A device for storing numerical values corresponding to size and coupon amount, and a device for subtracting the stored coupon price from each of the stored prices and providing the adjusted price.

Device for calculating the price / size ratio according to the adjusted price and the memorized product size.

Device to determine the smallest ratio of price / size.

It is composed of a device which shows the decision result.

In an embodiment, the coupon price may be increased in multiples, ie double, triple, cumulative totals, and so forth.

The device can also perform temporary mathematical calculations as required by the user.

1 and 2 show the basic model of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the switch and display that the user sees, and FIG. 2 illustrates the internal workings of the device.

The relationship between the keyboard and the purchaser of FIG. 1 will be described, and the internal operation will be described next.

In Figure 1, the basic model (2) looks almost like a normal calculator.

Not only the display 20 but also the arrangement of the pushbuttons 4 in which the numbers are indicated, there is also a power switch 22.

The push button 4 consists of a push button with a standard decimal number and a push button with a delete mark (CE).

The whole unit may be deleted by the memory erase button CA of the device.

The remaining switches and indicators are a unique aspect of the present invention.

At the grocery store, the buyer is influenced by the purchase decision by the manufacturer or store discount coupon (cent-off coupon).

The consumer will be primarily interested in buying the most items at the lowest price.

The store may also seek to promote retail activity by repurchasing the buyer's coupon at twice or three times the face value.

Some coupons from buyers are worth as much as the price of the product.

The purchaser sets the power switch 22 to 'ON' and erases the number memorized by the CA button 16.

Also, if the switch is set to 'ON', the number is automatically deleted.

Three selectable switches 6 reflect coupon prices of one, two and three times.

The buyer is ready to compare the possible purchase methods resulting from the coupon being affected.

When using the base unit, the memorized units will have to be matched in units of whole ounces or pounds or whole quarts and grams.

For example, if the minimum unit is ounces, the buyer would have to convert the pounds to ounces and add the ounces.

The conversion table shown in FIG. 5 simplifies this task.

The user presses a pushbutton 4 to enter a price and press one of the three pushbuttons 8 to display the status of the price.

Next, enter the size of the product in the least common units.

After entering the magnitude value, the user presses one of the three magnitude switches 10 corresponding to the price previously entered.

Next, proceed to the second choice with the price and size, and proceed in the same way if the third choice is necessary.

Finally, the user enters the face value of the coupon and presses the coupon price push button 14.

The device now contains the information needed to calculate the optimal selection and operates according to the "GO" button 12.

To understand the best purchase choice, you need to understand the coupon procedure and unit price description.

Many supermarkets and stores list unit prices for every size of a product, and buyers can easily determine what size is the best price per unit of product.

In general, larger sizes are cheaper per unit.

However, with coupons, the larger the size, the lower the price per unit is reversed.

This may result in careless buyers losing a significant portion of coupon profits.

As an example, let's illustrate how coupons influence the optimal selection of a product.

Suppose a buyer has a $ 0.40 coupon to buy a liquid detergent of any size, and the supermarket also operates a double coupon scheme.

Buyers will notice that the unit price displayed is $ 6.58 for a unit price of $ 1.7125 quarts per gallon.

The second option is to choose one quart of $ 1.95 for a unit price of $ 1.95 / quart.

Considering the impact of a $ 0.40 double coupon, the correct choice would be to buy a smaller product that would cost $ 1.15 per quart.

Coupons used for larger sizes will be priced at $ 1.5125 per quart.

In this example, a reasonable decision can save nearly 24 percent.

Considering the third-size product, the calculation becomes very cumbersome when it is necessary to identify a specific price for one or more choices.

In the present invention, the purchaser can directly enter each selection size and price using a minimum common unit.

The influence of the coupon can be calculated and the optimal choice, i.e. the lowest unit price, is also shown to the user by the minimum comparator 40.

In FIG. 1, the status indicator 18 appearing directly above the price entry pushbutton 8 indicates the optimum selection.

At the same time the ratio of price / size corresponding to the minimum per unit price is shown on the display 20.

2 shows the operation of the device.

The keyboard 24 is priced by the buyer (P). Used to enter data such as size (S), coupon price (C), coupon multiples (K), and 'GO'.

As shown in FIG. 2, price, size, coupon price data and associated data bits are passed to input storage register 34. As shown in FIG.

Although the data in FIG. 2 is shown as a single signal line, it will be appreciated that it can be transmitted in serial or parallel form as is known.

The status indication data applied from pushbuttons 8 (10) and (14) of FIG. 1 allows the input storage register to store the data in the appropriate input buffer.

Upon receiving the 'GO' signal the price associator 32 processes the data coming from the input memory register 34 as well as an indication of the single, double or triple coupon price provided by the switch 16 on the keyboard 24.

The price computing device 32 is influenced by the coupon price (C) and the coupon multiples (K) to calculate the unit price of a combination of different prices and sizes.

As shown in FIG. 2, the unit price (V) is calculated from the formula (P-KC) / S = V.

The output storage register 38 stores the calculation result and sends different selection result values to the logic adjusting section 42 and the minimum value comparator 42.

The minimum comparator 40 compares unit prices according to different purchases and sends a status indication of the optimal purchase to the logic adjusting unit 42.

The logic adjuster 42 sends the optimally selected unit price to the display 20 and activates the appropriate selection indicator 18.

In some instances, the unit price calculated by price computing device 32 may be zero or negative, an example of when three or less selected unit prices are useful to the buyer.

Therefore, the device must have the ability to indicate the validity of the data on each line.

In some supermarkets, you can buy a coupon at a reasonable price.

However, most supermarkets will actually repurchase the coupon at the same price as the item you want to purchase.

The price associating device 32 may cause the output memory register 38 to appear as 0 when the coupon is to be repurchased only in accordance with the purchase price in the supermarket.

Optionally, another status indicator switch (not shown) may be used to instruct the price computing device 32 whether the coupon repurchase price will exceed the purchase price, thereby calculating a negative unit price.

The minimum comparator 40 should ignore the data coming to the output side of the price computing device 32 which does not reflect the input price when there should be three or less selection methods available to the buyer.

2 shows a solution to this problem.

The price data coming from the input memory register 34 is shown in the minimum comparator 40.

The internal logic circuit of the minimum comparator 40 prevents an output value corresponding to a valueless input price.

For example, if the third price does not come in, P ₃ is zero and the possibility that the third choice is optimal is precluded.

The same result can be achieved by other methods.

For example, expensive values may be loaded into the input memory register 34 when the device starts to operate, i.e., by completion of a cycle, CA button 16 of the device, or power reset. .

Whenever the input for the magnitude value becomes zero, there is a possibility that the price computing device 32 outputs a very high value per unit price to the output storage register 38.

As can be seen from the prior art, the device of the present invention can be in many different forms, and the price computing device 32, the memory registers 34 and 38, the minimum comparator 40, the logic controller 42, etc. They can be combined in a single IC package or can be included as separate packages.

Display 20 is preferably a liquid crystal display to save power.

Status indicator 18 may also be included in the liquid crystal display.

Conserving the power of the battery is not a problem and the display 20 and the status indicator 18 may be a light emitting diode or a gas discharge lamp.

3 and 4 show a slightly complex device according to the invention.

More keys may be provided for additional math functions.

The apparatus of FIGS. 3 and 4 is identical to the basic apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the four arithmetic functions and the total amount of purchase in the conventional calculator are automatically generated.

Devices marked with reference numeral '50' include pushbuttons (4) with numbers, coupon switch (6), price, size, coupon, clear (CE and CA) and 'GO' pushbuttons (8) (10) ( 14) (16) and (12) are indicated respectively.

The display 18, 20, the power switch 22, etc. are similarly comprised.

Different from the basic apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the apparatus 50 allows the purchaser to use the same functions as a conventional calculator by using the arithmetic function pushbutton 56.

Moreover, after the optimal selection has been made, the user can press the pushbutton 52 to add the price of the selected unit to the total as described above.

The total may be displayed by pressing the "recall" pushbutton 54.

Referring to FIG. 4, an internal component circuit of the device 50 includes a device such as the basic device 2.

The arithmetic calculator 60 having four functions is shared by connecting the display 20 to the output of the logical sum memory register 62 and the unit price output of the basic device.

The purchase total is displayed on the display 20 when the logical sum memory register 62 is selected by the purchase pushbutton 52 or the pushbutton 54.

The arithmetic calculator 60 displays the result on the display 20 according to the operation of the pushbutton of the same sign.

The minimum comparator 40 output memory register 38, the logic regulator 42 and the indicator 18 are not shown in FIG. 4, but are configured in the apparatus of the same method as in FIG.

As can be seen in the figure, the intermediate apparatus 50 may be used not only as a conventional calculator but also to accumulate the total purchase price and make a purchase selection based on a minimum price per unit of a product.

In addition, by using the logical sum memory register 62 coupled to the price computing device 32, the total price can be compared and the price can be compared.

The output of the arithmetic operation unit 32 shown in FIG. 4 is the price per unit shown in FIG. 2 and the total price of the purchased product as shown in FIG.

The cumulative price may be the price indicated on the product or may be reduced by the coupon value and the coupon price will be increased by an appropriate multiple.

The operation of the logical sum memory register 62 assumes that the buyer will choose the item with the lowest unit price when affected by the coupon.

The output value of the minimum comparator 40 serves to provide data information to the logical sum storage register 62 for optimal purchase.

When the pushbutton 52 for purchase is pressed, the sum total increases to the price of the item which represents the unit price of the lowest efficiency per unit price.

If you buy a product with no other choice with the lowest efficiency per unit price, the buyer must close the comparison calculation and, if desired, re-add the price of the selected item and the coupon price.

In this form, the buyer avoids the numerical increase of the logical sum memory register 62 due to the efficiency price of the unselected products.

In case of purchasing without a coupon or purchasing without an optimal calculation, the price information is directly input from the keyboard using a push button 52 called 'BUY'.

Since both the basic apparatus 2 and the apparatus 50 need to be heard in the same unit even with products of different sizes, the basic apparatus 2 and the apparatus 50 have a conversion table as shown in FIG.

The conversion table of FIG. 5 is in English units, and a conversion table in meters may be used, which is attached to the back of the basic device or the device 50 for the purchaser to use conveniently.

Alternatively, it can be printed on the back or indented.

6 and 7 show the most sophisticated embodiment of the present invention.

The devices of FIGS. 6 and 7 are most conveniently designed, but are most likely to be expensive.

The sophisticated device 100 utilizes many of the same elements used in the basic device 2 and the device 50.

The keyboard 24, the coupon drainage switch 6, the display 18, 20 and the like are the same as the conventional apparatus.

Like device 50, device 100 may also be used as a conventional calculator to perform arithmetic functions with pushbutton 56.

The device 100 also generates a total, increases the total by operating the 'BUY' pushbutton 52 and displays the total by the operation of the 'RECALL' pushbutton 54.

Unlike the previous device, this device 100 has four complete key internal devices.

)더하고, 메모리로부터 직접(

)빼고, 메모리총계를 재호출 하거나(RM) 혹은 메모리 클리어를 할 수 있는 (CM) 동작이 수행될 수 있다.The purchaser operates each pushbutton 52, 86, 54 or 84 directly to the memory.

), And directly from memory (

(CM) operation may be performed to recall the memory total (RM) or clear the memory.

When used at the time of purchase, the total purchase price is accumulated in the memory register.

Therefore, the 'BUY' push button 52 is equivalent to 'added to memory' and the 'RECALL' push button 54 is equivalent to 'recalling the memory'.

The subtract function pushbutton 86 from memory can be used as a 'for recovery' pushbutton.

As a result, the 'clear memory' push button 84 first sets the total.

Such a device 100 provides more convenience to the buyer.

Unlike the single pushbutton 8 for three different purchase methods, the device 100 has a dollar pushbutton 81 and a cent pushbutton 82.

The user can enter a price using the dollar push button 81 and the cent push button 82 even for a single purchase, or use only the dollar push button connected to the decimal point key on the keyboard 24.

Similarly, a buyer can spend more than 100 cents to indicate more than a dollar.

A further convenience of this apparatus 100 relates to the entry of the product quantity.

The difference from the basic device 2 and the device 50 is that it converts pounds to ounces, gallons to quarts, and the like.

If the incomparable unit prices are compared, the logic / operational memory register 90 indicates that it is wrong on the display 20.

The display 20 of the device 100 is an alpha numeric display rather than a simple segment display.

The numerals of the basic device 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 are included in the device 100.

Although not shown in FIG. 6, the minimum comparator 40, the logic regulator 42, the output memory register 38, and the like are all included in the apparatus 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the apparatus 100 has four key memory elements 88 to represent error signals generated by the logic / operational memory registers 90.

The error signal in register 90 is generated not only in the buyer's special case but also in normal cases such as dividing by zero.

Therefore, an error will occur when comparing non-comparable units, such as an entry of fractional cents, an entry of a negative price, or an entry of a coupon price.

Various configurations of the present invention will be configured to better perform all related functions using integrated circuits (ICs).

Most "logical" devices in the present invention can be designed as a single integrated circuit, which is believed to provide the most economical manufacturing situation.

The present invention is not limited to the precise elements, arrangements, and the like shown, and various modifications may be made.

Claims (20)

An input memory register that stores values corresponding to product prices, sizes and coupon prices, a keyboard to store the data corresponding to the values, and a logic facilitator to subtract stored coupon prices from each of the stored prices And a price calculation device that calculates a price / size ratio according to the adjusted price and memory size, and provides a numerical ratio for each product size reflecting a price divided by the corresponding product size and a small coupon price difference. An output memory register for storing ratios, a minimum comparator for determining the minimum numerical ratio, an apparatus for selecting the minimum numerical ratio as an output, and an indicator for indicating the respective product size indicating an output selected from the minimum comparator. Two different prices for discount coupons Calculator coupons for buyers to determine the most cost-effective purchase of the product having a size on. 2. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 1, wherein a device is configured to automatically increase the stored coupon price by manually selecting the price before subtracting the coupon price from the stored price. 3. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 2, comprising a hand operated switch which selectively doubles and triples the memorized price. 3. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the minimum price ratio determination is made between three kinds of product sizes. 3. The coupon calculator of claim 1 or 2, wherein the computing device has at least one input connected to one output of the keyboard corresponding to the command signal to start the calculation. 6. The coupon coupon of claim 5, wherein the minimum comparator comprises a device for distinguishing between a numerical rate greater than zero, a numerical rate less than zero, no input data, and the like. The coupon calculator of claim 1, wherein the display comprises an alpha numeric display indicating a numerical ratio corresponding to the selected output of the comparator. 8. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 1, 2 or 7, wherein the computing device comprises a device for adding a price of a product corresponding to the selected numerical ratio and storing the added value of the purchased product. 9. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 8, comprising a device coupled to said computing device that enables the user to adjust the cumulative total. 3. The coupon calculator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the minimum comparator comprises a device for distinguishing between numerical values greater than zero, smaller zero and input data. 11. The coupon calculator of claim 10, wherein the minimum comparator comprises positive / negative signal data. Calculate the register to store the numerical value corresponding to the product price and product size, the keyboard to input the data corresponding to the numerical value, the price / size ratio corresponding to each of the adjusted price and the stored size, and the corresponding product An arithmetic unit providing a numerical ratio for each product size reflecting the price divided by the size, a memory register for storing the numerical ratio, a minimum comparator for determining the minimum numerical ratio, a device for selecting the minimum numerical ratio as an output, A coupon calculator for buyers, which displays the selected output of the minimum comparator and consists of indicators for each product size and determines the economic purchase of products of two or more sizes at different prices. 13. The coupon calculator of claim 12, comprising a computing device having at least one input coupled to at least one output of a keyboard corresponding to the command signal for starting the calculation. 13. The coupon calculator of claim 12, wherein the display comprises an alpha numeric display for displaying the numerical ratio according to the output selected in the minimum comparator. 15. The coupon coupon for a buyer according to claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the computing device includes a device for adding a price of a product according to a selected numerical ratio and storing a cumulative total of all purchased products. . 16. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 15, comprising an input buffer which allows the user to adjust the cumulative total. 17. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 16, wherein the computing device comprises a device for adjusting the cumulative total according to the product discount. 18. The coupon calculator for a buyer according to claim 17, comprising a device for automatically increasing the stored coupon price by manually selecting a multiple of the coupon price. 14. The coupon coupon for a buyer according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the minimum comparator comprises a device for distinguishing between numerical values greater than zero, equal, small, no input data, and the like. 20. The coupon calculator for a buyer of claim 19, wherein the minimum comparator comprises a positive / negative signal detector.

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