JP2006221515A - Pos system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a POS system for realizing principal confirmation from the biological information of a customer by providing an iris authentication unit in a settlement terminal, and for improving a service in a store by smoothing settlement. <P>SOLUTION: This POS system is provided with a biological information acquiring means for acquiring the biological information of a customer, a unit for authenticating whether or not the customer is the principal on the basis of the biological information of the customer obtained by the biological information acquiring means and a server for managing the attribute information of the customer by associating it with the biological information. After it is authenticated that the customer is the principal, settlement is executed based on the attribute information of the customer of the server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a POS system which is mainly used in a store and performs settlement of customer shopping and management of service points.

  The mass retailer reads the barcode of the product label attached to the product from the scanner or barcode reader connected to the payment terminal, and sends the product information such as the product name and unit price obtained as a result to the server. The use of a POS system that collects a database in a batch and analyzes sales trends, or identifies a popular product and reflects it in the purchase has become widespread.

Such a system is connected to a payment terminal in which a clerk exchanges cash and goods directly with a customer, and the terminal is connected to a server that centrally manages customer information via a network. Yes. The payment terminal receives the product name and unit price information from the server in real time, and can display the unit price and total price of the product on the display unit of the payment terminal. The calculation can be performed without any problem, and the amount information is notified to the customer via the display screen attached to the customer, so that the store clerk can concentrate on the exchange of cash and merchandise with the customer. As a result, it has greatly contributed to the efficiency of sales.
JP 2001-306985 A

However, conventional POS systems place importance only on the notification of the amount or product information, and it has been impossible to improve the efficiency of direct cash exchanges, especially small coin exchanges. In particular, mass merchandise stores such as supermarkets and discount shops often sell a relatively small amount of products, and there is a tendency for cash exchange between the store clerk and customers to inevitably increase. In this case, as a result of spending time for cash payment and change of money including small coins of 1 yen unit, a long line of customers waiting for payment is created near the settlement terminal, and this hinders sales operations. There are many cases. And the fundamental solution about the subject about such exchange of cash has not yet been made.

  In recent years, there have been an increasing number of stores adopting a point return system that returns points at a certain interest rate for the purchase price of goods. Mass merchants adopting such a point return system distribute service discount processing using a medium called a point card at the time of payment at a payment terminal, and each time payment is made, a dedicated card reader is used. Service discount processing is performed by reading and updating the number of points returned to the customer on the card.

  However, with the point management method using cards, customers must always carry point cards, and customers who do not carry points cards cannot receive services, and the dealers can reissue due to new issuance or corruption. The issue of maintenance costs was not fooled by the issue, and it was never easy to use. Further, like the cash settlement, the current point-of-sale system also has a problem that the point card point service processing takes time, and the settlement queue becomes long, which makes the customer uncomfortable.

  In the current POS system, the products purchased by the customer are read and input one by one with a barcode, so it is considered that the customer's purchase tendency is relatively easy to understand. Even if the trend can be accurately grasped, the information cannot be efficiently fed back to the customer as an advertising activity, and the system is not fully utilized.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the customer is based on the iris information acquisition means for acquiring iris information from the customer eye image data to the POS system and the customer iris information obtained by the iris information acquisition means. Set up a unit that authenticates the identity of the customer and a server that manages customer attribute information in association with the iris information. After authenticating that the customer is the identity of the customer, settlement is made based on the customer's attribute information of the server. To do.

  Also, when the customer is identified by iris authentication, the advertisement information of a specific product is searched from the purchase tendency of the customer and output to various terminals arranged in the store.

  According to the invention of the present application, by providing an iris authentication unit in the payment terminal, it becomes possible to verify the identity of the customer from the biometric information of the customer, so that payment can be made without going through cash and credit cards. Since the delivery of payments is reduced, the payment at the cash register becomes smooth and the customer can be kept away for a long time, improving the service at the store. Also, even if you do not carry a medium called a point card, customers will be able to receive point services without any need for new issuance of point cards or reissuance due to contamination. A reduction in fees can also be expected. This eliminates the need for customers who do not need to receive card points for a long time, and in addition, by providing a function to calculate and notify the customer's point return rate, the customer can indicate their return status. Understand and make more efficient shopping.

  Further, since the commercial information is displayed and notified in accordance with the customer's preference from the purchase history of the customer, the product information that the customer wants to know can be provided, and the customer's service can be improved.

  Embodiments of a POS system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the first embodiment of the present application, after authenticating the identity of the customer using the iris data collected from the customer's eyes, the payment is withdrawn from the registered account at the time of payment settlement at the payment terminal. It is what I did.

(Constitution)
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of the POS system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the POS system is arranged in a store using a supermarket as an example. Henceforth, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the element common to each drawing. This embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The settlement terminal 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a display device 2 including an LCD or the like for displaying a purchase price and notifying a customer, and a bar for reading a barcode label attached to a product to be purchased by the customer. Connected to the code reader 3, an iris authentication unit 4 that extracts the iris part from the customer's eye image and authenticates the customer, and an input device 5 comprising a keyboard or the like for the customer or staff to manually input additional information The iris authentication unit 4 is connected to a camera 6 that acquires an image of the customer's eyes.

  On the other hand, an iris registration terminal 7 for customer registration includes a display device 8 comprising an LCD or the like for displaying the purchase amount and notifying the customer, a form scanner 9 for reading an application form entered by the customer for registration and capturing an image, An iris authentication unit 10 that extracts an iris part from a customer's eye image and authenticates the customer, and an input device 11 including a keyboard or the like for manually inputting additional information by the customer or an attendant are connected. The iris authentication unit 10 is connected to a camera 12 that acquires an image of the customer's eyes. The camera 12 is connected to the iris registration unit 11 to acquire an image of the customer's eyes.

  FIG. 2 shows a layout example when such a POS system is arranged in a store. There are various forms of such stores, and it is impossible to cover all of them in the present specification. Therefore, for convenience of explanation, an example of use in a supermarket is illustrated, but the present invention is naturally limited to the example. It is not a thing. Hereinafter, description will be made according to an example.

  First, in FIG. 2, in the store, a customer registration counter A is provided in the vicinity of the entrance E for performing a registration procedure for a customer who has first visited the store (black circle in FIG. 2).

  In the customer registration counter A, the iris registration terminal 7 and the above-described device group connected thereto are arranged. In the store, a settlement corner B by the settlement terminal 1 so-called “registry” is provided, and a customer who finishes shopping makes a settlement at the settlement corner B. The payment corner B is composed of a plurality of long tables so that it can correspond to the customer's column, and a payment terminal is arranged for each table. In addition, various devices connected to the payment terminal are also provided for each table.

  A plurality of payment terminals and iris registration terminals are connected to the server 13 by an in-store LAN. The main body of the server 13 is placed in a management office C in the store where the customer cannot see, so that the store manager or a store clerk with a role corresponding thereto can perform various operations from a screen (not shown) of the server 13. Yes. Information of the settlement terminal 1, the iris registration terminal 7, and the server 13 is configured to be mutually accessible via a wired or wireless LAN.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present application will be described. When the customer registers at the first visit, first, when using this system, the customer goes to the customer registration counter A after entering the store, as shown by the customer route L1 in FIG. Then, the customer registers the customer's own iris data with the iris registration terminal 2 at the time of the first member registration, and fills and submits customer information in a prescribed form.

  In this case, an iris is installed by detecting the customer's entry by installing a camera or sensor near the store's entrance to detect the customer's entry so that the first customer who visits the store can perform data registration. In-store display or voice guidance that leads to the registration counter A may be performed. At this time, the guidance may not be performed on the assumption that the customer is a registered customer based on the full-length image and face of the customer who has moved to the camera.

  In the customer registration counter A, the customer faces the camera 12 and inputs an iris image in accordance with the instructions of the waiting staff, and the customer enters information necessary for registration in a predetermined form by handwriting. For the form handwritten by the customer, the form scanner 9 acquires a form image by the staff. The character string read and entered by character recognition software or the like incorporated in the iris registration terminal is converted into data. The form image data and the character data are temporarily stored in the registration terminal.

  The customer heads for the camera 12 according to the instructions of the staff. At this time, first of all, take a wide-angle picture of the upper body with a camera that takes a picture of the eyeball directly close to the lens. By identifying the eye area and zooming in the camera itself, one of the cameras that shoot the eyes is used. Especially in the case of the former camera, the equipment touches the eyes directly. Since there are customers who dislike things, there is no particular problem in terms of system, but it is insufficient in terms of customer service. Therefore, it is preferable to use the latter type of camera if possible.

  In this type of camera, as described above, an image of the upper body of the user is taken, and the image is processed to recognize the shape of the customer's body. Then, the face is identified and the camera is focused again. Fit to face. Then, after identifying each part of the face and specifying the position of the eye, an image of the eye is taken, and after focusing on a region where the iris exists, data in that range is extracted as iris data.

  Iris data is formed by the pattern of the surface layer of the human eyeball, in particular, the pattern called the iris, such as the radial black streaks around the lens and the contour of the outer periphery. This pattern is formed during childhood and is unique to each individual. Presents a pattern.

  Moreover, since the pattern is universal throughout the life, it has a very excellent property as a biological feature for identifying an individual. Therefore, by performing optical scanning on the iris and using the light and darkness extracted by the scanning as digitally encoded data, it is possible to obtain data particularly excellent for identifying an individual. When photographing the iris, the switch input of the camera 12 serving as a trigger for photographing may be automatically performed upon sensing the approach of the customer, or may be performed by the switch input of an assisting operator.

  Thus, an image of the customer's eyes is acquired by the customer's own or the staff's device operation. The acquired iris image is temporarily stored in the iris registration terminal 7 and converted into a binary data string as an iris code by a dedicated application installed in the terminal. The iris code first identifies the darkest area in the image as the pupil from the iris image data described above, and cuts out the center of the pupil. Since the iris has a pattern in a concentric circle centered on the pupil, the center of the pupil is the center of the polar coordinates, the circumference of the center is scanned in a circle, and the dark part of the pattern is binary data. The pattern can be replaced with a binary data sequence by replacing 1 "and the bright part with" 0 ". The iris code binarized by such a method is once recorded and stored in the iris registration terminal 6.

  Various data acquired by the above-mentioned series of registration procedures are displayed on the display unit of the iris registration device 6, and the contents of the display are confirmed by both the customer and the operator. Give instructions for completion. When the iris registration terminal receives the input completion, the iris code, the customer's eye image, and customer information (customer's name, address, phone number, age, gender, customer) The bank transfer account number, etc.), the bank seal seal image, or the image data of the customer autograph.

  On the server 13 side, an account for fee payment is set, and a point card management account is opened. For payment accounts, a bank account may be opened separately at the same time as iris data registration, or a bank account specified by the customer may be set for payment. In the future, deposits, transfers, transfers, and deposits will be made at the ATMs of normal financial institutions designated by the customer.

  In the case of the display confirmation described above, if the customer has pointed out an incomplete information, the user returns to the initial input procedure and inputs the information again, or the registration is interrupted at the request of the customer. Next, the settlement procedure when the customer actually purchases in the store after the customer has completed the membership registration procedure will be described. The customer freely walks in the store along a route such as the customer route L2 in FIG.

  Then, the customer holds all the necessary shopping items and places them in one of the table rows in the settlement terminal corner B to make payment. Prior to the settlement, the user moves to an iris authentication unit in the vicinity of the settlement terminal installed in the settlement terminal corner B, and obtains an iris image by positioning the eye on the camera in the same way as at the time of member registration.

  The acquired iris image data is transferred to the settlement terminal 1 and converted into an iris code in exactly the same manner as when iris data is registered. The payment terminal 1 transfers the iris code and the payment terminal number to the server 13. The server 13 collates with a database of already registered iris codes. If the collation results match, the customer attribute information is displayed on the settlement terminal 1.

  The cashier clerk reads and inputs the barcodes added to the product label one by one using the barcode reader 3 connected to the payment terminal 1. The settlement terminal 1 sequentially sends the barcode data to the server 13, and the server 13 identifies the product name and price from the barcode from the product database recorded in advance. In this way, while sequentially reading the barcode of the product label, it is recorded on the server 11 together with the customer's iris information as a purchase list as shown in FIG.

  After that, the total price is calculated by adding and summing the unit prices of all the products brought in by the customer. When the operator presses the total price key of the input device 5 such as a keyboard from the payment terminal 1, the server 13 displays the total price on the display unit of the payment terminal 1. When the customer confirms the total amount and accepts the settlement with the displayed billing contents and depresses the confirmation key, the settlement execution information is transmitted to the server 13 to complete the settlement operation and the customer remains as it is. Go out of the store with your purchase. The purchase price will be debited from the customer's payment account at a later date, and all payments will be completed.

  In the second embodiment of the present application, after authenticating a customer using iris authentication, information corresponding to the customer's needs is provided as needed by searching for information on the shopping usage status of the customer.

(Constitution)
Example 2 of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the POS system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the POS system is arranged in a store using a supermarket as an example. The configuration of this example is a new connection to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with a server 14 that stores and accumulates video data such as JPEG images and MPEG images and commercial data of various audio files, The difference is that the server 13 is accessed from the server 13 as necessary, and a commercial can be transmitted for each product.

  Furthermore, in the implementation, as shown in FIG. 4, in the space where the customers who are tired from shopping take a rest, as well as the display shelves of the products such as the route L2 in the store to walk, A small information terminal C is newly provided so that it can be freely searched. If this information terminal C is also provided with an iris acquisition camera (not shown) so that the customer can photograph his / her own iris as necessary, the customer can freely access his / her own information. At this time, as will be described later, by using the server 13 and the server 14, various information suitable for the customer is extracted from the customer-specific shopping tendency and displayed on the information terminal C based on the customer's iris data. Or make them pronounce.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of Embodiment 2 of the present application will be described. In the present embodiment, when the customer visits the store for the first time, the customer registers the iris data and customer information of the customer by the iris registration unit 7 at the time of the first member registration as in the first embodiment. Since the registration operation is exactly the same as in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

  The customer who completes the membership registration walks in the store and shop freely as in the case of shopping at a normal retail store. The path at this time is L2 in FIG. In the present embodiment, a new information terminal C is provided in the middle of the passage such as the route L2 in the store, a line of product display shelves, etc., and a space where customers who are tired from shopping take a break. Make it searchable. If these terminals are also provided with an iris acquisition camera (not shown) so that the customer can photograph their own iris as necessary, the customer can freely access his / her own information. While customers are shopping, there is a desire to know from time to time how much of their frequently purchased products are sold today. You have to rely on price tags, and customers may forget because they can't remember the contents.

  In such a case, according to the method described later, various information suitable for the customer is displayed or pronounced on the information terminal C based on the customer's iris data, and the customer's individual product commercial is displayed. Do.

  In addition, customers line up with payment terminal corner B to pay with shopping items. At this time as well, prior to the settlement, the user moves in front of the iris authentication unit 4 of the settlement terminal 1 installed in the settlement terminal corner B, and positions the eye on the camera 6 to acquire the iris image in the same manner as when the member is registered. The settlement terminal 1 transfers the iris code and the terminal number to the server 13. The server 13 compares the already registered iris code with the received iris code. When the collation results match, a message indicating that the customer is authorized is displayed on the display screen of the payment terminal 1, and videos of products and related products purchased by the customer are sequentially displayed. The following moving image display method will be described.

  Next, the barcode attached to the product label is read from the barcode reader 3 connected to the payment terminal 1, the payment terminal 1 sends the barcode data to the server 13, and the server 13 obtains the product name from the barcode. Identify. Using the specified product name as a key, the server 13 searches various product commercial voices or image data stored in the server 14 and selects the data from the image server 14 when the target data is found. Then, after passing through the server 13, it is transmitted to the settlement terminal 1. The payment terminal 1 displays a commercial for the customer received from the server 13 on the display device 2. In the server 14, commercial images for each product are filed as, for example, JPEG still images or MPEG moving images and stored in association with customer product information, so that only necessary files are displayed on the display device. can do. When the data of the server 14 is displayed on the payment terminal 1, the payment terminal to be transmitted is specified based on the terminal number transmitted from the payment terminal 1 to the server 13 when the customer makes a payment. If unique terminal numbers are assigned to all information terminals (including payment terminals and iris registration terminals) arranged in the store, the necessary information can be sent only to a specific terminal by the method described above. FIG. 6 shows data managed by adding product codes to customer purchase history data stored in the server 13. This is a data format for searching the server 14 with reference to the product code at the time of customer settlement.

  On the other hand, in the server 14, information on all the products sold in the store is recorded for each product in the form of various image files, and product code data is given as the header. Determine product codes with high purchase frequency from customer purchase history information. Then, the server 14 is referred to using the product codes in the order of products with the highest purchase frequency by the method described above. After searching for a file having the header of the product code by the product code and sequentially transmitting it to the server 13, it is displayed on the screen of a terminal connected to the network such as the payment terminal 1. As a result, effective sales promotion activities corresponding to individual customers can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, information terminals C may be arranged at various locations in the store, and commercial information may be distributed and displayed on the information terminals. In addition, by installing a small camera on each information terminal to be arranged so that the iris can be acquired, customers can obtain necessary product information as needed while walking around the store. It can be used for the customer's shopping decision.

  Example 3 of the present application, like Example 1 and Example 2, is configured to perform payment for shopping after performing customer personal authentication using iris data, and in addition to customer shopping usage, In addition to giving points, the latest point information is centrally managed by the server, and the latest point information is provided to customers as needed.

(Constitution)
The configuration of Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described below. In addition to the configurations of the first and second embodiments, the configuration of the present embodiment includes information on the points given for each product as shown in FIG. 7 in addition to the customer shopping information in the customer transaction history information on the server 13. For customers who manage and have traded for a certain period of time, calculate the points of the total transaction results for the period of the transaction and the point return rate, and notify the customer via the display screen It is a thing.

  The iris authentication unit 3 acquires the customer's iris image. The acquired iris image data is transferred to the settlement terminal 1. The settlement terminal number is transferred to the server 13. When the verification result is OK, the server 13 transmits customer attribute information, and collects points from the transaction results for a certain period specific to the customer, and the server 13 transmits the points to the settlement terminal 1. The settlement terminal 1 displays the customer point history and the return rate received from the server 13 on the display device 2. The point reduction rate may be obtained and displayed for each product by analyzing products and product categories with high usage.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. When the customer registers at the first visit, the customer registers the iris data of the customer and customer information by the iris registration unit 9 at the time of the first member registration as in the first and second embodiments. The customer who completes the membership registration walks in the store and shop freely as in the case of shopping at a normal retail store. Customers line up at payment terminal corner B to bring their shopping items and make payments. Prior to the settlement, the user moves in front of the iris authentication unit in the vicinity of the settlement terminal installed in the settlement terminal corner B, and obtains an iris image by positioning the eye on the camera in the same manner as the member registration. The acquired iris image data is transferred to the settlement terminal 1 and converted into an iris code.

  The payment terminal 1 transfers the iris code and the payment terminal number to the server 11. The server 11 collates with a database of iris codes already registered. If the collation results match, the customer attribute information is displayed on the settlement terminal 1.

  Next, the barcode attached to the product label is read from the barcode reader 3 connected to the payment terminal 1, the payment terminal 1 sends the barcode data to the server 13, and the server 13 uses the barcode data based on the barcode data. Specify the product name and refer to the price and points of the product. In this way, the payment terminal 1 counts the product name, unit price, total amount, product-specific points, and total points while sequentially reading the barcodes of the product labels.

  When the operator depresses the total price key of the input device such as a keyboard from the settlement terminal 1, the server 13 displays the total amount and the total points on the display unit of the settlement terminal 1. The customer confirms the total amount and uses the total points for the current settlement or selects using the input device of the customer operation unit connected to the settlement terminal 1. When the use of the total points is confirmed in the current settlement, the server 13 sets the total point price as the total price of the deduction price. If you enter the PIN of the settlement account and press the confirmation key, the price will be withdrawn from the customer's settlement account at a later date. Customer point information is initialized. At this time, the database of various product information in the server 13 is also updated and the transaction is terminated.

  In the above case, the point information is displayed on the display device of the settlement terminal 1, but as in the second embodiment, information terminals are arranged at various locations in the store and the point information is stored in the server 13 May be distributed and displayed. By installing a small camera for each of these information terminals, the customer can obtain the necessary point information as needed while walking while looking inside the store. It can be used for the customer's shopping decision.

Configuration diagram of POS system of embodiment 1 of the present application Layout diagram in which the POS system of Example 1 of the present application is arranged in a store Configuration diagram of POS system of embodiment 2 of the present application Layout diagram in which the POS system of Example 2 of the present application is arranged in a store Data structure of customer purchase history of Example 2 of the present application Data structure of customer purchase history with product code of Example 2 of the present application Data structure of customer purchase history to which product points of Example 3 of the present application are given

Explanation of symbols

1 Payment terminal 2 Display device 3 Bar code reader 4 Iris authentication unit 5 Input device 6 Camera 11 Server

Claims (5)

In a POS system that has a server for recording and managing customer payment information, and a payment terminal for transferring charges relative to the customer, connecting the server and the payment terminal by communication, and managing customer payment information,
Having customer authentication means for acquiring the biometric information of the customer and authenticating whether the customer is the principal based on the biometric information;
A POS system in which payment is performed when the customer authentication means authenticates the customer. Transaction history information for each customer is recorded on the server, and when the customer is authenticated by the customer authentication means, the transaction history information is searched and updated based on the customer's biometric information. The POS system according to claim 1. Recording customer-specific transaction history information on the server, calculating a point return rate from the transaction history for a certain period, and displaying the point return rate on a display unit for each customer settlement. Item 1. The POS system according to item 1. Claims characterized by managing customer-specific transaction history information on a server, analyzing customer preferences from the transaction history information, and displaying product information according to each customer preference at the next settlement. Item 3. A POS system according to item 1 or 2. In a POS system that has a server for recording and managing customer payment information, and a payment terminal for transferring charges relative to the customer, connecting the server and the payment terminal by communication, and managing customer payment information,
Customer authentication means for acquiring biometric information of a customer and authenticating whether the customer is the principal based on the biometric information;
Providing product information recording means for recording promotional information of products purchased by customers;
A POS system in which payment is performed when the customer authentication means authenticates the customer.

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