Providing item bagging advisements to baggers

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solution for providing item bagging advisements to individuals bagging purchased items during a check-out situation. The solution can include a self-checkout system and/or a human assisted checkout system capable of providing bagging assistance. A bagged item can be detected based on information such as weight, barcode data, and the like. Based on a set of rules for preferred item grouping, items can be determined to be appropriately bagged or to be in conflict with another item. Item bagging assistance can include, but is not limited to, item conflict warning, item compatibility confirmation, and assistance based on item categorization. Visual and aural confirmation and/or warning notifications can be presented to a user based on item compatibility or incompatibility.

1 . A self-checkout kiosk comprising:
 a product reader configured to permit a self-checkout kiosk to identify for-sale items and to determine a unique item key for each of the identified for-sale items;   at least one bagging area configured to permit a shopper to bag the for-sale items, which have been identified by the product reader;   at least one item data store configured to store a item information specific to the for-sale items, wherein the item information is indexed against the unique item keys, and wherein the at least one item data store comprises information indexed against the unique item keys that comprises bagging specific data; and   a presentation component configured to present the shopper with an advisement on how to bag the for-sale items based at least in part upon the bagging specific data contained in the item data store, wherein the presentation component is configured to dynamically present the advisement to the shopper to place each for-sale item in a specific bag responsive to that item being scanned by the product reader based upon previously stored category data, which is information indexed against the unique item keys, wherein the advisement is presented for that item before a subsequent item is scanned by the product reader.   
   
   
       2 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein the presentation component comprises a display configured to visually show a name for each of the for-sale items as the for-sale items are identified by the product reader and a price of the identified for-sale item, and wherein the display visually shows a total purchase price of all the for-sale items that have been identified by the product reader, wherein said advisement is a visual advisement appearing within the display, wherein said advisement comprises a bagging guide value for each item, wherein said bagging guide value is based upon a category associated with a scanned item, wherein different categories equate to different bagging guide values. 
   
   
       3 . The kiosk of  claim 2 , wherein the bagging area comprises a scale, wherein said scale is utilized to determine whether each scanned item is placed in the specific bag indicated by the presentation component, wherein the presentation component is configured to present a warning when the scanned item is not placed in the indicated specific bag and when a bagging conflict results. 
   
   
       4 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one bagging area comprises a plurality of distinct bagging areas, wherein said self checkout kiosk categorizes each of the for-sale items into one of the distinct bagging areas, and wherein the shopper is presented with an indication of which of the bagging areas is associated with which of the for-sale items in accordance with categories established by the self-checkout kiosk. 
   
   
       5 . The kiosk of  claim 2 , further comprising: at item conveyor configured to convey each of the for-sale items into the bagging area associated with the for-sale items, wherein a plurality of different conveyers exist, each conveying the scanned for-sale items to different staging areas based upon bagging guide values associated with the scanned items, wherein the different conveyers are configured to convey each of the scanned for-sale items to the corresponding staging area associated with that scanned for-sale item after an item is scanned and before a subsequent item is scanned. 
   
   
       6 . The kiosk of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of distinct bagging areas are established via a bag carousel, wherein the bagging carousel is configured to automatically rotate as said for-sale items are scanned so that the bagging carousel is continuously positioned by automatic rotation for the shopper to place the scanned item in the specific bag as advised by said presentation component. 
   
   
       7 . The kiosk of  claim 4 , farther comprising: a plurality of scales associated with each of the distinct bagging areas, wherein each scale is configured to weigh each for-sale item as the for-sale item is bagged, wherein the item information comprises an item weight, and wherein the presentation component is configured to present a warning when a for-sale item is placed in an improper one of the distinct bagging areas as determined by measurements of the plurality of scales. 
   
   
       8 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein bags available within the at least one bagging area comprise of at least one of plastic bag, paper bag, canvas bag, cardboard box, and a polyurethane container. 
   
   
       9 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein the item data store is a network data store remotely located from the self-checkout kiosk, which is communicatively linked to the kiosk via a network, wherein the item data store comprises a plurality of item data stores that are digital content storage areas of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags attached to the for-sale items, wherein the product reader is configured to read digital content stored in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. 
   
   
       10 . The kiosk of  claim 2 , wherein said category upon which the bagging guide value is based comprises values selected from a group of values comprising at least two of: edible, fragile, paper, canned, glass, toxic, heavy, and spillable. 
   
   
       11 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein said presentation component comprises a display and at least one of a light emitting source other than the display and an audio speaker, wherein the light emitting source or the audio speaker are configured to provide an warning when a product identified by the product reader has a bagging conflict with another for-sale item that has already been identified by the product reader as determined by the self-service kiosk, wherein the bagging conflict comprises at least one of placing an edible next to a toxic item, placing items proximate to each other that is likely to result in breakage of at least one item, placing heavy items proximate to fragile items, and placing frozen items proximate to paper products. 
   
   
       12 . A method for providing bagging assistance to a bagger comprising:
 using a product reader to identify for-sale items and to determine a unique item key for each of the identified for-sale items;   querying at least one data store containing bagging specific information that is indexed against the unique item key to determine bagging specific information for the for-sale items;   determining at least one of a compatibility and conflict with a newly identified one of the for-sale items and at least one for-sale item that has previously been identified by the product reader; and   presenting a notification via a computing device concerning the determined at least one of the compatibility and conflict, wherein the querying, determining, and presenting steps of the method is performed by a checkout system to assist with bagging the for-sale items, and wherein the notification comprises an advisement to place each for sale item in a specific bag responsive to that item being scanned by the product reader based upon a previously stored category data, which is information indexed against the unique item keys, wherein said notification comprising said advisement is dynamically presented for each bagged item before a next for-sale item is scanned.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the checkout system comprises a self-checkout kiosk. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said advisement comprises a bagging guide value for each item, wherein said bagging guide value is based upon a category associated with a scanned item, wherein different categories equate to different bagging guide values, wherein said category upon which the bagging guide value is based comprises values selected from a group of values comprising at least two of: edible, fragile, paper, canned, glass, toxic, heavy, and spillable. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving a reading from a sensor, which indicates that a for-sale item has been placed in one of a plurality of possible bags that includes at least one item for which the for-sale item has a bagging conflict, wherein said notification is a warning indicating the bagging conflict, wherein the bagging conflict comprises at least one of placing an edible next to a toxic item, placing items proximate to each other that is likely to result in breakage of at least one item, placing heavy items proximate to fragile items, and placing frozen items proximate to paper products.   
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: for each of the for-sale items identified by the product reader, displaying a name for each of the for-sale items, a price for each of the for-sale items, and a bagging category for each of the for-sale items, wherein a determination for the bagging category is based at least in part upon the querying and determining steps, wherein values for the bagging category comprise a group of values comprising at least two of: edible, fragile, paper, canned, glass, toxic, heavy, and spillable. 
   
   
       17 . A bagging interface comprising:
 a first output section for viewing information specific to a plurality of for-sale item identified by a product reader, which is a device configured to determine a unique key value associated with each of the for-sale items, wherein said viewing information comprises a name of the identified for-sale item, a cost of the for-sale item, and a bagging guide value for the for-sale item that indicates an appropriate group of said for-sale items, wherein for-sale items having a common bagging guide value are to be bagged together, wherein the viewing information for each item is automatically and dynamically presented in the first output section responsive to the associated for-sale item being scanned by the product reader, wherein a unique presentation line of the viewing information is presented for each for-sale item within the first output section; and   a second output section for viewing proposed bagging suggestions specific to the set of for-sale items that have been identified by the product reader, wherein the bagging suggestions are programmatically determined based upon information contained within at least one item data store containing item specific information indexed by the unique key value, and wherein the item specific information comprises bagging specific data, wherein said second output section provides textual notifications indicating explicitly when a recently scanned item is not to be placed in a same bag as a previously scanned for-sale item.   
   
   
       18 . The interface of  claim 17 , wherein the interface is an interface of a self-checkout kiosk, wherein said bagging interface comprises a running total for all of the for-sale items that have been scanned by the product reader, which represents a sum of said costs of each for-sale item minus any session specific discounts, wherein said viewing information for each for-sale item comprises a quantity of the for-sale item purchased. 
   
   
       19 . The interface of  claim 17 , wherein said first output section and said second output section are the same output section of the shopper interface, said same output section displaying a name for each of the for-sale items, a price for each of the for-sale items, and a bagging category for each of the for-sale items. 
   
   
       20 . The bagging interface of  claim 17 , wherein said textual notifications of the second output section are dynamically presented as a warning when a for-sale item is detected as being placed in a bag and when a bagging conflict results from placing the for-sale item in the bag, wherein the bagging conflict comprises at least one of placing an edible next to a toxic item, placing items proximate to each other that is likely to result in breakage of at least one item, placing heavy items proximate to fragile items, and placing frozen items proximate to paper products.