JP2003187334A - Adjustment system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an adjustment system for shortening the time required for adjustment of merchandise purchase, especially adjustment time in credit card payment. <P>SOLUTION: The adjustment system is provided with a merchandise identification means where merchandise information is recorded, a customer identification means where customer information is recorded, a portable information terminal reading and storing the merchandise information recorded in the merchandise identification means every time merchandise is put into a shopping basket and calculating the total of a purchase money amount, and an adjuster for reading the merchandise information stored in the portable information terminal and performing an adjustment processing. The total of the purchase money amount is calculated by a customer himself/herself, a payment method is selected, and in the case of the credit card payment, credit confirmation and content confirmation are performed by using electronic mail of a portable telephone. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a settlement system for carrying out settlement processing of purchase price in a store visited by a large number of customers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in supermarkets and mass retailers, it has become common to introduce a POS system or similar system for accurate and efficient product sales or sales management.

In such a system, the store employee directly inputs product information such as the type, number, and price of the product purchased by the customer into the terminal device or mechanically into the terminal device using a bar code reader. Therefore, the settlement process is performed.

[0004]

However, there are the following problems in the prior art. That is, in such a system, the input of product information for settlement is collectively performed immediately before the settlement, so when the customer purchases a large number of products, the time required for the settlement work becomes long and There was a problem that there was a queue near the checkout machine inside, which narrowed the aisle and hindered walking, and the customer felt uncomfortable during the waiting time.

In particular, when paying with a credit card, in addition to inputting the above-mentioned product information, the credit is confirmed through a credit card terminal through a credit card terminal,
Since it is necessary to ask the customer to confirm the payment amount and to have a confirmation sign on the slip, there is a problem that the time for one customer to stay near the settlement machine becomes longer.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a settlement system that shortens the time required for settlement of purchase of goods, particularly the settlement time for credit card payment.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is a system for performing settlement after the purchase of products in a store, in which at least each product is uniquely specified. Product identification means that records product information including an identifier, customer identification means that records at least customer information that identifies each customer, and product information recorded by the product identification means each time a product is placed in a shopping cart. A portable information terminal for reading and accumulating and calculating the total purchase price, and a settlement machine for reading and adjusting the product information accumulated in the portable information terminal are provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the settlement system according to the first aspect, the portable information terminal is provided with a payment selection means for selecting either cash payment or credit card payment. It is a thing.

A third aspect of the present invention is, in the settlement system according to the first or second aspect described above, in the case where a credit card payment is selected by the payment selecting means, a credit card is sent to the customer identifying means. And a confirmation means for confirming the settlement slip of the credit card sent by the slip delivery means in the customer identification means, and a settlement for the credit card in the customer identification means A response means for responding to the contents described on the slip is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the settlement system according to the first to third aspects, the settlement machine includes:
A payment recording means for recording the completion of payment of cash payment or credit payment is provided.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is, in the settlement system according to the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, confirms whether or not the settlement completion is recorded by the settlement recording means when the customer leaves the store. The payment confirmation means is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the settlement system according to the above-mentioned first to fifth aspects, the commodity identification means is constituted by a non-contact type IC tag attached in advance to each commodity. It is the one.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the settlement system according to the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects, the customer identifying means is a non-contact type IC tag distributed to the customer in advance and a mobile phone owned by the customer. It is configured by telephone.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the settlement system according to the first to seventh aspects, the slip sending means, the confirmation means, and the response means are electronic devices of a mobile phone owned by the customer. It is configured by sending and receiving mail.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the settlement system of the present invention, which comprises a product identification means 1, a customer identification means 2, an information terminal 3, a settlement machine 4, and a gate 5.

The product identification means 1 is a non-contact type IC tag in which product information such as product identifier for identifying each product, product type and price is recorded. The contactless IC tag is printed on the product packaging material, or a sticker to which the noncontact IC tag is attached is attached to the packaging material so that each product is attached in advance.

The customer identifying means 2 includes a contactless IC tag 6 for identifying the customer himself at the time of purchase at a store, and a mobile phone 7 owned by the customer for identifying the customer at the time of paying by credit card. It is configured.

The contactless IC tag 6 included in the customer identifying means 2 has customer information such as a customer identifier and a name for uniquely identifying the customer recorded, and is attached to a customer card or the like and distributed to the customer in advance. I'll do it.

The mobile phone 7 has a display section 71, an input section 72,
It has an electronic mail function 72 and realizes a confirmation means for receiving and confirming the credit card settlement slip and a response means for responding to the written contents of the credit card settlement slip. Therefore, the customer identifier and the e-mail address are associated with each other, and the contactless IC tag 6 included in the customer identification means 2 is included.
Record it in.

As shown in FIG. 2, the non-contact type IC tag 6 is an IC having a recording section for recording product information and customer information.
61, for receiving power from receiving a radio wave from a radio wave transmitting / receiving antenna provided in another device, converting it to driving power, and using the received radio wave as a carrier wave for transmitting information The antenna 62 is provided.

Non-contact type IC used for product identification means 1
The tag also has the same mechanism as the non-contact type IC tag 6. However, since the non-contact type IC tag has various structures and shapes, a non-contact type IC tag different from the one in FIG. 2 may be used depending on the shape of the product, the material of the packing material, the attachable area, and the like. You may choose.

The information terminal 3 has a recording means 31 for reading and recording the information recorded in the non-contact type IC tag 6, a totaling means 32 for calculating the total purchase price of products, a display means 33 for displaying the purchase price, etc. It is a portable terminal having a transmitting means 34 for wirelessly transmitting the information to the settlement machine 4 and a payment selecting means 35 for selecting whether to make payment with cash or a credit card. If it is incorporated into a shopping basket or an in-store cart, it is more convenient because it can save the labor of renting and returning and carrying.

The settlement machine 4 includes the information terminal 3 or the gate 5.
Wired or wireless communication means 4 for exchanging information with
1. A payment recording means 42 for recording the completion of payment and a slip sending means 43 for sending a credit card payment slip to the mobile phone 7 of the customer.

The gate 5 comprises a wired or wireless communication means 51 for exchanging information with the settlement machine 4, a reading means 52 for reading the non-contact type IC tag 6 of the customer identifying means 2, and an opening / closing means 53 for opening / closing the gate. ing.

Next, the operation of the settlement system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, the product identification means 1 in which the product information necessary for performing the settlement process such as the product identifier, the type of product, and the price is recorded is attached to each product in advance, and the products are displayed on the display shelf ( Step S1).

When the contactless IC tag of the product identification means 1 has a small recording capacity, only the product identifier is recorded on the contactless IC tag attached to the product, and the product information such as the type and price of the product is Based on the product identifier, the product information and customer information may be acquired from a management server (not shown) that centrally manages the product information and the customer information.

Further, for each customer, the contactless IC tag 6 in which the customer identifier, name, e-mail address, etc. are recorded is prepared, and the customer purchases the contactless IC tag 6 by using a method such as sticking it on the customer card. Hand it over before doing (step S2).

When the recording capacity of the non-contact type IC tag 6 is small, only the customer identifier is recorded in the non-contact type IC tag 6 for the customer, and the customer information such as name and e-mail address is based on the customer identifier. It is also possible to obtain it from a management server or the like.

When the customer comes to the store, the customer carries the non-contact type IC tag 6 and the mobile phone 7 which are the customer identifying means 2. At the entrance of the store, the customer rents the information terminal 3, and the recording means 31 records the customer identifier recorded in the carried non-contact type IC tag 6 on the information terminal 3 (step S3).

Next, each time the customer moves the product from the display shelf to the shopping basket at the store, the recording device 31 records the product information recorded by the product identification device 1 attached to the product to be purchased. Record to terminal 3 (step S
4).

After all the products to be purchased have been transferred to the shopping cart, the customer uses the payment selection means 35 to select either cash or a credit card for payment, and gives a settlement instruction (step S5).

When payment is instructed by the payment selection means 35, the information terminal 3 displays on the display means 33 a list of purchased items and the total purchase amount. At the same time, the customer information and the product information are transmitted to the settlement machine 4 by the transmission means 34.

When cash payment is selected by the payment selection means 35, the customer goes to the cashier and displays it on the display means 33.
Pay the total purchase amount shown in and receive the receipt. When the cash is deposited, the settlement machine 4 records that the settlement of the customer is completed by the settlement recording means 42 (steps S6 and S7).

When payment by credit card is selected by the payment selection means 35, the settlement machine 4 confirms the credit based on the customer information transmitted from the information terminal 3, and if there is no problem with the credit, purchase it as an electronic mail. Send a credit card settlement slip that lists the list of products purchased, total purchase price, etc. to the mobile phone 7 carried by the customer (step S
8).

The customer receives the e-mail in which the credit card settlement slip is described by the e-mail function 73, confirms the contents of the slip on the display unit 71, and if there is no error in the contents, "accept" from the input unit 72. Is returned (step S9).

The settlement machine 4 which receives the reply of "approval",
An e-mail indicating that the settlement has been completed is transmitted to the mobile phone 22 of the customer, and at the same time, the settlement recording means 42 records that the settlement of the product has been completed (steps S10 and S).
8).

Next, the operation of the settlement system when the customer leaves the store shown in FIG. 4 will be described. When the customer passes through the gate 5 to leave the store, the reading unit 52 reads the non-contact type IC tag 6 of the customer identifying unit 2 carried by the customer (step S11).

The gate 5 confirms with the settlement machine 4 whether the settlement completion of the customer is recorded by the settlement recording means 42 (step S12).

As a result of the confirmation, if the customer who is about to leave the gate is a customer whose settlement completion is not recorded,
The opening / closing means 53 closes the gate 5 to prompt the customer to make a payment (step S13).

In both cases of cash payment and credit card payment, the customer who is confirmed to have completed the payment can return the information terminal 3 and exit the store through the gate 5 (step S14). ).

The present invention has been described in detail above based on the embodiments. However, the settlement system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and does not depart from the gist of the present invention. It goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

For example, when recording merchandise information on the portable terminal 3 or when passing through the cashier, by writing information indicating that the merchandise has been purchased to the merchandise identifying means 1 attached to the merchandise, the settlement of each merchandise is performed. It is also possible to confirm.

Further, when the merchandise once taken out from the display shelf and registered is returned to the display shelf, it is natural that the information terminal 3 is provided with a purchase canceling means.

Further, the credit card settlement slip can be accessed not only as an electronic mail by the electronic mail function 73 but also as a Web page access. Further, it is possible to add a personal authentication means for confirming that the person who performs the settlement is the person himself / herself.

[0045]

As described above, according to the settlement system according to the present invention, when the customer himself purchases the product, the product information is recorded, and the list of the purchased product and the purchase amount before passing through the cashier. Since the processing for calculating the sum of the above is completed, the processing time in the cashier can be shortened.

Further, in the case of payment by a credit card, by using the electronic mail to substitute the credit confirmation and the signature on the slip, it is possible to avoid waiting by the cashier for processing the credit card.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the non-contact type IC tag of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the present invention until the settlement is completed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when a customer of the present invention leaves a store.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Product identification means 2 Customer identification means 3 information terminals 31 recording means 32 Calculation means 33 display means 34 Transmission means 35 Payment selection means 4 payment machine 41 Communication means 42 Payment recording means 43 Voucher sending means 5 gates 51 communication means 52 reading means 53 Opening and closing means 6 Non-contact IC tag 61 IC 62 Antenna for power reception and data transmission / reception 7 mobile phones 71 display 72 Input section 73 E-mail function

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 432 G06F 17/60 432Z 506 506 G07G 1/00 301 G07G 1/00 301D

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A system for performing payment after purchase of a product at a store, comprising at least a product identification means recording product information including a product identifier for uniquely identifying each product, and at least one of each customer. A portable information terminal that stores customer identification information that specifies customer information, and reads and stores the product information recorded by the product identification means each time a product is placed in a shopping cart and calculates the total purchase price. And a settlement machine that reads the product information accumulated in the portable information terminal and performs settlement processing. 2. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein:
The payment system, wherein the portable information terminal includes a payment selection unit that selects either cash payment or credit card payment. 3. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein when the payment selection means selects a credit card payment, a slip for sending a credit card payment slip to the customer identification means. In the sending means and the customer identifying means, the checking means for checking the credit card settlement slip sent by the slip sending means, and in the customer identifying means, the contents described in the credit card settlement slip are described. A settlement system comprising: a response unit that responds. 4. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the settlement machine records settlement completion of cash payment or credit payment,
A payment system comprising: 5. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein when the customer leaves the store, the settlement confirmation means confirms whether or not the settlement completion is recorded by the settlement recording means. A settlement system comprising: a means. 6. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the product identification means is a non-contact type IC tag attached to each product in advance. Payment system. 7. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the customer identification means is a contactless IC tag distributed in advance to the customer and a mobile phone owned by the customer. A payment system characterized by 8. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the slip sending unit, the confirmation unit, and the response unit are configured to send and receive an electronic mail of a mobile phone owned by the customer. A settlement system characterized by being configured.