Dynamically changing a tag's displayed content responsive to an individual's proximity thereto

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11455649-B2
Application number	US-201715833183-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 6, 2017
Priority date	Dec 6, 2017
Publication date	Sep 27, 2022
Grant date	Sep 27, 2022

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamically changing displayed content of a tag coupled to an item. The methods comprising: detecting when an individual is in proximity to the tag; triggering operations, by a computing device remote from the tag, to obtain customer related information associated with the individual, when a detection is made that the individual is in proximity to the tag; determining, by the computing device, a price discount for the item based on the customer related information which was previously obtained; and dynamically changing the displayed content of the tag to include the price discount while the individual is still in proximity to the tag.

First claim

We claim the following:

1. A method for dynamically changing displayed content of an electronic tag coupled to an item, comprising:
using a sensor to detect when a first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag without the sensor making direct physical contact with the first individual;
triggering operations of a computing device coupled to a communication network and remote from the electronic tag to obtain customer related information associated with the first individual of a plurality of different individuals for which customer related information is stored in a datastore, in response to a sensor data received from the sensor that the first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag;
determining, by the computing device, a price discount for the item based on the customer related information which was previously obtained;
determining, by the computing device, whether or not a second individual is in proximity to the electronic tag when the first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag;
when a determination is made that there is a second individual in proximity to the electronic tag, performing the following operations:
determining whether the first and second individuals are associated with a same customer account or same price discount;
dynamically changing the displayed content of the electronic tag to include the price discount, responsive to a determination that the first and second individuals are associated with the same customer account or the same price discount; and
respectively communicating different price discounts to mobile devices of the first and second individuals, responsive to a determination that the first and second individuals are not associated with the same customer account or the same price discounts.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic tag comprises an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) component.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the customer related information comprises a customer loyalty level for a rewards program offered by a business entity.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
communicating the price discount from the electronic tag to the mobile device of the first individual; and
outputting the price discount from the mobile device of the first individual.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the outputting comprises dynamically changing displayed content of the mobile device of the first individual to include the price discount.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
performing operations by the computing device to push item level information for the item to the mobile device of the first individual; and
outputting the item level information from the mobile device of the first individual.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising causing at least one of accessory information and related product information to be output from at least one of the electronic tag and the mobile device of the first individual.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the causing comprises:
identifying at least one first accessory for the item or at least one first related product that can be used in conjunction with or as an alternative to the item;
obtaining information for the identified at least one first accessory or related product that is to be presented to the first individual; and
dynamically changing the displayed content of at least one of the electronic tag and the mobile device of the first individual to include the information while the first individual is still in proximity to the electronic tag.

9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising selecting (a) the at least one first accessory from a plurality of accessories or (b) the at least one first related product from a plurality of related products based on the current location of the item and the locations of the accessories.

10. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:
monitoring the location of the electronic tag within a facility to detect when the physical location of the electronic tag changes; and
dynamically changing the displayed content to include information for at least one second accessory or related product that is physically located closest to the new physical location of the electronic tag.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving the sensor data from the proximity sensor, wherein the sensor is located on the electronic tag.

12. A system, comprising:
a processor comprising at least one of an electronic tag and a computing device remote from the electronic tag; and
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising programming instructions that are configured to cause the processor to implement a method for dynamically changing displayed content of the electronic tag coupled to an item, wherein the programming instructions comprise instructions to:
use a sensor to detect when a first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag without the sensor making direct contact with the first individual;
trigger operations to obtain customer related information associated with the first individual of a plurality of different individuals for which customer related information is stored in a datastore, in response to sensor data received from the sensor that the first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag;
determine a price discount for the item based on the customer related information which was previously obtained;
determine whether or not a second individual is in proximity to the electronic tag when the first individual is in proximity to the electronic tag;
when a determination is made that there is a second individual in proximity to the tag, performing the following operations:
determining whether the first and second individuals are associated with a same customer account or same price discount;
dynamically causing the displayed content of the electronic tag to change so as to include the price discount, responsive to a determination that the first and second individuals are associated with the same customer account or the same price discount; and
respectively communicating different price discounts to mobile devices of the first and second individuals, responsive to a determination that the first and second individuals are not associated with the same customer account or the same price discounts.

13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the electronic tag comprises an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) component.

14. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the customer related information comprises a customer loyalty level for a rewards program offered by a business entity.

15. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the programming instructions further comprise instructions to cause the price discount to be output from the mobile device of the first individual.

16. The system according to claim 15 , wherein the displayed content of the mobile device of the first individual is dynamically changed to include the price discount.

17. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the programming instructions further comprise instructions to cause the item level information to be output from the mobile device of the first individual.

18. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the programming instructions further comprise instructions to cause at least one of accessory information and related product information to be output from at least one of the electronic tag and the mobile device of the first individual.

1

Assignees

• Mohiuddin Mohammad
• Patterson Hubert A
• Sequeira Melwyn F
• Sensormatic Electronics Llc

Inventors

• Mohiuddin Mohammad
• Patterson Hubert A
• Sequeira Melwyn F

Classifications

• G08B13/246

  Check out systems combined with EAS, e.g. price information stored on EAS tag (anti-theft systems in point of sale systems G07G3/003) · CPC title

• G06K19/0723

  the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs · CPC title

• G06Q30/0226

  Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems · CPC title

• G06Q30/0233 Primary

  Method of redeeming a frequent usage reward · CPC title

• G06Q30/02

  Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising · CPC title