US 11042890

Patent Analysis: US 11,042,890

Date of Analysis: April 26, 2026

This report provides a concise summary of United States Patent number 11,042,890, including its key bibliographic details and a plain-language overview of its independent claims.

Bibliographic Information

Title	Method and system for customer assistance in a retail store
Assignee	Alpha Modus Corp
Inventors	Michael Garel, Jim Wang
Filing Date	April 1, 2020
Issue Date	June 22, 2021
Abstract	Systems for monitoring and analyzing behavior in various applications and uses thereof. Generally, the systems (and uses thereof) are for monitoring and analyzing consumer purchasing behavior in real-time to drive sales via engaging digital customer experiences. In embodiments, the disclosed system can include a retail store system that features and includes MAC address tracking, user eye tracking, object identification of goods on shelves, open API, advertising broker rules engine. In addition, the system can include a customer engagement with interactive output displays including displays with demographic intelligence, displays with demographics and MAC-panels throughout store at product, displays with demographics and MAC-single panel or few panels scattered throughout store, automated customer assistance at shelf, customer purchase at shelf.

Litigation and Legal Status

As of the date of this analysis, the provided information indicates that the patent family is involved in litigation across several US District Courts, including in Texas and Illinois. The legal status of the patent is listed as "Active." I do not have access to real-time court dockets and therefore cannot provide an up-to-the-minute status of any ongoing litigation.

---

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

This patent contains three independent claims: claim 1 (a system), claim 26 (a method), and claim 49 (a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Below is a simplified explanation of what each of these claims protects.

Independent Claim 1: The System

This claim describes a comprehensive system for monitoring and analyzing the behavior of people in a specific location, such as a retail store. The core components of this system are:

• A Server: The central processing unit of the system.
• Information Monitoring Devices: These are devices like cameras, Wi-Fi sensors, and interactive displays that collect data about people in the location.
• Databases: Where the collected information is stored.
• A Plurality of Software Modules: These are different software programs running on the server that perform specific tasks. The claim specifies that the system must include at least a "demographic intelligence module" (to determine characteristics like age and gender) and a "tracking module" (to follow a person's movement).

In essence, claim 1 protects the physical and software infrastructure that can identify who a person is demographically, track where they go within a defined area, and then analyze this combined information.

Independent Claim 26: The Method

This claim focuses on the process of using the system described in claim 1. The key steps of this method are:

• Gathering Information: Using one or more monitoring devices to collect data about a person.
• Implementing Modules: Having a server run a variety of software modules, again with the requirement of at least a "demographic intelligence module" and a "tracking module."
• Analyzing the Information: Using these software modules to process and make sense of the collected data.

This claim protects the act of collecting and analyzing customer data in a retail environment using the specified combination of technologies.

Independent Claim 49: The Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Storage Medium

This claim covers the software itself. It describes a physical storage medium (like a hard drive or server memory) that contains computer-executable instructions. When these instructions are run by a processor, they perform the method outlined in claim 26.

Essentially, this claim protects the software product that enables the entire customer monitoring and analysis system to function. It covers the code that instructs the hardware how to gather, process, and analyze the data from the monitoring devices.

---

Disclaimer: This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The interpretation of patent claims is a complex legal matter that can vary based on specific circumstances and judicial interpretation.