WO1995003595B1

WO1995003595B1 - Handheld point-of-sale system

Info

Publication number: WO1995003595B1
Application number: PCT/US1994/008418
Authority: WO
Filing date: 1994-07-25
Publication date: 1995-04-06

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a point-of-sale system for controlling, selling, and replenishing of duty free items onboard commercial aircraft. The point-of-sale system (100) includes a programmable, handheld, independently powered computer that provides a user-friendly, dynamic user interface (110). The resulting implementation automates sales and payment transactions (154), pre-sales transactions (142, 152), post-sales transactions (144, 158), updates inventory, and minimizes the use of paper forms, while allowing the inflight sales staff to perform his/her task in an efficient manner.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS[received by the International Bureau on 3 March 1995 (03.03.95); original claims 1 and 2 deleted; new claims 3-18 added (4 pages)]

1. Deleted

Deleted

3. A point-of-sale system for controlling, selling and tracking inventory, said point-of-sale system comprising: a programmable, handheld, independently powered computer that provides a dynamic, user interface, wherein said computer includes a touch-sensitive screen; a database for storing a plurality of data structures; a user interface, accessible via said touch-sensitive screen, said user interface configured to interact with and display information contained within said plurality of data structures, wherein said user interface is implemented through a plurality of windows which appear dynamically, depending on the function being performed, said one or more of said plurality of windows display a context dependent message that directs a user to take an appropriate action, wherein said user is able to navigate from window to window by pressing computer generated keys on said touch-sensitive screen, wherein the point-of-sale system automates sales and payment transactions and updates inventory; and wherein said computer further includes a processor, connected to said database and said user interface, configured to execute a plurality of software modules, wherein each software module has an associated window that is dynamically displayed via said user interface.

4. The point-of-sale system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of data structures comprises a Handheld Inventory Structure (HHIS) that stores information regarding inventory, said HHIS provides a list of a plurality of product categories, each of said product categories has an associated description, wherein said list of product categories and said associated description are displayed via said user interface, said HHIS further includes for each product category a list of products, each product having a plurality of fields associated therewith which are dynamically updated, said plurality of fields include an identification field that provides a unique identifier which is associated with said product, a description field, a price field, an available quantity field, a starting quantity field, a damaged quantity field, a sold quantity field, and an ending quantity field.

5. The point-of-sale system of claim 4, wherein said plurality of data structures comprises a Handheld Flight Totals Structure (HHFTS) that stores data regarding all completed sales, wherein said HHFTS includes total sales, total payments, and total change for a given sales period.

6. The point-of-sale system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of software modules include a pre-sales module that allows said user to check available inventory against said HHIS and for updating said HHIS to correct inaccurate data.

7. The point-of-sale system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of software modules include a sales/payment module that displays, via said user interface, a first window that presents said list of said plurality of product categories, a second window that presents said list of said products, a third window that provides a numeric keypad, and a fourth window that presents a next sale key and a print receipt key, wherein said first window and said second window contain a change currency key, a payment key, a cancel order key, a review order key, and a previous screen key.

8. The point-of-sale system of claim 7, wherein said third window further displays the name, price, and current available quantity of a chosen product.

9. The point-of-sale system of claim 7, wherein said change currency key allows dynamic change of currency, whereby payment by said customer and change to said customer are possible in a plurality of currencies.

10. The point-of-sale system of claim 5. wherein said plurality of software modules include an adjustment module that allows said user to update said HHIS to reflect damaged inventorv.

11. The point-of-sale system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of software modules include a refunds module that allows said user to give a refund to a customer, wherein giving a refund via said refund module udpates said HHIS and said HHFTS.

12. The point-of-sale system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of software modules include a post-sales module for performing a post-sales assessment of current inventory, including means for generating reports documenting inventory changes, sales, and payments.

13. The point-of-sale system of claim 3 , further comprises means for allowing said user to scroll if a given window cannot display all relevant information.

14. The point-of-sale system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of data structures comprises a Handheld Order Strucmre (HHOrder) that is constructed dynamically to record a record of a customer's present order, said HHOrder contains information regarding total sales for a customer including products purchased, current outstanding balance, and currency being used for each transaction.

15. The point-of-sale system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of data structures comprises a Handheld Flight Information Strucmre (HHFIS) that stores, for a flight, a flight number, a departure date, a total sales in a base currency for said flight, a passenger count for said flight, a cart number that indicates which cart is associated with said point-of-sale system, seal information that is used for cart security, crew information regarding identification and position of crew members, and airline identification.

16. The point-of-sale system of claim 15, wherein said HHFIS further includes pre-order information that indicates when a product has been paid for but will be delivered at a later time.

17. The point-of-sale system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of data structures comprises a Handheld Currency Exchange Structure (HHCXS) that includes information that is required to switch between currencies, said HHCXS includes a field that indicates the number of accepted currencies, a base field that indicates a base currency, a field that indicates a current currency being used by the point-of-sale system, and a conversion field that indicates the conversion factor to convert from said base currency to said current currency.

18. The point-of-sale system of claim 3, further comprising: a magnetic card reader, a printer connected to print a receipt of an order, and an external interface that allows the point-of-sale system to be connected to peripheral devices.