{
  "patent_number": "US 1242872",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Clarence Saunders Invented the Modern Self-Service Grocery Store",
  "original_title": "Self-serving store.",
  "summary": "A 1917 patent for a store layout that allowed customers to walk through aisles and pick their own goods, replacing the traditional over-the-counter service model.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a specific physical layout for a retail store designed to eliminate the need for clerks to fetch items for customers. It utilizes a one-way path through a series of aisles, forcing customers to pass by all displayed merchandise before reaching the checkout area. By arranging goods on open shelves accessible to the public, the design shifts the labor of gathering products from the store employee to the shopper.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover automated checkout systems or self-scanning technology.",
    "Does not cover stores that allow customers to exit without passing through a specific checkout turnstile.",
    "Does not cover online grocery ordering or delivery services."
  ],
  "filed": "1916-10-21",
  "granted": "1917-10-09",
  "expires": "1936-10-21",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Individual",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/individual",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Clarence Saunders",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/clarence-saunders"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 22,
  "tags": [
    "ecommerce",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": null,
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1242872/self-service-grocery-store-saunders",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1242872/self-service-grocery-store-saunders/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US1242872",
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}