Improved Architectural/ Design "Flow" Structures for Supercenter Retailing combined with RFID microminiature tags, etc.

Date: July 7, 2005
Object: Improved Architechtural/Design “Flow” Structures for Supercenter Retailing
Inventor: xrd1 Consulting
Notebook #: © 2005 62005-3
Rights: © 2005 Copyright/patent pending
Scope: To describe the invention/idea for new supercenter retail center architecturally “flow-designed” structures for improved retailing. In other words, to describe how new structural units improving the “flow” of the customer/merchandise/checkout structures will improve efficiencies for the customer and the retailer.
The Invention: A multiple-entryway, “shotgun”-design, low-roof building or structure provides for the foundation for the new “flow-design” supercenter. A lower than average rooftop and ceiling structure is more energy-efficient as it will require less power and air-make up and lighting and heating and cooling than a larger “box” current style supercenter. Less power will be required to circulate air and provide lighting in a more linear-flow designed supercenter.
To reduce in-store mileage for retail customers to the “flow-design” supercenter(s) more entryways/exits can and need to be provided for the customers to access the needed parts of the supercenter. Customers can address their shopping/retail needs by entering at the selected entryways. Approximately 95% of all retail customers visit the groceries part of the retail center on any visit. The main and first entrance to the new supercenter should be through the grocery part of the center. Health and beauty care and pharmacy needs may be immediately accessed by entering into the grocery section, or via a secondary entrance to them. A conveyor “walkway” (e.g., airport-style) may be accessed by the customer to the HBC-pharmacy section or to other sections.
Retail customers may pay for their merchandise by tendering payment at any point-of-purchase register at exits/entrances at any part of the store. Customers may select merchandise physically or via “want” stations posted at service points strategically located in the departments they are visiting. Customers my select “wanted” merchandise and touch-screen “want” stations for ease and speed of delivery to checkout. Touch screen menus may be categorized into sections for; product, size, package type, price, color, availability, etc…
Requests made at “want” stations may be done manually or by store-provided “rental” pda’s available at entryways. Store pda’s may be rented by cash, atm/debit or credit card – checks will be too time-consuming. Store pda’s may be dispensed automatically through a vending unit or manual counter. “Courtesy” pda’s may be accessed by paging for an attendant. Store and courtesy pda’s will have access to complete inventory of supercenters’s goods, merchandise and services and may be accessed by requested a department menu or a product or a trademark/brandname menus. (Sponsorship for trademark/brandnamed menus may be licensed by manufacturers’ of the same).
A shopping list menu may also be programmed into the provided pda’s. These may provide generic and suggested shopping lists for retail patrons. These may serve as a means to assist customers automatically in recalling and shopping for all merchandise and services. Pda’s will also have calculator functions and provide most efficient budgets and price/product suggestions to meet customer’s spending wants and needs.
Similar entryways, converyor-walks, “want” stations, checkouts, registers, attendants and pda’s will be available at all major category departments and some minor ones. Conveyor walks and entryways are designed to optimize customer’s shopping trip through the retail center. Shopping suggestions and suggested shopping routes/itineraries may be supplied at want stations or by the pda’s. Major departments, minor departments, entryways should all be identified clearly in and outside of the retail center and on the pda’s.
Shopping carts and merchandise carts and baskets of appropriate sizes may be available at all major entryways and/or major category departments adjacent to them or to the conveyor walks.
“Kneeling” carts (much like ergonomically designed “kneeling buses”) be made available in industrial and furniture and garden center major categories. Kneeling carts will be battery-powered and provide the customer with a convenient way of conveying heavy merchandise to their point-of-purchase, vehicles, in-store destinations, etc…
It is suggested that the above supercenter designs be combined with the following new technologies to achieve maximum benefit, cost and efficiencies to speed merchandise, customer and sales dollars/throughput.
All new paper, paper currencies and media be issued with bar codes, UPC’s and RFID chips (tags/labels/stickers/tape) and the potential benefits arising from this proposed practice. Bar coded and UPC-labeled paper, currencies, media can be “scanned” at red-light laser or (in future) “blue-light” laser register terminals at time of cash/media tender payment is made. Terminal laser-scans or manually inputted UPC’s at cash register is made and/or with register laser-scan at time of purchase and when in “payment” tender and/or “cash” modes.
This would potentially eliminate the need for manually counting and verification of cash transactions at a cash register or similar device or terminal. Paper currency, checks and media bar-coded and with UPC’s could be automatically scanned and counted by state-of-the-art cash registers in use at retail and other outlets. An “invisible” type of bar code may be imprinted on the media or currency or paper as an added security measure – so as to deter counterfeiting, forgery, etc…
RFID chips (or labels or tags or stickers, see Koprowicz’s notes 62005-2) could be placed in currency paper rolls (at point of manufacture, say, at March Paper) prior to or during the currency/media printing process. It may be cost-prohibitive to use such chips on lower denomination currencies/notes. RFID technology could be combined with laser-scanner technology (extant and/or future technologies) to verify cash and currency count and authenticate currencies/notes/media (via detection of forgery, forged documents/notes and counterfeits). This would reduce time to count and reduce potential and possibilities of human interference/error, audit and verify and authenticate currency and media received at a laser-scanner cash register, terminal or similar device.
Drawbacks: Proposed new RFID tagging and “flow-through” designs need to overcome cost-barriers to production. Development of model “flow-through” design centers and gradual introduction of new tagging technologies could combine synegistically to promote reduced cost structures over time.
Benefits: Today’s retail guests complain (approximately 50% of the time) about the size and structure of the current retail supercenters existing today. These supercenters are the focus of much of today’s retail business and are familiar to all of us and do not need to be named here. Current retail supercenters are described as being too large and requiring too much time on the part of the retail customer/guest for their shopping selection and purchases. The above improved “flow-design” structure takes this into account with improved floor plans and layouts to optimize the convenience of the retail customers’ shopping experience(s). Also, current RFID tagging technology is cost-prohibitive ($ 0.50 to $ 1.00 estimated per unit) and limits its application to “bulk” or “wholesale” level. Combining a lower cost technology (described in Koprowicz’s notes 62005-1 and 62005-2) has the potential to drive technology cost down (for example, to $ 0.02 to $ 0.05 estimated per unit) and could be used at “retail” and “individual” or “mass-media” levels. Supercenter structural retail “flow-design” combined with new tagging technologies for merchandise could result in more efficient and more profitable (with higher sales dollar throughput for square foot/labor hour) retailing strategies.
Potential for reduction counterfeit media entering in the USA cash flow and finance sector. “Immediate” physical verification (“counts”) and authentication of tendered/ received paper and paper currencies and all other media (“verification procedures”, “anti-counterfeiting strategies/initiatives”) and mitigation of law enforcement action concerning counterfeit media and paper and currency.
Potential for abatement of terrorist-funded activity via cessation and intercession of counterfeit media and currency (homeland security). Deprivation of terrorist-funded activity through use of RFID “tagged” media, paper and currencies.
Warnings: By virtue of their existence, current retail supercenters, designs and structures and systems are by definition obsolete. It should not be long before new retailing strategies (such as those described in “The Invention” , above) appear without warning on the retail market horizon. Such unforeseen retailing innovations could eventually dominate and take over the current retail marketplace and landscape. Submissions: U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving, June 9, 2005
Brady Corp., June 20, 2005
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
Institute for Scientific Research, June 24, 2005
National Institute for Standards and Technology, June 24, 2005
Avery-Dennison, June 24, 2005
Bostik, July 5, 2005
Date: June 9, 2005
Object: Low-Cost RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) “Labels”/”Tapes”/”Tags”/”Devices”
Inventor: xrd1 Consulting
Notebook #: © 2005 62005-2
Rights: Copyright/patent pending
Scope: To describe the invention/idea of a “label” (or “sticker”) made with a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) and the potential benefits arising from this invention/device/embodiment.
The Invention: Would consist in the form of a “circuit” for a miniature – even microscopic – radio frequency emitter based on a conductive polymer. The conductive polymer compound would be based on dendritic-polymers coupled/”doped” with an electrically conductive metal ion or ligand. The compound would be applied as a liquid solution (or even a “melt”) through a stencil and then dried mechanically or even UV-light radiation cured. Stencil media and excess polymer compound would then be removed mechanically, chemically or otherwise. A “circuit” pattern of the cured compound would be left behind on a substrate. This miniature circuit could then be embedded in the currency paper during formation, or prior to printing, or after printing. In all cases, the miniature/microscopic emitter could be used individually (or combined with other similar emitters or with other technologies – such as bar-coding) to verify and authenticate any paper product, notes, currency that the micro-RFID Label was embedded in, stenciled on or otherwise applied to.
Alternately, the same process for applying the conductive polymer compound could be used as a tape form technology. Tape could then be applied anywhere in the process it allows.
Drawbacks: Technology is undeveloped and untested. Will power of the radio signal be sufficient to merit development based on size of the tag?
Benefits: Current RFID tagging technology is cost-prohibitive ($ 0.50 to $ 1.00 estimated per unit) and limits its application to “bulk” or “wholesale” level. A lower cost technology (described above) has the potential to drive technology cost down (for example, to $ 0.02 to $ 0.05 estimated per unit) and could be used at “retail” and “individual” or “mass-media” levels.
Potential for reduction counterfeit media entering in the USA cash flow and finance sector. “Immediate” physical verification (“counts”) and authentication of tendered/ received paper and paper currencies and all other media (“verification procedures”, “anti-counterfeiting strategies/initiatives”) and mitigation of law enforcement action concerning counterfeit media and paper and currency.
Potential for abatement of terrorist-funded activity via cessation and intercession of counterfeit media and currency (homeland security). Deprivation of terrorist-funded activity through use of RFID “tagged” media, paper and currencies.
Submissions: U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving, June 9, 2005
Brady Corp., June 20, 2005
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
Institute for Scientific Research, June 24, 2005
National Institute for Standards and Technology, June 24, 2005
Avery-Dennison, June 24, 2005
Bostik, July 5, 2005