HK1083553B - Integrated electronic article surveillance (eas) and point of sale (pos) system and method - Google Patents

Description

Integrated Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) system and method

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application No.60/449,481 entitled "integrated Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) system and method" filed on 21/2/2003, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the collection, transmission, processing and reporting of information, and more particularly to the collection, transmission, processing and reporting of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) information.

Background

Suppliers of merchandise (i.e., items or products), such as wholesalers or retailers, typically obtain a high return on investment ("ROI") when initially installing EAS systems due to the reduction in wear and tear. In this context, "loss" refers to the loss of merchandise due to customers and employees unauthorized removal from the store or theft of the merchandise. For an effective EAS system, the employees of the supplier must react to all EAS alarms. For example, retail companies need to be able to identify which retail locations are behaving according to their response policies and which are not. Currently, POS and EAS systems are different technologies and there is no way to combine data into a single correlated event. As a stand-alone system, the EAS system helps control losses associated with non-employees. However, most of the losses of retailers are caused by internal employee theft and the stand-alone EAS system does not adequately address this problem.

Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional POS system 100. The system 100 includes one or more combination scanner and deactivator (deactivators) 102, register units (register units) 104 and a POS controller 106 connected via a POS network 108. The combination scanner and deactivator 102 is capable of scanning a product bar code label (barcode label) and also deactivating a tag (tag) attached to the product or bar code label. Once the bar code label is scanned, the bar code information is provided to the cash register 104 via link 103. The cash register 104 does not receive any information due to deactivation of the tag. The cash register 104 may query the POS controller 106 to obtain pricing for the product associated with the bar code label. These devices may be connected to other devices through the intranet 110. The conventional POS system 100 is capable of tagging cash register anomalies such as invalid transactions, returns and surcharges, but is unable to identify and track wear if an EAS tag on an article has been deactivated, but not scanned for payment.

Suppliers of EAS alarms are routinely mindful of manual paper-based logs. A conventional paper log 200 is shown in fig. 2. When an alarm event occurs due to a customer leaving the store by or near an EAS detector, the employee must describe information related to the alarm event on the paper log 200. The information may include behavioral information 210, such as indicator number 212, date 214, time 216, person entering the information 218, and/or behavioral code 220, the behavioral code 220 broadly illustrating the cause of the alarm event. The information may also include a "deactivation failure" section 230 that is used to record department 232, cashier information 234 and/or public relations ("PR") code 236. The PR code may interpret the customer's response to an alarm event, such as whether the customer is friendly, comprehension, excited, or hostile. Paper log 200 may also record recovery data 240, such as a dollar value ("$ val.") 242, department ("dept.") 244, a description of the product 246 and/or reference information 248.

These logs have proven to be very inaccurate and suppliers, such as retailers, have no reliable way to verify the correctness of the entries in the paper log, or the mutual references to and from the log. In addition, changing these paper logs into electronic form, and making such changes to data that may even be inaccurate due to human error or other causes, is labor intensive, costly, and time consuming.

In addition to the above, more and more retailers require manufacturer product source labeling. There is no known method of determining the labeling compliance of an item other than by manually checking the inventory or stock of a supplier.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, a method of integrating point of sale (POS) data and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) data is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a general purpose computer capable of receiving and processing data is provided. The general purpose computer preferably receives POS data and EAS data. The general purpose computer processes the POS data and the EAS data. The general purpose computer preferably includes a sales database that stores sales data. In the preferred embodiment, the method preferably further comprises storing the POS data in a sales database as a first part of sales data (shipping data). The EAS data is stored in the sales database as a second portion of the sales data. Preferably, the method may include selecting a subset portion of the marketing data, the subset portion including data selected from the POS data and the EAS data according to predetermined selection criteria. The selected subset portion may be reported to the reporting device in a predetermined format. The selected subset portion may provide system operating state information. The POS data preferably includes merchandise data. Similarly, the EAS data preferably includes alarm event data.

In an alternative embodiment, the item data is associated with an item (inventory of merchandish). In this embodiment, the method preferably further comprises electronically identifying merchandise data associated with the piece of merchandise and providing the merchandise data to the general purpose computer. This may include scanning a barcode associated with the piece of merchandise in connection with the sale of the piece of merchandise. Preferably, the method further comprises deactivating an EAS tag associated with the article of merchandise, wherein the POS data comprises deactivation data based on deactivating the EAS tag. In another preferred embodiment, the method preferably includes receiving an alarm event at the EAS device. In this embodiment, the alarm event corresponds to an activated EAS tag. The EAS data includes alarm information based on the activated EAS tag.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a security management method is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes receiving an alarm at the EAS device and, in response to receiving the alarm, starting a timer. In response to an input from the user, the timer is stopped. Alarm event information is obtained at the EAS device, wherein the alarm event information is based on the alarm. The method preferably includes communicating alarm event information from the EAS device to a general purpose computer. Preferably, the alarm corresponds to an activated EAS tag associated with an article of merchandise. A timer may be used to identify the response time to the alarm. It may also be used to correlate the video information with at least one of the EAS data and POS data. The alarm event information preferably includes one or more of responder information, salesperson identification, receipt identification, location identification, POS identification, product information, public relations code and reason code. The public relations code may be based on a user-defined public relations code. The reason code may be selected from the group consisting of a failure to deactivate, failure to clear, recovery, correlation to last alarm, escape, stock transfer, system test, in-zone label, unexplained, unattended, incoming item, other and at least one user-defined reason code. In another preferred embodiment, the EAS device includes a scanner. In this embodiment, the alarm event information preferably includes scanning a bar code of an article of merchandise associated with triggering the alarm. The method preferably includes scanning a receipt from the POS device to obtain merchandise information. In this embodiment, the method may include associating the merchandise information with the alarm event information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for integrating POS data and EAS data is provided. The preferred embodiment of the system includes a sales database and a general purpose computer. The sales database stores POS data and EAS data. The general purpose computer is in communication with a sales database. In addition, the general purpose computer receives and processes POS and EAS data. In an alternative embodiment, the POS data is stored as the POS portion of the sales data. In another embodiment, the EAS data is stored as an EAS portion of the sales data. When the EAS data is stored as the EAS portion, the POS data is preferably stored as the POS portion of the marketing data. Preferably, the general purpose computer selects the subset portion of the sales data from the sales database according to predetermined selection criteria. The subset portion includes data from the POS portion and the EAS portion.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises a POS device capable of being used with a sale. The POS device is capable of obtaining product information about an article of merchandise. The POS device is preferably capable of deactivating an EAS tag associated with the article of merchandise. In this embodiment, the POS device can obtain EAS tag information upon deactivation of the EAS tag. The POS device is preferably capable of generating POS data based on the product information and the EAS tag information.

According to another embodiment, the system further includes an EAS device capable of receiving an alarm event corresponding to an activated EAS tag. The EAS device is preferably capable of generating EAS data based on the alarm event. According to another embodiment, the system preferably includes a detector that detects a signal from an activated EAS tag and generates an alarm event. The EAS device is preferably capable of controlling the detector. The EAS device preferably includes an alarm event logging unit ("ALU") having a security manager and a memory storing the security manager. The security management program is capable of receiving the alarm event, obtaining alarm event information, and generating EAS data based on the alarm event and the alarm event information.

The alarm event information may include at least one of responder information, salesperson identification, receipt identification, location identification, POS identification, product information, public relations code and reason code. The public relations code is preferably based on a user-defined public relations code. The reason code may be selected from a group of reasons including failure to deactivate, failure to eliminate, recovery, correlation with last alarm, inventory transfer, system test, EAS tags in zone, unexplained, unattended, incoming item, other and at least one user defined reason code. The alarm recording unit may also include a keypad for entering alarm event information. In another aspect, the alarm recording unit includes a scanner to input the alarm event information.

The security manager preferably includes a user programmable interface. In another example, the EAS device is connected to a general purpose computer via a wireless network. Alternatively, the EAS device may be connected to the general purpose computer through a wired network. The system may also include a reporting module that provides EAS system diagnostics based on the EAS data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an ALU is provided. The ALU includes a processor, a memory, and an input device. The processor executes the instructions of the security hypervisor. The memory stores a security management program. The input device receives an alarm event corresponding to the activated EAS tag. When the input device receives an alarm event, the security management program performs various actions. The actions preferably include obtaining alarm event information and generating EAS data based on the alarm event and the alarm information. Preferably, the action includes starting a timer in response to receiving an alarm event. In response to an input from the user, the timer is stopped. In another aspect, the actions may also include communicating alarm event information from the ALU to the general purpose computer. The alarm event information may include at least one of responder information, salesperson identification, receipt identification, location identification, POS identification, product information, public relations code and reason code. The public relations code may be based on a user-defined public relations code tag identifier. The reason code may be selected from the group consisting of a deactivation failure, a cure failure, a recovery, a correlation with a last alarm event, an escape, an inventory transfer, a system test, an EAS tag in a zone, an unexplained, unattended, an incoming item, other and at least one user-defined reason code. In another alternative, the security manager associates purchase information from the POS device with the alarm event information.

In another alternative, the ALU further comprises a keypad for inputting alarm event movement information. In another embodiment, the ALU includes a scanner that inputs alarm event information.

In another alternative, the ALU processor generates an alarm timestamp based on the alarm event. The alarm timestamp may be used to correlate the video information with at least one of the EAS data and the POS data.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional POS system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional paper-based system behavior log for use by a retail business company.

Fig. 3 illustrates an EAS and POS system according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates a system flow diagram for data reporting in an EAS and POS system according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates an alarm recording unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow diagram according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alarm response flow diagram in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 8A-8K illustrate a series of graphical user interface screens for collecting and processing EAS and POS information in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 9A-B illustrate data records of alarm-related data for use in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exception report including a table of alarm events, and a video image of a selected alarm event.

Detailed Description

The foregoing aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood with reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts. It will be apparent that certain steps or options may be performed in a different order and that the order shown in the various figures is merely a preferred order.

Fig. 3 illustrates a POS and EAS system 300 that includes one or more combination scanner and deactivator 302 and cash register 304. A POS controller 306 is coupled to the scanner/deactivator 302 and the cash register 304 via a POS network 308. The scanner/deactivator 302 and the cash register 304 are preferably interconnected by a link 303, which link 303 may be, for example, an RS-232 link. One or more alarm recording units ("ALUs") 320 are connected to POS controller 306 through in-store network 310. The in-store network 310 may include at least one wireless access point 312, the wireless access point 312 interacting with the ALU320 via a wireless link 314. The in-store network 310 may also include a wired link 316 to the ALU320, the wired link 316 either as an alternative to the wireless link 312, or in combination with the wireless link 312. The wired link 316 preferably employs a TCP/IP communication protocol. The system 300 also preferably includes one or more EAS devices 322 connected to the ALU320 by a link 324. The link 324 is preferably an RS-232 link or a TCP/IP link. The EAS device 322 may have, by way of example only, a floor mat (floor mat) profile, an upright profile, or other suitable profile capable of identifying an activated tag.

The POS controller 306 is preferably a general purpose computer having all of the usual components in a personal computer. More specifically, the POS controller 306 can support a window-based Graphical User Interface (GUI). POS controller 306 preferably contains software and hardware for sending and receiving information over a variety of networks, including a local area network ("LAN") and a wide area network ("WAN"). The POS controller 306 may communicate using a modem or other communication component, such as a network card including a wireless LAN card. In an alternative, the POS controller 306 may be a conventional application server or any computer network server, or other automated system capable of communicating with other computers over a network. POS controller 306 may include one or more distributed processors.

The system preferably includes a vendor database 340, and the vendor database 340 may be integrated with the POS controller 306, or linked with the POS controller 306, or be part of a central reporting system 350 accessible via the in-store network 310. Although the present invention is not limited to any particular database structure, the data maintained by the vendor database 340 may be maintained as a table having a plurality of different fields and records. Alternatively, the data may be stored using a completely different information storage method, such as XML or the like. The central reporting system 350 is preferably capable of performing data mining and reporting functions and may communicate with other systems in other stores and/or other locations.

The transaction flow of fig. 4 represents a preferred example of an alarm event report (exception report) for the system 300 of fig. 3. The alarm transaction information may be communicated in different ways. For example, the ALU320 and POS controller 306 may send alarm transaction information to each other, as indicated by dotted communication line 330. In this case, the POS controller 306 may process the information and/or report the information to the central reporting system 350 as part of the transaction log, as indicated by the dotted communication line 332.

In an alternative embodiment, the ALU320 may interact directly with the central reporting system 350 by passing alarm transaction information, as shown by dotted communication line 334. The alarm transaction may be "pushed" from the ALU320 or "pulled" by the POS controller 306 or the central reporting system 350, as illustrated by the communication lines 332 and 334. For example, the ALU320 may push data to the POS controller 306 or the central reporting system 350 when a triggering event occurs, such as when a customer passes the EAS device 322 with an activated tag, raising an alarm. Alternatively, the POS controller 306 or the central reporting system 350 may request or pull information from the ALU320 based on predetermined criteria.

FIG. 5 illustrates one preferred embodiment of the ALU320 in more detail. In this embodiment, the ALU320 includes hardware and software capable of responding to EAS alarms and recording relevant data. The software may include a GUI, processing software, and a communications module that handles communications with the EAS device 322, the POS controller 306, and/or the central reporting system 350. Direct communication from the ALU320 to the EAS device 322 and the POS controller 306 allows real-time knowledge of the system operational (health) status. Retailers may be aware of the ALU protocol in order to configure and retrieve data from the ALU. The ALU320 software functions will be described in more detail later in connection with fig. 6-7.

As shown in fig. 5, the ALU320 may include a housing 360, a display 362, one or more soft key prompts 364, one or more soft keys 366, a keypad 368, and/or a scanner 370. The housing 360 may be mounted near the EAS device 322 or remote from the EAS device 322. One advantage of mounting the housing 360 adjacent the EAS device 322 is that the employee of the vendor can easily respond to an alarm at the EAS device 322.

The GUI may generate and display various informational screens on the display 362. For example, the display 362 may be a liquid crystal ("LCD") display, a light emitting diode ("LED") display, or the like. The display 362 is preferably a touch screen. For example, the user may select an option from one of the soft keys 366. Upon selection, the soft key prompts 364 may provide the user with various menu options to select from. By selecting the appropriate soft keys 366 and/or soft key prompts 364, the user may enter alarm event data into the ALU 320. The user may enter data via the keypad 368 (if provided). Similarly, if the scanner 370 is included as part of the ALU320, the user may enter data by scanning a bar code label on the merchandise or a sales receipt. The scanner 370 may be connected to the gantry 360 by any known means, including wired or wireless links. The wireless link may utilize, for example, an 802.11 wireless LAN protocol or other suitable protocol.

In this way, the ALU320 is able to track, display and record employee response times to each alarm event, ensuring expedited handling and adequate compliance. The soft keys 366 and soft key prompts 364 allow the vendor to customize the menu and feature options to facilitate efficient capture of relevant EAS and POS data. The ALU320 features automated alarm responses, eliminating paper logs. The GUI preferably follows an automated teller machine ("ATM") style interface that allows simple keypad data entry. Thus, the ALU320 is an advantageous tool to enable suppliers, such as retailers, to collect, manage, process and transmit EAS and POS data, which helps to reduce wear and tear and reduce operational costs.

Fig. 6 shows a flowchart detailing an EAS/POS data process 600 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The step 602 of collecting POS data may be accomplished by the scanner/deactivator 302 and/or the cash register 304 (fig. 3). POS collection may include, for example, a cashier or salesperson scanning a bar code label attached to an item and then processing payment for the item at the cash register 304. Scanner/deactivator 302 may simultaneously deactivate the product tags associated with the scanned items. The deactivation step may also be done independently. The ALU320 may also be used to collect POS data using the scanner 370 and/or the keypad 368 (fig. 5). Thus, while step 602 of collecting POS data is shown as an initial step, it should be apparent that step 602 and other steps in process 600 may be performed in a different order.

Continuing with the EAS/POS data process 600, when a customer leaves the store and an alarm event is triggered at the EAS device 322, a receive alarm event step 604 occurs. The ALU320 preferably receives alarm events from the EAS device 322. The ALU320 then performs the step of collecting alarm event data at step 606. This collection process is illustrated by the alarm response flow diagram 700 of fig. 7 and the GUI screens of fig. 8A-8K. Preferably, the GUI screens of FIGS. 8A-8K are flexible and user definable depending on the information included in the alert response flow diagram 700 and the preferences of the user.

Prior to the occurrence of an alarm event, a preliminary or idle screen may be displayed as shown in step 702 (see FIG. 8A). The ALU320 may then display an initial response screen, as indicated in step 704, upon indication of the alarm event. The ALU320 may start a response timer to calculate how long it takes for the user to initially respond to the alarm or to calculate the time to enter information and resolve the alarm event (see fig. 8C). The user is required to log into the ALU320 (see fig. 8B) by entering a password, identification number or other identifier, or by some other identification scheme, as shown in step 706. In a preferred example, the ALU320 then stops the response timer after the user's initial response or login (see fig. 8J). Alternatively, the response timer may be stopped after the data input is completed. Thus, the response timer may be used to train employees to increase response time, thereby improving customer service. By pressing a "soft key" on the keypad, the data entry portion of the alarm is reached and the alarm can be acknowledged.

In step 708, the user may enter a reason code to identify the cause of the alarm event (see FIG. 8D). This information can be used to train sales personnel, cashiers and other employees on how to handle merchandise tags (tags), which can improve work efficiency and reduce costs. The reason code may be, for example, "failure to deactivate," failure to eliminate, "" retrieve, "" correlate with last alarm, "" escape, "" stock transfer, "" in-zone label, "" system test, "" unexplained, "" unattended, "" bring-to-item, "" user-defined reason code, "or" other.

A "failure to deactivate" reason code may be entered because even if the customer paid for the item, the tag was not properly placed on the item and the scanner/deactivator 302 cannot deactivate the tag. When a supplier uses an EAS hard tag (which is typically used with clothing), a "defeat" reason code may be used. The reason code indicates that the cashier forgot to remove the EAS hard tag when processing the sale. In the event that the customer has stopped stealing merchandise, and the stolen item is retrieved, a "retrieval" reason code may be entered. The reason code "associated with the last alarm" relates to the previous alarm (usually the same person triggered the alarm more than once). For example, a person standing near the EAS device 322 waiting for a clerk may trigger several alarms. As another example, an employee may request that the customer pass through the EAS device 322 again. The "escape" reason code may be used in the event that a customer steals merchandise and runs out of the store through the EAS device 322 before being stopped. When inventory (goods) is transferred through the EAS device 322, an "inventory transfer" reason code may be entered. For example, inventory items may be moved out of the store for sale on the sidewalk. When a tag is found in the vicinity of the EAS device 322, an "in-zone tag" reason code may be entered. For example, a potential shoplifter may intentionally place a tag near the EAS device, or a piece of clothing or other merchandise display too close to the EAS device 322. The "system test" reason code may be used when the ALU320 or other parts of the system 300 are being tested, or when a clerk is training. The "unexplained" reason code may be used when there is no confirmable explanation of the alarm event. The "unattended" reason code may be used when no employee witnesses the alarm and the reason for the alarm cannot be explained. The "bring item" reason code may be used when a customer brings an un-deactivated tagged item into the store. The "user defined" reason code may meet the needs of a particular vendor and is easily implemented using the GUI, soft keys 366 and soft key prompts 364 of the ALU 320. The "other" reason code may be used for any other reason.

After entering the reason code, the user may enter a cashier identifier (see fig. 8G) that correlates/associates the POS transaction, such as a sale or a return, as shown in step 710. Additional alarm event data may include the location of the merchandise, such as an aisle or cash register where the merchandise is displayed (see fig. 8E). Such information is important to identify tag deactivator problems that result in the tag not being deactivated. This data may be entered, as shown in step 712. The user may then enter receipt information using the keypad 368 (see FIG. 8H) or may enter receipt information using the scanner 370 at step 714. A product barcode or other identifying information may be entered at step 716 using a scanner 370 or other device (see fig. 8I). The user may enter additional data. For example, the user may enter a "public relations" code at step 718 to identify the customer's reaction to the alarm event (see FIG. 8F). The "public relations" code may state whether the customer is friendly, comprehension, excited, or hostile in response to alarm events and subsequent actions by employees. On the other hand, the public relations code may be based on a user-defined identifier selected or generated according to the needs of the vendor, or may be based on other criteria, such as reporting or marketing requirements. Similar to the reason code, the public relations code may be used to train sales personnel, cashiers and other employees how to deal with customers in the event of an alarm event.

If a new alarm event occurs during the data entry in step 708 plus 718, the user may return to step 708 via branch 720 to enter information regarding the new alarm event. Thus, the system 300 is able to seamlessly process multiple alarm events. On the other hand, if data entry is complete at step 722 (see FIG. 8K), then the routine 700 may return to the idle screen of step 702 via branch 724.

As in process 600 (FIG. 6) and other processes of the present invention, the steps of alarm response flow diagram 700 may be performed in a different order. In alternative embodiments, one or more steps in alarm response flow diagram 700 may be omitted. For example, a modified flow may include only the idle screen of step 702, the initial response screen of step 704, the reason code input of step 708, and the completion of the input of step 722.

Returning to FIG. 6, the alarm event data and POS data are communicated to the POS controller or central reporting system 350, as shown at step 608. As noted with reference to fig. 4, the ALU320 may push the relevant information or have pulled the relevant information to the POS controller 306 or the central reporting system 350. The data is then saved as alarm data recorded in the vendor database 340 in step 610.

Fig. 9A and 9B illustrate an example of an alarm data record 900 containing alarm event data. The data may be stored as numerical and/or character information. The numeric and character storage types shown in fig. 9A and 9B are the preferred way to save the data shown. The alarm event data preferably includes a numeric serial number 902 that uniquely identifies the alarm event. The storage ID 904 may be a character-based identifier. The event type 906 may be a numeric identifier representing the type of event. For example, the event may be one of a confirmed alarm (1), an unconfirmed alarm (2), an EAS system online (3), an EAS system offline (4), or an EAS system problem (5). Operator ID 908 is a numerical identifier of the user reacting to the alarm. Cashier ID 910 is a numerical identifier that records the identity of the cashier or salesperson handling (e.g., selling) the item that triggered the alarm. The time stamp of occurrence field 912 may be used to identify the date and time the alarm notification occurred, or was received by the ALU. The occurrence time can be in MM/DD/YYYYY HH: MM: SS format. The confirmed timestamp field 914 may be used to identify the date and time that the user confirmed the alert notification. The confirmation time may be in MM/DD/YYYYY HH: MM: SS format. The Public Relations (PR) code 916 and the reason code 918 may be numeric identifiers representing the various options previously described. Preferably, the reason code 918 has a value from 1 to 16. Reason abbreviation 920 is preferably a 3-character reason code abbreviation. Similarly, the numeric identifier may also represent the channel ID 922. The door ID 924 and door description 926 may be used to identify the location of the EAS device 322. Door ID 924 is preferably a user-defined digital door ID. The door description 926 is preferably a character-based, user-defined description of the entrance/exit. Response time 928 identifies the time elapsed (e.g., minutes and seconds) before the alarm is acknowledged. The receipt bar code 930 and the UPC product code 930 may be stored as alphanumeric data. Additionally, the actual alarm count 932 is preferably a digital record identifying the actual number of times the EAS system has recorded an alarm with respect to a specified event.

Returning to FIG. 6, in a subsequent step 612, the POS and EAS portions of the data are selected from the vendor database 340. Such selection may be implemented by an application associated with the POS controller 306 or the central reporting system 350. In a preferred example, the application resides on a central reporting system 350. Alternatively, the application may reside locally on the POS controller 306. The selected POS and EAS portions may then be correlated (correct), as shown in step 614. The correlation combines the selected POS and EAS information. For example, POS information regarding a deactivated tag may be coupled with a subsequent alarm event to identify problems such as deactivator hardware problems. Thus, if a deactivator located at a particular cash register fails, the correlation can identify which deactivator needs repair. The correlation can also identify cashier training issues, where the cashier may not know how to properly deactivate the product. Double tags can also be identified, as well as incorrect placement of the tags. In addition, employee theft can be identified and remedied. One form of employee theft addressed by the present invention is "sweet ending," in which a less valuable item is deactivated while a less valuable item is scanned. The correlation of the data enables the user to identify whether the cashier is involved in a private collusion, thereby enabling to prevent a significant loss of merchandise. Additionally, at this point, the correlated information may be evaluated (leveraged), thereby allowing the vendor to perform data mining to extract all relevant information associated with the EAS event. For example, process 600 allows for the reporting of the selected correlated data in step 616.

A reporting module may be used to report the correlated data. Preferably, the reporting module resides at the central reporting system 350, although it may be located elsewhere. The reporting module provides an anomaly report to the EAS system. The reporting module allows the user to quickly and easily generate detailed reports and charts that focus on alarm trends and specific problem areas. It also provides alarm and email reports to the user, as well as providing overall EAS system diagnostics (e.g., system operational status information). The system of the present invention is flexible enough to work with off-the-shelf reporting modules or in conjunction with any other in-store reporting scheme, including custom reporting schemes. Thus, the system allows a user to monitor EAS alarms and to find out activities at all levels throughout the company that may indicate theft, improper response to alarms, cashier training problems, deactivator hardware problems, or incorrect tags. The user will be able to ensure that the POS and EAS system 300 is used correctly and as much as possible to accomplish the task. The reporting module may combine the alarm data file and additional data to provide meaningful trend analysis based on stores, response employees, sales/cashiers, alarm transaction details (e.g., reason codes or public relations codes), maintenance reports, and/or alerts. Reports and charts can be easily generated to summarize alarm-related activities. Video and/or still image data may be included in such presentation material. In one option, the time stamp is used to correlate the video information with other data, such as EAS and/or POS data. Fig. 10 illustrates an exception report 1000 including table information and video information. Such reporting allows the supplier to maximize efficiency and reduce operating costs by reducing losses caused by customers and/or employees.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. Accordingly, various modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (30)

1. A method of integrating point of sale (POS) data with Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) data, comprising:

providing a general purpose computer for receiving and processing data;

receiving POS data at a general purpose computer;

receiving an alarm event at the EAS device, the alarm event corresponding to an activated EAS tag;

acquiring alarm event information input by a user into an alarm event recording unit;

generating EAS data based on the alarm event and the input alarm event information;

receiving the EAS data at a general purpose computer; and

the POS data and EAS data are processed at a general purpose computer,

wherein the alarm event information includes at least one of a POS identification and a public relations code.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the general purpose computer includes a sales database that stores sales data, the method further comprising storing the POS data in the sales database as a first portion of the sales data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing the EAS data as a second portion of the marketing data in a marketing database.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising selecting a subset portion of the marketing data, the subset portion including data selected from the POS data and the EAS data based on predetermined selection criteria.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising reporting the selected subset portion of the sales data in a predetermined format.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the selected subset portion of the sales data is reported to a reporting device and the selected subset portion provides system operational status information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the POS data comprises merchandise data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the item data is associated with an item, the method further comprising:

electronically identifying merchandise data associated with the piece of merchandise; and

the commodity data is provided to a general purpose computer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein electronically identifying the article of merchandise data includes scanning the article of merchandise in conjunction with a sale of the article of merchandise.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising deactivating an EAS tag associated with the article of merchandise, wherein the POS data comprises deactivation data based on deactivating the EAS tag.

11. A system for integrating point of sale (POS) data and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) data, the system comprising:

a sales database storing POS data and EAS data;

a general purpose computer in communication with the sales database, the general purpose computer receiving and processing the POS data and the EAS data;

an EAS device for receiving an alarm event corresponding to an activated EAS tag, the EAS device comprising an alarm event recording unit ALU having a security supervisor and a memory for storing the security supervisor, wherein

The security manager receives the alarm event, obtains alarm event information input to the ALU by a user, generates EAS data based on the alarm event and the alarm event information, and

the alarm event information includes at least one of a POS identification and a public relations code.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the POS data is stored as a POS portion of the sales data.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the EAS data is stored as an EAS portion of the marketing data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the POS data is stored as a POS portion of the sales data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the general purpose computer selects a subset portion of the marketing data from the marketing database based on predetermined selection criteria, the subset portion including data from the POS portion and the EAS portion.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising a POS device for use in connection with a sale, the POS device obtaining product information about an article of merchandise.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the POS device further deactivates an EAS tag associated with the article of merchandise.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the POS device further obtains EAS tag information upon deactivation of the EAS tag.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the POS device further generates POS data based on the product information and the EAS tag information.

20. The system of claim 11, further comprising a detector that detects a signal from an activated EAS tag and generates an alarm event.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the EAS device controls the detector.

22. The system of claim 11, wherein the alarm event information includes at least one of responder information, salesperson identification, receipt identification, location identification, POS identification, product information, public relations code, and reason code.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the public relations code is based on a user-defined public relations code identifier.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the reason code is selected from the group consisting of a deactivation failure, a recovery, a correlation with a last alarm, a runaway, an inventory shift, a system test, an EAS tag in zone, an unexplained, unattended, an incoming item, other and at least one user-defined reason code.

25. The system of claim 11 wherein the ALU further comprises a keypad for inputting alarm event information.

26. The system of claim 11 wherein the ALU further comprises a scanner for inputting alarm event information.

27. The system of claim 11, wherein the security management program comprises a user programmable interface.

28. The system of claim 11, wherein the EAS device is coupled to the general purpose computer via a wireless network.

29. The system of claim 11, wherein the EAS device is connected to the general purpose computer via a wired network.

30. The system of claim 11, further comprising a reporting module that provides EAS system diagnostics based on the EAS data.