WO2004107286A1

WO2004107286A1 - Till systems

Info

Publication number: WO2004107286A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/002284
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Allison
Original assignee: Littlewoods Promotions Limited
Priority date: 2003-05-30
Filing date: 2004-05-27
Publication date: 2004-12-09
Also published as: GB2402238A; GB0312487D0

Abstract

A till system comprises a data entry system (2A, 2B, 2C etc) for recording the price of items being purchased; means to calculate the total cost of the items to be purchased; and a cash till for holding cash received and change to be given to customers. The till system is arranged to provide the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game.

Description

Till Systems

This invention relates to till systems and has particular reference to point of sale gaming systems especially supermarket gaming systems.

The gaming systems to be met with in supermarkets include the sale of fixed price gaming tickets at the checkouts. These take the form of pre-printed gaming tickets held in special dispensers. These and many other operations at supermarket checkouts slow down the throughput of customers and lead to the annoyance of customers waiting in a queue and/or the expense of employing extra staff. One particular other operation which slows down the operation of checkouts is the giving of change in a cash transaction. The problem underlying the invention is to improve aspects of checkout procedure which slow down the operation of a checkout.

The present invention provides a till system comprising: a data entry system for recording the price of items being purchased; means to calculate the total cost of the items to be purchased; and a cash till for holding cash received and change to be given to customers; characterized in that: the till system is arranged to provide the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game.

In such a system, many cash-paying customers will forego their change for an entry in the gambling game. In those circumstances, the need to count out change from the till is reduced and the operation of the till is speeded up in that respect. Customers who wish to pay by credit card for their purchases and, if desired, an entry into the gambling game may do so. The system moreover has the advantage of avoiding the time-consuming dispensing of preprinted lottery tickets at the checkout.

Preferably, the till system is for use with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub-units, such as pennies, and the till system is arranged to round the total cost of items upwards to the next number of whole units, and the number of sub-units required for the rounding up constitutes the amount to be entered in the gambling game. Such a system has the advantage that the time-consuming returning of sub-units of currency is 'avoided and the stake in the gambling game is a reasonable one consisting of less than one whole unit of the currency.- Such- a small stake is tempting to the customer and the level of acceptance of the proposition will generally be such that the system is highly effective in reducing the time needed for change giving.

Even, if a customer chooses to pay cash with a round number of tens of the currency units, the change to be given will still be in whole units of the currency which are quicker and easier to deal with than sub-units.

Instead, the rounding up may be to the next but one number of whole units. By that means, a larger is stake is made possible and/or the system is made more suitable for a particular currency. For example, €35.72 would be rounded not to €36 but to €37. Similarly, rounding to the next but two, or next but three (and so on) number of whole units is also possible.

Preferably, one currency sub-unit constitutes a unit stake in the gambling game and the number of chances of winning in the gambling game is represented by the number of sub-units required for the said rounding up. Such an arrangement is attractive to customers on account of its fairness and helps increase the acceptance of the proposition and success in reducing time lost in giving change .

The currency units may be selected from the group consisting of pounds sterling and pence, euros and cents, and dollars and cents. The invention is particularly well suited for use with such currencies although it is also possible to apply the invention to other currencies, such as the Japanese Yen, where the basic unit of currency is of very low intrinsic value. In such currencies, tens, hundreds or thousands of the basic currency unit can be used in the invention in place of the whole unit of a currency such as the pound sterling.

Preferably, the till system is provided at a first location constituted by a retail store, and a gaming system is provided at a second, different location to implement the gambling game. By that means, the gaming system can be operated by a specialist firm and the advantageous system of the invention offered to retailers with little outlay required on their part. Preferably, communications to and from the gaming system are by means of APACS messages. APACS is a widely used system which can be readily utilized in the invention.

Preferably, a retail store sales system comprises a plurality of till systems as defined above and connected to a common site server. Such an arrangement enables the gaming system to be available from any till in a supermarket rather than only from a single specialist lottery terminal or requiring the time-consuming dispensing of pre-printed lottery tickets at checkouts. Preferably, a retail sales system comprises a plurality of store sales systems as defined above connected to a retail headquarters processor at a third -location. By that means, a retailer with a chain of stores can operate the system throughout its chain from a central processor. Two or more different retailers may operate with a common gaming system operated by a specialist firm. The common site servers may be arranged to communicate with the gaming system or the, or each, retail headquarters processor may be arranged to communicate with the gaming system. The gambling game may comprise a periodic draw for one or more prizes.

An instant win game may be provided. Such an instant game may be provided as an inducement additional to the periodic draw or it may replace it. Preferably, the system is arranged to provide a sales report to enable a balance to be carried out with sales recorded at tills.

The invention also provides a method of operating a till system comprising: recording the price of items being purchased in a data entry system; calculating the total cost of the items to be purchased; and holding cash received and change to be given to customers in a till; characterized by: providing the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game.-

The method preferably comprises operating with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub-units, such as pennies, and rounding the total cost of items upwards to the next number of whole units, and using the number of sub-units required for the rounding up as the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

Preferably, one currency sub-unit constitutes a unit stake in the gambling game and the number of chances of winning. 'in the gambling game is represented by the number of sub-units required for the said rounding up.

Preferably, the currency units are selected from the group consisting of pounds sterling and pence, euros and cents, and dollars and cents. Preferably, purchasing is handled at a first location constituted by a retail store, and gaming at a second, different location.

The method may comprise communicating by means of APACS messages.

Preferably, the method comprises using a plurality of till systems connected to a common site server.

Preferably, the method comprises using a plurality of common site servers connected to a retail headquarters processor at a third location.

Gaming may be handled by communication with the common site servers or by communication with the or each retail headquarters processor.

Preferably, the method comprises making a periodic draw for one or more prizes.

The method may comprise providing an instant win game. Systems and methods in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is- a block schematic diagram of a retail sales system in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows an overview of a method in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a flow chart of a sales process in a method in accordance with the invention;

Figure 4 is a flow chart of a draw process in a method in accordance with the invention;

Figure 5 is a flow chart of a sales report process in a method in accordance with the invention;

Figure 6 is a flow chart relating to the claiming of prizes in a method in accordance with the invention;

Figure 7 is a flow chart relating to the reconciling of winnings in a method in accordance with the invention; Figure 8 illustrates a first example of an instant win game;

Figure 9 illustrates a second example of an instanti'win game; and

Figure 10 illustrates a third example of an instant win game;

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a retail store 1, in particular a supermarket, at a first location 1 has a plurality of till systems 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D etc. Each till system 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D etc comprises a respective terminal providing a data entry system for recording the price of items being purchased, means to calculate the total cost of the items to be purchased and a cash till (not specifically illustrated) for holding cash received and change to be given to customers. The terminals are of known form and, in a supermarket, the data entry system will typically comprise a scanning system for barcodes on goods to be purchased. In known manner, the terminals are connected to a site server at the store location.

In accordance with the invention, however, changes are made to the point of sale software of the otherwise conventional equipment just described. The changes consist of an add-on piece of software in the till terminal with "user exits" to a new module or changes are made to the code itself. The software changes are such that the till system is arranged to provide the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game. The gambling game can, for example, be a daily draw in which the customer can win prizes the size of which is based on the "pool" of entries into the draw.

The till system is for use with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub-units, such as pennies, and the till system is arranged to round the total cost of items upwards to the next number of whole units, and the number of sub-units required for the rounding up constitutes the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

One currency sub-unit constitutes a unit stake in the gambling game and the number of chances of winning in the gambling game is represented by the number of sub-units required for the said rounding up.

The currency units are, for example, pounds sterling and pence, euros and cents, and dollars and cents. Detailed examples of code used to implement the invention will not be given as its realization is within the ordinary-day-to-day- competence of a software programmer on being given the information disclosed here.

The till system is provided at a first location constituted by a retail store, and a gaming system 4 is provided at a second, different location to implement the gambling game. The gaming system 4 comprises a plurality of servers 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D etc with associated databases 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D etc.

Communications to and from the gaming system are by means of APACS messages (APACS is the Association for

Payment Clearance Services) through a communication system represented by the block 5 labelled "comms".

The retail store has a common site server 6 connected to the terminals 2A, 2B. 2C. 2D etc. Where the store is part of a chain of retail stores, a plurality of retail store sales systems 1 are preferably connected to a retail headquarters processor 9 at a third location.

The site servers 6 are arranged to communicate with the gaming system 4 over a private network, for example the so- called X25 network or instead the headquarters processor 9 is arranged to communicate with the gaming system 4.

As already indicated, the messaging system makes use of the known APACS messaging system. The operation of the system will now be described with reference to Figures 2 to 7. In general, those figures are -divided into three parts, namely, a part- pertaining to- the customer, a part pertaining to the retailer, and a part pertaining to the gaming system; these parts being identified respectively by the letters C, R and G. Figure 2 illustrates the overall operation of the system. The scanning of the goods to be purchased is represented by the reference numeral 10. When the scanning process is complete the sales process 11 takes place including the offer of entry in a gambling game. Entries to the gambling game are either confirmed or cancelled and a draw process 13 in which winners are drawn takes place. After the winners are drawn, a sales reporting process 19 takes place in the gaming system and a winners report is sent to the retailer (s) participating in the system for the claiming of prizes 21.

The operation of the system will now be described in more detail under individual headings.

1. The sales process with reference to Figure 3.

At the till, when the scanning process, step 10, is complete, the operator is prompted, step 12, by the till to ask, step 14, the customer "Do you want to enter the next draw?"

Alternatively, however, the customer can initiate without prompting a request for entry into the next draw. The response from the customer is treated in decision step 15. If the response is "No" then the till software goes, step 16, to wrap up, card authorisation (if payment is by credit card) and closure. If the response is "Yes", the customer's bill is adjusted upwardly, step 18, to the nearest pound (assuming the currency of operation is pounds sterling), for example, £63.37 is rounded up to £64 exactly and the 63p difference is entered into the next point of sale gaming system draw and the customer has a corresponding 63 chances of winning.

The retailers till system then sends, step 20, a message to the point of sale gaming system requesting "Entry into Draw" and asks the point of sale gaming system for a unique number to be printed on the till receipt in a bar coded format. The following transaction occurs:

(1) Transmit, step 20, (via APACS) a message to the point of sale gaming system that contains the following

Routing information (where to send a message back to) Retailer ID, Store ID, POS ID (POS signifying till Point of

Sale device) , Date, Time,

Type = E "Enter into Draw" Stake (for example; 63) (2) The point of sale gaming system is "listening" for such messages. On receipt of an "Entry into Draw" message the point of sale gaming system generates, step 22, a Unique Entry Number based on a Random Number Generator and preferably made absolutely unique by using some of the Store, POS and Time information received.

(3) The point of sale gaming system then transmits back, step 24, (via APACS) to the retailer till system a "Confirmation - Entered into Draw" message containing the following:

Routing information (where to send a message back to) Retailer ID,

Store ID,

POS (till) ID,

Date,

Time, Type = C (Confirmed)

Stake (for example 63)

Unique Entry Number (for printing on the till receipt)

(4) Immediately after transmitting the "Confirmation - Entered into Draw" message to the retailer the point of sale gaming system writes away the contents of the message to a database, 26, using the unique number as a key.

The retailers till system receives the "Confirmation - Entered into Draw" message back and then goes into wrapping up the customer transaction by obtaining, step 28, card authorisation from its acquirer system (or instead taking the cash from the customer at the till) . The authorisation is treated in decision step 29.

On successful authorisation (or cash hand over) , the retailers till system prints, step 30, the unique number and bar code onto the till receipt. That is the customer's confirmation of entry into the draw. Should the authorisation fail for any reason or should the customer wish to cancel the transaction at this point, the retailers till system transmits, step 34, to the point of sale gaming system a "Cancel Entry into Draw" message containing the following:

Routing information (where to send a message back to) Retailer ID, Store ID, POS (till) ID, Type = T "Transaction Cancelled" (see note below)

Unique Entry Number

On receipt of a "Cancel Entry into Draw" message the point of sale gaming system updates, step 36, the unique record on the database, changing the Type from C "entered into draw" to T "Transaction Cancelled".

2. The draw process with reference to Figure 4

At draw time 40, which can, for example, take place each night, the point of sale gaming system extracts, steps 42, the "winners" from all entries of Type = C, that is, those that have been "Confirmed - entered into Draw" for that draw. A random number generator is used to select rows from the database 26.

The winners details including winnings and unique entry numbers are stored, step 44, on the point of sale gaming system database for online validation. The point of sale gaming system maintains, step 46, the status of every winning entry (for example, U = unpaid, P = paid) and record validation and payment details.

3. Sales report production with reference to Figure 5 At draw time 40, a Sales report for each Retailer is preferably produced, step 50, and such "Sales" information is transmitted, step 52, to the appropriate Retailer. Data includes: Draw details (date & times etc.),

Store,

Total No. of Entries,

Total Sales (stakes)

From this information, step 54, the Retailer can carry out a balance with what the Retailer's till systems had recorded as "Sales"

4. Claiming of prizes with reference to Figure 6

After the "winners" have been determined, a "winners" report is produced and sent to the Retailers.

Online validation of winners at the Retailer's store is carried out at the Retailer's Customer Service till and the process is as follows:

The customer claims, step 59, the prize. The Customer's till receipt is scanned, step 60, to obtain the Unique Entry Number. The retailers till system then sends, step 62, a message to the point of sale gaming system requesting "Validate Entry". The following transaction occurs : (1) Transmit message to the point of sale gaming system that contains the following:

Routing information (where to send a message back to) Retailer ID, Store ID, POS (till) ID, Date,

Time,

Type = V "Validate Entry"

Unique Entry Number.

(2) The point of sale gaming system is "listening" for such messages. On receipt of a "Validate Entry" message the point of sale gaming system interrogates, step 64, the database 26 using the Unique Entry Number as the key.

All winners on the database have a payment status that is either Unpaid or Paid.

(3) The point of sale gaming system then transmits back, step 66, to the retailer till system a confirmation of the status - Winner (and the actual winnings), Loser or Paid, if the winnings have already been paid out. The message contains the following:

Routing information (where to send a message back to)

Retailer ID, Store ID, POS (till) ID, Date, Time,

Type = W, L, or P "Winner, Loser, Already Paid"

Winnings (if Type = W) Unique Entry Number

The message is handled by a decision step 67.

The retailer' s till system receives the "Confirmation of the status" message back and deals with the Losing and Already Paid Customer appropriately.

A customer who has lost or has been paid already is informed, steps 68 and 83.

For winners who can conveniently be paid at the Retailer's premises, the Retailer's till system prints out, step 70, a receipt document for the customer to sign, step 72, and, once the customer has signed, the customer is paid, steps 74 and 84, and the retailer's till system then transmits, step 76, to the point of sale gaming system a "Payment Fulfilled" message containing the following:

Routing information (where to send a message back ^' to)

Retailer ID,

Store ID,

POS (till) ID,

Type = P "Payment Fulfilled" Unique Entry Number

On receipt of a "Fulfilled Payment" message the point of sale gaming system updates, step 78, the unique record on the database 26, changing status from Unpaid to Paid thereby recording that winnings have been paid out.

For winners who cannot conveniently be paid, decision step 69, at the Retailer's (for example, a high tier prize may be of too great a value to be convenient to pay out at the Retailer's), the Retailer's till system prints out, step 80, a Claim Form document for the customer to complete, step 81, with the address of the organizer from whom to claim the prize. On receipt of the Claim Form, the organizer makes the payment and updates the status on the "Winners" database 26.

5. Periodic payout reports with re erence to Figure 7. At a chosen periodically repeating time 90, the winners database is used to produce a periodic payout report, step 92, that is distributed, step 93, and used to balance, steps 96 and 98, invoices from the Retailers to reimburse them for paying winnings.

Although examples of specific messages have been given above, if desired, additional data in the messages can be added according to available capacity in the message system used. Additional data can include total cost of goods purchase and loyalty card number.

If desired, the entry in a periodic draw for a prize can be replaced by, or supplemented, by an instant win game of which two examples are given below.

Example 1

This example is based on the use of a seeded random number generator (RNG) to which a request is made for a win determination. Numbers ranging from 1 to 99 populate the RNG, with the number 1 being represented once, number 2 being represented twice and so on up to 99, 99 being represented ninety-nine times times. An illustration is contained in Fig. 8. When a customer stakes 99p they are 99 times more likely to win than a customer who stakes lp. This creates an odds range of 1 in 50 if a player stakes 99p to 1 in 4950 if a player stakes Ip.

The instant result is not dependant on the unique reference number issued to match to in the main draw and therefore a separate game mechanism is used. For example, a written message printed on the ticket saying that the ticket is a winner and how much it has won. Alternatively, another game mechanism can be used which asks the consumer to play a game to reveal whether they have won (for example, obtaining three matching items as in a fruit machine game can be used to reveal that the customer has won) .

Example 2

The same principle applies in terms of winner determination as outlined in the first example. The higher the stake, the better the chance of winning an instant prize. Electronic ticket packs are created for each pence level (where the currency is pounds sterling) . In each pack there are 4950 tickets. At each level, the number of winners in each pack directly corresponds to the amount of change entered. For example, there is 1 winner in the lp pack, 99. winners in the 99p pack. The odds of winning at each pence level are the same as in the first example. Tickets are issued either by RNG within the pack, or

"dealt off the top" after the winners have been distributed randomly throughout the pack. As each pack is sold, another is opened until datum time for the lottery is reached. The packs are then closed, and the next set of packs for the next lottery is opened. In the above examples, the maximum stake is shown as 99p representing the difference between a minimum of lp and the nearest whole pound. It is also possible to extend the maximum stake to lOOp (£1) by rounding bills for an exact number of pounds to the nearest pound above, for example, a bill of £34 exactly would be rounded to £35 so creating change for betting of £1.

Example 3

The same principle applies in terms of winner determination as outlined in examples 1 and 2, namely, the higher the stake, the better the chance of winning an instant prize. This example is illustrated in Figure 10.

Entries are sorted in a linear manner with each entry following the next dependent on the time of arrival on the system. Each entry is of varying length according to the size of stake, for example, a 32p entry is 32 pennies 'long' and a 73p entry is 73 pennies long.

Instant winners are determined by selecting every Nth penny from the string of entries. For example, every 10,000^th penny can be determined as a winner. Winners are then determined on the frequency of the 10, 000^th penny.

The starting point for each instant draw is determined randomly, for example a random number is drawn, for example, say 1,274 The winning Nth pennies are then in sequence 1,274 11,274 21,274 31,274 etc and so on.

The principle of a higher stake corresponding to a higher chance of winning is maintained as the more pennies a player has, the greater the chance they have of being the Nth number (that is, a winning number) .

The instant result is not dependent on the unique reference number issued to match to in the main draw and therefore a separate game mechanism is used. For example, a written message can be printed on the ticket saying that the ticket is a winner and how much it has won.

Although a description of the application of the invention has been given in terms of a retail system, the invention can also be applied to a wholesale system when customers exist who may be tempted to combine an entry in .a gambling game with their purchases.

Claims

C L A I M S :

1. A till system comprising: a data entry system for recording the price of items being purchased; means to calculate the total cost of the items to be purchased; and a cash till for holding cash received and change to be given to customers; characterized in that: the till system is arranged to provide the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game.

2. A till system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the till system is for use with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub-units, such as pennies, and the till system is arranged to round the total cost of items upwards to the next number of whole units, and the number of sub- units required for the rounding up constitutes the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

3. A till system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the till system is for use with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub-units, such as pennies, and the till system is arranged to round the total cost of items upwards to the next but one number of whole units, and the number of sub-units required for the rounding up constitutes the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

4. A till system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one currency sub-unit constitutes a unit stake in the gambling game and the number of chances of winning in the gambling game is represented by the number of sub-units required for the said rounding up.

5. A till system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the currency units are selected from the group consisting of pounds sterling and pence, euros and cents, and dollars and cents .

6. A till system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the till system is provided at a first location constituted by a retail store, and a gaming system is provided at a second, different location to implement the gambling game.

7. A till system as claimed in claim 6, wherein communications to and from the gaming system are by means of APACS messages.

8. A retail store sales system comprising a plurality of till systems as claimed in any preceding claim and connected to a common site server.

9. A retail sales system comprising a plurality of retail store sales systems as claimed in claim 8 connected to a retail headquarters processor at a third location.

10. A retail sales system as claimed in claim 9 when dependent on claim 8, wherein the common site servers are arranged to communicate with the gaming system.

11. A retail system as claimed in claim 9 when dependent on claim 8, wherein the, or each, retail headquarters processor is arranged to communicate with the gaming system.

12. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gambling game comprises a periodic draw for one or more prizes .

13. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an instant win game is provided.

14. A method of operating a till system comprising: recording the price of items being purchased in a data entry system; calculating the total cost of the items to be purchased; and holding cash received and change to be given to customers in a till; characterized by: providing the customer with the opportunity of foregoing change in return for an entry in a gambling game.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13, comprising operating with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub- units, such as pennies, and rounding the total cost of items upwards to the next number of whole units, and using the number of sub-units required for the rounding up as the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13, comprising operating with a currency having whole units, such as pounds, and sub- units, such as pennies, and rounding the total cost of items upwards to the next but one number of whole units, and using the number of sub-units required for the rounding up as the amount to be entered in the gambling game.

17. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein one currency sub-unit constitutes a unit stake in the gambling game and the number of chances of winning in the gambling game is represented by the number of sub-units required for the said rounding up.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the currency units are selected from the group consisting of pounds sterling and pence, euros and cents, and dollars and cents.

19. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 18, wherein purchasing is handled at a first location constituted by a retail store, and gaming at a second, different location.

20. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 19, comprising communicating by means of APACS messages.

21. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 20, comprising using a plurality of tills connected to a common site server.

22. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 21, comprising using a plurality of common site servers connected to a retail headquarters processor at a third location.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22 when dependent on claim 21, wherein gaming is handled by communication with the common site servers.

24. A method as claimed in claim 22 when dependent on claim 21, wherein gaming is handled by communication with the or each retail headquarters processor.

25. A method as claimed in of claims 14 to 24, comprising making a periodic draw for one or more prizes.

26. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 25, comprising providing an instant win game.

27. A till system, retail store system or retail sales system substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

28. A method of operating a till system substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.