EP0015376B1 - Check-out counter for stores - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Check-out for sales premises with a goods conveyor (10 ; 11) running past an operator, beside which is positioned an electically operated registration device (18) and a work surface (19) running at tight angles to the longitudinal direction of the goods conveyor (10 ; 11) on which is provided an operating device (17) connected electrically to the registration device, preferably taking the form of an input keyboard, whereby a cash receptacle (22) takes the form of at least one case separate from the registration device (18) with covering surface (24) movable for the purpose of opening, characterized by the fact that in known manner a section of worksurface (16) is positioned running in the longitudinal direction of goods conveyor (10 ; 11) and that the cash receptacle (22) takes the form of an oblong box (23) and the latter is positioned on or in worksurface (16) in a direction parallel to the goods conveyor (10 ; 11) on one side of the operating device (17) in such a way that its flat covering surface (24) which takes the form of a hinged lid pivoting about an axis parallel to the goods conveyor (10 ; 11) can be used as an arm rest for the operator.

Description

The invention relates to a checkout counter for sales transactions with a goods transport path running past an operator's workplace, next to which an electrically operated registration device and a work surface running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the goods transport path are arranged, on which an operating device electrically connected to the registration device, preferably an input keyboard, is provided is a money receptacle in the form of at least one separate from the registration device housing with a cover surface movable to the opening.

A checkout counter of this type is known from DE-A 26 51 278.

An input keyboard is located on the side to the right of the operator on a shelf that can also serve as an armrest for the right arm. At an angle to the left of the operator is a ramp plate in which a data reader can be installed. Furthermore, a cash drawer is attached below the goods conveyor belt in front of the operator. A receipt printer is embedded in the left storage area to the left of the operator.

With this arrangement, the operator must work with their arms spread wide when operating the input keyboard while simultaneously feeding goods to the data reader.

Registered goods are pushed by the operator onto the part of the casserole plate which is not occupied by the data reader, where they can jam if the customer or an assistant does not remove them quickly enough. In order to avoid this, a packing trough would have to be provided after the casserole plate. In order to load these, however, the operator would have to rise from their seat.

Only the housing of the receipt printer can be used as a support for the left arm.

To open the cash drawer, the operator must move backwards. In order to be given change, the operator must either bend over the open cash drawer or close it beforehand.

It is also known from DE-U-78 10 285 a cashier's stand, in which a work surface is arranged in front of the operator in the longitudinal direction of the goods transport path, whereby an armrest is created for the arm transporting the goods. The money is in this arrangement arranged laterally by the operator as a drawer under the table surface so that the operator must move laterally and turn to the drawer for the checkout process and that there is no requirement for this arm during keying.

The operator sits facing the goods transport route, on which the goods are guided from left to right. Several conveyor belts are used for this purpose, which can be operated by the operator if necessary. After entering prices and / or article numbers in the operating device or after optically electronic evaluation by guiding the goods past the window of a reading device, the goods arrive in a so-called packing trough, where they can be removed by the customer after payment.

At this cash register, the cash register, as is generally the case with devices of this type, is installed on or in the work surface provided next to the goods transport route in such a way that it is arranged approximately at right angles to the goods transport route. A cash receptacle is provided directly associated with the cash register, which is designed as a drawer and can be opened electrically by the cash register during each checkout process. The drawer then opens approximately parallel to the goods transport path.

Since the operating device for the cash register is arranged on or in the work surface in such a way that the operator sits facing the goods transport route, the known cash register stand results in a work surface that is initially relatively narrow in addition to the goods transport path, but so widened in the area of the cash register is that it limits the range of motion to the right of the operator. Because the drawer of the cash register causes space for its opening movement, there is no space available that could be used as an armrest for the right arm of the operator, for example in terms of ergonomic requirements. Similar conditions also arise on the other hand, because here the work surface is so narrow due to an angled design of the goods transport path that there is only space for a relatively small visual inspection device to monitor the values entered into the cash register.

With regard to its essential feature of the angled arrangement of the goods transport route and the distribution of the individual devices to the operator's place, the known cash register stand is not suitable for being constructed in a modular manner, since its individual sections must have a very specific, fixed assignment to the overall device. A modular structure consisting of several basic units would, however, be desirable in order to be able to adapt the cash register to the different spatial conditions and to be able to vary its capacity if necessary. A limitation of the operating mode to a single goods transport Direction is particularly disadvantageous in this context.

It is an object of the invention to provide a checkout booth which has significant improvements over previously known devices of this type, which on the one hand optimally meet the ergonomic requirements and on the other hand the goods transport direction can be freely selected, so that an adjustment is made depending on the combination of basic units to the various demands made by the user. The ergonomic improvements lie in the fact that both the arm that moves the goods and the feeler arm have an armrest. Furthermore, no sideways or backward movements are required when changing to the checkout process. The arm movements and body rotation are minimal and the upper arms are largely in an angled basic position at work.

For a checkout stand of the type mentioned, the invention solves this problem in that, in a known manner, a section of the work surface is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the goods transport path and that the money receptacle is designed as an elongated box and this on or in the work surface in the direction parallel to Goods transport path is arranged on one side of the operating device so that its flat top surface, which is designed as a hinged lid that can be pivoted about an axis parallel to the goods transport path, can serve as an armrest for the operator.

This solution to the problem, which provides a new construction of the money in connection with a completely different and fundamentally different arrangement, not only enables the disadvantages outlined above to be eliminated, but also leads to a very substantial constructive improvement of the whole Cash register status, which is also expressed in a form that is pleasing to previous facilities. The separate arrangement of the cash receptacle on one side of the operating device on or in the work surface and the construction with a cover surface that can be moved to the opening leads to a significant ergonomic advantage, because at least between the individual checkout processes there is an armrest formed by the cover surface for the operator Available.

The money receptacle, which is designed as a box, advantageously has a hinged lid which can be pivoted about an axis parallel to the goods transport path. If the operator on the operating device, for example on the input keyboard, initiates the summing process to be carried out with the cash register or enters a cashier command, the hinged lid is opened automatically as a result of the electrical connection between the cash register and the cash receptacle. In contrast to possible constructions of the top surface such as As a sliding roller blind or side hinged lid, this solution offers the advantage that even a stable armrest is realized with a simple construction of the top surface, but on the other hand the automatic opening mechanism can also be designed particularly simply. This only has to be an electrically operated bolt.

The hinged lid can also be at least partially retractable in the box by the opening movement. This presupposes an arrangement of its pivot axis in such a way that the hinged lid is mounted unstably and only assumes its stable position in the open position or in the closed position. This can also further simplify the opening mechanism because of the particularly low expenditure of force for opening.

A further simplification of operation results if the hinged cover is provided with a spring arrangement which acts on it in the opening direction.

Since, on the other side of the operating device, there is no longer any need for space to take up money and the cash register no longer has to be installed in direct association with the operator, there is also space here for an armrest.

In contrast to the known cash register at the beginning, in which the goods transport direction is fixed on one side and is completely aligned with the seating arrangement of the operator, the invention enables any goods transport direction, i.e. from the operator viewed from right to left or from left to right. This is due to the fact that, at a checkout stand according to the invention, on the one hand there is no angled arrangement of the goods transport path, but on the other hand the course of the goods transport path is not aimed at the seating arrangement of the operator, but rather the distribution of the devices accessible to the operator primarily for the solution the task is considered. Since the cash is arranged directly next to the goods transport route, there is no dependence of the goods transport direction and the corresponding direction of movement of the customer on the position of the cash register, which due to its spatial size can only be accommodated towards one end of the cash register. The essential part of the cash register, namely the cash intake, however, is arranged in the direct access area in front of the operator seated facing the goods transport, so that the goods transport direction is of secondary importance.

The principle according to the invention also permits a variation in the working capacity to adapt to different operating loads. By completely turning away from the previous principles, the position of the cash receptacle separate from the cash register enables the arrangement of several cash receipts in the direction parallel to the goods transport path next to each other. This exploitation of the work space available on the side of the goods transport route makes it possible, for example in self-service shops or supermarkets, to have two operators working in one checkout in the case of particularly large crowds of cashiers, with each operator being assigned a box as part of the cash intake. One operator can then, for example, already enter prices and / or article numbers with the operating device into the cash register, while the other operator is still billing with the respective previous customer. Such a variation of the way of working has so far been impossible with cash desks of the type considered here.

• Fig. 1 eine Draufsicht auf einen Kassenstand nach der Erfindung in schematischer Darstellung, wobei eine Warentransportrichtung bezüglich der Bedienungsperson von rechts nach links vorausgesetzt ist,
• Fig. 2 eine Seitenteilansicht des Kassenstandes nach Fig. 1 in der dort gezeigten Blickrichtung II und
• Fig. 3 eine Draufsicht des Kassenstandes zur besseren Verdeutlichung ergonomischer Funktionen besonders im Hinblick auf eine frei wählbare Warentransportrichtung.

An embodiment of a cash desk according to the invention is described below with reference to the figures. Show it :

• 1 is a plan view of a checkout stand according to the invention in a schematic representation, with a goods transport direction with respect to the operator from right to left is required,
• Fig. 2 is a partial side view of the cash desk of FIG. 1 in the viewing direction II and shown there
• Fig. 3 is a plan view of the checkout for better clarification of ergonomic functions, especially with regard to a freely selectable goods transport direction.

In Fig. 1, a checkout is shown in a plan view, in which two conveyor belts 10 and 11 form the goods transport route. An electronic reading device 12 is installed between the two conveyor belts 10 and 11, through the viewing window 13 of which the labels attached to the goods pushed from the conveyor belt 10 to the conveyor belt 11 can be automatically read. Likewise, reading the labels by hand, for example with a reading pen, is also possible according to known technology.

After this evaluation, the goods get from the electronic reading device 12 onto the conveyor belt 11 and then into a packing trough 14. Here they can be removed and packed by the customer.

The direction of goods transport is indicated in Fig. 1 by arrows on the conveyor belts 10 and 11. It runs from right to left with respect to the operator's sitting position on a chair 15 shown in dashed lines. However, it would also be possible to reverse the goods transport direction so that the packing trough 14 would then be provided at the other end of the device. This arrangement is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1 above.

The basic principle of the assignment of the goods transport route to the operator shown in FIG. 1 already makes it clear that the entire cash register can be constructed in a modular manner, because to reverse the goods transport direction, only a different arrangement of the packing tray 14 and a change in the working direction of the conveyor belts 10 and 11 are required .

The operator sits on the chair 15 facing the goods transport route. Immediately in front of the operator, an operating device 17 in the form of an input keyboard is provided on a work surface 16 which runs alongside the goods transport path in its longitudinal direction. This input keyboard 17 can be movably arranged on the work surface 16 as a separate unit. Likewise, it is also possible to firmly insert the input keyboard 17 into the work surface 16. The work surface 16 is widened on the right-hand side of the operator and serves to hold a cash register 18. This can be installed below the work surface 16, but also on the work surface 16 stand. It is of crucial importance, however, that the cash register 18 no longer contains the money, so that a section 19 of the work surface 16 is available in front of the cash register 18 and can be used by the operator as an armrest. The cash register 18 is assigned a viewing device 20, which can also be installed below the work surface 16 and only has to be viewed through a viewing window which may protrude from the work surface 16. An additional device 21 is indicated behind the cash register 18, which may contain, for example, the power supply for the cash register 18 or other electronic devices that may be necessary for the functioning of the cash register 18 as a data processing device.

The cash receptacle 22, which in previous cases was directly assigned to the cash register 18, is arranged in the cash register stand shown in FIG. 1 on the left side of the input keyboard 17 in or on the work surface 16. This money holder 22 is designed as a box and has a hinged lid 24 forming the top surface. It can be seen that this hinged lid 24 forms a further armrest in the closed state due to the arrangement in the direct access area of the operator.

The hinged lid 24 of the cash receptacle 22 can be opened automatically as a result of the electrical connection to the cash register 18 when a checkout process is required. When the checkout process has ended, the hinged lid 24 can be closed again by the operator by simply pressing it shut. A lock 25 is indicated on one side of the money receptacle 22, with which the money receptacle 22 can also be opened by inserting a key, for example for opening without a cashier process as part of a check or for removing a separate cash container from the box 23. This cash container can the automatic opening influencing device for receiving money 22 such that closing the hinged lid 24 after removal of the cash container is no longer possible.

In Fig. 1, the cash register 18 is partially drawn through, partially shown in dashed lines, to indicate that it must be partially accessible from the work surface 16 if it is installed sunk below the work surface 16. This access is necessary, for example, if the cash register 18 contains devices for collecting or issuing documents, for example receipts.

FIG. 2 shows the cash register stand shown in FIG. 1 in a partial side view according to viewing direction II according to FIG. 1. It can be seen particularly clearly here that the entire cash register does not contain any special parts which protrude beyond its top level 26. The cash register 18 and the additional device 21 are installed sunk. The cash register 18 can be inclined so that it offers the operator more leg room, because the cash receptacle 22 is located at a completely different location. It can be seen that the electronic reading device 12 is installed below the conveyor belts 10 and 11 (FIG. 1) and only projects with its viewing window 13 (FIG. 1) between the two conveyor belts 10 and 11. The input keyboard 17 is located on the work surface 16. Likewise, the cash holder 22 is arranged on the work surface 16. However, it would be possible to install the money receptacle 22 also in the work surface 16, so that its hinged lid 24 can be adapted precisely to the altitude, which is the cheapest for the operator in terms of ergonomic requirements as an armrest. The partially dashed representation of the input keyboard 17 and the work surface 16 as well as the corresponding representation of the cash register 18 and the additional device 21 are required in FIG. 2 in order to illustrate the side closure of the space provided for these devices by a side wall 27.

Fig. 3 shows a partial top view of the checkout stand according to the invention to illustrate the ergonomic conditions. At the same time, the possible reversal of the direction of goods transport is indicated by arrows running in opposite directions. The operator sits facing the goods transport path or to the conveyor belts 10 and 11 in such a way that the input keyboard 17 and the money receptacle 22 are arranged directly in front of her. With its hinged lid 24, the money receptacle 22 serves as a support for the left arm of the operator. Section 19 of the work surface 16, which is arranged in front of the cash register 18, serves as a support for the right arm of the operator. Only the portion of the cash register 18 that projects beyond the work surface 16 is shown in FIG. 3. The same applies to the display device 20 already described.

3 also shows in dashed lines the possibility of arranging a further money receptacle 22a next to the money receptacle ₂ 2 already described in or on the work surface 16. Here, another operator can work in order to cope with increased operational loads. The cash receptacle 22a is then also electrically connected to the cash register, 18 and is automatically opened by the cash register. As with the money receptacle 22, a mechanical lock 25 can also be provided with the money receptacle 22a, with which the money receptacle 22a is opened separately as required.

Fig. 3 shows particularly clearly the advantageous design of the cash desk. The operator no longer has to carry out any rotations in order to push the goods from the conveyor belt 10 to the conveyor belt 11 or vice versa via the electronic reading device 12, to enter data or work commands into the input keyboard 17 and to withdraw or insert money from the money receptacle 22. In addition, it can be seen that it is also possible to put down the arms during breaks in operation or between individual checkout processes, so that particularly fatigue-free working is ensured.

Claims (4)

1. Check-out for sales premises with a goods conveyor (10 ; 11) running past an operator, beside which is positioned an electrically operated registration device (18) and a work surface (19) running at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the goods conveyor (10; 11) on which is provided an operating device (17) connected electrically to the registration device, preferably taking the form of an input keyboard, whereby a cash receptacle (22) takes the form of at least one case separate from the registration device (18) with covering surface (24) movable for the purpose of opening, characterized by the fact that in known manner a section of worksurface (16) is positioned running in the longitudinal direction of goods conveyor (10 ; 11) and that the cash receptacle (22) takes the form of an oblong box (23) and the latter is positioned on or in worksurface (16) in a direction parallel to the goods conveyor (10 ; 11) on one side of the operating device (17) in such a way that its flat covering surface (24) which takes the form of a hinged lid pivoting about an axis parallel to the goods conveyor (10 ; 11) can be used as an arm rest for the operator.

2. Check-out in accordance whith claim 1 characterized by the fact that the hinged lid (24) can be lowered at least partially in box (23) as a result of its opening motion.

3. Check-out in accordance whith claim 1 or 2 characterized by the fact that hinged lid (24) is provided with a spring arrangement applying pressure in direction of opening.

4. Check-out in accordance with one of claims 1 to 3 characterized by the fact that the cash receptacle (22) and the operating device (17) are positioned side by side on the section of the worksurface (16) placed longitudinal to the direction of goods conveyor and that the operating device (17) is positioned approximately at the point of transition with the section (19) of work surface (16) located at right angles to the goods conveyor (10 ; 11).

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