US5138638A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for determining the number of shoppers in a retail store and for processing that information to produce data for store management
Assignee: TYTRONIX Corp A CORP OF NJ
•
Filing: 1991-01-11
•
Granted: 1992-08-11
•
Expires: 2011-01-11
Abstract
Abstract A system for automatically counting people as they move past a selected location, and for measuring their heights. The system includes emitters for emitting beams toward persons moving past a selected location to generate reflected beams from the person, such that the included angle of the emitted and reflected beams is a function of the person's height. A detector detects the reflected beams and generates signals representative of the included angle, and thus representative of the height of the person. The signals representative of the height of the person are converted to data that may be used for evaluation purposes. The system is particularly adaptable for use in retail stores for determining the number of shopper units in the store during selected time periods and evaluating store performance based, in part, on the conversion of shopper units to actual customers.
Inventors
- 👤 Ronald G. Frey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 07:39
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07C; G07C11/00; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/06; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G07C9/00; G07C2011/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected location, and for measuring their heights, said system comprising: means for emitting beams toward a person or object moving past a selected location to generate reflected beams from said person or object, the included angle of an emitted and reflected beam being a function of the height of the person or object; position detecting means for detecting said reflected beams and generating signals that vary in response to the positions at which the reflected beams strike the detecting means, said signals thereby being representative of the included angle and thereby representing a height profile of the person or object from which the beams are reflected; and means for converting said signals to data representing the number of persons or objects in a selected category.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected location, and for measuring their heights, said system comprising: means for emitting beams toward a person or object moving past a selected location to generate reflected beams from said person or object, the included angle of an emitted and reflected beam being a function of the height of the person or object; position detecting means for detecting said reflected beams and generating signals that vary in response to the positions at which the reflected beams strike the detecting means, said signals thereby being representative of the included angle and thereby representing a height profile of the person or object from which the beams are reflected; and means for converting said signals to data representing the number of persons or objects in a selected category.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
11 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said beams are infrared beams.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said detecting means further comprises a position sensitive detector.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
119 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said location has at least one optics module, said module further comprising at least one infrared light emitting diode and corresponding lens for generating and directing at least one infrared beam from a location above the person or object as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, and at least one infrared beam position sensitive detector for detecting a reflected beam generated upon an emitted beam striking a person or object, said position sensitive detector generating a signal in response to the position that the reflected beam strikes the detector which is indicative of the height of the person or object from which the reflected beam is reflected.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 4 wherein said location has multiple optics modules spaced at selective intervals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
76 words
The system of claim 4 wherein said optics module has at least two infrared light emitting diodes and corresponding lenses for generating at least two infrared beams from a location above the person or object as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, the generation of the emitted beams being alternate, and wherein said emitted beams are generated from different locations along the path of movement of said person or object.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 6 wherein said reflected beam is detected at a location along the path of movement that lies between the locations from which the emitted beams are generated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising means for detecting the direction that each person or object travels along the path of movement, said means being responsive to the sequence in which the emitted beams strike a person or object as the person or object moves along the path.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
193 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected store location, such as a doorway or other location, for measuring their heights, and for determining the number of shopper units in the store during selected periods of time, said system comprising: at least one optics module at said location, said optics module having at least two infrared light emitting diodes and corresponding lenses for generating and directing at least to infrared beams from a location above the person or object as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, and at least one infrared beam position sensitive detector for detecting the positions of reflected beams generated thereon upon emitted beams striking a person or object, said position sensitive detector generating signals that vary depending on the positions on the detector at which the reflected beams strike the detector as a person or object moves past said selected location for generating signals representing a height profile of the person or object from which the beams are reflected; and means for converting said signals to data representing the number of shopping units based on preselected criteria.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
193 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected store location, such as a doorway or other location, for measuring their heights, and for determining the number of shopper units in the store during selected periods of time, said system comprising: at least one optics module at said location, said optics module having at least two infrared light emitting diodes and corresponding lenses for generating and directing at least to infrared beams from a location above the person or object as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, and at least one infrared beam position sensitive detector for detecting the positions of reflected beams generated thereon upon emitted beams striking a person or object, said position sensitive detector generating signals that vary depending on the positions on the detector at which the reflected beams strike the detector as a person or object moves past said selected location for generating signals representing a height profile of the person or object from which the beams are reflected; and means for converting said signals to data representing the number of shopping units based on preselected criteria.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said detector means further comprises a position sensitive detector for detecting the reflected beams and generating signals that vary depending on the positions on the detector at which the reflected beams strike the detector.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 9 wherein said store location has multiple optics modules spaced at selected intervals.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the generation of the emitted beams is alternate, and wherein said emitted beams are generated from different locations along the path of movement of said person or object.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said reflected beam is detected at a location along the path of movement that lies between the locations from which the emitted beams are generated.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 12 further comprising means for detecting the direction that each person or object travels along the path of movement, said means being responsive to the sequence in which the emitted beams strike the person or object as the person or object moves along the path.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected location, for measuring their heights, and for integrating the count and height information with data from a point-of-sale system to generate information for store management: said system comprising means for emitting beams toward persons or objects moving past a selected location to generate reflected beams from said persons or objects; means for detecting said reflected beams and for generating signals representative of the heights of said persons or objects; means for converting said signals to data representing the number and heights of said persons or objects; means for integrating said number and height data with data from a store point-of-sale system; and means for generating data for use in store management in response to said integrated data.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for automatically counting people or objects as they move past a selected location, for measuring their heights, and for integrating the count and height information with data from a point-of-sale system to generate information for store management: said system comprising means for emitting beams toward persons or objects moving past a selected location to generate reflected beams from said persons or objects; means for detecting said reflected beams and for generating signals representative of the heights of said persons or objects; means for converting said signals to data representing the number and heights of said persons or objects; means for integrating said number and height data with data from a store point-of-sale system; and means for generating data for use in store management in response to said integrated data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 15 wherein said detecting means further comprising means for generating signals representative of the included angles of the emitted and reflected beams, said included angles being a function of the height of the persons or objects.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 16 wherein the beams are infrared beams, and wherein the detecting means further comprises a position sensitive detector.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
117 words
The system of claim 17 wherein said location has at least one optics module, said module further comprising at last one infrared light emitting diode and corresponding lens for generating and directing at least one infrared beam from a location above the person as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, and at least one infrared beam position sensitive detector for detecting a reflected beam generated upon an emitted beam striking a person or object, said position sensitive detector generating a signal in response to the position that the reflected beam strikes the detector which is indicative of the height of the person or object from which the reflected beam is reflected.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 18 wherein said location has multiple optics modules spaced at selective intervals.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
76 words
The system of claim 18 wherein said optics module has at least two infrared light emitting diodes and corresponding lenses for generating at least two infrared beams from a location above the person or object as the person or object moves past said location downwardly toward the floor, the generation of the emitted beams being alternate, and wherein said emitted beams are generated from different locations along the path of movement of said persons or objects.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 20 wherein said reflected beam is generated at a location along the path of movement that lies between the locations from which the emitted beams are generated.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 20 further comprising means for detecting the direction that each person or object travels along the path of movement, said means being responsive to the sequence in which the emitted beams strike a person or object as the person or object moves along the path.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4021644A
Cited
US4278878A
Cited
US4356387A
Cited
US4700295A
Cited
US4719363A
Cited
US4868901A
Cited
US4949074A
Cited
US4993049A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1995-08-11 | 1996-02-10 | 1996-08-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-08-11 | 2000-02-10 | 2000-08-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-08-11 | 2004-02-10 | 2004-08-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |