JP2007047907A - Merchandise selling method and merchandising selling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sharply reduce labor of a store side and labor of a customer side accompanied with the selling of merchandise. <P>SOLUTION: When a customer who holds merchandise 11 arranged in a merchandise display place 12 having a gate 13 for permitting the entrance/exit of a customer, to which a radio tag 14 in which merchandise information is stored is added leaves the gate 13, the merchandise information is acquired by radio communication from the radio tag 14 passing the gate 13 to execute merchandise sales data processing, and a price to be specified on the basis of the merchandise information acquired by radio communication is withdrawn from an electronic medium 221 capable of performing radio communication owned by the customer who leaves the gate 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise sales method and merchandise sales apparatus capable of executing merchandise sales data processing and settlement processing simply by leaving a merchandise lined up in a merchandise display area having a gate that allows customers to go in and out. .

  Conventionally, as a merchandise sales method, a customer who wants to purchase a merchandise brings the merchandise he / she wants to buy to the checkout office, and the merchandise is handed over after the merchandise sales data processing and settlement processing are performed by a cashier handling POS terminals or ECR, for example. In general, a technique such as that is adopted.

  On the other hand, in recent years, a test operation of a self-checkout system is being started for the purpose of improving the service by shortening the waiting time of the customer and reducing the number of staff in the store. Such a self-checkout system is based on a conventional product sales method in which a product desired to be purchased is brought to the counter and checked out, and only the checkout operation of the product is made self-service. Yes. For this reason, even if the self-checkout system is adopted, in order to prevent so-called shoplifting, it is necessary to arrange one monitor for one or a plurality of self-checkout systems, for example.

  On the other hand, there are some self-checkout systems that automate the delivery of products and enable unattended sales. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a product storage unit that makes it impossible to take out purchased products and stores them, and after the settlement process in the settlement apparatus that enables automatic settlement is completed, the product can be removed from the product storage unit The invention to be described is described.

JP 05-158957 A

  Even if the system is a self-checkout system or a system that automates the delivery of merchandise as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a self-checkout operation by the customer is required. In other words, in these systems, the person who performs the checkout operation or the product delivery operation is merely passed on from the store clerk to the customer, and the idea of the total amount of labor regardless of who the operator is, It does not necessarily reduce the effort.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to greatly reduce labor on both the clerk side and the customer side associated with the sale of merchandise.

  The product sales method of the present invention is configured such that when a customer who has a product with a wireless tag stored in a product display area having a gate that allows a customer to enter and exit and stores product information, exits the gate. The product information is acquired from the wireless tag passing through the gate by a first wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the tag, and product sales data processing is executed based on the acquired product information And the product information acquired by wirelessly communicating with the electronic money medium possessed by the customer leaving the gate by the second wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication between the process and the electronic money medium capable of wireless communication A second process of executing a settlement process for deducting a price specified based on the electronic money medium from the electronic money medium.

  The product sales apparatus of the present invention includes a first wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with a wireless tag that stores product information of a product attached to a product that passes through a gate that allows a customer to enter and exit. In the product information stored in the second wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the electronic money medium capable of wireless communication that passes through the gate, and the wireless tag acquired through the first wireless communication unit. Based on the product information stored in the wireless tag acquired via the first wireless communication unit and the first means for executing the product sales data processing based on the second wireless communication And a second means for executing a settlement process for debiting from the electronic money medium using a unit.

  According to the present invention, the product sales data processing and the settlement processing can be executed simply by the customer leaving the gate with the product desired to be purchased, and therefore both the salesclerk side and the customer side labor associated with the sale of the product Can be greatly reduced.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire system of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the products 11 to be sold are displayed in a closed product display area 12. The merchandise display hall 12 has a gate 13 that allows customers to go in and out. The gate 13 is the only place that allows customers to enter and exit the merchandise display hall 12. A product 11 displayed in the product display area 12 is provided with a wireless tag 14 for storing product information of the product. The product information includes a product code.

  The merchandise display area 12 is provided with a POS terminal 101 as a merchandise registration apparatus and a wireless payment apparatus 301. The POS terminal 101 includes a first wireless communication unit 111 that performs wireless communication with the wireless tag 14 that passes through the gate 13. The wireless payment apparatus 301 is a second wireless device that performs wireless communication with an electronic money medium 221 capable of wireless communication built in a mobile phone 201 as a mobile information terminal possessed by a customer who intends to purchase the product 11. A communication unit 307 is provided. The electronic money medium 221 is not only configured as a storage unit that stores and saves electronic money, but also configured to be capable of wireless communication with the second wireless communication unit 307 using RFID technology. Such wireless communication with the wireless tag 14 by the first wireless communication unit 111 and wireless communication with the electronic money medium 221 by the second wireless communication unit 307 are performed by using RFID technology. Is possible. Therefore, the first wireless communication unit 111 and the second wireless communication unit 307 have an antenna (not shown) at the position of the gate 13. One or both of the POS terminal 101 and the wireless settlement apparatus 301 are not necessarily installed in the commodity display hall 12, and may be installed somewhere outside.

  The system according to the present embodiment further includes a store controller 401 and a server 501, and the POS terminal 101, the wireless settlement apparatus 301, the store controller 401, and the server 501 are connected via an internal communication network 601 such as a LAN. Are connected to communicate freely. For example, the store controller 401 transmits a file necessary for merchandise sales data processing, such as a PLU file, to the POS terminal 101 via the internal communication network 601 at the start of a day's business or upon request. The server 501 stores and saves the customer management file 502 and executes customer management. The customer management file 502 manages various customer information corresponding to the customer registration number. Various customer information includes the customer's name, contact information, e-mail address, purchase history, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of processing on the system. The system according to the present embodiment can execute merchandise sales data processing at the POS terminal 101 and settlement processing at the POS terminal 101 and the wireless settlement apparatus 301 simply by the customer leaving the gate 13 with the merchandise 11. To do. That is, in the system of the present embodiment, as a premise, a customer who wants to purchase the product 11 has a mobile phone 201 as a mobile information terminal, and the mobile phone 201 has an electronic money medium capable of wireless communication. It is assumed that 221 is provided. Moreover, a unique ID number is assigned to the electronic money medium 221. In the system of the present embodiment, this ID number is managed as a customer registration number in a customer management file 502 accessible by the server 501. Therefore, when the customer enters the merchandise display hall 12 through the gate 13, the wireless settlement apparatus 301 wirelessly communicates with the electronic money medium 221 of the mobile phone 201 possessed by the customer by the second wireless communication unit 307, Get the ID number. The wireless settlement apparatus 301 transmits a customer information transmission request with the acquired ID number to the server 501 and acquires corresponding customer information from the server 501. Communication between the wireless settlement apparatus 301 and the server 501 at this time is executed via the internal communication network 601. The customer information thus obtained includes at least the customer's name and e-mail address. The wireless settlement apparatus 301 temporarily stores the acquired customer information and transmits the ID number (customer registration number) acquired from the electronic money medium 221 of the mobile phone 201 to the POS terminal 101. Communication between the wireless settlement apparatus 301 and the POS terminal 101 at this time is also executed via the internal communication network 601. The POS terminal 101 temporarily stores the received customer information. Thereby, in the POS terminal 101 and the wireless payment apparatus 301, the customer who has entered the commodity display hall 12 can be recognized by the ID number (customer registration number).

  Next, processing when the customer leaves the gate 13 with the product 11 will be described. At this time, the wireless settlement apparatus 301 wirelessly communicates with the electronic money medium 221 of the mobile phone 201 possessed by the customer by the second wireless communication unit 307 in the same manner as when the customer enters the merchandise display hall 12. Get the number. Since the customer information for the same ID number (customer registration number) has already been received from the server 501 and temporarily stored, the wireless settlement apparatus 301 can recognize the name and e-mail address of the customer who has left the gate 13. It is. The wireless settlement apparatus 301 transmits the ID number (customer registration number) acquired via the internal communication network 601 to the POS terminal 101 even when the customer leaves the gate 13.

  The POS terminal 101 acquires product information, that is, a product code, from the wireless tag 14 that passes through the gate 13 by the first wireless communication unit 111 that performs wireless communication with the wireless tag 14, and based on the acquired product code. The product sales data processing is executed (first process, function of the first means). In the merchandise sales data processing, the POS terminal 101 can execute merchandise sales data processing based on the merchandise code by referring to the PLU file transmitted from the store controller 401 and stored in the storage area in advance. As another embodiment, when price information is included as product information stored in the wireless tag 14, the POS terminal 101 can execute product sales data processing without referring to the PLU file. It is.

  In such merchandise sales data processing, the POS terminal 101 can include the ID number (customer registration number) transmitted from the wireless settlement apparatus 301 in the sales file. Therefore, for example, if the sales file is transmitted from the POS terminal 101 to the store controller 401 at the timing of the end of the day's business, the store controller 401 can create a purchase history file for each customer. Each purchase history file can be managed by, for example, a customer management file 502 accessible by the server 501.

  The POS terminal 101 calculates the total sales amount based on the acquired price information, and transmits the total sales amount to the wireless settlement apparatus 301 via the internal communication network 601. At this time, the POS terminal 101 also searches for product name and price information for each product purchased from the PLU file, and uses the product name and price information together with the total sales amount as a wireless settlement apparatus 301. Send to. The wireless settlement apparatus 301 receives the total sales amount transmitted from the POS terminal 101 and wirelessly communicates with the electronic money medium 221 of the mobile phone 201 possessed by the customer passing through the gate 13 and the second wireless communication unit 307. The price for the received total sales amount is withdrawn from the electronic money medium 221 (second process, second means). Thereby, a settlement process is executed.

  In the system according to the present embodiment, a process of notifying the customer who has left the gate 13 with the product 11 that the product 11 has been purchased is executed. That is, the wireless settlement apparatus 301 transmits the purchase information of the product 11 by e-mail to the mobile phone 201 possessed by the customer (third process, third means). At this time, the e-mail address of the customer who is the destination of the e-mail is transmitted to the server 501 and the ID number acquired from the customer's electronic money medium 221 when the customer leaves the gate 13 with the product 11. It is possible to easily search from the temporarily stored customer information by comparing the ID number (customer registration number) in the customer information already received and temporarily stored.

  The e-mail address may be either the e-mail address of the mobile phone 201 possessed by the customer or the e-mail address of a personal computer possessed or used by the customer. In other words, in the present embodiment, since the email address registered in the customer management file 502 accessible by the server 501 is used as the email address, the customer wants the email address to receive purchase information as desired. E-mail address can be specified.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating purchase information of the product 11 transmitted to the mobile phone 201 by e-mail. As shown in FIG. 3, the purchase information includes a transmission destination 251 of “Mr. XXX”, a transmission source 252 of “It is XXX”, “Today, the following items were purchased. The message 253 "Thank you for your payment." And the amount information 254 including the individual product name, price and total amount. Among these pieces of information, the transmission destination 251 is the ID number acquired from the customer's electronic money medium 221 when the customer leaves the gate 13 with the product 11 as in the case of recognizing the customer's email address. By comparing the ID number (customer registration number) in the customer information that has been transmitted to the server 501 and temporarily stored, it is possible to easily search from the temporarily stored customer information. Further, since the transmission source 252 is fixed data such as the name and contact information of its own store, it can be stored in the wireless settlement apparatus 301, for example, and can be included in the purchase information using this stored information. . The amount information 254 can be generated based on the product name and price of each product transmitted from the POS terminal 101 and the total sales amount.

  Next, a system configuration that enables the processing described above will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the POS terminal 101. As shown in FIG. 4, the POS terminal 101 is mounted on the drawer 102 and used. The POS terminal 101 has an operator display 113a and a customer display 113b.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the POS terminal 101. The POS terminal 101 has, as its schematic configuration, a CPU 103 that executes various arithmetic processes and centrally controls each unit, a ROM 104 that stores fixed data, a RAM 105 that stores variable data in a rewritable manner, various display devices 106, Various input devices 107, a storage device 108, an interface 109, a communication interface 110, and a first wireless communication unit 111 are connected via a system bus 112. The display device 106 includes an operator display 113a and a customer surface display 113b whose appearance is illustrated in FIG.

  For example, a hard disk drive is used as the storage device 108. In such a storage device 108, in addition to an operating system 114 (hereinafter abbreviated as OS 114), a program 115 is installed, and various files 116 are stored and stored. The OS 114, the program 115, and the various files 116 are installed from, for example, an external device such as the server 501 connected to the communication interface 110 via the internal communication network 601. The operation of the POS terminal 101 described above is realized by the processing of the CPU 103 according to the program 115 thus installed. In this sense, the storage device 108 functions as a storage medium that stores the program 115. The OS 114, the program 115, and the various files 116 installed in the storage device 108 are all or partially copied to the RAM 105 when the POS terminal 101 is started or when the program 115 is started, thereby increasing the access speed. ing.

  Here, the POS terminal 101 has a network card (not shown) as the communication interface 110 and has a configuration that can be connected to a LAN environment constructed by the internal communication network 601. A program included in the OS 114 or a dedicated program 115 supports connection to the LAN environment. Thereby, the POS terminal 101 functions as a client PC in the LAN environment.

  6A is a side view of the mobile phone 201 with the lid open, FIG. 3B is a front view of the mobile phone 201 with the lid open, and FIG. 3C is the lid closed. 1 is a front view of a mobile phone 201. FIG. The mobile phone 201 is a foldable type, and has no particularity as its basic appearance configuration. That is, the cover housing 203 like a lid is rotatably attached to the base housing 202 on the side held by the operator. The base housing 202 is provided with a telescopic antenna 204, an operation unit 205, and a microphone 206. In addition, the cover housing 203 is provided with a large main display 207 inside thereof, and a speaker 208 is provided above it. A small sub-display 209 is also provided outside the cover housing 203.

  The operation unit 205 includes a numeric keypad 210, a power / call end key 211, a call start key 212, a web key 213, a mail key 214, a four-contact key 215, and a menu / enter key 216. The numeric keypad 210 is a key used when inputting a numerical value such as a telephone number. The power / call end key 211 is a key for switching on / off the power and ending the call. The call start key 212 is a key for starting a call. The web key 213 is a key for browsing the Internet. The mail key 214 is a key operated when using the electronic mail function. The 4-contact key 215 is a key to be operated for moving the cursor or the like. The menu / enter key 216 is used to display a menu screen on the main display 207 or to confirm a selection item.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the mobile phone 201. The cellular phone 201 has, as its schematic configuration, a CPU 217 that executes various arithmetic processes and controls each unit centrally, a ROM 218 that stores fixed data, a RAM 219 that serves as a storage area for storing variable data, and an operation A unit 205, a main display 207, a sub display 209, a modem unit 220, and an electronic money medium 221 are connected via a system bus 222. The electronic money medium 221 includes an antenna 221a and is not only configured as a storage unit that stores and saves electronic money as described above, but also with the second wireless communication unit 307 using RFID technology. The wireless communication is configured.

  The ROM 218 is installed with an OS and various programs. In accordance with such an OS or program, the CPU 217 drives and controls each unit to cause the mobile phone 201 to perform various functions. In particular, in this embodiment, the OS and program stored in the ROM 218 have an Internet connection function, a web browser function, an e-mail function, a program download function, an RFID communication function using the electronic money medium 221, and the like. To run.

  The modem 220 is connected to a transmitter / receiver 223 that transmits and receives an audio signal and a data signal via the antenna 204 and an audio processor 224. The audio processing unit 224 D / A converts the audio data transmitted from the modulation / demodulation unit 220 and outputs it as an acoustic signal from the speaker 208, and A / D converts the audio signal captured from the microphone 206 to modulate / demodulate 220.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the wireless settlement apparatus 301. As a schematic configuration, the wireless settlement apparatus 301 includes a CPU 302 that executes various arithmetic processes and centrally controls each unit, a ROM 303 that stores fixed data, a RAM 304 that stores variable data in a rewritable manner, and various display devices 305, various input devices 306, a second wireless communication unit 307, and a communication interface 308 are connected via a system bus 309. Various programs are stored and stored in the ROM 303 as firmware, for example.

  The processing described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is executed based on the system configuration described with reference to FIGS. As a result, in the system of the present embodiment, the product sales data processing and the settlement processing can be executed simply by the customer leaving the gate 13 with the product 11 desired to be purchased. The labor on both the clerk side and the customer side can be greatly reduced. At the same time, the shoplifting prevention measures will be thorough.

It is a schematic diagram of the whole system which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of a process on a system. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the purchase information of the goods transmitted by e-mail to the mobile phone. It is a perspective view of a POS terminal (product registration device). It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a POS terminal. (A) of the cellular phone (personal digital assistant) is a side view of the state where the lid is opened, (b) is a front view of the state where the lid is opened, and (c) is a front view of the state where the lid is closed. is there. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a mobile telephone. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a wireless payment apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Merchandise, 12 ... Commodity display place, 13 ... Gate, 14 ... Wireless tag, 111 ... 1st wireless communication unit, 221 ... Electronic money medium, 307 ... 2nd wireless communication unit

Claims (6)

When a customer who has a product with a wireless tag that stores product information arranged in a product display area having a gate that allows the customer to enter and exit from the gate, wireless communication is performed with the wireless tag. A first step of acquiring the product information from the wireless tag passing through the gate by the first wireless communication unit to be executed, and executing product sales data processing based on the acquired product information;
Wireless communication with the electronic money medium possessed by the customer leaving the gate by the second wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the electronic money medium capable of wireless communication, and specified based on the acquired product information A second step of executing a settlement process for deducting the price to be deducted from the electronic money medium;
Product sales method comprising.   The merchandise sales method according to claim 1, further comprising a third step of sending merchandise purchase information by e-mail with the e-mail address of a customer leaving the gate as a destination.   The method for selling merchandise according to claim 2, wherein the e-mail address is an e-mail address of a portable information terminal possessed by a customer. A first wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with a wireless tag that stores product information of the product attached to a product that passes through a gate that allows a customer to enter and exit;
A second wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication with an electronic money medium capable of wireless communication passing through the gate;
First means for executing merchandise sales data processing based on merchandise information stored in the radio tag obtained via the first radio communication unit;
Executes a settlement process in which the price specified based on the merchandise information stored in the wireless tag acquired via the first wireless communication unit is withdrawn from the electronic money medium using the second wireless communication unit A second means;
Product sales device comprising   The merchandise sales apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising third means for e-mailing the purchase information of the merchandise with the e-mail address of the customer leaving the gate as a destination. 6. The merchandise sales apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the e-mail address is an e-mail address of a portable information terminal held by a customer.

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