IP Verse

Customized Presentation Of Items On Electronic Visual Displays In Retail Stores Based On Availability Of Products

Patent No. US12154459 (titled "Customized Presentation Of Items On Electronic Visual Displays In Retail Stores Based On Availability Of Products") was filed by Computershare Trust Company Na on Dec 28, 2021.

What is this patent about?

’459 is related to the field of providing information in retail stores using electronic visual displays. Specifically, it addresses the problem of dynamically adjusting the presentation of items on these displays based on real-time inventory and customer behavior, aiming to improve sales and customer experience. Traditional retail relies on static displays and manual monitoring, which are inefficient and cannot adapt to dynamically changing product availability.

The underlying idea behind ’459 is to use machine learning to analyze images of store shelves over time to determine product availability and then customize the display of related items on electronic displays. By tracking changes in product presence, the system can infer demand and adjust display parameters to promote restocking or suggest alternatives. This creates a more responsive and informative shopping environment.

The claims of ’459 focus on a method, system, and computer-readable medium that obtain a series of images of products on shelves, analyze these images using a trained machine learning model to determine product availability at different times, determine a position associated with a product type, select a region of an electronic display based on the position, and then select and apply display parameters to present a particular item on the display.

In practice, the system captures images of shelves using cameras, then uses a machine learning model to identify whether a particular product is present at different points in time. Based on this availability data, the system selects display parameters such as size, motion, position, and color scheme to highlight the item on the electronic display. For example, if a product is frequently out of stock, the system might increase the size of its advertisement or display a 'restock soon' message.

This approach differentiates itself from prior art by using temporal analysis of product availability to drive display customization. Instead of simply showing static advertisements, the system dynamically adjusts the display based on real-time inventory data and inferred customer demand. This allows for more targeted and effective messaging, ultimately improving the shopping experience and potentially increasing sales.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the late 2010s when ’459 was filed, retail environments commonly relied on planograms to dictate product placement, and retailers often sent personnel to stores to monitor and control the provided information, at a time when dynamic, automated solutions for providing information were not yet widely adopted.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner approved the application because the claimed features, when considered together, were not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art. The allowable features include using the determined position associated with a product type to select a region of an electronic visual display, selecting at least one display parameter based on product availability at different times, and using the selected display parameter to display the item on the selected region of the display.

Claims

This patent contains 19 claims, of which claims 1, 18, and 19 are independent. The independent claims are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a method, and a system, respectively, all relating to customized presentation of items on electronic visual displays in retail stores based on product availability determined from image analysis. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the parameters, conditions, and components used in the method, medium, and system of the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
At least one display parameter
(Claim 1, Claim 18, Claim 19)		“In some embodiments, information related to products may be displayed on an electronic visual display (for example as in background of the particular item, a brightness for the particular item, a contrast for the particular item, a font for the particular item, a presentation time for the particular item, and so forth.”A characteristic or setting that controls how a particular item is presented on an electronic visual display.
At least one position
(Claim 1, Claim 18, Claim 19)		“Some non-limiting examples of the particular item (for example, of method 1900, of method 2000, of method 2100, of method 2200, step 1908, step 1910, step 1912, step 2008, step 2010, step 2106, step 2206, etc.) may include an indication of the particular product type, a price corresponding to the particular product type, a name corresponding to the particular product type, (such as a name of the particular product type, a brand name corresponding to the particular product type, etc.), a promotion corresponding to the particular product type, a depiction of at least part of a product of the particular product type, and so forth.”A location or locations associated with a particular product type, determined by analyzing the second image.
Machine learning model
(Claim 1, Claim 18, Claim 19)		“For example, a machine learning model may be trained using training examples to determine whether products of a particular product type are available from an image, and the trained machine learning model may be used to analyze an image and determine whether products of a particular product type are available at the point in time corresponding to the image.”A model trained using training example images and product type availabilities associated with the training example images, used to determine whether products of a particular product type are available at a given point in time based on image analysis.

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US12154459

COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY NA
Application Number
US17563412
Filing Date
Dec 28, 2021
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Aug 16, 2041
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents