Monitoring and forecasting customer traffic

Claim 1

A system for monitoring and forecasting customer traffic and customer servicing at a location wherein each customer may be served at any one of a plurality of available service stations, the customers being in a defined area having entrance means, said system comprising A) data gathering means including: detecting means, at the entrance, for detecting passage of a customer at the entrance means; sensing means, at each service station, for sensing the presence of a customer proximate to the station; clock means to generate in real time, the date of the day, the hour, minute and second that at least one of the detecting means and sensing means are activated; registering means for collecting information relative to the detecting means and sensing means; B) data processing means including: means for registering the clock time of a day when passage is detected; means for registering the clock time of a day when the sensing means is activated or deactivated at each station; means providing logical comparison between the types of events and the related clock times registered by the registering means; said logical comparison being established by using a discrete event modelling and simulation method to thereby monitor and forecast customer traffic.

Claim 2

A system for monitoring and forecasting customer traffic and customer servicing at a location wherein each customer may be served at any one of a plurality of available service stations, the customers being in a defined area having entrance means, said system comprising A) data gathering means including: detecting means, at the entrance, for detecting passage of a customer at the entrance means; sensing means, at each service station, for sensing the presence of a customer proximate to the station; clock means to generate in real time, the date of the day, the hour, minute and second that at least one of the detecting means and sensing means are activated; registering means for collecting information relative to the detecting means and sensing means; B) data processing means including: means for registering the clock time of a day when passage is detected; means for registering the clock time of a day when the sensing means is activated or deactivated at each station; means providing logical comparison between the types of events and the related clock times registered by the registering means; said logical comparison being established by using a discrete event modelling and simulation method to thereby monitor and forecast customer traffic.

Claim 3

A method for monitoring and forecasting customer traffic and customer servicing at a location wherein each customer may be served at any one of a plurality of available service stations, the customers being in a defined area having one or several entrance, comprising the steps of: detecting, at the :said entrance, passage of a customer thereby; registering the clock time of the day when said passage is detected; sensing, at each service station, a change of state resulting from a customer being proximate, or not, to the station; registering the clock time of the day when said change of state occurs at each station; and establishing the logical comparison between the event times registered by using a discrete event modelling and simulation method to thereby monitor and forecast customer traffic.

Claim 4

A method for monitoring and forecasting customer traffic and customer servicing at a location wherein each customer may be served at any one of a plurality of available service stations, the customers being in a defined area having one or several entrance, comprising the steps of: detecting, at the :said entrance, passage of a customer thereby; registering the clock time of the day when said passage is detected; sensing, at each service station, a change of state resulting from a customer being proximate, or not, to the station; registering the clock time of the day when said change of state occurs at each station; and establishing the logical comparison between the event times registered by using a discrete event modelling and simulation method to thereby monitor and forecast customer traffic.