International Computers Limited

Fujitsu Services Limited

Edwin Turner

Adrian Paul West

Uri Baran

A locker system which permits secure delivery, or collection, of goods at a location and that can be associated with a single household or disposed centrally with respect to a plurality of households. A set of lockers, which may be of different sizes, capable of being in different states, e.g. ambient, chilled, frozen, and which are lockable separately, is disposed at the location. In-residence IT systems including computer means, such as servers, permit householders to place on-line orders with retailers/service providers, such as over the Internet. Prior to order placement, an appropriate locker for the size and state of the goods is reserved, such as by the household server contacting a management server via an Intranet. An access code required for unlocking the reserved locker is supplied to the household server, and forwarded to the retailer/service provider over the Internet together with the order and reserved locker location information. The retailer/service provider downloads the access code onto an electronic key, such as a smartcard, which the delivery person uses at delivery time in conjunction with a controller having an appropriate key reader. The controller with key reader identifies the reserved locker to the delivery person and unlocks it. The delivery person can then open the locker and insert the goods. Subsequent closure of the locker, relocks it and is used to indicate to the household server that the delivery has been made.

Secure locker system and method

An identification system, e.g. for tagging goods in a retail store, has at least one interrogator and a number of transponders for attaching to goods. Each transponder responds to an interrogation signal from the interrogator by returning a response signal containing information stored in the transponder. The transponder can be switched, by means of a mode switching signal from the interrogator, into a reduced power mode in which the power level of the response signal is reduced from its normal level. The reduced power mode may for example be selected when the goods have been paid for, to ensure that the transponder does not trigger an anti-theft gate, which can detect only the normal power level. The transponder can, however, still be read by an interrogator capable of detecting the reduced power level, e.g. at a customer services desk.

Electronic identification system

An electronic point-of-sale (PoS) system comprises a network with a number of PoS terminals and a PoS server computer attached to it. The PoS terminals and the PoS server interact over the network to perform conventional PoS transactions. Additionally, each of the PoS terminals monitors its own operation for predetermined security-related events (such as refunds or voids). Upon detection of such an event, the PoS terminal sends an alert message and data over the network to a control computer (which may be the PoS server computer, or may be a separate computer). The control computer responds to the alert message by activating a video camera and recorder to record a view of the PoS terminal, along with the data.

Security monitoring arrangement for a computer system

An electronic identification system e.g. for identifying goods in a retail store, comprises an interrogator and a number of transponders. Each transponder includes a number of data registers, and a counter for selecting the registers one at a time in sequence. When the transponder receives an interrogation signal from the interrogator, it returns a response signal containing data from the currently selected register. When the transponder receives a switch signal from the interrogator, it steps the counter on to select the next register in the sequence. One of the bits in the selected register may be used as a mode switching bit, for switching the response signal between a normal power level and a reduced power level.

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Marlow, United Kingdom

Edwin Turner