Ncr Corporation

Ncr Voyix Corporation

Yoshitaka Utsumi

Sik Piu Kwan

Giovanni Vannucci

Gary A Ross

Christopher John Costello

Shuzo Kato

Gregory Alan Wright

Graeme Mitchell

Cuong Tran

John Peter Roquemore, Iii

Stephen A Wilkus

Osamu Takagi

Alistair Lowden

Syuzoh Kato

Chi-Hwey Chang

Yoshihiko Nekomoto

Images of an unknown item picked from a store are processed to produce a cropped image. The cropped image is processed to produce a brightness/perspective corrected image, and the brightness/perspective corrected image is processed to produce a low-resolution final image. Image features of the low-resolution final image are extracted and compared against known item features for known items to identify an item code for a known item.

Item identification with low resolution image processing

An image is compared to a validation image to obtain a signal-to-noise ratio. The signal-to-noise ratio is used to determine validity of the image. According to an embodiment, the image includes a barcode. According to another embodiment, a minimum threshold value for the signal-to-noise ratio is set and the validity of the image is determined based on the minimum threshold value and the signal-to-noise ratio. The minimum threshold value can be determined by using respective signal-to-noise ratios resulting from comparing a valid image to a validation image and an invalid image to a validation image.

Signal-to-noise ratio image validation

Embodiments of a symbol for identification of a property of a presented item at a Point-Of-Sale Terminal (POS) are generally described herein. A method can include a detecting a presence of a symbol other than a barcode within at least one image captured by a scanner of the POS of an item presented to the scanner, the symbol indicating that the presented item has a property, and when the presence of the symbol is detected, outputting an indication that the presented item has the property.

Point-of-sale terminal and method of operating same

Methods and apparatus are provided for determining the dimensions of an unknown item using multiple images captured by different cameras. The dimensions include the height, length and width of the item. The dimensions are used to reduce the universe of possible candidates that would identify the unknown item. The methods use multiple reference planes and projects elements of the item onto the one or more of the reference planes to determine the coordinates of the elements of the item. Once the coordinates are determined, the dimensions of the items are determined.

Methods and apparatus for determining dimensions of an item using 3-dimensional triangulation

Methods and apparatus are provided for low resolution item identification using brightness compensated images. An image of an unknown item is captured in digital RGB image format and converted to HSV image format. Then the HSV formatted image is quantized which greatly reduces the resolution of the image. The quantized HSV image data of the unknown item is compared to a plurality of quantized HSV image data for known items. The comparison includes using a signal-to-noise ratio calculated using the quantized HSV image data for both the unknown and known items. A match is found when the calculated signal-to-noise ratio is above a predetermined threshold value.

Methods and apparatus for item identification using brightness compensation

An electromagnetic signal transmitter for fraud prevention in a self-service terminal is described. The electromagnetic signal transmitter comprises a plurality of coil drives. The plurality of coil drives may include a first inductive coil drive comprising a first pair of opposing poles; and a second inductive coil drive comprising a second pair of opposing poles, where the second pair of opposing poles are offset from the first pair of opposing poles in at least two dimensions.

Fraud prevention

An electronic shelf label with internal information which may be used all locations, including wet locations. The electronic shelf label includes a housing including a substantially transparent portion containing an aperture and an inner surface, a display in the housing for displaying information about an item associated with the electronic shelf label, wherein the display is visible through the aperture, and a layer of material adjacent the inner surface for conveying information about the item.

Electronic shelf label with internal information

An apparatus for providing wireless transmission of information in electronic display systems and methods of using the same. In particular, the present invention is directed to an air interface and protocol to facilitate wireless transmission of information from a communication base station or other controlling device to individual electronic display modules.

Apparatus for providing wireless transmission of information in electronic display systems and methods of using the same

An electronic price label battery storage apparatus and replacement method which maintains power to a memory within the electronic price label during removal and replacement of a battery. The battery storage apparatus includes a battery compartment in the housing, a generally circular lid which is rotatable between a closed position and an open position, and wherein the lid includes a tab, and power terminals accessible from a rear surface of the housing which provide power to a memory within the electronic price label when a power source is coupled to the power terminals, wherein the power terminals are covered by the tab when the lid is in the closed position.

Electronic price label battery storage apparatus and replacement method

An electronic price label battery storage apparatus and replacement method which maintains power to a memory within the electronic price label during removal and replacement of batteries. The battery storage apparatus includes a first electrical contact for simultaneously providing a first electrical path to first polarity sides of a plurality of batteries within the electronic price label, a second electrical contact for simultaneously providing a second electrical path to second polarity sides of the plurality of batteries, and a retainer which maintains at least a single one of the batteries in contact with the first and second electrical contacts during removal of other batteries to maintain power to the memory within the electronic price label.

An electronic price label which is suitable for use in both small EPLs having lengths of about 1.5 to 2 inches and large size EPLs having lengths of about 3 to 4 inches. The antenna includes a folded planar conductor including a generally planar radiator portion coupled to a antenna port on a printed circuit board, a generally planar ground plane portion coupled to a ground on the printed circuit board having a width and oriented generally parallel to the radiator portion, and a dielectric layer between the radiator portion and the ground plane portion. The width of the ground plane portion is larger than the width of the radiator portion by a distance sufficient to produce an electric field which is linearly polarized in the width direction, thereby eliminating a need for shielding.

Electronic price label antenna for electronic price labels of different sizes

An electronic price label antenna which is separate from a printed circuit board and which requires only two solder points to connect it to the printed circuit board area. The antenna is a folded metal conductor of the Inverted-F antenna type and includes a ground plane portion separate from the printed circuit board, a radiator portion of lesser width than the ground plan portion, a first side portion on a first side of the ground plane portion which joins the ground plane portion and the radiator portion at a first end of the ground plane portion to form a closed end of the radiator portion, a second side portion on a second side of the ground plane portion which shields the antenna from a display in the electronic price label, a third side portion on a third side at a second end of the ground plane portion which forms an electric field polarization generally oriented along the length of the ground plane portion, a first conductive strip which electrically couples the ground plane portion to a printed circuit board within the electronic price label through a first solder point, and a second conductive strip which electrically couples the radiator portion to the printed circuit board at a second solder point to form an antenna port.

Electronic price label antenna

A capacitive coupling arrangement including a plate-shaped input/output terminal of a signal line and a plate-shaped input/output terminal of a price display unit. These input/output terminals are connected together separated by a small gap and the respective input/output terminals are capacitively coupled. Amplifiers are connected to the input/output terminals as necessary to amplify the signal being transmitted across the capacitive coupling.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Yoshitaka Utsumi