FI93155C - Method and apparatus for collecting and feeding barcode price tags - Google Patents

Description

1.

93155

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING AND FEEDING BARCODE PRICE LABELS

The invention relates to the cash handling of grocery and consumer goods with barcode price tags at the cash registers of stores which have optical barcode readers.

Payment for goods with barcode price tags at store checkouts now takes place in such a way that the customer sometimes unloads the goods they have bought, even after a long queue, on the conveyor belt of the checkout of their choice. From there, the cashier translates the goods so that their barcodes point to the optical reader and take them over to the reader. After processing this item, the cashier prints a purchase invoice and takes payment, after which the customer collects the goods from the other end of the conveyor belt, usually in plastic bags purchased at the same time.

By means of the apparatus for collecting and feeding the barcode price tags according to the invention and the new method based thereon, which are characterized by what is set forth in the characterizing parts of the claims, It is the cashier's responsibility to use the method to drive the collection of price tags received from the customer over the optical reading area of the cash register, print the purchase invoice and collect the payment.

The customer takes the cassette containing the assembly tape with the shopping cart for the shopping tour. During this time, the customer attaches the barcode price tags of the goods he has purchased, printed on customer scales, optical reading devices placed in the store or at service counters, to the collection hall instead of the goods. For possible control, it is possible to: print copies of the price tags, which are attached to the product as they are today.

2.

93155

The customer prints copies of the barcode price tags already printed on the packaging at the factory with the above-mentioned equipment and attaches them to the assembly tape. As the invention has become more widespread, manufacturers are likely to provide packaging with two barcode price tags, one of which is an easily removable sticker for transfer to the assembly hall.

The most important advantage of the invention is that no more than 20% of the current time is spent on processing one customer at the checkout. The more products the customer has purchased and the more completely the store has switched to using this equipment, the greater the time savings. This represents a revolution, especially in peak cash and trade costs.

Thanks to the new method, the customer can also pack the goods directly into their own shopping bag, eliminating the need for environmentally friendly, disposable shopping bags.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which - Fig. 1 shows a pre-printed assembly strip of barcode price tags blank. Fig. 2. shows an assembly strip with barcode price tags. Fig. 3. shows a barcode price tag assembly tape cassette. Fig. 5 shows a side section of the barcode price tag feeding and assembling apparatus as shown in Fig. 5. shows a barcode price tag feeding and assembling apparatus feeding section and an assembly tape cassette connected together in a side section.

3.

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The assembly tape of the barcode price tags is about 5 cm wide, thin and flexible, but sufficiently upright cardboard so that it passes without wrinkling in the assembly tape cassette and easily hits the drive rollers of the equipment feed section. The tape is delivered in rolls suitable for the cassette. The bar is printed with barcode price tag-sized attachment areas (1). In addition, the strip is perforated with cutting points (2) after every third fastening area. The end meters of the tape are colored with attention color to indicate the end of the tape.

The assembly and feeding equipment for the barcode price tags consists of an assembly tape cassette and a feeding part.

The assembly tape cassette is made of transparent plastic and has a fixed shaft empty assembly tape roll insertion housing (5), manual torsion lever (4) for feeding the tape, a price tag mounting base (8) which is a second tape in the central region of the side (6), a winding spool (7) shafted with a torsion lever (4) so that the assembly tape attached to the spool spools 9), the second guide (16) of which guides the guitar is made of a bell spring-type material and rests under spring pressure lightly on the assembly strip fed to the collecting reel, holding it as a fixed roll and guiding it into the discharge opening after cutting, and connecting .. what are the slots (8) for attaching to the feed part and starting it.

93155 4.

The feed section has support legs provided with suction cups (11) for mounting the cash register equipment in the area of the optical reader (12). Installation can be horizontal or vertical. The cut-out part (3) of the assembly strip with price tags is fed directly from the cassette discharge opening to the feed section with electric motor (13) paired lightly contacting assembly rollers (10), which start automatically when the fastening sockets (14) hit the assembly strip and a passage line (15) formed by two adjacent plates provided with a bar code reading opening, along which the assembly strip passes over the optical reading area (12) of the cash register equipment. At the same time, the information contained in the price tags is transmitted through the reading opening to the cash register for printing the purchase invoice.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but many modifications are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the appended claims.

Claims (4)

93155 5. 1. A method for collecting and entering information contained in barcode price tags of products purchased by a customer in a grocery and consumer goods store for printing a purchase invoice, characterized in that the barcode price tags or copies thereof are affixed during the shopping cycle instead of or in addition to a separate assembly tray. 4-9,16) mounted on the assembly tape (1-2), which is conveyed by means of the supply part (10-15) of the apparatus over the optical reader (12) of the cash register so that the information contained in the vii-code price tags is transmitted to the cash register. Assembly tape for the assembly of barcode price tags, characterized in that it is a tape separate from the products, packaged in rolls, mounted in the assembly case (5) of the assembly tape cassette, with pre-printed attachment areas (1) of barcode price tags for collecting purchased goods 3. Barcode price tag assembly tape cassette, characterized in that the housing acting as a fastening frame for its parts has an empty assembly tape and roll insertion housing (5), in which a roll-packed barcode price tag assembly tape can be mounted on a roll-up , a collection coil (7) shafted to the torsion lever, a discharge opening (9) for a part of the cut assembly strip, guides (16) guiding the assembly strip to the discharge opening, one of which rests lightly on the assembly roll fed to the assembly roll to start. 6. y o I j A supply part of an apparatus for conveying an assembly tape with barcode price tags over an optical reader of a cash register for printing a purchase invoice, characterized in that it has fastening sockets (14) for attaching to the assembly tape cassette, lightly pairing contact strips an assembly line (15) between the plate, the bottom plate having a transparent bar code reading opening, and mounting feet (11) for mounting in the optical reading area (12) of the cash register. 7 93155