Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a point of sale product enquiry system and to a method of product self selection. The invention is particularly applicable to the sale of bottled wine.

Background Art Bottled wine is a highly differentiated product with many different categories of product. Wine is categorized according to country, region, wine type, grape variety, fermentation technique, vintage and the like. Bottled wine purchasers often have discerning palates and enquiring minds and thus like to seek information from the wine vendor to assist both their purchase and their ultimate enjoyment of the product. Many wine vendors with an encyclopaedic knowledge of wine have benefited from this competitive advantage they have over less knowledgeable wine vendors.

However, current marketing trends and economic pressures dictate that supermarket style self selection by customers must apply. Also only staff able to command low wages should be employed as check-out staff, particularly in after hours or weekend time periods. Not only are such staff not interested in, or not knowledgeable about wine, but if they were they could command a salary much in excess of that paid to check-out staff.

Consequently, the economic pressures are directly opposed to the desired characteristics of a wine vendor's premises.

Obiect of the Invention The object of the present invention is to address this conundrum and provide both a point of sale product enquiry system for use in the wine industry and a method of wine bottle self selection in a bottle shop or like premises.

Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a point of sale product enquiry system for use in the wine industry, said system

comprising a central processor unit of a computer, a memory store containing searchable wine specification data and non-searchable wine appreciation data for each of a multiplicity of different bottles of wine for sale, said memory store being connected with said central processor unit to be searchable thereby, and at least one kiosk means each connected to said central processor unit and each having an enquiry means and a display means, said wine specification data being grouped into categories each of which is displayed on said display means, and said enquiry means being operable by a user to sequentially select in cascade fashion at least two of said categories to thereby list and display on said display means a limited plurality of said multiplicity of wine bottles for sale and having a specification data belonging to all said selected cascaded categories, and said enquiry means thereafter being operable by said user to display said wine appreciation data of a selected one of said limited plurality of wine bottles.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of wine bottle self selection in a shop or like premises having the abovementioned point of sale product enquiry system, said method comprising the steps of: (i) a prospective customer operates said enquiry means to cascade select at least two of said wine specification data categories to thereby generate and display said list of a limited plurality of said multiplicity of wine bottles, and (ii) said prospective customer thereafter operates said enquiry means to select one of said limited list and display the wine appreciation data of said one selected bottle of wine.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a point of sale product enquiry system for use in the wine industry, said system comprising a scanner able to read a bar code from a wine bottle label and connected to a central processing unit of a computer, a memory store containing wine appreciation data corresponding to a multiplicity of different types of bottled wine for sale, and being connected with said central processing unit, and a display means to display said data and being connected to said central processing unit, whereby the scanning of a wine

label bar code by said scanner causes said central processing unit to retrieve from said memory store the wine appreciation data corresponding to the bar code and display same on said display means.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of wine bottle self selection in a bottle shop or like premises having the last mentioned point of sale product enquiry system, said method comprising the steps of:- (i) a prospective customer self-selects a possible wine bottle to be purchased, (ii) the bar code of said bottle is scanned by said prospective customer and results in display of the corresponding wine appreciation data, (iii) said data is read by said prospective customer, and (iv) either said selected bottle is confirmed as a purchase, or said selected bottle is returned to its shelf and another bottle is selected and steps (ii) and (iii) are repeated.

Brief description of the drawings Several embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a kiosk incorporating a touch sensitive screen, Fig. 2 is a representation of the initial enquiry screen displayed by the kiosk, Fig. 3 is a screen display for a specific bottle of wine, Fig. 4 is a screen display showing on a map of the shop premises the location of the specific bottle displayed in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is the next screen displayed after a search is initiated from the screen of Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is the next screen displayed after a search is initiated from the screen of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a list of bottled wine displayed following selection of Chardonnay from the screen of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a modified screen display resulting from the selection of a Alpha search request from the screen of Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a short list produced from selecting"J"as the search criteria in Fig. 8,

Fig. 10 is a schematic representation of possible wine specification categories for red wine, Fig. 11 is a schematic representation of possible wine specification categories for white wine, Fig. 12 is a schematic representation of possible wine specification categories for accompanying food, Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram of the apparatus making up a first embodiment of the point-of-sale system, Fig. 14 is a detailed representation of the file structure used in the system of Fig. 13, and Fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram similar to Fig. 13 but in respect of a point-of-sale system having a plurality of kiosks at locations remote from the CPU.

Detailed description As seen in Fig. 1 a kiosk 1 having a touch sensitive display screen 2 and a scanner 3 is mounted on a stand 4. The initial display on screen 2 is illustrated in Fig. 2 and invites a prospective purchaser who has entered the shop or similar retail premises where the kiosk 1 is located, to seek out information which will assist the purchaser in making a purchase of a bottle of wine, or provide the purchaser with wine appreciation information which will increase the purchaser's subsequent enjoyment of a purchased bottle of wine.

The simplest method of obtaining such information is to use the scanner 3 to scan a bar code of a wine label. In practice all wine is provided with such bar codes which uniquely identify each particular bottle of wine for sale. In this connection it will be appreciated that the term"bottle"as used herein is used in the sense of a unit of wine for sale (rather than the particular container) and thus includes within its scope casks, flagons, flasks and like wine containers offered for retail sale.

The bar code scanned might be from a label (or label on an empty bottle) which the purchaser has brought into the shop following a pleasant prior consumption experience. Alternatively, the bar code is on the label of a bottle

which the intending purchaser has self-selected as a possible purchase. In the latter situation, the usual first action is for the purchaser to read the labels (front and back normally). The volume of information able to be supplied on such labels is strictly limited by print size and label area. Thus many purchasers find the label data insufficient for their needs. This is particularly the case if the purchaser is not from the country or region of the wine in question and is thus unfamiliar with various aspects of the wine.

Instead of attempting to ask the check-out operator and thereby becoming frustrated at the lack of knowledge able to be obtained from this source, the purchaser instead scans the label bar-code using the scanner 3. This action causes the display of the wine appreciation data pertaining to that particular bottle as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The purchaser is then able to read the data and make a more informed choice. If not satisfied with the previously selected bottle, the purchaser can then select another bottle and repeat the procedure. Alternatively, the purchaser can then present the bottle to the check-out and pay for the purchase in the usual way.

The full impact of all the information displayed in Fig. 3 will become apparent hereafter, however, for the moment in the bottom right hand corner of the screen display of Fig. 3 is a LOCATION icon 21. If the user touches the LOCATION icon 21, then the screen display converts to that illustrated in Fig.

4 which is a map of the shop showing the aisles and bays with the particular location of the selected bottle (aisle 3 and bay 4) highlighted (for example by flashing). The location of the checkout 6 and kiosk 1 enables the user to rapidly locate their position on the map of Fig. 4.

This enables the prospective customer to return an unwanted bottle to the correct location, or locate further bottles to be purchased in the case of the bottle becoming a wanted bottle after the wine appreciation data has been read. In the above way an intending purchaser is able to make informed

decisions as to purchase without the assistance of knowledgeable sale personnel.

Returning now to Fig. 3, it is convenient in the preferred embodiment to classify data in relation to a bottle of wine into two sets of data. The first set of data is termed searchable wine specification data. This is data which assists in identifying or specifying a particular bottle and is normally relatively succinct. In the preferred embodiment the searchable wine specification data are as follows ; MAKER 22, WINE NAME 23, GRAPE VARIETY 24, TYPE 25, FOOD (which the wine best accompanies) 26, REGION (from which the wine is produced) 27, PRICE 28, and whether the wine is"ON SPECIAL" (or has its current price temporarily reduced below the regular price) 29. For each of these searchable wine specification data categories there is a corresponding searchable field in the corresponding memory file as indicated (and to be described hereafter) in Fig. 14.

In addition, there is also stored for each bottle of wine non-searchable data which may be conveniently termed wine appreciation data. The most important category of such is the COMMENTS 31 but similarly classified are VINTAGE 32, GOLD MEDALS 33, CELLARING 34, RECOMMENDED 36 and LOCATION 21. In particular, the information provided under COMMENTS 31 is crucial in providing information over and above that able to be printed on the bottle label (s). So preferably an icon MORE COMMENTS 35 is provided for additional wine appreciation information unable to be displayed in a single screen. For each of these non-searchable wine appreciation data categories there is a corresponding non-searchable data field in the corresponding memory file as indicated in Fig. 14.

Turning back now to Fig. 2, if a prospective customer does not wish to scan a wine bottle label using the scanner 3 of Fig. 1, instead the prospective customer can use the searchable categories described above to narrow down the choice of wine to suit the particular known (or desired) consumption or purchase desiderata.

For example, from the screen of Fig. 2, the prospective customer can conduct a search of white wines by touching the WHITE icon 11 in Fig. 2. As a consequence the display on the screen 2 changes to that illustrated in Fig. 5.

This then enables a further wine specification category to be selected. In this example, the icon BY GRAPE VARIETY 24 is selected by touching the corresponding area of the screen 2. This results in the display of Fig. 6 being displayed.

Now the prospective customer is presented with a further selection and is requested to select one of the possible white wine grape varieties. In the example, the grape variety Chardonnay is selected by touching the CHARDONNAY icon 12 in Fig. 6. As a consequence of this cascaded selection of White Wine and Chardonnay, a list of (in this instance 25) such wines is selected for display as indicated in Fig. 7. Where the length of the list exceeds the length of the display, the list is able to be scrolled in known fashion by use of UP and DOWN scroll icons 13.

The list as displayed in Fig. 7 has various component parts. The columns in the table are formed by the stored entries in the specification data TYPE, GRAPE VARIETY, WINE NAME, PRICE and on SPECIAL respectively. In addition, as some wines provide a higher margin, represent good value for money, or have some attribute which might cause a vendor to recommend them, there is provision for a classification category RECOMMENDED 36 to be stored in the wine appreciation data. Where a wine is recommended it preferably appears first on the list and is indicated by an asterisk in the first column of the list of Fig. 7. The up and down scroll icons 13 enable the full list to be quickly perused, and a tentative selection made. By pressing the screen of Fig. 7 at the row of a displayed wine, the screen changes to the full display (of the type illustrated in Fig. 3) for the selected wine.

If after reading the comments about the wine, if the prospective purchaser is not satisfied, the prospective purchaser can press a BACK icon 30 (in the bottom left hand corner of Fig. 3). This action returns the screen to the list illustrated in Fig. 7 and another tentative selection can be made.

Alternatively, from the screen display of Fig. 7 the ALPHA icon 38 can be pressed thereby causing the display to change into the state illustrated in Fig.

8. This enables the letter"J"to be pressed thereby selecting from the list of Figs. 7 and 8 only those wines with a wine name beginning with the letter J.

The resulting short list is illustrated in Fig. 9. This facility is particularly useful for those customers with an imperfect recollection of the name of a wine previously enjoyed.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the above sequence of screens permits a user to sequentially select wine specification data in a cascade fashion to narrow down to a short list from which a final selection can be made. Fig. 10 illustrates the possible specification data selections available after the wine type"red"wine has been selected. Similarly, Fig. 11 illustrates the possible cascade selections available after"white"wine has been selected. Finally, Fig. 12 illustrates the equivalent selections possible after "Food" (which it is intended that the wine to be purchased accompany) has been selected.

A first embodiment of apparatus able to implement the invention will now be described with reference to Fig. 13. As seen in Fig. 13 a central processor unit or central processing unit (CPU) 41 is connected to each of a bar code scanner 43, a keyboard 42, a visual display unit (VDU) 44, a printer 45 and a memory store 46. The memory store 46 contains a plurality of files 47 each of which contain both wine specification data and wine appreciation data as discussed above relative to a corresponding one of each of the wines on sale at the bottle shop or the like.

Each such bottle 8 is provided with a label 9 and a bar code 10 in known fashion, the bar code 10 being previously used for stock keeping and price display purposes.

It will be apparent from Fig. 13 that the keyboard 42, scanner 43, VDU 44 and printer 45 are collectively located in the retail premises whilst the CPU 41 and memory store 46 need not be.

In a second embodiment illustrated in Fig. 15, the CPU 41 and memory store 46 are as in Fig. 13 but the keyboard 42, VDU 44 and printer 45 have been replaced by one of the kiosks 1 illustrated in Fig. 1. In addition, a number of such kiosks 1 are provided which are remote from the CPU 41 and connected thereto via a communications link indicated schematically at 49. In this way communication links including telephone lines, land lines, the internet and the like, can be used to interconnect franchised premises or the premises of individual owners having a common economic link such as membership of a wine buying Co-operative.

Both the embodiments of Figs. 13 and 15 essentially operate the same way in that each file 47 is individually stored under the Bar Code No. 100 of the corresponding bottle 8 of wine. The file 47 has searchable fields in the form of the abovementioned specification data and non-searchable fields in the form of the abovementioned wine appreciation data. It is the former data which enables the cascade search criteria to be selected and the short list of target bottles for the purchase instantaneously prepared by the CPU 41.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention differs from other point-of-sale systems in that these systems use the bar code 10 only to display price and possibly an article name. Such systems have long been used at cash registers of check-out stations and are currently finding favour at various distributed stations throughout a retail premises. It is thought that the latter development can relieve the retailer of the effort and expense of marking each individual article for sale with its price. Clearly, these developments do not address the wine industry problems referred to above.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without

departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the kiosks 1 can include a printer facility, if desired.

The term"comprising" (and grammatical variations thereof) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of"including"or"having"and not in the exclusive sense of"consisting only of".