Portable Terminal Self-Registration Benefit Granting

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems do not effectively grant benefits to customers who do not receive a disposable shopping bag when registering products themselves using a portable terminal.

Innovation Solution

An information processing system that includes registration, acceptance, determination, and granting mechanisms to provide benefits to customers who do not receive a disposable shopping bag, by accepting the necessity of a disposable shopping bag from a portable terminal and determining benefits based on product registration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a customer registers products using a portable terminal themselves (scan shopping), then the ease of operation is improved, but the benefit granting system becomes less reliable because the system cannot automatically determine whether a disposable shopping bag was provided

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomer self-registrationVSAvoidbenefit determination

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces a feedback mechanism where the portable terminal communicates with the information processing system to report whether a disposable shopping bag was provided. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically determine benefit eligibility based on actual bag provision status, resolving the reliability issue while maintaining customer self-service capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The portable terminal enables customers to perform self-registration of products. The terminal captures product information and transmits it to the information processing system, allowing customers to complete the registration process independently without store clerk assistance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If the system automatically determines benefit eligibility based on product registration data alone, then the productivity is improved, but the measurement precision deteriorates because it cannot accurately detect whether a disposable shopping bag was actually provided

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebenefit processing speedVSAvoidshopping bag provision detection

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The portable terminal serves as an intermediary device that bridges the customer and the information processing system. It collects data about whether a disposable shopping bag was provided and transmits this information to the system, enabling accurate determination of benefit eligibility without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces manual verification by store clerks with an automated electronic system. The information processing system automatically determines benefit eligibility by receiving and processing data from the portable terminal, eliminating the need for mechanical human judgment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS20250111404A1Information processing system, benefit-granting method, and recording medium

Publication Date: 2025.04.03 NEC CORP

AI summary

An information processing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: register a product whose identification information is input by a customer's operation on a portable terminal; accept necessity of a disposable shopping bag from the portable terminal; determine a benefit in response to registration of one or more products in a case where a fact that a disposable shopping bag is unnecessary is accepted; and grant the determined benefit in a case where payment for the registered product is made.