Re-use of articles

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for the re-using of reusable articles each having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier. Each tag is scanned as the article is dispensed to a consumer and data representing the unique article identifier and a time and location of the scan is received by a cloud-based transaction processing system. The transaction processing system is also configured to obtain, from a payment processing system, transaction data relating to a sale associated with the dispensing of the article. The transaction processing system is configured to associate each unique article identifier with a unique sale identifier of a corresponding sale associated with the dispensing of the article, on the basis of a correlation in time between the time at which the article was dispensed and the time of the associated sale. The system further comprises an article collection point for receiving the articles after use. Each returned article is scanned at the collection point and data representing the unique article identifier is transmitted to the transaction processing system. Following receipt of data indicating the return of an article, the transaction processing system is configured to instruct a partial refund of the sale associated with the articles unique identifier, in order to refund a deposit taken as part o the sale associated with the article.

Description

[0001] Re-use of Articles

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to the re-use of reusable articles such as hand-held portable containers, and particularly containers for comestible or potable products or items. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods for the re-use of reusable articles such as hand-held portable containers.

[0004] BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0005] Reducing the environmental impact associated with the manufacture, transport and use of temporary containers is an ever pressing issue. One way of reducing the impact is to recycle the container material after a single use. This, however, generates its own set of problems, because minimising the cost of the single use container then becomes much more important than making the container sturdy, durable, or pleasant to use. Many inexpensive containers are also made using inexpensive plastics, such as PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS.

[0006] The plastics industry relies almost entirely on non-renewable resources. More than 90% of global plastic production consists of primary plastics, i.e. those which are newly manufactured from petroleum products, rather than recycled. This reliance requires a huge amount of energy and produces greenhouse-gases.

[0007] It is estimated that about three quarters of the plastics that have ever been produced have already been discarded. In Europe, it is estimated that about 40% of plastic production in Europe is single-use plastic for packaging. In theory, many commonly used plastics can be recycled. But only about one-tenth of the plastics that have ever been produced have been recycled once, and only about 1 % have been recycled twice. Often, it is less expensive just to make a new plastic product rather than to collect the product and recycle it or reuse it.

[0008] A specific example of the difficulty of recycling hand-held portable containers for consumer use, i.e. when a consumer is holding or carrying something held by the container, is in what may be generally termed the fast food industry. A food and / or drink outlet may serve food or drink in a hand-held container, for example a coffee cup. If the container is made to be reusable and the consumer takes the container away from the outlet, then it may be necessary for the consumer to return to the outlet so that the container can be reused. The consumer may forget to do this, or may not be in the same area regularly enough to do this.

[0009] Similar problems exist with other types of product. In gardening supply, plants are usually sold held in inexpensive and flimsy plastic single use containers, because consumers are unlikely ever to be motivated to take a sturdier container back to the same gardening outlet for re-use.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient system for re-using articles such as hand-held portable containers, and particularly containers for comestible or potable products or items.

[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] According to the invention, there is provided a system for the re-using of reusable articles which may be dispensed from at least one consumer product point-of-sale (POS) establishment, the, or each, POS establishment comprising at least one sale terminal, said sale terminal having an associated location code, and being linked to a payment processing system for taking payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, each item comprising a reuseable article to be dispensed to a consumer at the POS establishment, the system comprising: a plurality of reusable articles within the, or each, POS establishment, each of said articles having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier; in proximity with said sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of-dispensing (POD) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when each of said articles dispensed to a consumer is (individually or collectively) brought into scan proximity with said scanner, said POD remote scanner generating POD article data for each of said articles brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique article identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; at least one used article collection point for receiving one or more of said articles after use, said article collection point comprising a remote-scan point-of-collection (POC) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when any of said articles is (individually or collectively) brought into scan proximity with said POC scanner, said POC scanner generating POC article data for each of said articles brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique article identifier; and a distributed transaction processing system linked to said POD remote scanner, the POC remote scanner and the payment processing system; wherein; following a sale of said purchase item, the sale terminal is configured to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, the POD remote scanner is configured to transmit said POD article data to the transaction processing system, said POD article data further comprising scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said article; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC reader, the POC reader is configured to transmit said POC article data to the transaction processing system; the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system; the transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of the POD article data, to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, article and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

[0013] Preferably each reusable article comprises a portable article. Preferably each reusable article comprises a container such as a hand-held portable container. Preferably each purchased item comprises a hand-held portable container. Preferably the plurality of reusable articles within the or each POS establishment comprises a plurality of hand-held portable containers. Preferably each associated unique article identifier comprises a unique container identifier. Thus preferably each of said containers has an identification tag with an associated unique container identifier. Preferably the POD article data comprises POD container data, said data representing the unique container identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal. Preferably the or each used article collection point comprises a used container collection point. Preferably the POC article data comprises POC container data, said data representing the unique container identifier. Preferably said POD container data further comprises scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said handheld portable container.

[0014] Accordingly, the present invention also provides a system for the re-using of hand-held portable containers which may be dispensed from at least one consumer product point-of- sale (POS) establishment, the, or each, POS establishment comprising at least one sale terminal, said sale terminal having an associated location code, and being linked to a payment processing system for taking payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, each item comprising a hand-held portable container to be dispensed to a consumer at the POS establishment, the system comprising: a plurality of hand-held portable containers within the, or each, POS establishment, each of said containers having an identification tag with an associated unique container identifier; in proximity with said sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of-dispensing (POD) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when each of said hand-held portable containers dispensed to a consumer is (individually or collectively) brought into scan proximity with said scanner, said POD remote scanner generating POD container data for each of said hand-held portable containers brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique container identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; at least one used container collection point for receiving one or more of said hand-held portable containers after use, said container collection point comprising a remote-scan point- of-collection (POC) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when any of said hand-held portable containers is (individually or collectively) brought into scan proximity with said POC scanner, said POC scanner generating POC container data for each of said hand-held portable containers brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique container identifier; and a distributed transaction processing system linked to said POD remote scanner, the POC remote scanner and the payment processing system; wherein; following a sale of said purchase item, the sale terminal is configured to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, the POD remote scanner is configured to transmit said POD container data to the transaction processing system, said POD container data further comprising scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said hand-held portable container; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC reader, the POC reader is configured to transmit said POC container data to the transaction processing system; the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system; the transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of the POD container data, to compare the scan time data in the POD container data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique container identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, hand-held portable container and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

[0015] Preferably the transaction processing system is configured, upon receipt of said POC article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, to transmit a partial refund instruction to the payment processing system, said instruction comprising said unique sale identifier associated with the, or each, said article identifier represented in said POC data, and an amount to be refunded.

[0016] In this way, the transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of the POD article data, to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data (the transaction data having a corresponding location code or the same location code as the POD article data), and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, article and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item. The transaction processing system may be configured to obtain transaction data from the payment processing system having the same location code as the POD article data received by the transaction processing system. Time data (e.g., the transaction time data and / or the scan time data) may also be referred to as a timestamp or timestamp data (e.g., transaction timestamp or scan time timestamp respectively).

[0017] The sale price can then include a refundable deposit, which is effectively held temporarily by the payment POS establishment. Preferably the amount to be refunded is less than the sale price. This deposit will therefore be billed to the customer when the payment for the transaction comes due, but either before that time, or afterwards, will be refunded by the payment processing system when the article (e.g., container) is returned to the collection point. The POS establishment or POS business therefore effectively holds the deposit on behalf of the consumer, and the deposit may be then be refunded to the consumer when the article is returned. Since the refund is processed automatically by the transaction processing system (e.g., externally to the POS establishment), the POS establishment does not need to keep track of, or hold deposits for customers.

[0018] Preferably the transaction processing system is cloud-based. The transaction processing system may be provided by a peer-to-peer network of devices. In preferred embodiments, the payment processing system does not form part of the present invention. Instead, preferably, the present invention is configured to communicate and / or interface with the payment processing system. The payment processing system may be provided by an external payment provider.

[0019] The unique sale identifier (which may also be referred to as a transaction ID) is data that is automatically generated by payment processing systems such as card payment processing systems. It effectively links the amount paid during a transaction with the unique payment details such as card details associated with a debit or credit card used in the transaction. In general, unique sale identifiers allow a full refund, or a partial refund in this case, to be made on behalf of the point-of-sale business to the original card account, without the need for the card number to be presented and used during the refund process. The unique sale identifier may be generated by the terminal or by the payment processing system. The unique sale identifier may also be linked with a payment card token which uniquely identifies a payment card. The card token may also be provided by the payment processing system. A unique sale identifier will normally have a time window in which this remains valid, typically one year. After this time, the unique sale identifier becomes invalid for generating a refund. The consequence is that a deposit cannot be returned after this time. This is not necessarily a disadvantage for either the consumer or the point-of-sale. The consumer is then free to keep and continue using the article; it is, after all, effectively owned by the consumer from the outset. The point-of-sale business then gets to keep the portion of the sale price that was initially allocated as a deposit, which is compensation for the non-return of the re-usable article .

[0020] It will be appreciated that the level of the deposit is a commercial agreement that will have been made as part of an agreement between the point-of-sale business and the cloud-based transaction processing system. The particular level of the deposit is not a feature of the invention, but for many products the level of deposit will be relatively modest. It is for this reason that using a time correlation is appropriate in the matching of the transaction data and the POD article data. For the time correlation to provide a true link between the sale transaction and the dispensing of the article, it will be necessary for these to have occurred in close proximity in time, i.e. not overlapping with any other sale transactions or article dispensing at the same location. This will be dependent on the work flow of the workers handling the transaction and providing the purchased item. If the work flow is disrupted, then the correlation may be inaccurate or not made at all, which would mean that the deposit cannot be returned.

[0021] This is a small disadvantage when compared with the advantages of not having to provide a more complex integrated system at the point of sale. The POD scan-reader and the sale terminal do not need to be physically integrated or linked directly together in any way, as each communicates separately with the cloud-based transaction processing system. The transaction processing system is preferably configured to make use of conventional transaction data from the payment processing system, so that the present invention can be integrated with existing sale systems and payment processing systems.

[0022] Another advantage of the system is that the POC scan-reader does not need to be at the same location as the original POD scan-reader; it may even be in a completely separate business, or a competing business, if different businesses can agree on shared standards for the re-usable article.

[0023] In many types of work flow, the person(s) handling the sale will process the payment before readying the re-usable article for dispensing. This means that, in most situations the date / time of sale will be shortly before the date / time of scan of the identification tag.

[0024] Therefore, the basis for the correlation may be that the date and time of the dispensing of the, or each, article occurs immediately after the date and time of the sale of said purchased item, and before the date and time of a sale of a subsequently purchased item. The basis for the correlation may be that the date and time of the dispensing of the, or each, article occurs within a predetermined period of time after the date and time of the sale of said purchased item.

[0025] In other situations, the work flow may tend to group dispensing of articles either shortly before or after a sale event. In this case, the time correlation may be on the basis that the date and time of dispensing of the, or each, article is the closest in time either before or after, to the time of sale of any of the purchased items.

[0026] In some cases, the transaction processing system may store the transaction data and the POD article data for a predetermined period of time, for example a working day, sufficient to ensure that all transaction data and POD article data has been received, prior to comparing the date / time components of these data to make each association within the predetermined period of time.

[0027] The transaction processing system may be configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POD article data by the transaction processing system. In this way, receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system may trigger collection of the transaction data from the payment processing system. In this way, the transaction processing system may obtain data from the payment processing only when triggered in this way, which may reduce unnecessary requests. Also, with this arrangement, each article may be associated with the correct corresponding unique sale identifier (and thus the corresponding sale) at or shortly after the same time that the article is dispensed, so that the successful association of the article with the sale can be completed before the article is taken away, and this success can optionally be indicated to a user of the system.

[0028] Alternatively, the transaction processing system may be configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POC article data by the transaction processing system. In this case, transaction data are only obtained by the transaction processing system in respect of articles which have been returned to a collection point, which may reduce unnecessary transfer of data between parts of the system.

[0029] In some embodiments, the system may be configured to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the identification tag in response to the transaction data being received by the transaction processing system. For example, following a sale, the transaction data may be obtained by the transaction processing system. The transaction processing system may be configured to send an instruction to the POD remote scanner which may cause the POD scanner to remote-scan read the identification tag of any of the articles in proximity with the POD remote scanner. In this way, scanning of the article identification tag may be completed automatically following a sale, without a staff member being required to manually trigger scanning of the article by the POD scanner.

[0030] Preferably the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting from the payment processing system transaction data comprising transaction time data relating to the last transaction in a predetermined period of time ending with said date and time of said dispensing of said article. In this way, the or each unique article identifier may be reliably associated with the correct corresponding sale.

[0031] Preferably the system is configured to communicate with an Application Programming Interface (API) configured to provide an interface between the transaction processing system and the payment processing system.

[0032] Preferably the system comprises an Application Programming Interface (API) for the exchange of data between the transaction processing system and the POD scanner. Preferably the transaction processing system is configured, upon receiving said POD article data, to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting said transaction data from the payment processing system via an API. In this way, the transaction processing system may interface with, and obtain data from, the payment processing system, whilst remaining separate from or external to the payment processing system. For example, the payment processing system may not form part of the system of the present invention and may be provided by an external payment provider, but the transaction processing system may still be arranged to obtain data from the payment processing system.

[0033] Preferably the transaction processing system is configured to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier, upon receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system. Alternatively, the transaction processing system may have already obtained transaction data from the payment processing system and may only make said comparison upon the occurrence of another event, such as at a predetermined time, or at intervals, or upon receipt of the POC article data by the transaction processing system.

[0034] Often, there will be at least one used article collection point within any of the POS establishments within the system.

[0035] In this case, the POD scanner and the POC scanner may be provided by the same scanner. For example, a scanner may be provided at the point-of-sale, and the same scanner may be used to scan an article when the article is returned by a consumer to the same POS establishment.

[0036] However, there may be at least one used article collection point not located within any POS establishment. Preferably, the system comprises a plurality of article collection points at a plurality of different locations remote from the POS establishment.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the article collection point comprises a receptacle for receiving a plurality of said articles. The POC scanner may be configured to remote-scan read the plurality of articles collected in the receptacle, thereby to generate said POC article data for each of the articles in the receptacle. The POC scanner may be separate from the receptacle, and the POC scanner may be configured to remote-scan read the plurality of articles in the receptacle when the POC scanner is brought into proximity to the receptacle.

[0038] The system may comprise a counting arrangement configured to determine a number of said articles received in or by the receptacle. The counting arrangement may comprise a weighing arrangement configured to determine said number of articles by weighing the collected articles.

[0039] The identification tag may comprise a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. In this case, the remote-scan point-of-collection reader and / or the remote-scan point-of-dispensing reader may be an RFID reader. Additionally or alternatively, the identification tag may comprise a machine readable bar code and the remote-scan point-of-collection reader and / or the remotescan point-of-dispensing reader may comprise a bar code reader. In this specification, the term “remote-scan” is intended to refer to any suitable scanning or reading method and / or equipment which does not require physical abutment between a scanner and an item being scanned, such as RFID, near-field communication (NFC), optical scanners (e.g. barcode scanners) and the like. The term bar code includes any type of bar code, for example UPC bar codes and QR codes.

[0040] When the identification tag comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, and the remote-scan point-of-collection reader is an RFID reader, it may be necessary to prevent false readings of a article being deposited. This can be done by including a Faraday cage in an interior volume of a receptacle for the returned articles , and then by locating the RFID reader within the Faraday cage. In this way, the Faraday cage prevents remote-scan reading of any identification tag if not deposited within the interior volume of the receptacle.

[0041] The system of the present invention is preferably arranged to be used with a sale terminal and / or payment processing system which do not form part of the present invention. For example, the system may be arranged to interface and exchange data with external payment processing systems and / or sale terminals from different providers. In this way a user of the system such as an operator of the POS establishment may not need to make changes at the POS establishment such as replacing existing sale terminal hardware or switching to a different payment processing system. In some embodiments however, the system may comprise the at least one POS establishment and / or the at least one sale terminal. Preferably the payment processing system is a card payment processing system.

[0042] The system may comprise a plurality of said POS establishments and / or a plurality of collection points. For example, the system may comprise a plurality of coffee shops, bars or other retail establishments. A plurality of collection points may be provided so that a consumer is able to return one or more of the articles to a collection point at a convenient location. A plurality of collection points (for example comprising collection bins) may be provided at locations away from the or each POS establishment. For instance, collection points may be provided proximate exit routes for leaving an area in which the system is used, and in which the POS establishment may be located, such as a shopping centre, sports stadium or other venue. In this way, a consumer may return an article to one of the collection points when leaving the area.

[0043] Preferably the system comprises a feedback system linked to the POD scanner and preferably the transaction processing system is configured to transmit to the feedback system data indicating whether or not said unique article identifier of the, or each said scanned article has successfully been associated with said unique sale identifier. The feedback system may be configured to convey to the user whether or not said unique article identifier of the, or each said scanned article has successfully been associated with said unique sale identifier. In this way a user of the system can verify if the article has been associated with a sale before passing the article to the consumer, to help ensure that the consumer will receive a deposit when the article is returned.

[0044] The system may comprise a device configured to provide a user interface to a user, and wherein the device is configured: following more than one sale of said purchase items, to display to a user, by the user interface, a representation based on at least part of the transaction data for each of said more than one sale; to receive from the user, by the user interface, a selection response indicating which transaction data are to be associated with POD article data of at least one of said articles; wherein the system is configured; to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the identification tag of at least one of said articles included in said more than one sale, and following receipt of the selection response, to associate the unique article identifier of said at least one article with the unique sale identifier linked to the transaction data indicated in the selection response; and to transmit the associated article identifier and unique sale identifier to the transaction processing system.

[0045] Preferably the device is configured to display said representation to the user before using said POD remote scanner to remote-scan read an identification tag of any of the articles included in said more than one sale. The system may be configured to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the unique article identifier of said at least one article in response to receiving the selection response from the user.

[0046] In some embodiments, said transaction data comprises payment card token data to identify a payment card used to pay for said purchase, and the transaction processing system is configured, upon receipt of said POD article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, to store data linking the or each unique article identifier and said associated unique sale identifier with said card token data, thereby to associate the or each dispensed article with the payment card. The transaction processing system may be configured, upon receipt of said POC article data, to store data linking the or each article received at said collection point with said unique sale identifier and said card token data, thereby to associate the or each article received at said collection point with said payment card.

[0047] In such embodiments, following a subsequent purchase comprising at least one article , said purchase using said same payment card, and following remote-scan reading of the identification tag of said subsequently purchased article by the POD remote scanner, the transaction processing system may be configured, following receipt of the POD article data relating to the or each said subsequently purchased article, to compare a number of dispensed articles linked with said payment card token with a number of articles received at an article collection point and linked with said payment card token, thereby to determine an article borrowing status for said payment card token. The article borrowing status may comprise a number of said articles which have been dispensed and not returned. The transaction processing system may be configured, based on the determined article borrowing status, to transmit an instruction to a feedback system linked with the POD remote scanner. The instruction may indicate whether or not an additional payment should be taken for the purchase of said subsequently purchased article.

[0048] In this case the sale price of the purchased item may include a membership fee and / or the deposit may comprise the membership fee, payment of which is linked to the payment card token, to permit a user of the payment card to borrow one or more of the re-usable articles. The number of dispensed articles and the number of returned articles linked to said payment card token may then be stored, to determine a number of articles (which may be zero) which have been dispensed to the user of the payment card but not yet returned. When the user makes a subsequent purchase, they may only be permitted to receive a re-useable article if the number of dispensed but unreturned articles is at or below a predetermined number (e.g., zero, one or two articles), or if an additional membership fee or refundable deposit is paid. The predetermined number of articles may be set for each card token, or per membership fee paid for that card token. For example, if the predetermined number is one article, a user may be permitted to borrow two articles if they have paid two membership fees; one article per membership. The membership fee may be non-refundable. In some cases, membership may be given free of charge. A membership linked with a payment card token may expire after a predetermined period of time.

[0049] Also according to the invention there is provided a method of collecting a return deposit from a consumer for at least one reusable article at a point-of-sale (POS) establishment, and then (optionally) refunding the deposit at a later time, when the, or each, article is returned for reuse, said article having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier, said POS establishment comprising a sale terminal having an associated location code and being linked with a payment processing system wherein the method comprises: using the sale terminal to take from a consumer a payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, the sale price including a return deposit, and each item comprising a reusable article to be dispensed to the consumer in the POS establishment; locating in proximity with the sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of- dispensing (POD) reader; when the, or each, identification tag is brought into proximity with the POD remote scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when said article is to be dispensed to a consumer, said POD remote scanner generating POD article data for each of said dispensed articles, said data representing the unique article identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; locating, either at the POS establishment or elsewhere, at least one used article collection point, and using the article collection point to receive one or more of said articles after use; locating in proximity with the article collection point, an associated remote-scan point- of-collection (POC) reader; when the identification tag of the, or each, article to be returned is brought into proximity with the POC scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when, the, or each article is returned to the article collection point, said POC scanner generating POC article data for each of said returned articles, said data representing the unique article identifier; and linking a cloud-based transaction processing system, the POD remote scanner, the POC remote scanner and the payment processing system; following a sale of said purchase item, using the sale terminal to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, using the POD remote scanner to transmit said POD article data to the transaction processing system, said POD article data further comprising scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said article; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC reader, using the POC reader to transmit said POC article data to the transaction processing system; obtaining said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system and storing said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier in the transaction processing system; upon receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system, using the transaction processing system to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and then to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, article and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

[0050] Preferably the or each article comprises a container such as a hand-held portable container.

[0051] Accordingly, the present invention also provides a method of collecting a return deposit from a consumer for at least one hand-held portable container at a point-of-sale (POS) establishment, and then (optionally) refunding the deposit at a later time, when the, or each, hand-held portable container is returned for re-use, said container having an identification tag with an associated unique container identifier, said POS establishment comprising a sale terminal having an associated location code and being linked with a payment processing system wherein the method comprises: using the sale terminal to take from a consumer a payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, the sale price including a return deposit, and each item comprising a hand-held portable container to be dispensed to the consumer in the POS establishment; locating in proximity with the sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of- dispensing (POD) reader; when the, or each, identification tag is brought into proximity with the POD remote scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when said hand-held portable container is to be dispensed to a consumer, said POD remote scanner generating POD container data for each of said dispensed hand-held portable containers, said data representing the unique container identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; locating, either at the POS establishment or elsewhere, at least one used container collection point, and using the container collection point to receive one or more of said handheld portable containers after use; locating in proximity with the container collection point, an associated remote-scan point-of-collection (POC) reader; when the identification tag of the, or each, hand-held portable container to be returned is brought into proximity with the POC scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when, the, or each hand-held portable container is returned to the container collection point, said POC scanner generating POC container data for each of said returned hand-held portable containers, said data representing the unique container identifier; and linking a cloud-based transaction processing system, the POD remote scanner, the POC remote scanner and the payment processing system; following a sale of said purchase item, using the sale terminal to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, using the POD remote scanner to transmit said POD container data to the transaction processing system, said POD container data further comprising scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said hand-held portable container; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC reader, using the POC reader to transmit said POC container data to the transaction processing system; obtaining said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system and storing said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier in the transaction processing system; upon receipt of the POD container data by the transaction processing system, using the transaction processing system to compare the scan time data in the POD container data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and then to associate the, or each, unique container identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, hand-held portable container and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

[0052] Preferably the method comprises refunding the deposit at a later time. The method may comprise, upon receipt of said POC article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, using the transaction processing system to transmit a partial refund instruction to the payment processing system, said instruction comprising said unique sale identifier associated with the, or each, said unique article identifier represented in said POC article data, and an amount for the deposit to be refunded.

[0053] The method may comprise linking the sale terminal having the associated location code to the card payment processing system. The method may comprise bringing the, or each, identification tag into proximity with the POD remote scanner. The method may comprise bringing the, or each, article to be returned into proximity with the POC scanner.

[0054] The basis of said correlation may be that that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article occurs immediately after the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and before the date and time of a sale of a subsequently purchased item.

[0055] Alternatively, the basis of said correlation may be that that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article is the closest in time either before or after, to the time of sale of any of said purchased items.

[0056] The method may comprise obtaining said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POD article data by the transaction processing system. Alternatively the method may comprise obtaining said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POC article data by the transaction processing system.

[0057] In some embodiments, the method may comprise, in response to the receipt of said transaction data by the transaction processing system, sending an instruction (for example from the transaction processing system) to the POD remote scanner to cause the POD remote scanner to perform or initiate a scan for remote-scan reading the, or each, identification tag of any articles in proximity with the POD remote scanner. An instruction may be sent to the POD scanner repeatedly until at least one identification tag is scanned, or until a predetermined number of identification tags have been scanned. In this way the transaction processing system may poll the POD scanner until the identification tag of at least one article has been scanned. Alternatively, the POD scanner may be configured to perform a scan repeatedly in response to a single (or repeated) instruction from the transaction processing system, until at least one identification tag is scanned. The instruction may include the predetermined number of identification tags to be scanned by the POD scanner, for example based on transaction data received by the transaction processing system, which may indicate a number of articles (each with an identification tag) forming part of the sale. In some cases an article may not be in proximity with the POD scanner when the instruction is received by the POD scanner. Receipt of the instruction may cause the POD scanner to initiate a scan whether or not an identification tag is in proximity with the POD scanner. This scan may or may not result in scanning and reading of an identification tag. However, repeated polling of the POD scanner and / or repeated scanning by the POD scanner may continue until an article (and its identification tag) is brough into proximity with the POD scanner.

[0058] The step of using the transaction processing system to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of said correlation in time may be performed in response to receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system. Alternatively this step may be performed at a predetermined time, and / or a predetermined intervals and / or in response to receipt of the POC article data by the transaction processing system.

[0059] Preferably the step of obtaining the transaction data from the payment processing system comprises sending a request to the payment processing system from the transaction processing system via an API.

[0060] Preferably the method comprises obtaining said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting from the payment processing system transaction data comprising transaction time data relating to the last transaction in a predetermined period of time ending with said date and time of said dispensing of said article.

[0061] In some embodiments, said transaction data comprises payment card token data to identify a payment card used to pay for said purchase, and the method may comprise: upon receipt of said POD article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, using the transaction processing system to store data linking the or each unique article identifier and said associated unique sale identifier with said card token data, thereby to associate the or each dispensed article with the payment card. The method may comprise, upon receipt of said POC article data, using the transaction processing system to store data linking the or each article received at said collection point with said unique sale identifier and said card token data, thereby to associate the or each article received at said collection point with said payment card. The method may comprise, following a subsequent purchase comprising at least one article, said purchase using said same payment card, following remote-scan reading of the identification tag of said subsequently purchased article by the POD remote scanner, using the transaction processing system, following receipt of the POD article data relating to the or each said subsequently purchased article, to compare a number of dispensed articles linked with said payment card token with a number of articles received at an article collection point and linked with said payment card token, thereby to determine an article borrowing status for said payment card token.

[0062] The method may comprise: following more than one sale of said purchase items, using the device to display to a user a representation of at least part of the transaction data for each sale; using the device, receiving from the user a selection response indicating which transaction data are to be associated with POD article data of at least one of said articles ; using the POD remote scanner, remote-scan reading the identification tag of the article corresponding to the selected transaction data thereby to associate the unique article identifier of said article with the unique sale identifier linked to the transaction data indicated in the received selection response; and transmitting the associated article identifier and unique sale identifier to the transaction processing system.

[0063] In this way the method may comprise an ‘override’ option, in which, where more than one sale or order is in progress simultaneously at the POS establishment, data are presented to a user to enable the user manually to associate a unique article identifier with a unique sale identifier in a circumstance in which the automatic association of the unique article identifier and unique sale identifier on the basis of time may be less reliable.

[0064] The method may comprise providing the device. The device may be configured to provide a user interface to a user. Preferably the method comprises using the device to display, by the user interface, said representation to the user before using said POD remote scanner to remote-scan read an identification tag of any of the articles included in said more than one sale.

[0065] The method may comprise obtaining the transaction data and / or the unique sale identifier from the payment processing system and transmitting the transaction data and / or the unique sale identifier to the device. For example, the method may comprise using a processing system (such as the transaction processing system, or another system such as a web service) to obtain the transaction data and / or unique sale identifier from the payment processing system and to transmit the transaction data and / or the unique sale identifier to the device.

[0066] The method may comprise using the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the unique article identifier of the corresponding article in response to receiving the selection response from the user.

[0067] In preferred examples, the device may be configured to transmit the selection response provided by the user to the transaction processing system or another web-based system. Preferably the transaction processing system is configured to, in response to receiving the selection response, transmit a signal to the POD remote scanner to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the article identifier of an article in proximity to the POD remote scanner. In this way, a single action (inputting a selection response via the user interface) is required from the user to associate a sale with a corresponding article.

[0068] Alternatively, the step of receiving the selection response from the user may follow remotescan reading of the article identifier of the corresponding article. That is, the user may scan one or more articles, and subsequently provide a selection response indicating which of the more than one sales is to be associated with those articles.

[0069] The method may comprise obtaining the transaction data for said more than one sale from the payment processing system.

[0070] The collection point may comprise a receptable, and the method may comprise collecting in the receptacle a plurality of said articles and bringing the POC scanner into proximity with the receptacle to scan the plurality of articles collected in the receptacle to generate said POC article data for each of the articles in the receptacle.

[0071] The method may comprise collecting the articles in the receptacle and subsequently bringing the POC scanner into proximity with the receptacle. The method may comprise collecting the articles at a first location, transporting the articles to a second location and scanning the articles at the second location. For example, the receptacle may be transported, or may be emptied and the contents (articles, such as containers) transported to the second location for scanning. The method may comprise determining a number of articles collected in the receptacle and scanning the collected articles until a number of unique article identifiers scanned is equal to the determined number of articles. Determining said number of articles may comprise weighing the collected articles (for example by weighing the receptacle) to determine the number of articles collected in the receptacle.

[0072] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0074] Figures 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams illustrating the main components of a system for the re-using of hand-held portable containers in a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the interaction between components at a point-of-sale (POS) establishment, a container collection point, and a remote payment processing system and a cloud-based transaction processing system for coordinating the collection and ultimate refund of deposit for re-usable drinks containers, such as coffee cups;

[0075] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the steps in a process for dispensing the coffee cup when a cup of coffee or other drink is purchased by a consumer in the coffee shop, and the communication that takes place between components of the system at the coffee shop and the remote payment processing system and the cloud-based transaction processing system; and

[0076] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating the steps in a process for collecting the used coffee cup, either at the original point-of-sale or another location, in which the cup is deposited into a collection bin of a container collection point, and the communication that takes place between components of the system at the container collection point and the remote payment processing system and the cloud-based transaction processing system.

[0077] DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0078] The present invention relates to systems and methods for re-using reusable articles which may be dispensed to a user. In some embodiments, the present invention is particularly suitable for the re-use of handheld portable containers, although the invention is also suitable for the reuse of other articles which may be borrowed or hired by a user, and / or articles which are provided with an item purchased by the user.

[0079] Figure 1 shows the main components of part of a system 1A for the re-using of reusable articles such as hand-held portable containers. In this example, the containers are hand-held drinking vessels, for example a coffee cup 2. The coffee cup is suitable for take-away, and so comes with a main body 3 and clip-on lid 4.

[0080] For the sake of clarity in Figures 1 to 4, conventional components such as electrical power supplies, data connectors, antennas and signal cables are not shown.

[0081] The cup is dispensed within a point-of-sale (POS) establishment, which in this example is a coffee shop 5. Within the coffee shop 5 is a sale terminal 6, and a card reader, in this example a debit and credit card reader s. Although not illustrated, the coffee shop will, in general, have a store of many such cups, in different sizes and for different types of drink.

[0082] Each cup 2 has an identification tag 10. This may be affixed externally to the main body 3 of the cup, but is preferably moulded into the main body of the cup, preferably in the base of the cup. The tag 10 is preferably waterproof / dishwasher-proof. The tag 10 is an RFID tag, which when queried by a remote-scan point-of-dispensing (POD) remote scanner 12, here comprising an RFID reader 15, returns a radio signal encoding a unique container identifier 14. In this example, the POD remote scanner 12 (which may also be referred to as a POD scanning arrangement 12) includes a local processor or single-board computer, for example a Raspberry Pi m4 Compute Module (Trade Marks) 13. Other types of relatively inexpensive computing modules may alternatively be used, such as a tablet computer. The local processor 13 of the POD remote scanner 12 is configured to store data representing one or more of the unique container identifiers 14. An application is configured to run on the local processor, and the application is configured to communicate with an external service in response to the scanning of an identification tag 10.

[0083] The sale terminal 6 is linked 16 to the card reader 8, and in this example, is linked to a main computing unit 18 of the sale terminal. The main unit 18 is conventional and includes the usual components such as a display 19, and so will not be further described in detail. The main computing unit 18 is configured to communicate with a payment processing system 30 for processing payments (e.g. card payments) taken at the terminal 6, as described further below. The sale terminal 6 has an associated location code, which in this embodiment is a sequence of alphanumeric characters to distinguish this sale terminal from other sale terminals. The computer 13 of the POD remote scanner 12 also stores data representing the same location code. In this way, the location of the POD scanner 12 can be linked to the location of the terminal 6 and the POD scanner is configured to transmit data representing the location of the terminal, as described further below.

[0084] The sale terminal 6 and remote-scan POD remote scanner 12 are in proximity with each other, in the sense that a worker operating a till may also scan cups 2 over the POD remote scanner reader 15 as part of the same sale process. Alternatively, if the worker is part of a team in operating a common work environment in a work flow handling the sales put through the sale terminal, the proximity may be with other members of the same team. In either case, the sale terminal 6 and remote-scan POD remote scanner 12 are in proximity with each other in the same work environment.

[0085] When a cup 2 is scanned, the POD remote scanner 12 generates POD article data, which in this example is POD container data 22, for each hand-held portable container brought into proximity with the reader 12. The data 22 represents the unique container identifier 14 and the location code of the associated sale terminal 6.

[0086] Optionally, the POD remote scanner 12 is connected to a feedback system 25, for providing useful information to an operator such as the status of the POD remote scanner itself or the progress of a cup scanning operation (for example to indicate that a scan has completed successfully, or has failed).

[0087] Both the sale terminal 6 and the POD remote scanner 12 are enabled to communicate with remote services over the internet. This may be accomplished in several different known ways, but in this example, both are connected to a local area network router 24 either wirelessly or with wired connections. The router is connected to a wide area network 26 in the external world, which may be any type of telecommunications network, including a public switched telephone network or a broadband IP-based network.

[0088] Through the wide area network 26, both the sale terminal 6 and the POD remote scanner 12 can communicate with external services. The external services germane to this invention are a transaction processing system 28 and the payment processing system 30 for processing card payments. Each of the payment processing system 30 and the transaction processing system 28 need not be located in or near the POS establishment 5, and in this embodiment the payment processing system 30 and the transaction processing system 28 are remote (for example cloud-based).

[0089] The transaction processing system 28 is configured to receive POD container data from the POD scanner 12 and to receive or obtain transaction data from the payment processing system 30, as described further below. In this embodiment the transaction processing system 28 is a distributed system, provided as a cloud-based web service. In preferred embodiments, the transaction processing system may exchange data with the POD scanner and / or the payment processing system using authentication tokens, to improve security. Data may be exchanged between the transaction processing system and the POD scanner and / or payment processing system using the JSON format. Preferably the system comprises an Application Programming Interface (API) (not shown) for the exchange of data between the transaction processing system and the POD scanner.

[0090] Another API 20 provides an interface between an application of the transaction processing system 28 and an application of the payment processing system 30. The API provides a service between these two applications and the API defines how the applications communicate with each other using requests and responses. In particular, the API is configured to return data from the payment processing system 30 to the transaction processing system 28 following a request for such data from the transaction processing system 28 to the API 20, as described further below. In this embodiment, the API 20 is provided as part of the payment processing system 30 and may be referred to as a POS (point-of-sale) API. In preferred embodiments, parts of the system of the present invention are arranged to communicate with the API and payment processing system, but the API and payment processing system do not form part of the present invention.

[0091] Figure 2 shows the other part 1 B of a system for the re-using of articles such as hand-held portable containers. The illustrated components are those that take part in the return of a deposit to a customer. Some components may be the same or similar to those of the first part shown in Figure 1. Therefore, these same or similar components will be indicated using the same reference numerals incremented by 100.

[0092] The deposit return process is initiated when a customer deposits a hand-held portable container, such as a used cup 102, at a collection point 105. The collection point 105 may be at generally the same physical location as the POS establishment 5 (e.g., within the coffee shop, or immediately outside), or it may be at a different location. The system may comprise many such collection points, at different locations, for example at a plurality of POS establishments throughout a town or city, at a retail centre, transport (e.g., rail or bus) station, and / or other suitable locations.

[0093] The container collection point 105 comprises a remote-scan point-of-collection (POC) scanner 112, in this embodiment comprising at least one RFID reader 115, 115’ for remotescan reading of the identification tag 110 when these are brought into proximity with the POC readers 115, 115’. In this example, the used cups 102 are to be deposited in a collection container 32. This has three receptacles: a liquid receptacle 33 into which undrunk coffee may be poured 34; a lid receptacle 35 into which lids 104 may be deposited 36, and a main receptacle 37 into which the cup main body 103 may be deposited 38.

[0094] In this example, there are two (POC) readers 115, 115’ located inside the main receptacle 37, as shown schematically by dashed lines in the drawing. This arrangement may be used if the range of an individual reader 115 is not sufficient to completely scan the volume of receptacle 37 on its own. Alternatively, multiple antennae may be connected to a single reader, or depending on the dimensions of the receptacle relative to a scanning range of the reader, a single reader may be sufficient.

[0095] Optionally, the POC remote scanner 112 is connected to a feedback system 125, for providing useful information to a consumer or an operator such as the status of the POC remote scanner itself or the progress of a cup scanning operation. For example, the feedback system 125 may indicate to a consumer returning a cup that the cup has been successfully scanned, and / or the feedback system 125 may indicate to an operator when the receptacle is full and needs to be emptied. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, a POC reader may be provided by the same scanner as the POD scanner 12, or another scanner which serves as a POD scanner forming part of the system 1 A. In this way, for example, a consumer may return a cup 2 to the same location at which the cup was purchased, and the cup may be scanned and returned using the same scanner 12, at the point of sale. In some such embodiments, therefore, a container collection point may include a sale terminal and card reader, however, these components are not necessary at the container collection point for a refund to be generated.

[0096] As will be explained in more detail below, the refund process in a preferred embodiment of the invention uses the API 20, to facilitate transmission of a request from the transaction processing system to the payment processing system to cause the payment processing system to refund the deposit.

[0097] As described above, the POC remote scanner 112 connects to a local area network and through to the external wide area network 26 and to the transaction processing system 28 and the payment processing system 30 for processing card transactions.

[0098] The functional configuration of the system 1A,1 B described above, and a preferred embodiment of a method of collecting a return deposit from a consumer for at least one handheld portable container at a point-of-sale establishment, and then refunding the deposit at a later time, when the, or each, hand-held portable container is returned for re-use, will now be further described with reference to Figure 3 and 4.

[0099] Figure 3 illustrates a process 200 at the point-of-sale 5, which starts 201 , when a customer 202 asks to buy a coffee, and confirms their participation in a cup re-use scheme 203. A barista 205 uses card reader 8 at the sale terminal 6 to charge the customer in a sale 206 of the drink, the sale price, for example £3.00, including a relatively small deposit, for example £0.30.

[0100] At this stage, the sale process generates transaction data in the form of sales data 208, including the cost 209 of the coffee (£2.70), the amount 210 of the deposit (£0.30) and the purchase date / time 211 and location 212 of the sale. The sales data 208 is linked with a unique sale identifier 214 provided by the payment processing system 30 and / or the sale terminal 6 that uniquely identifies the sale of the purchased cup of coffee 2, 50. This sales data 208 is transmitted to a point-of sale (POS) server 216 forming part of the payment processing system 30. The unique sale identifier 214 may be provided by the terminal (in which case the unique sale identifier may form part of the sales data), or may be provided by the payment processing system.

[0101] In parallel with the above steps, the order is being physically processed by the barista 205. The barista may write 230 the name of the customer on the main body of the cup 3 using a dry wipe marker. The named cup 2 is then scanned 232 over the RFID reader 12. As mentioned above, the computer 13 associated with the reader 12 then provides the feedback 25 to the barista 205 as to whether or not the scan is successful. If not 233, then the scan is repeated 232. If so 234, then the barista can make the ordered drink 50. The scanned cup 2 including the contained drink 50 is then provided to the customer 236. This is the end 238 of the item sale process. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the cup may be scanned after the drinks have been made.

[0102] A successful scan also results in the POD scanner 12 generating point-of dispensing (POD) article data, which in this example is POD container data 240. The POD container data 240 comprises data 241 representing the unique container identifier 14, data including scan time data 242 that identifies the time and date of the dispensing of the cup 2, and data 243 representing the location code of the associated sale terminal 6.

[0103] The application running on the single-board computer 13 then transmits this POD container data 240 to the cloud-based transaction processing system 28, in this example in the form of an HTTPS request. The receipt of the POD container data 240 by the transaction processing system (web service) 28 causes the transaction processing system 28 to request 248, from the point-of-sale API 20, transaction data in the form of purchase data 250. In this way the transaction processing system 28 requests and obtains transaction data from the payment processing system 30 (via the API 20). The transaction processing system requests the purchase data containing the same location code as the location code contained in the received POD container data, so as to request purchase data for sales made at the location at which the cup was dispensed. The purchase data 250 comprises purchase date and time data 211 and location data 212 of the sale, and the unique sale identifier 214 which uniquely identifies the sale of the purchased cup of coffee 2, 50. In some embodiments, instead of requesting the purchase data from the payment processing system in response to receiving the POD container data, the transaction processing system may automatically and periodically (e.g. once every second) request the purchase data from the payment processing system (via the API).

[0104] In order to associate the received POD data 240 with the correct unique sale identifier (and thus with the correct sale corresponding to the cup(s) identified in the POD container data), the transaction processing system 28 is configured to request from the payment processing system 30 (via the API 20) transaction data relating to a sale correlated in time with the scan time data contained in the received POD data.

[0105] In preferred embodiments, the transaction processing system 28 is configured to request transaction data relating to the latest sale in a predetermined period of time ending with the time of the scan 232. In preferred embodiments, the predetermined period may be set to represent the longest period of time expected between a sale 206 and scanning 232 of the cup(s) corresponding to that sale 206. For example, the predetermined period might be 10 minutes, such that the transaction processing system 28 requests transaction data relating to the latest (i.e., last) sale in a period of 10 minutes ending with the time of the scan 232. In this way, a cup unique container identifier 14 (or a plurality of such identifiers 14) is associated with the correct corresponding sale 206 and unique sale identifier 214 on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, hand-held portable container 2 and the date and time of the sale 206. Each unique sale identifier 214 and associated container identifier(s) are stored by the transaction processing system 28.

[0106] In other embodiments, the association of the unique sale identifier with one or more article identifiers such as container identifiers 14 may be performed by first requesting 248 transaction data from the payment processing system 30 and subsequently processing this data in the transaction processing system 28. In this case, upon receipt of both the POD container data 240, 240’ and the transaction data 250, the transaction processing system 28 then compares the transaction time data 211 in the collected transaction data 250 with the scan time data 242 in the POD container data 240. The transaction processing system 28 then associates the, or each, unique container identifier 241 with one unique sale identifier 214 on the basis of a correlation 260 in time between the date and time of the scanning and dispensing 232 of the, or each, hand-held portable container 2 and the date and time of said sale 206 of the purchased drink 2, 50.

[0107] Similarly to as described above, this association may be made by taking the unique sale identifier from the latest (in time) sale 206 within a period of time ending with the time of the scan 232. Alternatively, the association may be made by identifying the time of the scan 232 which is closest in time to the time of a sale 206 and which is before a subsequent sale.

[0108] Optionally, the transaction processing system 28 may collect multiple POD container data 255. For example, one sale may consist of two or more drinks 50, each in its own cup 2. Whether there is one set of POD container data 240, or multiple such sets, this is represented in Figure 3 by the data box labelled 240’, which represents the POD container data collected by the transaction processing system 28.

[0109] In some embodiments, the transaction processing system may be configured to transmit data to the computer 13 of the scanner 12 subsequent to an attempt to associate a unique container identifier with a unique sale identifier. For example, if the attempt is successful, the transaction processing system may transmit data confirming this success, and the computer 13 may be arranged to provide feedback to the barista to confirm the success. Alternatively, if the attempted association is unsuccessful, (for example if there is more than one sale, each of which has occurred similarly close in time to the scanning of one or more containers), the computer may provide feedback (e.g. via a user interface such as a tablet screen) to allow the barista or other staff member to select manually the sale which corresponds to the scanned container(s).

[0110] Similarly, in some embodiments, an override feature may be provided to enable a user such a staff member to manually associate a container with a transaction (and thus to associate a unique container identifier with a unique sale identifier) in a situation in which automatically making the association using the transaction processing system may be less reliable. Such situations may occur where a plurality of sales has occurred relatively close together in time at the same location (e.g. at the same POS establishment), and potentially before any cups 2 related to those sales have yet been scanned. In this case, a device (for instance a mobile device such as a tablet) may be configured to display to the user, via a graphical user interface, a visual representation of each of the sales in progress, and for which no cup has yet been scanned. The user may then select (for example by tapping a touch screen of the device) a sale before subsequently scanning the corresponding cup(s) included in the sale. Alternatively, the cup(s) may be scanned first, and the user may then select, using the device, the sale to which the cup belongs. The unique container identifier and unique sale identifier thus associated are transmitted to the transaction processing system.

[0111] In preferred examples, this override feature is provided by a web app and web service. The web app (which may be part of, or separate from, the transaction processing system 28) is configured to obtain the transaction data and / or the unique sale identifier for recent sales from the payment processing system 30 and to transmit the transaction data and / or the unique sale identifier to the device. The app may be configured to regularly poll (e.g., once every 10 seconds) an API (such as the API 20) associated with the payment processing system 30 in order to obtain the transaction data. The web app is configured to display the transaction data on the device and to receive a selection response from the user via the graphical user interface to indicate which sale should be associated with a cup which has recently been scanned or is to be scanned. Preferably, receipt of a selection response from the user causes the web service to transmit (e.g. push) a signal to the POD scanner, to cause the POD scanner to scan a cup placed in proximity to the POD scanner. In this way, the user may place a cup on or near the POD scanner, and select the corresponding sale / order, and the cup will be scanned.

[0112] Figure 4 illustrates a preferred process 300 for the collection for re-use of the dispensed articles and the subsequent refund to the consumer of the deposit portion 210 of the original sale 206. The process 300 which starts 301 when a person, usually the original customer 202, wants to return the used cup 102 in order to receive a refund of the deposit 301 .

[0113] The customer will go to the collection point 105, and in the collection container 32 deposit 302 the lid 104, and also tip out 303 any leftover liquid 34, after which the used cup 102 is discarded 304 into the main receptacle 37 of the collection container 32.

[0114] The two point-of-collection (POC) remote-scan readers 115, 115’ inside the main receptacle 37 are configured to scan 306 the entire volume of the receptacle at regular intervals, for example, once every minute. The scan returns a radio signal encoding a unique container identifier 114 to one or both of the remote scanners 115, 115’.

[0115] A feedback system 125 gives audio / video cues 308 to both the customer depositing the used cup 102 as well as any staff who are responsible for or monitoring the collection container 32.

[0116] The single board computer or microcontroller 113 of the POC remote scanning arrangement 112 stores 310 a data set 70 including all the associated unique container identifiers 114 that have been detected by scanning. The computer 113 compares the most recent scanned unique container identifiers 114 with the stored data set 70, and if a new unique container identifier is identified, then this is transmitted 312 as POC container data 340 to the cloudbased transaction processing system 28.

[0117] In other embodiments, the articles such as containers (cups) may be collected in a receptacle which does not comprise any remote-scan readers. For example, the receptacle may be a bin or bulk container or bag, and a plurality of the cups may be collected in the receptacle before subsequently being scanned. The receptacle may be scanned in a single operation (for example at the end of the day when the POS establishment has closed) by bringing a scanner (such as the POC remote scanner) into proximity with the receptacle to scan all of the cups collected in the receptacle. In this case a handheld POC remote scanner device may be used, and a user may direct the scanner at the receptacle to scan all of the collected cups in bulk. The handheld scanner may comprise an ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID scanner capable of scanning the cups within a relatively large receptacle such as a collection bin, which may hold hundreds of collected cups. In some examples, the receptacle may be emptied (or a bag in the receptacle may be removed from the receptacle) and the cups transported to a different locating from the collection point, for subsequent scanning.

[0118] In some cases, the number of articles such as cups collected at the collection point (e.g. in the receptacle) is determined or estimated prior to scanning, for example using a sensor to count the number of cups which enter the receptacle over a period of time, or by weighing the receptacle. Subsequently, scanning of the receptacle is performed until the number of unique container identifiers scanned is substantially equal to the determined or estimated number of cups. This approach helps to ensure that all of the returned cups are scanned.

[0119] Following scanning of the returned cups, and transmission of the unique container identifiers to the transaction processing system 28, the transaction processing system 28 then sends 320 an instruction to the card payment processing system 30 to refund the deposit from the transaction linked to the specific unique container identifier 114 associated with the scanned used cup 102. This instruction is sent from the transaction processing system 28 to the payment processing system 30 via the API 20. The API 20 thus instructs 322 the card payment processing system 30 to refund the deposit to the customer.

[0120] Finally, the deposit 210 is returned 330 to the customer. The payment processing system may communicate with other establishments (not shown), such as a card provider, a bank account provider of the POS establishment and / or of the customer, in order to effect the refund relating to the unique sale identifier 214.

[0121] In preferred embodiments, the purchase data 250 comprises the data 210 relating to the amount of the deposit. In this way, the transaction processing system 28 may transmit an amount of the deposit as part of the instruction 320 to the payment processing system 30 via the API, so that the payment processing system 30 refunds the specified refund amount. In other embodiments, a deposit amount may be predetermined (e.g. agreed with the POS establishment) and stored by the transaction processing system so that this predetermined amount is sent with the refund instruction 320.

[0122] In some embodiments, additionally or alternatively to charging a consumer a deposit, a consumer may enter into a membership with the POS establishment, based on identification of the consumer by a payment card which is used to make the purchase comprising the reuseable container (or other reusable article). The optional steps followed in these embodiments are illustrated by boxes shown in dashed lines in Figures 3 and 4. In such embodiments, the transaction data transmitted from the terminal and / or provided by the payment processing system comprises payment card token data representing a payment card token which may be used to identify a payment card used to pay for a purchase. For example, the transaction data 250 obtained by the transaction processing system may comprise the payment card token data. In these embodiments therefore, following scanning of the purchased container (e.g. cup) at the POD scanner, the transaction processing system is configured to store (270) data linking the or each unique container identifier and the associated time-correlated unique sale identifier with the card token data, so that the identifier of the or each dispensed container is linked with the payment card (and thus with a customer membership), as shown in Figure 3. The transaction processing system is also configured (as shown in Figure 4), upon subsequent receipt of POC container data when the container is returned to a collection point, to store (276) data linking the or each returned container identifier with the unique sale identifier and the card token data, so that the or each returned container is linked with the consumer’s payment card.

[0123] In such embodiments, when the consumer makes a subsequent purchase comprising another portable container, using the same payment card, the container is scanned by the POD remote scanner and POD container data relating to the subsequently purchased container is transmitted to the transaction processing system. The transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of this POD container data, to compare (272) a number of previously dispensed portable containers linked with the payment card token (and thus linked with a specific payment card and membership) with a number of portable containers received at a container collection point and linked with the same payment card token. In this way, the transaction processing system is configured to track the number of containers which have been dispensed to that consumer (identified by their card token), and the number of those containers which have been returned. Accordingly, an article borrowing status (e.g., a container borrowing status) may be determined for that payment card token and associated membership and the container borrowing status may comprise a number of said containers which have been dispensed and not returned. The transaction processing system is configured, based on the determined container borrowing status, to transmit (274) an instruction to the feedback system linked with the POD remote scanner, as shown in Figure 4. The instruction may indicate to a staff member at the POS establishment whether or not a cup can be dispensed based on the borrowing status and / or an additional membership payment should be taken for the purchase of said subsequently purchased portable container.

[0124] In this case the sale price of the purchased item may include a membership fee, payment of which is linked to the payment card token, to permit a user of the payment card to borrow one or more of the re-usable containers. The number of dispensed containers and the number of returned containers linked to said payment card token is then be stored, to determine a number of containers (which may be zero) which have been dispensed to the user of the payment card but not yet returned. When the user makes a subsequent purchase, they may only be permitted to receive a re-useable container if the number of dispensed but unreturned containers is at or below a predetermined number (e.g., zero, one or two containers), or if an additional membership fee or refundable deposit is paid. The predetermined number of containers may be set for each card token, or per membership fee paid for that card token. For example, if the predetermined number is one container, a user may be permitted to borrow two containers if they have paid two membership fees; one container per membership. In some cases, if a consumer has purchased two or more memberships linked to the same card token, and the containers associated with at least one of those memberships is returned, the transaction processing system may instruct the payment processing system to issue a refund for at least one of the membership fees. The membership fee may be non-refundable. In some cases, membership may be given free of charge. A membership linked with a payment card token may expire after a predetermined period of time.

[0125] In some embodiments, article status data (e.g., container status data) may be stored which represents for each container and its associated identifier whether the container has most recently been dispensed and scanned by a POD scanner, or most recently collected (returned) and scanned by a POC scanner. Accordingly, the container status data may indicate whether a container is currently “checked out” (i.e. the container has been dispensed and not yet returned) or “checked in” (i.e. the container has been returned and / or not yet dispensed). This arrangement helps to ensure that only a single refund is instructed for each container for which a deposit has been paid and which is subsequently returned. For example, if a dispensed container is scanned more than once by a POC scanner (either inadvertently or deliberately), then following the first of those scans, the container status will be recorded as collected or checked in, such that a subsequent POC scan of the same container (or a subsequent scan of a spoof identification tag encoding the same identifier) will not result in a refund. This approach may also be used to help to prevent a deposit being charged more than once for the same container. For instance, if a consumer brings a dispensed container back to the POS for a refill having not returned the container to a collection point, the container status data for that container may be used to prevent a deposit from being charged. In the embodiments described above, the process of associating a unique container identifier 14, 114 with a corresponding unique sale identifier 214 is performed upon receipt by the transaction processing system 28 of the POD container data (i.e., following a cup 2 being scanned when being dispensed). It will be appreciated however, that in some embodiments, this association may be made later, upon receipt by the transaction processing system of the POC container data following return of a used cup. In this case, receipt of the POC container data (representing one or more unique container identifiers) by the transaction processing system may cause the transaction processing system to identify corresponding POD container data (corresponding to the same unique container identifier(s)) and to request transaction data from the payment processing system on the basis of the time data in this POD container data. In some embodiments, the POD container data need not be transmitted from the POD scanner to the transaction processing system upon scanning of a container, but instead POD container data may be requested from the POD scanner and associated computer by the transaction processing system following receipt by the transaction processing system of the POC container data. With these arrangements, the processes of the transaction processing system requesting data, and / or performing the association of container identifiers with a sale, need only be performed once a container has been returned. This may help to reduce the number of requests and / or the amount of data transmitted to and from the transaction processing system.

[0126] With the arrangements described above, the present invention provides systems and methods for the re-using of re-usable articles or sale items such as portable containers. In particular, the present invention provides systems and methods for the re-using of articles each having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier. Each tag is scanned as the article is dispensed to a consumer and data representing the unique article identifier and a time and location of the scan is received by a cloud-based transaction processing system. The transaction processing system is also configured to obtain, from a payment processing system, transaction data relating to a sale associated with the dispensing of the article. The transaction processing system is configured to associate each unique article identifier with a unique sale identifier of a corresponding sale associated with the dispensing of the article , on the basis of a correlation in time between the time at which the article was dispensed and the time of the associated sale. The system further comprises an article collection point for receiving the articles after use. Each returned article is scanned at the collection point and data representing the unique article identifier is transmitted to the transaction processing system. Following receipt of data indicating the return of an article, the transaction processing system is configured to instruct a partial refund of the sale associated with the articles unique identifier, in order to refund a deposit taken as part of the sale associated with the article.

[0127] In the embodiments described above, the present invention is applied to the re-use of containers such as coffee cups. In other preferred embodiments the invention may be used for the re-use of cups for beverages such as beer or other drinks. In this case the invention may be particularly suitable for use at sports venues or music venues and the like, where container collection points can be located near a bar and / or close to exits routes from the venue.

[0128] It will also be appreciated that, in addition to portable containers such as beverage containers, the present invention is also suitable for the reuse of substantially any other reusable articles or articles which are provided with an item purchased by the user, such as reuseable packaging or transport structures (for example plants pots, or pallets on which a product may be delivered). The present invention is additionally suitable for the reuse of other articles which may be borrowed or hired by a user, such as medical aids (e.g. crutches), or rental bicycles or scooters.

[0129] For example, purchased construction supplies may be dispensed to a customer on a pallet or skid and the customer may pay a deposit for the pallet. In this case, each pallet may be provided with an identification tag, which may for example be scanned by a staff member using a handheld POD scanner to generate POD article data for each pallet, which is subsequently associated with a unique sale identifier on by the transaction processing on the basis of a correlation in time, substantially as described above. When the pallet is returned to a collection point (for instance by being returned to a builder’s merchant), the or each pallet is scanned using a POC scanner to generate POC article data to be received by the transaction processing system in order to instruct a refund of the deposit paid for the pallet.

[0130] In such examples, the amount of the deposit paid by the consumer may be set according to a value of the reusable article. For instance, where the article is of relatively higher value (such as a rental bicycle), the deposit may be set to a sufficiently high value to deter the consumer from keeping the article permanently. In some cases therefore the amount of the deposit will be greater than the cost of the purchased item (for example the cost of bicycle hire for one hour may be less than the deposit payable on the bicycle).

[0131] It will be appreciated that the present invention has the advantage of helping to reduce the number of disposable articles or potentially reusable articles (such as containers) which are sent to landfill or for recycling. Moreover, the present invention can also reduce the costs to a POS establishment associated with providing portable containers or other reusable articles. For instance, the system of the present invention may be provided as a service having a lower cost per article (e.g. per coffee cup) than the cost per article of disposable articles.

[0132] It will also be appreciated that the present invention does not require consumers to remember to bring a re-usable article (e.g., container) when visiting the POS establishment. One prior art approach (e.g. used by some cafes / coffee shops) is to ask consumers to bring their own reusable cups with them, and make the drinks in those. These cafes need to be able to provide disposable cups to any consumers who don’t bring reusable cups with them. In practice, most consumers don’t bring reusable cups with them in these situations. Sometimes the consumer does own a reusable cup, but has left it at home. An advantage of the present invention is that a fresh, clean reusable cup will be available to anyone who comes to the cafe.

[0133] Another advantage of the present invention is that there is no need for a consumer to subscribe to any service or provide any personal details, or to install an application on a personal smartphone, which greatly increases the convenience and reduces the administrative burden, for both consumers and POS establishments.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A system for the re-using of reusable articles which may be dispensed from at least one consumer product point-of-sale (POS) establishment, the, or each, POS establishment comprising at least one sale terminal, said sale terminal having an associated location code, and being linked to a payment processing system for taking payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, each item comprising a reusable article to be dispensed to a consumer at the POS establishment, the system comprising: a plurality of reusable articles within the, or each, POS establishment, each of said articles having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier; in proximity with said sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of-dispensing (POD) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when each of said articles dispensed to a consumer is brought into scan proximity with said scanner, said POD remote scanner generating POD article data for each of said articles brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique article identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; at least one used article collection point for receiving one or more of said articles after use, said article collection point comprising a remote-scan point-of-collection (POC) scanner for remote-scan reading of said identification tag when any of said articles is brought into scan proximity with said POC scanner, said POC scanner generating POC article data for each of said articles brought into said proximity, said data representing the unique article identifier; and a distributed transaction processing system linked to said POD remote scanner, the POC scanner and the payment processing system; wherein; following a sale of said purchase item, the sale terminal is configured to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, the POD remote scanner is configured to transmit said POD article data to the transaction processing system, said POD article data further comprising scan time data thatidentifies the date and time of said dispensing of said article; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC scanner, the POC scanner is configured to transmit said POC article data to the transaction processing system; the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system; the transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of the POD article data, to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, article and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

2. A system as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the transaction processing system is configured, upon receipt of said POC article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, to transmit a partial refund instruction to the payment processing system, said instruction comprising said associated unique sale identifier and an amount to be refunded.

3. A system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which said basis is that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article occurs immediately after the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and before the date and time of a sale of a subsequently purchased item.

4. A system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which said basis is that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article is the closest in time either before or after, to the time of sale of any of said purchased items.

5. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POD article data by the transaction processing system.

6. A system according to any of Claim 1 to 4, in which the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POC article data by the transaction processing system.

7. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the transaction processing system is configured to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting from the payment processing system transaction data comprising transaction time data relating to the last transaction in a predetermined period of time ending with said date and time of said dispensing of said article.

8. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the transaction processing system is configured, upon receiving said POD article data, to obtain said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting said transaction data from the payment processing system via an API.

9. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the transaction processing system is configured to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier, upon receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system.

10. A system according to any preceding claim, in which there is at least one used article collection point within at least one POS establishment.

11. A system according to Claim 10, in which the POD scanner and the POC scanner are provided by the same scanner.

12. A system according to any preceding claim, in which there is at least one used article collection point not located within at least one POS establishment.

13. A system according to any preceding claim, in which said article collection point comprises a receptacle for receiving a plurality of said articles and in which the POC scanner is configured to remote-scan read the plurality of articles collected in the receptacle, thereby to generate said POC article data for each of the articles in the receptacle.

14. A system according to Claim 13, in which the POC scanner is separate from thereceptacle, and the POC scanner is configured to remote-scan read the plurality of articles in the receptacle when the POC scanner is brought into proximity to the receptacle.

15. A system according to Claim 13 or Claim 14, comprising a counting arrangement configured to determine a number of said articles received in the receptacle.

16. A system according to Claim 15, in which the counting arrangement comprises a weighing arrangement configured to determine said number of articles by weighing the collected articles.

17. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the identification tag comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and the remote-scan point-of-collection scanner and / or the remote-scan point-of-dispensing scanner comprises an RFID reader, or in which the identification tag comprises a machine readable bar code and the remote-scan point-of- collection scanner and / or the remote-scan point-of-dispensing scanner comprises a bar code reader.

18. A system according to any preceding claim, in which the system comprises the at least one POS establishment and the at least one sale terminal.

19. A system according to any preceding claim, comprising a plurality of said POS establishments and a plurality of collection points.

20. A system according to any preceding claim, comprising a feedback system linked to the POD scanner and wherein the transaction processing system is configured to transmit to the feedback system data indicating whether or not said unique article identifier of the, or each said scanned article has successfully been associated with said unique sale identifier.21 . A system according to any preceding claim, comprising a device configured to provide a user interface to a user, and wherein the device is configured: following more than one sale of said purchase items, to display to a user, by the user interface, a representation based on at least part of the transaction data for each of said morethan one sale; to receive from the user, by the user interface, a selection response indicating which transaction data are to be associated with POD article data of at least one of said articles; wherein the system is configured; to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the identification tag of at least one of said articles included in said more than one sale, and following receipt of the selection response, to associate the unique article identifier of said at least one article with the unique sale identifier linked to the transaction data indicated in the selection response; and to transmit the associated article identifier and unique sale identifier to the transaction processing system.

22. A system according to Claim 21 , in which the device is configured to display said representation to the user before using said POD remote scanner to remote-scan read an identification tag of any of the articles included in said more than one sale, and the system is configured to cause the POD remote scanner to remote-scan read the unique article identifier of said at least one article in response to receiving the selection response from the user.

23. A system according to any preceding claim, in which said transaction data comprises payment card token data to identify a payment card used to pay for said purchase, and in which: the transaction processing system is configured, upon receipt of said POD article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, to store data linking the or each unique article identifier and said associated unique sale identifier with said card token data, thereby to associate the or each dispensed article with the payment card; and the transaction processing system is configured, upon receipt of said POC article data, to store data linking the or each article received at said collection point with said unique sale identifier and said card token data, thereby to associate the or each article received at said collection point with said payment card.

24. A system according to Claim 23, in which, following a subsequent purchase comprising at least one article , said purchase using said same payment card, and following remote-scan reading of the identification tag of said subsequently purchased article by the POD remotescanner, the transaction processing system is configured, following receipt of the POD article data relating to the or each said subsequently purchased article, to compare a number of dispensed portable articles linked with said payment card token with a number of portable articles received at an article collection point and linked with said payment card token, thereby to determine an article borrowing status for said payment card token.

25. A method of collecting a return deposit from a consumer for at least one reusable article at a point-of-sale (POS) establishment, and optionally refunding the deposit at a later time, when the, or each, reusable article is returned for re-use, said article having an identification tag with an associated unique article identifier, said POS establishment comprising a sale terminal having an associated location code and being linked with a payment processing system, wherein the method comprises: using the sale terminal to take from a consumer a payment for a sale price of at least one purchased item, the sale price including a return deposit, and each item comprising a reusable article to be dispensed to the consumer at the POS establishment; locating in proximity with the sale terminal, an associated remote-scan point-of- dispensing (POD) scanner; when the, or each, identification tag is brought into proximity with the POD remote scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when said article is to be dispensed to a consumer, said POD remote scanner generating POD article data for each of said dispensed hand-held portable articles, said data representing the unique article identifier and the location code of said associated sale terminal; locating, either at the POS establishment or elsewhere, at least one used article collection point, and using the article collection point to receive one or more of said articles after use; locating in proximity with the article collection point, an associated remote-scan point- of-collection (POC) scanner; when the identification tag of the, or each, article to be returned is brought into proximity with the POC scanner, using said scanner to remote-scan read the, or each, identification tag when, the, or each article is returned to the article collection point, said POC scanner generating POC article data for each of said returned articles, said data representing the unique article identifier; and linking a cloud-based transaction processing system to the POD remote scanner, thePOC remote scanner and the payment processing system; following a sale of said purchase item, using the sale terminal to transmit transaction data to the payment processing system, said transaction data representing said location code, said transaction data further comprising transaction time data that identifies the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and said transaction data being linked with a unique sale identifier that uniquely identifies the sale of said purchased item; following said remote-scan reading of said identification tag by the POD remote scanner, using the POD remote scanner to transmit said POD article data to the transaction processing system, said POD article data further comprising scan time data that identifies the date and time of said dispensing of said article; following said scan-reading of said identification tag by the POC scanner, using the POC scanner to transmit said POC article data to the transaction processing system; obtaining said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier from the payment processing system and storing said transaction data and said linked unique sale identifier in the transaction processing system; upon receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system, using the transaction processing system to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of a correlation in time between the dispensing of the, or each, article and the date and time of said sale of said purchased item.

26. A method according to Claim 25, comprising, upon receipt of said POC article data corresponding to the or each said unique article identifier, using the transaction processing system to transmit a partial refund instruction to the payment processing system, said instruction comprising said unique sale identifier associated with the, or each said unique article identifier represented in said POC article data, and an amount for the deposit to be refunded.

27. A method according to Claim 25 or Claim 26, in which said basis is that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article occurs immediately after the date and time of said sale of said purchased item, and before the date and time of a sale of a subsequently purchased item.

28. A method according to Claim 25 or Claim 26, in which said basis is that the date and time of said dispensing of the, or each, article is the closest in time either before or after, to the time of sale of any of said purchased items.

29. A method according to any of Claims 25 to 28, comprising obtaining said transaction data from the payment processing system upon receipt of said POD article data by the transaction processing system.

30. A method according to any of Claims 25 to 28, comprising, in response to the receipt of said transaction data by the transaction processing system, sending an instruction to the POD remote scanner to cause the POD remote scanner to perform a scan for remote-scan reading the, or each, identification tag of any containers in proximity with the POD remote scanner.31 . A method according to any of Claims 25 to 30, in which the step of using the transaction processing system to compare the scan time data in the POD article data with the transaction time data in the transaction data and to associate the, or each, unique article identifier with one unique sale identifier on the basis of said correlation in time is performed in response to receipt of the POD article data by the transaction processing system.

32. A method according to any of Claims 25 to 31 , comprising obtaining said transaction data from the payment processing system by requesting from the payment processing system transaction data comprising transaction time data relating to the last transaction in a predetermined period of time ending with said date and time of said dispensing of said article.

33. A method according to any of Claims 25 to 32, comprising: following more than one sale of said purchase items, using a device to display to a user a representation of at least part of the transaction data for each sale; using the device, receiving from the user a selection response indicating which transaction data are to be associated with POD article data of at least one of said articles; using the POD remote scanner, remote-scan reading the identification tag of the article corresponding to the selected transaction data thereby to associate the unique articleidentifier of said article with the unique sale identifier linked to the transaction data indicated in the received selection response; and transmitting the associated article identifier and unique sale identifier to the transaction processing system.

34. A method according to Claim 33, comprising using the device to display said representation to the user before using said POD remote scanner to remote-scan read an identification tag of any of article the articles included in said more than one sale.

35. A method according to Claim 34, comprising using the POD remote scanner to remotescan read the unique article identifier of the corresponding article in response to receiving the selection response from the user.

36. A method according to any of Claims 25 to 35, in which the collection point comprises a receptable, and the method comprises collecting in the receptacle a plurality of said articles and bringing the POC scanner into proximity with the receptacle to scan the plurality of articles collected in the receptacle to generate said POC article data for each of the articles in the receptacle.

37. A method according to Claim 36, comprising determining a number of articles received in the receptacle and scanning the collected articles until a number of unique article identifiers scanned is equal to the determined number of articles.

38. A method according to Claim 37, in which determining said number of articles comprises weighing the collected articles to determine the number of articles collected in the receptacle.

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