Granted Patent B2

US 12,579,529 · App. 18/372,185 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventors: Brad M. Johnson (Raleigh, NC); David J. Steiner (Durham, NC); Suzanne M. Bleakley (Cary, NC); William L. Dungan (Cary, NC)

Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Inc.

G06Q20/201G06Q20/18G06Q20/208G06T7/20G06V10/255G07G1/0063G07G1/0072G07G1/06G06V2201/07

Abstract

Claims (63)

1 . A method, comprising:

by a point of sale (POS) system having processing circuitry operationally coupled to an optical sensor device having a field of view about the POS system and operable to capture image data representing an image and to a scale device operable to measure a weight of an object placed on a surface of the scale device,

capturing, by the optical sensor device, the image data representing an image of a target object prior to any barcode scan of the target object;

analyzing, by the processing circuitry, the captured image data to determine, based on one or more visual features of the target object and without reliance on barcode data, product lookup information or saleable item transaction data, an object type or classification of the target object; and

in response to the determined object type or classification, selecting, by the processing circuitry, prior to processing of a weight measurement of the target object, that a process enabled by the weight measurement of the target object operates in a first or second processing mode, wherein the first processing mode is associated with a security verification operation that includes determining that the weight measurement of the target object corresponds to an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object, and the second processing mode is associated with a pricing operation that includes determining a price of the target object based on the weight measurement of the target object for an object type or classification that requires the weight measurement to determine the price of the target object.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining the weight measurement of the target object placed on the scale surface.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the weight measurement obtaining step further includes:

receiving, by the processing circuitry, from the scale device, an indication that includes the weight measurement of the target object.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining the image data representing the image captured by the optical sensor device, wherein the image includes the target object; and

determining the object type or classification of the target object based on the image data.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the object type or classification of the target object corresponds to the object type or classification of an object that requires a weight measurement to determine a price of that object; and

determining that the process is to operate in the second processing mode.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining the price of the target object based on the weight measurement of that object.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

outputting, for display on a display device of the POS system, a visual representation associated with the target object, a price of that object, and the weight measurement of that object.

8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining that the process is to operate in the first processing mode.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the object type or classification of the target object is different from the object type or classification of an object that requires a weight measurement to determine a price of that object; and

determining that the process is to operate in the first processing mode.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

obtaining an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object; and

determining that the weight measurement of the target object corresponds to the expected weight of the object having the same object type or classification.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

outputting, for display on a display device of the POS system, a visual representation associated with the target object and the price of that object.

12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

obtaining an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object; and

determining that the weight measurement of the object is outside the expected weight of the object having the same object type or classification.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

sending an indication associated with the weight measurement of the object being outside the expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the POS system further includes a terminal station apparatus having the processing circuitry and a bagging station apparatus having the scale device and the object type or classification of an object that requires a weight measurement to determine a price of that object is associated with produce.

15 . A point of sale (POS) system, comprising:

a processing circuitry operationally coupled to an optical sensor device having a field of view about the POS system and operable to capture image data representing an image and to a scale device operationally coupled to the processing circuitry and operable to measure a weight of an object placed on a surface of the scale device; and

wherein the POS system further includes a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the processing circuitry is configured to:

capture, by the optical sensor device, the image data representing an image of a target object prior to any barcode scan of the target object;

analyze the captured image data to determine, based on one or more visual features of the target object and without reliance on barcode data, product lookup information or saleable item transaction data, an object type or classification of the target object; and

in response to the determined object type or classification, select, prior to processing of a weight measurement of the target object, that a process enabled by the weight measurement of the target object operates in a first or second processing mode, wherein the first processing mode is associated with a security verification operation that includes determining that the weight measurement of the target object corresponds to an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object, and the second processing mode is associated with a pricing operation that includes determining a price of the target object based on the weight measurement of the target object for an object type or classification that requires the weight measurement to determine the price of the target object.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory includes further instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine that the object type or classification of the target object corresponds to the object type or classification of an object that requires a weight measurement to determine a price of that object; and

determine that the process is to operate in the second processing mode.

17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory includes further instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine that the object type or classification of the target object is different from the object type or classification of an object that requires a weight measurement to determine a price of that object; and

determining that the process is to operate in the first processing mode.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the memory includes further instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the processing circuitry is configured to:

obtain an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object;

determine that the weight measurement of the target object corresponds to the expected weight of the object having the same object type or classification of the target object; and

output, for display on a display device of the POS system, a visual representation associated with the target object and the price of that object.

19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the memory includes further instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the processing circuitry is configured to:

obtain an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object;

determine that the weight measurement of the target object is outside the expected weight of the object having the same object type or classification of the target object; and

send an indication associated with the weight measurement of the target object being outside the expected weight of the object having the same object type or classification.

20 . A point of sale (POS) system, comprising:

an optical sensor device having a field of view about the POS system and operable to capture image data representing an image;

a scale device operable to measure a weight of an object placed on a surface of the scale device;

a processing circuitry; and

a memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the POS system is operative to:

capture, by the optical sensor device, the image data representing an image of a target object prior to any barcode scan of the target object;

analyze the captured image data to determine, based on one or more visual features of the target object and without reliance on barcode data, product lookup information or saleable item transaction data, an object type or classification of the target object; and

in response to the determined object type or classification, select, prior to processing of a weight measurement of the target object, that a process enabled by the weight measurement of the target object operates in a first or second processing mode, wherein the first processing mode is associated with a security verification operation that includes determining that the weight measurement of the target object corresponds to an expected weight of an object having the same object type or classification of the target object, and the second processing mode is associated with a pricing operation that includes determining a price of the target object based on the weight measurement of the target object for an object type or classification that requires the weight measurement to determine the price of the target object.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (34)