초록 ▼

The present invention relates to a personal shopping system for combined use in both the home of a user and a shopping establishment. The system includes a host computer which is coupled to a host modem and, optionally, to at least one wireless multi-access point. At least one shopping establishment

The present invention relates to a personal shopping system for combined use in both the home of a user and a shopping establishment. The system includes a host computer which is coupled to a host modem and, optionally, to at least one wireless multi-access point. At least one shopping establishment kiosk cradle is employed to interface with a portable terminal which is also part of the system. The portable terminal can be used in both the shopping establishment and the home of the user. It is configured to read bar codes associated with items related to shopping, and includes a memory, a bar code reader, a wireless transceiver, and a data interface. The data interface of the terminal communicates with a data interface of the shopping establishment kiosk cradle. A home cradle for the portable terminal is also provided and is adapted to remain in the home of the user. It includes a home portable terminal-receiving station and a home data interface to communicate with the data interface of the portable terminal. A home data transfer circuit is also included to permit data exchange between the home data interface and the modem coupled to the host computer. The portable terminal can be provided with unique identifying indicia so that the terminal can serve as a form of identification for a user of the system. Database management of shopping lists for multiple establishments, including customer preferences, can be performed.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A personal shopping system for combined use in both a home of a user and at least one shopping establishment, said system comprising:(a) a host computer;(b) a host modem coupled to said host computer;(c) at least one shopping establishment kiosk cradle coupled to said hos

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A personal shopping system for combined use in both a home of a user and at least one shopping establishment, said system comprising:(a) a host computer;(b) a host modem coupled to said host computer;(c) at least one shopping establishment kiosk cradle coupled to said host computer, said at least one shopping establishment kiosk cradle in turn comprising:a kiosk portable terminal-receiving station; anda kiosk data interface associated with said kiosk portable terminal-receiving station;(d) a home cradle associated with the home of the user, said home cradle in turn comprising:a home portable terminal-receiving station;a home data interface associated with said home portable terminal-receiving station; anda home data transfer circuit, said home data transfer circuit being coupled to said home data interface for data exchange therewith, said home data transfer circuit being configured for data exchange with said host modem; and(e) a portable terminal, said portable terminal in turn comprising:a memory for storing data associated with bar codes which are in turn associated with items related to shopping; anda two-way terminal data interface coupled to said memory, said terminal data interface being configured for data exchange with said kiosk data interface when said portable terminal is received in said kiosk portable terminal-receiving station, said terminal data interface being configured for data exchange with said home data interface when said portable terminal is received in said home portable terminal-receiving station, said terminal data interface being configured for reading the bar codes associated with the items related to shopping; rein:said home data transfer circuit supplies said host computer with the data associated with the bar codes when said portable terminal is received in said home portable terminal-receiving station;said shopping establishment kiosk cradle accepts the data associated with the bar codes from said portable terminal through said kiosk data interface and said terminal data interface when said portable terminal is received in said kiosk portable terminal-receiving station, and then downloads the data associated with the bar codes to said host computer; andsaid host computer receives the data associated with the bar codes and stores the data in a shopping list database.