JP2002216247A - Coupon issuing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make issuable a coupon of a kind required by each member to the member without requiring much labor. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a member file 6 for storing the kind code of the coupon to be issued to each member in conformation to the member identification information of a member cared 4 distributed to the member together with a flag showing whether the coupon is unissued or issued to the member concerned. A POS terminal 1 retrieves the member file 6, when the member identification information of the member card 4 is inputted through a card reader 5, judges whether the coupon has not issued or has been issued from the flag corresponding to the member identification information. When it is judged that the coupon has not been issued, the coupon of the kind code set in conformation to this member identification information in the member file 6 is issued, and the corresponding flag is updated to the issued one. When the issue of coupon is judged, no coupon is issued.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a coupon issuing device used in a POS (Point Of Sales) system capable of issuing and using coupons.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a coupon issuing device used in a conventional POS system, a product to be issued with a coupon is set in a storage unit in advance, and when a product purchased by a shopper is registered at a POS terminal, the registration is performed. Determines whether the product is a coupon issue target product, and prints and issues a predetermined coupon ticket using the receipt printer of the POS terminal if it is determined that the coupon issue target product is registered. was there. In this case, the coupon has been discounted or discounted when the product to be issued or the product of the section to which the product belongs is purchased next time or later.

[0003] By using such a coupon issuing device at a store, a customer who has purchased at the store and received the coupon is more likely to return to use the coupon again, so that the customer retention has been established. As a result, sales promotion effects can be expected.

Meanwhile, there is a member preferential treatment system as another method aimed at retaining customers in a retail store. This system is a system that offers merchandise at a lower price than general customers to customers who have signed a member contract with the store, so-called members, or calculates points according to the purchase price each time a member purchases a product Then, there is a system that grants some benefits when points are accumulated.

[0005] Recently, there has been a demand to introduce a service for issuing coupons only to members in order to further differentiate members from general customers in a retail store that has introduced a member preferential treatment system. .

[0006]

However, in the coupon issuing device used in the conventional POS system, a coupon is issued to a customer who has purchased a coupon object product, so that a coupon is issued even if it is not a member. In some cases, coupons are not issued even for members, making it difficult to differentiate between members and general customers using coupons.

Therefore, it is a fact that a group of coupons of a plurality of types is mailed to each member or distributed at a store to differentiate them, and it takes time and effort to create and mail coupons. It was hanging. In addition, since all types of coupons are distributed to each member at once, many coupons are discarded without being used, resulting in a lot of waste at the expense of cost.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable each member to issue a necessary type of coupon to each member without trouble. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coupon issuing device capable of efficiently executing a coupon service.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coupon issuing apparatus capable of issuing a plurality of types of coupons, corresponding to member identification information of a member card distributed to each member. A member file storing a type code of a coupon to be issued to the member together with a flag indicating whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued to the member, input means for inputting member identification information of a member card, When the member identification information of the member card is input by the input means, the member file is searched, and a coupon issuance determination means for determining whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued from a flag corresponding to the member identification information, and the issuance determination means If it is determined that the coupon has not been issued, the coupon of the type code set in the member file corresponding to the member identification information is issued. With those updates the flag to outstanding, that it is determined that the coupon issued a coupon issue control means does not perform the issuance of coupons.
With this configuration, when the member identification information of the member card is input via the input unit, the member file is searched using the member identification information. When the flag corresponding to the member identification information indicates that a coupon has not been issued, a coupon of the type code set corresponding to the member identification information is issued. In contrast, when the flag corresponding to the member identification information indicates that the coupon has been issued, no coupon is issued. Therefore, when the type of coupon to be issued to the member is set for each member in the member file, the type of coupon to be issued is issued only once to each member.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In addition to the described invention, a product registration unit that registers products purchased by each member, and a member-by-member that accumulates the sales amount of the products purchased by the member for each member based on the product data registered in the product registration unit A sales cumulative means, and an issued coupon setting means for determining the type of coupon to be issued to the member based on the sales amount accumulated by the member-specific sales cumulative means for each member and setting the same in the member file. It is a thing. With such a configuration, the type of coupon to be issued for each member is determined based on the cumulative sales amount of the products purchased by the member at the store. Therefore, differentiation can be achieved, for example, by issuing more coupons to members with high sales.

[0011] The invention described in claim 3 of the present application is the above-described claim 2.
In the invention described, the product registration unit includes a function of registering a coupon used by each member when purchasing a product,
Based on the coupon data registered in the product registration section, each member has a use coupon management means for managing the type of coupon used by that member, and the issuing coupon setting means is accumulated by the member-specific sales accumulation means for each member. The type of the coupon to be issued to the member is determined based on the sales amount to be issued and the type of the used coupon managed by the used coupon management means, and is set in the member file. With such a configuration, the type of coupon to be issued for each member is determined by the cumulative sales amount of the products purchased by the member at the store and the type of coupon used by the member at the store. It is determined based on. Therefore, differentiation can be achieved, for example, by issuing more coupons of the type often used by the member who sells more to the member who sells more.

The invention described in claim 4 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In the coupon issuing device described above, the member file is transmitted to the member in accordance with the member identification information of the member card distributed to each member, the type code of the coupon to be issued to the member and the number of issued coupons to the member. The coupon is stored together with a flag indicating whether the coupon has not been issued or has been issued. When the coupon issuance determining means determines that the coupon has not been issued, the coupon issuance control means is set in the member file corresponding to the member identification information. The coupon of the type code is issued for the number of issued coupons, and the flag is updated to issued, so that the coupon is not issued if it is determined that the coupon has been issued. With this configuration, when the member identification information of the member card is input via the input unit, the member file is searched using the member identification information. When the flag corresponding to the member identification information indicates that a coupon has not been issued, coupons of the type code set corresponding to the member identification information are issued for the number of issued coupons. In contrast, when the flag corresponding to the member identification information indicates that the coupon has been issued, no coupon is issued. Therefore, when the type of coupon to be issued to the member and the number of issued coupons are set for each member in the member file, the coupon of the type to be issued only once for each member is equal to the number of issued coupons. publish.

The invention described in claim 5 of the present application is the above-described claim 4.
In addition to the described invention, a product registration unit for registering a product purchased by each member, and a sales amount of the product purchased by the member for each member is classified into each product based on the product data registered by the product registration unit. Determine the type of coupon to be issued to the member and the number of coupons to be issued to the member based on the member-based sales accumulating means that accumulates by classification code and the sales amount by classification code that is accumulated by the member-based sales accumulating means for each member. Issuance coupon setting means for setting in the member file.

With this configuration, the type of coupon to be issued and the number of issued coupons to be set for each member are determined based on the cumulative sales amount of the products purchased by the member at the store. Therefore, differentiation can be achieved, for example, by issuing more coupons to members with high sales.

[0015] The invention described in claim 6 of the present application is the above-described claim 5.
In the invention described, the product registration unit includes a function of registering a coupon used by each member when purchasing a product,
A coupon management means for managing the type and number of coupons used by the member for each member based on the coupon data registered in the product registration unit, and a issuing coupon setting means, a means for accumulating sales by member for each member The type of coupon to be issued to the member is determined based on the sales amount for each classification code accumulated by the above and the type and number of used coupons managed by the used coupon management means, and is set in the member file. Things. With this configuration, the type of coupon to be issued and the number of coupons to be issued for each member are determined by the cumulative sales amount of the products purchased by the member at the store and the coupons used by the member at the store. Is determined based on the type and the number of sheets. Therefore, differentiation can be achieved, for example, by issuing more coupons of the type often used by the member who sells more to the member who sells more.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this embodiment introduces a member preferential treatment system that provides members with products at a lower price than ordinary customers, and discounts or discounts products belonging to a pre-designated product category only to members. This is a case where the present invention is applied to a POS system of a store that aims to differentiate members from general customers by issuing a plurality of types of coupons 60 (see FIG. 14) to be sold.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a POS system according to the present embodiment. A plurality of POS terminals 1 each having a product registration unit for registering a product purchased by each shopper, and each POS terminal 1 is centrally managed. File processor 2
A POS system is constructed by connecting with a LAN (Local Area Network) 3. Each POS terminal 1 is provided with a card reader 5 for reading card data of a membership card 4 distributed to each member. As shown in FIG. 2, the member card 4 stores a store code of a card issuer, a member number as member identification information for identifying a member who owns the card, and the like. It was created using a card.

The file processor 2 connects each POS terminal 1 via the LAN 3 and connects an upper model such as a host computer via a public line or a dedicated line. The member file 6, the single item file 7, and the coupon file 8 are stored and managed respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, the member file 6 stores and manages member data such as the member's name, address, telephone number, etc., corresponding to the member number as member identification information for identifying each member. It is a data file. In particular, the number of issued coupons, that is, the number of usable coupons, can be stored for each coupon type code that specifies the type of coupon 60. Further, the sales amount can be accumulated for each link section code for classifying each product. Further, a coupon flag for identifying whether the coupon 60 has not been issued (0) or has been issued (1) for the member of the member number is stored.

As shown in FIG. 4, the single item file 7 includes a product name, a normal unit price (price per unit of purchase by a non-member), and a unit price (a member Price per purchase unit)
Etc. is a data file for storing and managing single item data.
In particular, a link section code, which is a product category to which the product belongs, and a coupon type code that specifies a coupon 60 that can be used when purchasing the product, are stored. When the coupon type code is “0”, it indicates that the product is a coupon non-target product that does not have a coupon 60 that can be used at the time of purchase.

As shown in FIG. 5, the coupon file 8 includes, as shown in FIG. 5, a coupon number assigned to a coupon of the same type so as not to be duplicated, corresponding to a coupon type code for specifying the type of various coupons 60; Message data for 1 to N (positive number of N ≧ 2) lines printed on the coupon 60 and value discount classification data (1: value) for classifying whether the coupon 60 is a value quote coupon or a discount coupon , 2: discount) and a discount amount or discount rate. Also, in particular,
The link section code (a plurality of items can be set) of the product discounted or discounted by the coupon 60 and the amount data range are stored for each of 1 to K (positive number of K ≧ 2) sheets. I have. In the figure, "n" indicates that data has not been set.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the POS terminal 1. The POS terminal 1 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 as a control unit main body.
1 is provided. Also, a ROM (Read Onl) in which fixed data such as a program executed by the CPU 101 is stored in advance.
y Memory) 102, data to be processed by the CPU 101, and C
RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 for storing variable data such as data processed by PU 101, clock unit 104 for measuring the current date and time, and the LAN
LAN controller 105 for controlling data communication performed through the communication unit 3 and a front display 10 provided for a cashier
6. First display controller 107 for controlling screen display
And a keyboard interface 110 and a scanner interface 1 in addition to a second display controller 109 for controlling a screen display of a customer surface display 108 provided for shoppers.
11, input / output device interfaces such as a printer interface 112, a card reader interface 113, and a drawer interface 114. And C
PU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, clock unit 1
04, the LAN controller 105, the first and second display controllers 107 and 109, and the input / output device interfaces 110 to 114 are connected by bus lines 115 such as an address bus and a data bus.

The keyboard interface 110 has a POS provided with merchandise registration keys such as a numeric key, a PLU (Price Look Up) key, a subtotal key, and a deposit / current total key.
A keyboard 116 dedicated to the terminal is connected. The scanner interface 111 is connected to a scanner 117 that can optically read a bar code of a single item code attached to each product, a coupon bar code 63 printed on the coupon 60, and the like. The printer interface 112 is connected to a printer 118 that can print on receipt paper and issue it as a receipt. The card reader 5 is connected to the card reader interface 113. Drawer interface 114
Is connected to a drawer 119 for storing cash and the like.

Here, the keyboard 116 and the scanner 11
Reference numeral 7 functions as a product registration unit for registering a product purchased by each member. The product registration section includes a function of registering a coupon used by each member when purchasing a product.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the file processor 2.
A CPU 201 is provided as a control unit main body. Also, C
A ROM 202 storing fixed data such as a program executed by the PU 201 in advance, a RAM 203 storing variable data such as data processed by the CPU 201 and data processed by the CPU 201, a clock unit 204 for measuring the current date and time, In addition to the LAN controller 205 for controlling data communication performed through the LAN 3,
An FDD controller 207 for controlling the drive of a DD (Floppy Disk Drive) device 206 and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
e) HDD controller 2 for controlling driving of device 208
09, MODEM (modu
lator-demodulator (modulator / demodulator) 210 and the like. The CPU 201, the ROM 202, the RAM 20
3. Clock section 204, LAN controller 205, FDD
Controller 207, HDD controller 209 and M
The ODEM 210 is connected with a bus line 211 such as an address bus and a data bus.

The HDD device 208 stores the data files of the member file 6, the single item file 7, and the coupon file 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the RAM 203 has a start date and an end date of a sales management period, which is a period for accumulating the sales amount of each member for each link section, and a coupon, which is a period for issuing a coupon to each member. A coupon schedule table 9 is formed to store the start date and end date of the issuance period and the start date and end date of the coupon use period, which is the effective use period of the coupon issued to each member, in an updatable manner. Then, when necessary, the data of the coupon schedule table 9 is updated by downloading from the upper model. An issuance flag F1 set to “1” during the coupon issue period and a use flag F2 set to “1” during the coupon use period.
Is also formed.

Thus, the CPU of the file processor 2
In particular, when the time measured by the clock unit 204 reaches a preset business opening start time, the store 201 refers to the coupon schedule table 9 and starts the business opening shown in the flowchart of FIG. It has become something.

First, the CPU 201 executes ST (step) 1
It is determined whether or not the current date measured by the clock unit 204 is within the sales management period (start date to end date) set in the coupon schedule table 9. Here, if the current date is within the sales management period, it is determined at ST2 whether the current date is the start date of the sales management period. In the case of the start date, the total sales amount data by link section code of all the member data registered in the member file 6 is cleared to “0” as ST3. If the current date is other than the start date of the sales management period in ST2, the process of ST3 is not performed.

On the other hand, if the current day is outside the sales management period in ST1, it is determined in ST4 whether the day before the current day is the end date of the sales management period. And for the end date,
In step ST5, a coupon issuance number setting process described later is executed. If the day before the current day is other than the end date of the sales management period in ST4, the process of ST5 is not performed.

Next, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the current date is within the coupon issue period (start date to end date) set in the coupon schedule table 9 in ST6. If the current date is within the coupon issuance period,
In ST7, it is determined whether or not the current date is the start date of the coupon issue period. Then, in the case of the start date, the issuance flag F1 is set to "1" in ST8. If the current date is other than the start date of the coupon issue period in ST8,
The processing of ST8 is not performed.

On the other hand, if the current day is outside the coupon issue period in ST5, it is determined in ST9 whether the day before the current day is the end date of the coupon issue period. Then, in the case of the end date, the issuance flag F1 is reset to "0" in ST10. If the day before the current day is other than the end date of the coupon issuance period in ST9, the process of ST10 is not performed.

Next, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the current date is within the coupon usage period (start date to end date) set in the coupon schedule table 9 in ST11. Here, if the current date is within the coupon usage period,
In ST12, it is determined whether or not the current date is the start date of the coupon use period. And in the case of the start date, ST13
To set the use flag F2 to "1". ST
If the current date is other than the start date of the coupon use period at 12, the process of ST13 is not performed.

On the other hand, if the current day is outside the coupon usage period in ST10, it is determined in ST14 whether the day before the current day is the end date of the coupon usage period. Then, in the case of the end date, the use flag F2 is set to “0” in ST15.
If the previous day of the current day is other than the end date of the coupon use period in ST14, the process of ST15 is not performed. After that, the CPU 201 proceeds to another process that has been conventionally performed as a store opening operation. enter.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing the coupon ticket number setting process. That is, the CPU 201
When it is determined that the day before the current day is the end date of the sales management period in the processing of ST4 of the store opening operation, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started. First, the first counter a is set to "0" in ST21. Reset to "". Next, if the first counter a is counted up by "1" in ST22, records in the order corresponding to the first counter a from the member file 6 (hereinafter referred to as a-th member information) are read in ST23. Read.

Here, if the a-th member information can be read from the member file 6 as ST24, ST2
As 5, the second counter b is reset to "0". Next, if the second counter b is counted up by "1" in ST26, records in the order corresponding to the second counter b (hereinafter referred to as b-th coupon information) are read from the coupon file 8 in ST27. Read.

Here, if the b-th coupon information can be read from the coupon file 8 in ST28, all link department codes to be couponed are acquired from the b-th coupon information in ST29. Next, ST
As 30, all the sales amounts accumulated for each linked department code of the coupon object acquired in ST 29 are extracted from the a-th member information, and the total amount is calculated. Next, as ST31, the number of issued sheets P is obtained from the b-th coupon information with the total sales amount calculated in ST30 as the amount data range.
In step ST31, the available number Q of coupon type codes of the b-th coupon information is acquired from the a-th member information. Then, in ST33, the available number Q is subtracted from the issued number P to calculate a new available number R for the coupon type code. At this time, if the result obtained by subtracting the available number Q from the issued number P is negative, the new available number R is set to 0. After a while
In ST34, the available number of sheets for the coupon type code of the bth coupon information in the ath member information
After rewriting and updating to the new available number R calculated in 33, the process returns to ST26, and the second counter b is further counted up by "1".

In this way, each coupon information registered in the coupon file 8 is read in order, and each time the processing of ST29 to ST34 is executed for the a-th member information, the available number of sheets for the corresponding coupon type code is determined. Update. If the b-th coupon information cannot be read from the coupon file 8 in ST28, the process returns to ST22, the first counter a is counted up by "1", and the a-th member information is Read. Then, for this a-th member information, ST25
The subsequent processing is repeated. That is, coupon file 8
Is read again from the top in turn, and the processes from ST29 to ST34 are executed for the a-th member information each time, and the available number of sheets for the corresponding coupon type code is updated.

In this way, the available number of sheets for each coupon type code of each member information registered in the member file 6 is sequentially updated. Then, if the a-th member information cannot be read from the member file 6 in ST24, the coupon issuance number setting process ends.

On the other hand, the CPU 10 of each POS terminal 1
1 recognizes that the card data of the valid member card 6 has been read, especially when the store code of the card data read by the card reader 5 is a store code set in advance as a valid code, and the flow chart of FIG. The member registration operation shown is to be started.

First, the CPU 101 creates an inquiry message having the layout shown in FIG. 13A from the card data (store code, member number, etc.) read from the member card 6 by the card reader 5 as ST1. To LA
The file is transmitted to the file processor 2 via N3. In addition,
In the message layout shown in FIG. 13A, “FF” is a code indicating an inquiry message, “FPID” is a communication address of the file processor 2 that is a message transmission destination, and “T
“MID” is the communication address of the POS terminal 1 that is the message transmission source.

Thus, the CP of the file processor 2 is
U201 searches the member file 6 by the member number in the member information inquiry message, reads out the corresponding member information,
A member information response message having the layout shown in FIG. 13B is created together with the flag data of the issue flag F1 and the use flag F2 stored in 203. Then, the member information response message is transmitted to the inquiry source POS terminal 1 via the LAN 3. In the message layout shown in FIG. 13B, “FF” is a code indicating a member information response message, “TMID” is a communication address of the POS terminal 1 to which the message is transmitted, and “FPID” Is the communication address of the file processor 2 that is the message transmission source.

Then, the CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 receiving the member information response message transmits the member information, the issuance flag F1 and the use flag F2 included in the response message.
Is stored in the member processing memory of the RAM 103, and the coupon flag in the member information stored in the member processing memory is checked as ST2 to determine whether the coupon 60 has not been issued or has been issued to this member. . If the coupon flag is reset to “0” and it is determined that the coupon 60 has not been issued, ST3
The member name is acquired from the member information and displayed on the front display 106 and the customer display 108. On the other hand, if the coupon flag is set to “1” and it is determined that the coupon 60 has been issued, the available number of coupons for each coupon type code is acquired together with the member name from the member information in step ST3. , These are the front display 1
06 and the customer display 108.

Next, as ST5, a purchased merchandise registration process specifically shown in FIG. 12 is executed. This process is repeatedly executed until a closing key (for example, a deposit / current total key) for declaring the end of registration of a product purchased by one member is input in ST6.

First, in step ST21, the process waits for a barcode to be scanned by the scanner 117. If the barcode is scanned, ST22
It is determined whether or not the barcode is the coupon barcode 63 printed on the coupon 60. The coupon bar code 63 is a bar code of a numeric string in which the coupon type code is the highest digit and the coupon number is connected thereafter.

If the barcode scanned in ST22 is a coupon barcode, the use flag F2 stored in the member processing memory is checked in ST23. If the use flag F2 has been reset to "0", the coupon is currently out of the coupon use period and the coupon 60 cannot be used, so the process returns to ST21 and waits for the next barcode data to be scanned. . On the other hand, if the use flag F2 is set to “1”, it is within the coupon use period, so
Whether or not the available number of coupon type codes, which is the most significant digit of the scanned coupon bar code, out of the available number of coupon type codes in the member information stored in the member processing memory as T24 is greater than “0” Check if. If the available number is "0", the coupon 60 cannot be used, and the process returns to ST21 to wait for the next barcode data to be scanned. On the other hand, if the available number is greater than “0”, the scanned coupon bar code code (coupon type code + coupon number) is stored in RAM1.
03 is temporarily stored in the work area W1. Then, ST
The process returns to step S21 to wait for the next barcode data to be scanned.

On the other hand, if the barcode scanned in ST22 is not a coupon barcode but a single item code attached to each product in ST26, ST2
As 7, a single item information inquiry message including the single item code is created, and the inquiry message is transmitted to the file processor 2 via the LAN 3. Thereby, when the CPU 201 of the file processor 2 receives the single item information inquiry message, it searches the single item file 7 with the single item code in the message, reads out the corresponding single item information, and returns it to the POS terminal 1 of the inquiry source. The CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 that has received the single item information checks whether or not the coupon type code in the single item information is “0”, that is, whether or not the item is a coupon target item, in ST28. If the coupon type code in the single item information is “0” and the item is not a coupon target item, the process proceeds to ST34 with the unit price in the single item information as the sales price of the registered item.

On the other hand, if the coupon type code in the single item information is not “0” and the product is a coupon target product, the coupon type code in the single item information is changed to the last coupon code in the work area W1 in ST29. It is determined whether or not it matches the coupon type code that is the upper digit.
Here, if they do not match (including the case where the data in the work area W1 is “0”), since the merchandise that does not use the coupon 60 is registered, the unit price in the single item information is set as the selling price of the registered merchandise, and the process proceeds to ST34. .

On the other hand, if the coupon type code in the single item information matches the coupon type code in the work area W1 in ST29, the product is registered using the coupon 60, and the coupon in the single item information is registered in ST30. A coupon information inquiry message including the type code is created, and the inquiry message is sent to the file processor 2 via the LAN 3.
Send to Thereby, the CP of the file processor 2
Upon receiving the coupon information inquiry message, U201 searches the coupon file 8 using the coupon type code in the message, reads out the corresponding coupon information, and reads the POS of the inquiry source.
Upon receiving the coupon information, the CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 receives the coupon information and transmits the coupon number of the coupon information to the work area W in step ST31.
It is determined whether or not it matches the coupon number excluding the most significant digit of the coupon code in 1. If they do not match, an unusable expired or forged coupon has been used, and the process proceeds to ST34.

If the coupon numbers match in ST31, the available number corresponding to the corresponding coupon type code in the member information stored in the member processing memory is reduced by 1 in ST32. In ST33, a discount is obtained from the value discount section data and the rate in the coupon information. Specifically, the value discount classification data is “1: discount amount”
In the case of, the rate data is directly used as the discount amount.
When the value discount category data is “2: discount amount”,
The rate (%) of the member unit price in the single item information is set as the discount amount.
When the discount amount is obtained in this way, the selling price of the registered product is calculated by subtracting the discount amount from the member unit price in the single item information, and the process proceeds to ST34.

In ST34, a single item sales registration process is executed. In this process, the single item code, the selling price and the number of sales in the single item information are used as transaction data in the RAM 10
This is a process of registering the transaction memory No. 3 in the transaction memory. The processing also includes processing for summing the sales prices for one transaction using a transaction totalizer, processing for displaying the product name, sales price, and the like on the front display 106 and the customer display 108, and the like.

Then, in step ST35, among the sales amount data by link section code in the member information stored in the member processing memory, the sales amount data of the same section code as the link section code in the single item information is sold. Update the price to the added amount. Then, if the data of the work area W1 is cleared to "0" in ST36, the purchased goods registration processing of this time is ended.

Returning to the description of FIG. When the input of the closing key is detected in ST6, the registration closing process is executed in ST7. In this processing, for example, when the deposit amount is input by the deposit / current total key, the change amount is calculated by subtracting the total amount in the transaction totalizer from the deposit amount, and the front display unit 106 and the customer display unit At 108,
This is a process for opening the drawer 119. Next, ST8
The printer 118 is driven to print and issue a receipt.

Thereafter, as ST9, the issuing flag F1 stored in the member processing memory is checked. here,
If the issuance flag F1 has been reset to "0", the process proceeds to ST13 because the coupon is not currently being issued.
On the other hand, if the issuance flag F1 has been set to "1", it is during the coupon issuance period, so ST10
Check the coupon flag in the member information stored in the member processing memory. If the coupon flag is "1", that is, if the coupon has been issued to the member, the process proceeds to ST13.

On the other hand, if the coupon flag is “0”, that is, if no coupon has been issued to the member, ST
As 11, the coupon issuance process is executed. In particular,
The number of available coupon type codes is checked in the member information stored in the member processing memory. Each time a coupon type code having an available number of “1” or more is acquired, a coupon information inquiry message including the coupon type code is created, and the inquiry message is transmitted to the file processor 2 via the LAN 3. . As a result, the CPU 201 of the file processor 2 searches the coupon file 8 with the coupon type code in the coupon information inquiry message, reads out the corresponding coupon information, and returns it to the POS terminal 1 of the inquiry source, as described above. CPU of the POS terminal 1 that has received the coupon information
101 controls the driving of the printer 118, and as shown in FIG. 14, the message data 6 in the coupon information.
1, a coupon 60 printed with a member number and member name 62 in the member information stored in the member processing memory, and a coupon bar code 63 including a coupon type code and a coupon number in the coupon information can be used. Issue the number of copies.

In this way, when the CPU 101 causes the coupon codes of the available number of coupon codes of “1” or more to print and issue the coupons 60 of the available number of coupons, respectively, the CPU 101 stores the member stored in the member processing memory as ST12. The coupon flag in the information is set to “0” indicating that the coupon has not been issued.
From “1” to “1” indicating issued. After that, ST13
Proceed to.

In ST13, the member information stored in the member processing memory is transferred to the file processor 2 via the LAN 3. Thereby, C of the file processor 2
The PU 201 overwrites and updates the member information of the same member number in the member file 6 with the member information received from the POS terminal 1. Then, after the update, the response of the update end is returned to the POS terminal 1 of the member information transmission source.
Reference numeral 101 indicates that the member processing memory is cleared and the current membership registration operation is completed.

As described above, in this embodiment, each P
File processor 2 for centrally managing OS terminal 1
, A member file 6, a single item file 7, and a coupon file 8 are provided. In the member file 6, corresponding to the member number which is the member identification information of the member card distributed to each member, the type code of the coupon to be issued to the member and the type code are identified. The number of available coupons, that is, the number of issued coupons,
The coupon is set and registered together with a coupon flag indicating whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued to the member. In addition, the member file 6 is configured to accumulate the sales amount of the products purchased by the member for each link section code for classifying each product. In the single item file 7, a link section code, which is a classification to which the item belongs, and a type code of a coupon for which the item is discounted or discounted are registered in advance corresponding to the single item code unique to each item. The coupon file 8 includes a coupon number assigned to each coupon so as not to be duplicated among coupons of the same type, corresponding to coupon type codes for identifying various coupons, print data required for creating the coupon, a value discount classification code, and a rate. The link department code to which the product to be coupon belongs is set and registered.
Further, for each issued number of 1 to K (K ≧ 2), the sales amount range necessary for issuing the coupon of the number is set and registered.

The RAM 20 of the file processor 2
3, a coupon schedule table 9 is formed. In this table 9, a start date and an end date of a coupon service sales management period, a coupon issuance period, and a coupon use period are set.

Now, in the file processor 2,
At a predetermined time before opening on every business day, the opening operation is automatically performed. In this store opening operation, assuming that the current date coincides with the start date of the sales management period set in the coupon schedule table 9, the total sales amount data by link section code of all the member data registered in the member file 6 Is cleared to "0" (ST in FIG. 9).
3).

On the other hand, if the member purchases a product at the store during the business hours and presents the membership card 4 and offers to pay the price, the cashier operating the POS terminal 1
The card data of the membership card 4 received from the member is read by the card reader 5. Then, the member file data corresponding to the member number in the card data is read from the file processor 2 to the POS terminal 1. Then, the coupon flag is checked. At this time, if the coupon flag indicates that the member has not been issued (0), the name of the member is displayed on the front display 106 and the customer display 108, and the cashier registers the product purchased by the member. . Then, the sales price of the registered product is added to the sales amount data corresponding to the link section code to which the registered product in the member file data belongs (ST3 in FIG. 12).
5). In this way, every time a product is registered, the sales price of the product is added to the sales amount data by link section code in the member file data of the customer. When the registration of the product purchased by the member is completed, the cashier presses the closing key. Then, the receipt of the current transaction is printed and issued by the printer 118. Further, the member file data in which the sales amount data by link section code is added and updated by the product registration is overwritten on the member file 6 of the file processor 2 (ST13 in FIG. 11).

Each time a product purchased by a member is registered at each POS terminal 1, the above process is repeated. Therefore, the accumulated sales amount data by link section code of each member data registered in the member file 6 is cleared at the time of opening the sales management period on the opening day of the sales management period. Then, the sales amount of the product purchased by the member is accumulated.

Here, the card reader 5 of each POS terminal 1 functions as input means for inputting the member identification information (member number) of the member card 4. Further, the CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 that executes the processing of ST35 of the purchased product registration processing shown in FIG. 12 and the processing of ST13 of the member registration business processing shown in FIG. 11 and the member file 6 of the file processor 2 are: Product registration section (keyboard 1
16, the scanner 117) constitutes a member-by-member sales accumulating means for accumulating, for each member, the sales amount of the products purchased by each member for each member for each classification code (link section code) for classifying each product.

Thereafter, it is assumed that the current date matches the day following the end date of the sales management period set in the coupon schedule table 9. Then, in the opening business of the day,
A coupon ticket number setting process is executed (ST in FIG. 9).
5).

For example, in the coupon file data of the coupon type code “1”, “01” and “03” are set as the coupon target department codes, and “1 to 999” is issued as the amount range of the number of issued sheets 1. It is assumed that “1000 to 9999” is set as the money amount range of the number 2. In this case, “0” is determined as the available number data of the coupon type code “1” for the member whose total sales amount of the products belonging to the link section codes “01” and “03” is 0 yen, For members whose total sales amount of the code is 1 to 999 yen, "1" is determined as usable number data of the coupon type code "1",
“2” is determined as the usable number data of the coupon type code “1” for members whose total sales amount of the section code is 1000 to 9999 yen. Similarly, in the coupon file data of the coupon type code “2”, “02” and “03” are set as the coupon target department codes, and “1000 to 9”
999 "is changed to" 10000 "
If the total sales amount of the products belonging to the link department codes “02” and “03” is less than 1000 yen, the number of available coupon type codes “2” "0" is determined as data, and the total sales amount of the department code is 1000 to 99.
"1" is determined as the available number data of the coupon type code "2" for the member of 99 yen, and the coupon type code of "2" for the member whose total sales amount of the department code is 10,000 to 99999 yen. "2" is determined as the available number data of "."

Here, ST5 of the opening business process shown in FIG.
, More specifically, the CPU 201 of the file processor 2 that executes the processing of ST21 to ST34 of the coupon ticket number setting processing shown in FIG. 10 is a member-based cumulative sales means (the CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 and the member file 6) for each member. ) Determines the type of coupon to be issued to the member and the number of issued coupons based on the sales amount for each classification code (sales amount for each link section code), and sets the coupon in the member file 6. Constitute.

Thereafter, it is assumed that the current date matches the start date of the coupon issue period set in the coupon schedule table 9. Then, the issuing flag F1 is set in the RAM 203 of the file processor 2 in the opening operation of the day.

In this state, at the POS terminal 1, the merchandise purchased by the member is registered, and when the closing key is input, the coupon flag in the member file data of the member is checked (ST1 in FIG. 11).
0). When the coupon flag is "0", that is, indicates that the member file data has not been issued, the available number of coupon type codes of the member file data is checked. Then, the coupon 60 corresponding to the type code having the available number of sheets of 1 or more is automatically converted to the available number of printers 118.
And is issued (ST11 in FIG. 11).
The coupon flag of the member file data is updated from unissued “0” to issued “1” (ST1 in FIG. 11).
2, ST13).

For example, the available number of sheets for the coupon type code “1” is “2” and the coupon type code “2”
For a member whose available number is “1”, two coupons 60 identified by a coupon type code “1” and a coupon 60 identified by a coupon type code “2”
Is issued. In addition, a member whose available number for the coupon type code “1” is “3” and whose available number for the coupon type code “2” is “0” is a coupon identified by the coupon type code “1”. 6
Three 0s are issued, and the coupon 60 identified by the coupon type code “2” is not issued.

As shown in FIG. 14, the coupon 60 has the corresponding coupon type code as the highest digit, and the coupon number set in the coupon file 8 corresponding to the coupon type code as the lower digit, as shown in FIG. The coupon barcode 63 is printed and issued.

Here, the ST of the member registration business shown in FIG.
When the member identification information (member number) of the member card 4 is inputted by the input means (card reader 5), the CPU 101 of the POS terminal 1 executing the processing of steps 10, ST11 and ST12 searches the member file 6 and executes the coupon flag. And a coupon issuance determining means for determining whether the coupon has not been issued or has been issued, and when the issuance determining means determines that the coupon has not been issued, the coupon is set in the member file 6 corresponding to the member identification information (member number). The coupon issuance control means for issuing the coupons of the type code for the number of issued coupons, updating the flag to issued, and not issuing the coupon when it is determined that the coupon has been issued.

Thereafter, assuming that the current date matches the day following the end date of the coupon issuance period set in the coupon schedule table 9, the issuance flag F1 is reset. Then, even if registration of a product purchased by a member who has not issued a coupon is performed at the POS terminal 1, no coupon is issued.

Thereafter, it is assumed that the current date coincides with the start date of the coupon usage period set in the coupon schedule table 9. Then, the use flag F2 is set in the RAM 203 of the file processor 2 in the store opening business on the day.

In this state, when the card data of the member card 4 is read by the card reader 5 in the POS terminal 1, the name of the member and the coupon issued to the member during the immediately preceding coupon issuance period are displayed. The type and the number of issued cards are displayed on the front display 106 and the customer display 108.

Here, when the member presents the coupon 60 and offers to purchase a product that can be discounted or discounted with the coupon 60, the cashier first scans the coupon bar code 63 of the coupon 60 with the scanner 117,
Subsequently, the bar code of the product is scanned and registered. Then, only when the number of usable coupon type codes in the member file data of the member is 1 or more and the registered product is a target product of the coupon 60, the selling price of the registered product is reduced to the coupon 60.
Is discounted or discounted at the rate (ST3 in FIG. 12).
3). Then, the number of usable coupon type codes in the member file data of the member is reduced by "1" (ST32 in FIG. 12).

If the number of available coupon type codes is 0, the sales price of the registered product is not discounted or discounted at the rate of the coupon 60.

In this way, every time the coupon 60 is used and the target product is discounted or discounted, the available number corresponding to the corresponding coupon type code in the member file data of the customer is decremented by one. When the registration of the product purchased by the member is completed, the cashier presses the closing key. Then, the receipt of the current transaction is printed and issued by the printer 118. In addition, the member file data obtained by adding and updating the sales amount data for each link section code by product registration, and subtracting and updating the available number of sheets corresponding to the coupon type code of the used coupon 60 is updated in the member file of the file processor 2. 6 is overwritten (ST13 in FIG. 11).

Each time a member purchases a product to be purchased using the coupon 60 at each POS terminal 1, the above processing is repeated. Accordingly, the number of usable coupon type codes for each member data registered in the member file 6 is set to the number of coupon type codes issued when the coupon issuance period starts on the opening day of the coupon. In, the number of coupons used by the member during the coupon usage period is counted for each member. Then, when the coupon usage period ends, the coupon 60 whose available number is 1 or more is a coupon 60 issued to the customer but not used.

Here, the processing of ST32 of the purchased merchandise registration processing shown in FIG. 12 and the processing of the member registration business processing shown in FIG.
CPU of POS terminal 1 that executes the processing of T13
101 and the member file 6 of the file processor 2 are used coupon management means for managing the type and the number of coupons 60 used by the member for each member based on the coupon data registered in the product registration unit (scanner 117). Is configured.

Thereafter, when the sales management period for the next coupon service is again established and the store opening day following the end date is reached, a coupon issuance number setting process is executed. At this time, for members whose available number of copies for the coupon type code remains, that is, for members whose coupons were issued in the previous coupon service but were not used, the same type code calculated according to the sales amount Is set by subtracting the remaining number of coupons by the remaining number.

For example, the available number data of the coupon type code “1” is “1” and the coupon type code “2”
In the case of a member whose available number data is “0”, the available number determined from the total sales amount of the coupon target department code for each of the coupons 60 of the coupon type codes “1” and “2” is “ If it is "2", the available number data of the coupon type code "1" becomes "1" and the available number data of the coupon type code "2" becomes "2".

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the type of coupon to be issued to each member in the member file 6 of the file processor 2 (coupon type code) and the number of issued coupons (available number) Is set in the POS terminal 1, the coupons 60 of the type to be issued are issued only once for each member by the number of issued coupons. The coupon 60 can be issued without any trouble. Therefore, the coupon service can be efficiently implemented.

The type of coupon to be issued for each member and the number of coupons to be issued are determined based on the total sales amount of the products purchased by the member at the store. Therefore, differentiation can be achieved, for example, by issuing more coupons to members with high sales. In addition, the number of issued coupons is determined by subtracting the amount not used in the previous coupon service. Conversely, members who frequently use the same type of coupon are issued many coupons of that type.
Therefore, for example, it is possible to achieve differentiation by, for example, issuing more coupons of the type frequently used by the member to the member with the highest sales.

In the above-described embodiment, the type of coupon to be issued and the number of issued coupons (available number) are determined according to the sales amount of each product for each department, but only the type of coupon to be issued is determined. The present invention is also applicable to an embodiment in which the number of issued sheets is determined and all the numbers are fixed.

In the above-described embodiment, the coupon issuing device of the present invention is constituted by the file processor 2 and the POS terminal 1 for constructing the POS system, but the member file 6, the single item file 7, and the coupon file 8 are By providing at terminal 1, P
The coupon issuing device of the present invention can be constituted by the OS terminal alone. Alternatively, the POS terminal 1 and the coupon issuing device of the present invention may be configured separately, and the two may be connected communicably by wire or wirelessly. In addition, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0086]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, each member can issue a required type of coupon to each member without trouble, and the coupon service can be provided. Can be provided efficiently.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that differentiation can be achieved such that more types of coupons are issued to members with high sales.

According to the invention described in claim 2 of the present application,
In addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that differentiation can be achieved, such as issuing a type of coupon frequently used by a member who has high sales to the member who has high sales.

According to the invention described in claim 4 of the present application,
Each member can be issued the required type of coupon for the required number of members without the hassle,
A coupon issuing device that can efficiently execute a coupon service can be provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 4, there is an effect that differentiation can be achieved such that a required number of types of coupons are issued to members with high sales.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 6 of the present application,
In addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 4, there is provided an effect that differentiation can be achieved such that a necessary number of coupons of a type often used by a member are issued to a member with a large sales. Play.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a POS system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a data layout of a member card used in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing a data layout of a member file used in the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing a data layout of a single item file used in the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing a data layout of a coupon file used in the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary block diagram showing a main part configuration of the POS terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the file processor according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a main memory area formed in a RAM of the file processor in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a main part of a store opening business process executed by the CPU of the file processor in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing a coupon ticket number setting process in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a C of the POS terminal in the embodiment.
The flowchart which shows the principal part of the member registration business process which PU performs.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart specifically showing a purchased product registration process in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a data layout of a main message exchanged between the POS terminal and the file processor in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of a coupon printed and issued from a POS terminal in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... POS terminal 2 ... File processor 3 ... Member card 5 ... Card reader 6 ... Member file 7 ... Single item file 8 ... Coupon file 9 ... Coupon schedule table 60 ... Coupon 101,201 ... CPU

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A coupon issuing apparatus capable of issuing a plurality of types of coupons, wherein a coupon type code to be issued to a member is specified in accordance with member identification information of a member card distributed to each member. A member file storing a coupon for the member together with a flag indicating whether the coupon has not been issued or has been issued, input means for inputting member identification information of the member card, and member identification information of the member card input by the input means Then, the member file is searched and a coupon issuance determining means for determining whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued from a flag corresponding to the member identification information. The coupon of the type code set in the file corresponding to the member identification information is issued and the flag is set. Updates to the row already, the coupon issuing apparatus characterized by comprising when it is determined that the coupon issued coupon issuing control means does not perform the issuance of coupons, the. 2. A product registration unit for registering a product purchased by each member, and a member-by-member sales total for summing up the sales amount of the product purchased by the member for each member based on the product data registered by the product registration unit. Means, and an issuance coupon setting means for determining a type of coupon to be issued to the member based on the sales amount accumulated by the member-specific sales accumulation means for each member and setting the type in the member file. The coupon issuing device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The product registration section includes a function of registering a coupon used by each member when purchasing a product, and each member uses the coupon data based on the coupon data registered in the product registration section. A use coupon management unit for managing the type of coupon is provided, and the issuance coupon setting unit is based on a sales amount accumulated by the member-based sales accumulation unit for each member and a type of use coupon managed by the use coupon management unit. 3. A means for determining the type of coupon to be issued to the member and setting the type in the member file.
The coupon issuing device as described. 4. A coupon issuing apparatus capable of issuing a plurality of types of coupons, wherein a coupon type code to be issued to a member corresponding to member identification information of a member card distributed to each member, A member file for storing the number of issued coupons together with a flag indicating whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued to the member, input means for inputting member identification information of the member card, When the identification information is input, the member file is searched, and a coupon issuance determination unit that determines whether a coupon has not been issued or has been issued based on a flag corresponding to the member identification information. Then, the coupon of the type code set in the member file corresponding to the member identification information is issued. Together is divided issued to update the flag to outstanding coupon issuing apparatus for when it is determined that the coupon issued coupon issuing control means does not perform the issuance of coupons, characterized by comprising a. 5. A merchandise registration section for registering merchandise purchased by each member, and a classification for classifying the sales amount of the merchandise purchased by the member for each member based on merchandise data registered in the merchandise registration section. The type of coupon to be issued to the member and the number of issued coupons are determined based on the sales totaling means for each member, which accumulates by code, and the sales amount for each member, which is totalized by the member totaling means. The coupon issuing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: issuance coupon setting means for setting in the member file. 6. The product registration section includes a function of registering a coupon used by each member when purchasing a product, and the member uses the coupon data for each member based on the coupon data registered in the product registration section. A use coupon management unit for managing the type and number of coupons is provided. The issuance coupon setting unit includes a sales code-based sales amount accumulated by the member-based sales accumulation unit for each member and a use coupon managed by the use coupon management unit. 6. The coupon issuing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the type of the coupon to be issued to the member is determined based on the type and the number of the coupons and set in the member file.