JP2007072559A - Self-checkout terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-checkout terminal for providing a user-friendly operation guidance to a customer. <P>SOLUTION: The self-checkout terminal comprises a scale pan 303 for mounting an article whose article code is read with a barcode scanner 203, a temporary placing table 306 for temporarily mounting the article, a weighing device 301 for measuring the weight of the article mounted on the scale pan 303 or the temporary placing table 306, and a constitution for executing weight checking processing to determine whether the article whose article code is read with the barcode scanner 203 is correctly mounted on the scale pan 303 or the temporary placing table 306. The self-checkout terminal refers to article mounting place definition for defining whether the article after reading the article code is to be placed on the scale pan 303 or temporary placing base 306 for each article in association with information stored in the corresponding PLU file, determines the mounting place of the article whose article code is read, and guidance-displays the determined mounting place of the article to an LCD 210. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-checkout terminal that enables self-checkout by a customer.

  In recent years, various user interfaces for executing merchandise sales data processing have been placed in locations where customers can operate, provide information to customers, and issue receipts to customers, enabling self-checkout by customers. Development of an out terminal is underway (Patent Document 1). As various user interfaces, for example, a product code reading unit such as a barcode reader, a display unit for displaying information, an input unit for inputting information, for example, a settlement enabling settlement such as a coin and banknote depositing and dispensing device And a receipt printer are prepared.

JP 2004-086728 A

  Since the self-checkout terminal performs everything from reading the product code to the payment process by the customer's own operation, it is important to kindly guide the operation procedure in order to have the customer perform the correct operation. is there.

  An object of the present invention is to provide user-friendly operation guidance to customers.

  The self-checkout terminal of the present invention can operate a user interface including a product code reading unit, a display unit, an input unit, and a settlement unit for executing product sales data processing by a customer and provide information to the customer. A payment terminal that allows the customer to perform self-checkout and a weighing pan on which the product code read by the product code reading unit is placed, and the weight of the product placed on the weighing pan A weighing device for weighing, and means for executing a search process for searching for a corresponding unit price from a product data file storing a unit price corresponding to each product code when the product code is read by the product code reading unit; When the product code is read by the product code reading unit, the weighing pan and a place other than the weighing pan as the place for placing the product after reading the product code Refer to the product placement location definition that is defined for each product in relation to the information stored in the product data file corresponding to the product placement location of the product from which the product code is read. A means for determining, a means for displaying guidance on the display location of the determined product, and whether or not the weight measured by the scale device after reading the product code is identical to the weight of the product. Means for executing a weight check process to be determined; means for skipping the weight check process when a place other than the weighing pan is determined as a place for placing the product from which the product code is read; When the weighing pan is determined as the place for placing the product read, the determination result that there is identity between the weights is obtained as a result of the weight check process. As matter, if a location other than the weighing pan has been determined, without the condition, and means for executing merchandise sales data processing based on the unit price obtained by the search process.

  The self-checkout terminal of the present invention can operate a user interface including a product code reading unit, a display unit, an input unit, and a settlement unit for executing product sales data processing by a customer and provide information to the customer. A payment terminal arranged at a position to enable self-checkout by the customer, a weighing pan on which the product code read by the product code reading unit is placed, and a temporary table on which the product is temporarily placed When the product code is read by the scale device for weighing the product placed on the weighing pan or the temporary table and the product code reading unit, the unit price is stored corresponding to each product code. When a product code is read by means for executing a search process for searching for a corresponding unit price from a product data file and the product code reading unit, the product code Product placement defined for each product in relation to the information stored in the product data file corresponding to which of the weighing pan and the temporary table should be used as a place for placing the product after removal A means for determining the placement location of the product for which the product code has been read with reference to the placement location definition, a means for displaying the determined placement location of the product on the display unit, and the scale device after reading the product code A means for executing a weight check process for determining whether the weighed weight is identical to the weight of the product, and a determination result that there is identity between the weights as a result of the weight check process. If it is, a product sales data process based on the unit price acquired by the search process is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display a guidance on the display unit as to whether the weighing pan is good or a place other than the weighing pan as the placement place of the product whose product code is read by the product code reading unit. For the storage, user-friendly operation guidance can be provided to the customer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display on the display section whether the weighing pan is good or the temporary placing table is good as the place for placing the commodity whose commodity code is read by the commodity code reading section. , User-friendly operation guidance can be provided to customers.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall system configuration. The system of the present embodiment is constructed by connecting a plurality of self-checkout systems 11, a plurality of POS terminals 21, and a store controller 31 via a communication network 41.

  The self-checkout system 11 is configured by assigning one attendant terminal 501 to a plurality of self-checkout terminals 101. The self-checkout terminal 101 includes a settlement terminal 201 and a scale device 301.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement state of each part in the self-checkout system 11. In the self-checkout system 11 of this embodiment, one attendant terminal 501 is assigned to four self-checkout terminals 101. The self-checkout terminal 101 is arranged such that a pair of self-checkout terminals 101 are arranged in parallel along the customer passage 121, and the pair of self-checkout terminals 101 face the front side via the customer passage 121. Has been.

  An attendant terminal 501 is disposed at the end of the customer passage 121. The attendant terminal 501 has a form of a personal computer having a main body 502, a display 503 as a display unit, a keyboard 504, and a pointing device 505 as an operation unit, and is placed on the attendant table 601. Yes.

  The customer can access any self-checkout terminal 101 through the customer passage 121. For example, when trying to use the self-checkout terminal 101 located on the upper right side in FIG. 2 and located on the left side in the traveling direction when viewed from the customer, stand in front of the self-checkout terminal 101 through the customer passage 121, After the self-checkout, the user walks around to the left or right in front of the attendant table 601 and leaves.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the self-checkout terminal 101. The self-checkout terminal 101 includes a settlement terminal 201 and a scale device 301.

  The settlement terminal 201 has a housing 202 from which a product basket mounting table 102 for mounting a bag (not shown) containing products to be purchased by a customer protrudes from the left side. On the upper surface of the commodity basket mounting table 102, a protrusion 103 for positioning the basket is formed in an L shape.

  The housing 202 of the payment terminal 201 includes a base housing 202a installed on the floor and a small upper housing 202b placed on the upper surface of the base housing 202a. The front surface of the base housing 202a is inclined so as to narrow the projected area of the base housing 202a as it goes downward. As a result, the base housing 202a has a shape that is offset toward the back as it goes downward.

  Various user interfaces are provided in the upper housing 202b. That is, in the upper housing 202b, a barcode scanner 203 as a product code reading unit is arranged on the left side, and a printer cover 204 and a monitoring camera 205 are arranged on the right side. These barcode scanner 203, printer cover 204, and monitoring camera are arranged. Between 205, a card reading unit 206 and a numeric keypad 207 as a settlement unit are arranged. The barcode scanner 203 is a vertical scanner that functions as a product code reading unit that reads a product code attached to a product. The printer cover 204 is provided with a receipt issuing port 208. A receipt printer 251 (see FIG. 6) is built in the upper housing 202b on the back side of the printer cover 204, and a receipt (not shown) printed by the receipt printer 251 is issued from a receipt issuing port 208. Yes. The printer cover 204 is attached to the upper housing 202b so as to be freely opened and closed, and is opened by pulling the flap 209. The monitoring camera 205 is disposed above the printer cover 204. The card reading unit 206 establishes wireless communication with a non-contact IC card (not shown), and reads / writes information from / to the non-contact IC card. As an example, the non-contact IC card can store and save electronic money having a value equivalent to cash. As another example, the contactless IC card stores and stores an identification number for identifying a debited bank account. Used. In FIG. 1, an antenna (not shown) is incorporated in the back of the portion marked “CARD” in the circle, and wireless communication with the non-contact IC card is established through this antenna. The numeric keypad 207 is used for inputting a personal identification number when making a settlement with a non-contact IC card.

  An LCD 210 serving as a display unit having a liquid crystal display panel is attached to the upper housing 202b. The LCD 210 has a touch panel 211 as an input unit on its display surface and a card reading groove 212 on the right side. A card reader / writer 252 (see FIG. 6) as a settlement unit is built in the card reading groove 212. The card reader / writer 252 reads information recorded on a magnetic card such as a credit card, for example, a card number or a password.

  The base housing 202a incorporates a coin / banknote deposit / withdrawal device 221 (see FIG. 6). As a part of the deposit / withdrawal device 221, a coin insertion slot 213 is disposed on the central upper surface of the base housing 202a, and a coin payout outlet 214 is disposed on the left side thereof. In addition, a bill insertion slot 215 and a bill dispensing outlet 216 are arranged at the upper right position on the front surface of the base housing. Such a deposit / withdrawal apparatus 221 has a mechanism unit that enables handling of money and banknotes and a control unit that controls the mechanism unit (both not shown). About the structure of such a mechanism part and the processing procedure in a control part, since the content is known, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Further, a display pole 217 for displaying the current state of the self-checkout terminal 101 is erected from the back surface of the base housing 202a. The display pole 217 has a light emitting portion 218 that selectively emits blue and red light at the tip.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the scale device 301. The scale device 301 is configured such that a scale pan 303 is provided on an upper portion of a scale housing 302, and a bag holder 304 is attached to the scale pan 303. The weighing pan 303 has a mounting table 303a on its upper surface. The bag holder 304 is attached to the mounting table 303a. Therefore, when viewed from the bag holder 304, the weighing pan 303 constitutes a pedestal. That is, a pole-shaped arm support portion 305 is erected at the rear center portion of the mounting table 303a, and a temporary mounting table 306 for mounting an article is fixed to the upper end of the arm support unit 305. The temporary placement table 306 is a table that has a flat upper surface and is used for temporarily placing products after the barcode is read by the barcode scanner 203 of the payment terminal 201.

  A pair of holding arms 307 and a hook 308 are attached to the lower surface of such a temporary placing table 306. That is, the arm attachment 309 is fixed to the both end positions of the lower surface of the temporary placing table 306. The fixing is performed by various fixing methods such as screwing and adhesive fixing. A holding arm 307 is embedded in each of the arm attachments 309. Further, a hook attachment 310 is fixed at the center of the lower surface of the temporary table 306. The fixing is performed by various fixing methods such as screwing and adhesive fixing. A hook 308 is embedded in the hook attachment 310.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the shopping bag 401 as a storage bag is held by the holding arm 307. The holding arm 307 includes, for example, a plastic bag 401 such as a plastic bag provided to a customer in a supermarket or the like, that is, an opening 402 and a pair of handles 403 protruding from the opening 402, and these handles 403 are provided on both sides. In order to hold the shopping bag 401 folded so as to be positioned, a pair of grips 403 are held in a skewered state. In order to realize such a holding state, a slit 404 is formed in the handle 403. In addition, the plastic bag 401 is formed with a pair of ears 406 that are positioned between the pair of handles 403 and can be removed by the perforation 405, and hooks 407 are formed in these ears 406. (See FIG. 7). The hook 308 is inserted through the hooking hole 407, thereby holding the shopping bag 401 together with the holding arm 307.

  More specifically, when the shopping bag 401 is folded, the hooking hole 407 provided in the ear portion 406 is hooked on the hook 308 and held. The holding arm 307 has a first holding portion 311 on the base side for holding the folded shopping bag 401 held by the hook 308 in this way. These hooks 308 and the first holding part 311 have a holding capacity sufficient to hold a plurality of folded shopping bags 401 in a stacked state. The holding arm 307 has a second holding unit 312 on the distal end side that holds the shopping bag 401 in a state of being opened at a position lower than the holding position by the first holding unit 311 continuously to the first holding unit 311. . The second holding portion 312 is formed in a shape in which the height of the central portion is increased, more specifically in an arch shape. Therefore, the two points at both ends of the second holding part 312 are low in height, and the central part connecting these two low points is raised in an arch shape. The first holding unit 311 and the second holding unit 312 are connected to the second holding unit 312 from the first holding unit 311 by an inclined unit 313 that linearly inclines. Further, the end portion of the second holding portion 312, that is, the tip portion of the holding arm 307 rises obliquely upward from a portion having a low height. The raised portion is a return portion 314 for preventing the handle 403 of the held shopping bag 401 from dropping off.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical hardware configuration of the payment terminal 201. The payment terminal 201 has a control unit 253 inside. For example, the control unit 253 may have a semiconductor chip configuration in which an operation sequence is written, or may have a microcomputer configuration in which an operation program is stored in the RAM 254 or the like. Here, the control unit 253 having a microcomputer configuration will be introduced.

  The CPU 255 is the core of the control unit 253. The CPU 255 is connected via a system bus 259 to a ROM 256 that stores fixed data in a fixed manner, a RAM 254 that stores variable data in a rewritable manner, a VRAM 257 that generates a display image to be displayed on the LCD 210, and an HDD 258. Yes. As an example, the HDD 258 includes an operation program, various display frames, various files such as a PLU file as a product data file, a department file, an image file, a sales file, various definition information such as product placement location definitions, weight check execution status, etc. (All not shown) are stored and saved, and all or a part of these operation programs, various display frames, various files and various definition information are transferred to the RAM 254 and used when the payment terminal 201 is activated. The

  The PLU file is associated with the product code that identifies each product, in addition to unit price, weight, lower and upper limit values for weight, product display, discount product type, discount amount, M & M (mix and match) Information is stored in a rewritable manner. The product display includes text data of the product name of the product specified by the product code and image data of the product.

  The department file corresponds to each product that is not stored in the PLU file, its unit price, weight, lower and upper limit values for weight, product display, discount product type, discount amount, M & M (mix and match) information, etc. Is stored in a rewritable manner. The product display includes text data of the product name of the product specified by the product code and image data of the product.

  The product placement location definition is a floor that is a place other than the weighing pan 303, the temporary placing table 306, the weighing plate 303, and the temporary placing table 306 as the placement location of the product whose barcode is read by the barcode scanner 203. Whether to be a surface is defined for each product in relation to the information stored in the corresponding PLU file. As an example of the relationship with the information stored in the PLU file, the product placement location definition sets the product placement location corresponding to the product code stored in the PLU file to the weighing pan 303 and the temporary placement table 306. Define whether to be floor or floor. In this case, the product placement location definition can be included in the PLU file. As another example, characteristic information such as product characteristics, for example, easy to break, easy to break, easy to lose shape, heavy, etc. is stored in a PLU file etc., and as an example, easy to break, easy to break, easy to lose shape For a product having the characteristic, the temporary placement table 306 is defined as the placement location, and for a product having the characteristic of being heavy, the floor is defined as the placement location. As yet another example, a floor surface is defined as a place for placing a commodity after barcode reading when the weight stored in the PLU file is heavier than the specified weight.

  In the case of many products, the place where the barcode is read is the weighing pan 303. Therefore, it is not necessary to give special information to that effect about the product whose placement place after reading the barcode is the weighing pan 303. Therefore, for such products, special information to that effect may or may not be set. As the product placement location definition, it is sufficient to define whether the product placement location after reading the barcode is the weighing pan 303, the temporary placement table 306, or the floor surface. It is sufficient to have only information on at least two types of placement locations.

  The weight check execution presence / absence definition stores a weight check execution type in association with each product code. As an example, a product that is not checked for weight is a product that is too light to fit into the weighing by the weighing device 301 or a product that is too heavy to be moved to the weighing pan 303 of the weighing device 301. Similar to the product placement location definition, since many products are subjected to weight check, it is not necessary to have positive information on the weight check. That is, it is sufficient for each product to have only one information on whether or not to check the weight. Such a weight check execution presence / absence definition may be included in the PLU file as an example.

  The control unit 253 includes a barcode scanner 203, LCD 210, touch panel 211, card reading unit 206, numeric keypad 207, card reader / writer 252, receipt printer 251, monitoring camera 205, light emitting unit 218, and deposit / withdrawal device 221. An interface 260 that mediates data communication is connected via a system bus 259 and is controlled by the control unit 253. The control unit 253 controls each of those units, and executes a search process, a weight check process, and a merchandise sales data process.

  When the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203, the search process recognizes the product code specified by this barcode, searches the PLU file, and unit price and weight corresponding to the product code. And get the product display.

  The weight check process is a process for determining whether the weight measured by the scale device 301 after reading the barcode is the same as the weight acquired by the search process. Whether or not they are identical is determined by determining whether or not the measured weight is between the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the weight acquired by the search process.

  The merchandise sales data process is a process of calculating a settlement amount based on the unit price acquired by the search process and executing settlement of the settlement amount. The settlement amount is calculated by calculating the total sales amount including the necessary consumption tax calculation according to the closing operation on the touch panel 211, and is temporarily registered in the RAM 254 or the like or registered in the sales file. In the payment process, the calculated payment amount enables payment using a magnetic card such as cash, a credit card, electronic money, or a contactless IC card that stores and stores an identification number for specifying a bank account. The handling of cash is executed by the deposit / withdrawal device 221 provided in the base housing 202a, and the handling of the magnetic card is executed by the card reader / writer 252 provided in the card reading groove 212 to handle the non-contact IC card. Is executed via the card reading unit 206.

  However, in this embodiment, the concept of product sales data processing is used as a broad concept including search processing, weight check processing, and the like. Therefore, in order to support such merchandise sales data processing in a broad sense, the control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 displays an operation method on the LCD 210 for the convenience of the customer.

  A communication interface 261 is also connected to the control unit 253 via the system bus 259. The communication interface 261 is connected to the communication network 41 and realizes data communication between the attendant terminal 501 and the store controller 31 and the self-checkout terminal 101.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical hardware configuration of the scale device 301. The scale device 301 has a load cell unit 351. The load cell unit 351 has one end side of a load cell (not shown) having a structure and shape fixed to the base 352 and a load receiving portion 353 on the other end side. A scale frame 354 is fixed to the load receiving portion 353. Although not shown in FIG. 7, the scale frame 354 has an X shape when viewed from the plane, and the weighing pans 303 are placed at the four corners. The output signal of the load cell unit 351 is amplified by an amplifier 355, converted into a digital signal by an analog / digital converter (AD / C) 356, and analyzed by a calculation unit 357. The arithmetic unit 357 performs weight analysis based on the output signal of the load cell unit 351. The arithmetic unit 357 may have a semiconductor chip configuration in which an operation sequence is written, for example, or a microcomputer configuration that operates by storing an operation program in a RAM or the like. The calculation unit 357 transmits the weight data as the analysis result to the transmission unit 358 and outputs the weight data to the payment terminal 201 via the transmission unit 358.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electrical hardware configuration of the attendant terminal 501. The attendant terminal 501 is a microcomputer structurally. Therefore, the attendant terminal 501 has a CPU 506 that forms the core of the microcomputer. Then, a ROM 507 that fixedly stores fixed data, a RAM 508 that stores variable data in a rewritable manner, a VRAM 509 that generates a display image to be displayed on the display 503, and an HDD 510 are connected to the CPU 506 via the system bus 511. Connected through. As an example, the HDD 510 stores and stores operation programs, various display frames, various files, etc. (all not shown), and all or part of these operation programs, various display frames, various files, etc. are attendant. When the terminal 501 is activated, it is moved to the RAM 508 and used.

  The display 503, the keyboard 504, and the pointing device 505 described above are connected to the CPU 506 through the system bus 511 together with the interface 512 and the communication interface 513, and are controlled by the CPU 506.

  The communication interface 513 is connected to the communication network 41 and realizes data communication between the self-checkout terminal 101 and the store controller 31 and the attendant terminal 501.

  In such a configuration, the self-checkout terminal 101 enables self-checkout. At this time, the control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 and the calculation unit 357 of the scale device 301 execute various calculation processes, drive control processes of the respective units, and the like to support the self-checkout process. That is, the payment terminal 201 displays various user support screens on the LCD 210, and executes the above-described search process, weight check process, and merchandise sales data process. The scale device 301 transmits the measured weight value from the transmission unit 358 to the settlement terminal 201 so as to support the weight check process at the settlement terminal 201. Hereinafter, the flow of the self-checkout process will be described using various screen examples and screen transition examples.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of screen transition when the self-checkout process is executed in the self-checkout terminal 101. The customer puts a product to be purchased in a bag and brings it to the self-checkout terminal 101, and places the product together with the bag on the product bag mounting table 102 of the self-checkout terminal 101.

  At this time, the control unit 253 of the payment terminal 201 generates an initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left) as shown in FIG. In the initial guidance screen A, the customer guides how to handle the goods carried by the customer. There are two types of handling methods to be guided. One handling method is product code input using the barcode scanner 203, and the other is input designation from the touch panel 211. As the former guidance, a letter “Please touch the barcode on the glass surface” is guided along with a picture indicating the state. As the latter guidance, the characters “Products without barcodes will be registered on the next screen” are guided along with a picture showing the next screen.

  At this time, when starting the self-checkout process, the control unit 253 displays information indicating that the device is in standby as operation status information indicating the operation status of whether the device is in standby or product scanning. The data is output toward the assigned attendant terminal 501.

  On the initial guidance screen A, the user can select whether to use the shopping bag or the my basket with the two selection buttons A1 and A2. My basket means a shopping basket that the customer owns. When the selection button A1 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the self-checkout process in the shopping bag 401 is started. When the selection button A2 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the self-checkout process in the my basket is started.

  At this time, when the control unit 253 starts the self-checkout process, the control unit 253 displays information indicating that the device is in operation as the operation status information indicating the operation status of whether the device is on standby or scanning the product. The data is output toward the assigned attendant terminal 501.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which the selection button A2 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 and the self-checkout process in the my basket is started (first column, second row from the left in FIG. 9). The difference between the processing in the shopping bag 401 and the processing in the my basket is the 0 point setting in the scale device 301. When executing the processing with the my basket, the control unit 253 generates an image indicating that the store basket is placed on the weighing pan 303 of the scale device 301 and that the my basket should be spread therein, and displays the image on the LCD 210. To the customer. A set completion button A3 and a return button A4 are displayed on the initial guidance screen A (first column, second row from the left in FIG. 9) after My Basket is selected. When the set completion button A3 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 notifies the scale device 301 that 0 point setting should be executed. When the return button A4 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the screen returns to the initial initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 9).

  Although not shown in FIG. 9, when the selection button A1 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 on the initial initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), the control unit 253 displays the initial guidance screen. The display content of A is switched to the guidance display when the shopping bag 401 is used. In this guidance display, the opening of the plastic bag 401 held by the bag holder 304 of the scale device 301 is guided. That is, the uppermost registration bag 401 is pulled out from the plurality of registration bags 401 that are closed by the first holding unit 311 of the holding arm 307 and held in a stacked state, and are held by the second holding unit 312. Instruct. At this time, the ear portion 406 of the shopping bag 401 can be removed at the perforation 405 and can be left on the hook 308, so that information is also provided. When the plastic bag 401 is pulled out according to such guidance, the grip 403 of the plastic bag 401 that has been pulled out is positioned at two points where the height of both sides of the arch shape formed in the second holding portion 312 is low. Naturally, the opening 402 is opened. Although not shown in FIG. 9, when the selection button A1 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 on the initial initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), the set completion button A3 and A return button A4 is displayed.

  In the initial guidance screen A (first column, first row and second row from the left in FIG. 9), a stop button Y and a call button Z are displayed at the lower left. The cancel button Y is a button for instructing to cancel the process, and the call button Z is a button for calling a salesclerk of an information desk (attendant). The control unit 253 generates and causes the cancel button Y and the call button Z to appear as necessary in each screen that transitions according to a series of flows of the self-checkout process.

  In the initial initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), the initial guidance screen A after the selection button A1 or A2 is selected and specified by the touch panel 211 (for example, first from the left in FIG. 9) When the selection button A3 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 in the column second row), the control unit 253 generates the basic screen B and displays it on the LCD 210 (second column first row from the left in FIG. 9). ). The basic screen B is composed of a guidance display area B1 and a user area B2. The guidance display area B1 is arranged at the upper position, and the user area B2 is arranged at the lower position. The guidance display area B1 displays various kinds of guidance necessary for proceeding with self-checkout. The user area B2 displays various operation buttons and transaction information necessary for proceeding with self-checkout.

  In the guidance display area B1 on the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) waiting to read the barcode attached to the product, “Touch the product barcode on the glass surface. Please display "along with a picture indicating the state.

  In the user area B2 in the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) waiting to read the barcode attached to the product, a product without a barcode is used as various operation buttons. A product designation button B22 for designating is displayed, and transaction information B21 including the name of the product to be purchased, the number of points, the unit price, and the total price of the product to be purchased is displayed as the transaction information. In the first basic screen B shown in FIG. 9 (second column, first row from the left), the product has been registered so far: 1 juice, 1 milk, 3 croquettes Represents. When the number of purchased items is increased and cannot be displayed, the scroll button in the transaction information B21 can be touch-designated by the touch panel 211 to enable scroll display. In the same screen, juice and croquettes are displayed with a circle mark on the left side. This indicates a discount product. As an example, whether or not the product is a discount product can be displayed by providing discount information in the PLU file.

  According to the guidance display displayed in the guidance display area B1 of the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), the customer holds the product in front of the barcode scanner 203 and attaches it to the product. Have the bar code read. As a result, the control unit 253 of the payment terminal 201 executes the above-described search process and acquires necessary information from the PLU file.

  At this time, the control unit 253 reduces the brightness of the user area B2 in the basic screen B displayed on the LCD 210, generates the reading confirmation screen C, and displays the generated reading confirmation screen C so as to overlap the user area B2. (Third column, first row from the left in FIG. 9). The reading confirmation screen C includes transaction information such as a unit price, a discount amount, a purchase point, and a purchase amount of the product from which the barcode retrieved from the PLU file is read, and the reference quoted from the product display recorded in the PLU file. Characters based on the text data of the product name of the product and a pattern based on the image data of the product are included. Such a reading confirmation screen C may be displayed using, for example, a general pop-up display technique, or a technique using a display frame that displays the reading confirmation screen C on the basic screen B is used. May be. That is, as a result, it is only necessary that the reading confirmation screen C is displayed so as to overlap the basic screen B, and there is no restriction on the display technology employed for that purpose.

  What is important here is that the reading confirmation screen C is displayed only on the user area B2 in the basic screen B and is not displayed on the guidance display area B1. Thereby, the guidance display in guidance display area | region B1 can be continuously performed with respect to a customer. In the example shown in FIG. 9, when the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203, the first basic screen “Please touch the product barcode on the glass surface” is displayed in the guidance display area B1. The display transitions from the guidance in B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) to the guidance “please place the product in a plastic bag or my basket” (from the left in FIG. 9 to the third Column first row). Although not shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 253 changes not only the characters but also the pattern displayed in the guidance display area B <b> 1 to a pattern that supports the operation of putting the product into the shopping bag or my basket. By displaying the reading confirmation screen C without overlapping the guidance display area B1, the customer can easily confirm the guidance display and the transition in the guidance display area B1.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic screen B and a reading confirmation screen C for a product to be placed on the temporary placement table 306. As described above, the payment terminal 201 has a product placement location definition. Therefore, on the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), the barcode of the product for which the temporary placement table 306 is defined as the product placement location definition is read by the barcode scanner 203. In this case, the control unit 253 generates the image illustrated in FIG. 10 that displays the characters “Please place the product on the temporary table” together with the design supporting the work in the guidance display area B1, and displays the image on the LCD 210. To do.

  Returning to the description based on FIG. After the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203, the control unit 253 waits for the weight check process. For this purpose, the guidance display area B1 after the barcode attached to the product is read has a guidance indicating the text “Please put the product in a shopping bag or my basket” together with a pattern that supports the work for that purpose. Displayed (third column, first row from the left in FIG. 9). Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10, when the temporary placement table 306 is defined as the product placement location definition, the guidance display area B <b> 1 includes the characters “Please place the product on the temporary placement table”. The guidance shown with the pattern which supports the work for that is displayed. Therefore, in accordance with these guidances, the customer puts the commodity whose bar code is read by the bar code scanner 203 into the shopping bag 401 or my basket, or puts it on the temporary table 306. As a result, the product packed in the shopping bag 401 and the product placed on the temporary table 306 are loaded on the weighing pan 303 of the weighing device 301, and the load is measured by the load cell unit 351. become. The measurement result by the load cell unit 351 is output to the settlement terminal 201 via the transmission unit 358 as described above. The settlement terminal 201 receives the weighing result from the load cell unit 351 and executes a weight check process. As described above, the weight check process is a process for determining whether the weight measured by the scale device 301 after reading the barcode is the same as the weight obtained from the PLU file by the search process.

  As a result of the weight check process, if it is determined that there is no identity between both weights, it means that some operation error or fraud has been made. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 253 stops the progress of the merchandise sales data processing, changes the emission color of the light emitting unit 218 provided at the tip of the display pole 217 from blue to red, The fact that the fraud has been performed is notified to, for example, a salesclerk of an attendant. As a result of stopping the progress of the merchandise sales data processing, the reading confirmation screen C remains displayed as the display screen of the LCD 210, and the customer is shown that the processing does not proceed.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a weight error screen that appears when the measured weight is not identical to the weight of the purchased product as a result of the weight check. As a result of the weight check process, when it is determined that there is no identity between the two weights, the control unit 253 reduces the brightness of the entire basic screen B, generates a weight error screen D as illustrated in FIG. It may be displayed over the screen B. On the weight error screen D, a character “It seems that an unregistered product is in a plastic bag or my basket. Please remove the product” is displayed together with a pattern that supports the work for that purpose.

  As another example, the weight error screen D illustrated in FIG. 11 appears when a product is placed on the weighing pan 303 without being read by the barcode scanner 203 or placed on the temporary table 306. Also good.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the weights are identical as a result of the weight check process, the product whose barcode is read by the barcode scanner 203 is correctly placed in the shopping bag 401 or my basket. In other words, the controller 253 allows the merchandise sales data process to proceed, restores the brightness of the user area B2 in the basic screen B, and reads the confirmation screen C. Erase. As a result, the display on the LCD 210 returns to the basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9).

  FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating a basic screen B and a reading confirmation screen C for a product not subject to weight check. As described above, the payment terminal 201 has a weight check execution definition. Therefore, the control unit 253 refers to the weight check execution definition and displays a confirmation button X on the reading confirmation screen C for the product defined as not checking the weight, as illustrated in FIG. Skip the check process. In the reading confirmation screen C, when the confirmation button X is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 allows the product sales data process to proceed and restores the brightness of the user area B2 in the basic screen B to the original. The reading confirmation screen C is erased. As a result, the display on the LCD 210 returns to the basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9).

  In this way, the weight check process is skipped for products not subject to weight check. On the other hand, it is not necessary to guide the customer to skip the weight check process. Rather, the guidance may trigger fraud. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), in spite of skipping the weight check process, the guidance display area B1 after the barcode attached to the product is read is displayed in the guidance display area B1. A guidance is displayed showing the words “Please put in the basket and press the confirm button” along with a picture to support the work. Such a guidance display is the same display as a product that does not skip the weight check process, except for the guidance “please press the confirmation button”. Thereby, it can be made difficult for the customer to know whether or not to perform the weight check process.

  However, as described based on FIG. 10, the control unit 253 displays the product placement location after reading the barcode in the guidance display area B <b> 1 according to the product placement location definition. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 12B, in the case of a product defined in the product placement location definition with the floor as the placement location, the control unit 253 displays “a product is a shopping bag base” in the guidance display area B1. "Place it next to and press the confirm button" is displayed along with a picture that supports the work.

  Returning to the description based on FIG. As described above, the first initial guidance screen A (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) has the characters “Register products without barcode on the next screen” as “Next screen. ”And a picture showing“ In response, the control unit 253 displays “Yasai” in the user area B2 in the basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) as an image for registering a product without a barcode. , A product designation button B22 including six types of touch buttons of “fruit”, “sazai”, “fish shell”, “others”, and “assortment” is prepared. Therefore, the customer touches and designates the product designation button B22 with the touch panel 211 when the product to be purchased is not attached with a barcode. When any one of these product designation buttons B22 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the transaction information B21 of the user area B2 in the basic screen B is switched and displayed on the department selection screen E (second column from the left in FIG. 9). 2nd line).

  The department selection screen E (second column, second row from the left) shown in FIG. 9 shows an example in which “Sozai” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211. In this case, as the department selection screen E, various foods included in the category of “Sazai” are displayed in a scrollable manner by scroll buttons with a total of 16 types of 4 columns and 4 rows. On the department selection screen E, a return button E1 is also displayed. When this return button E1 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the department selection screen E is switched to the transaction information B21 and displayed on the basic screen B (FIG. 9). The display returns to the second column, first row) from the left.

  When the transaction information B21 of the user area B2 in the basic screen B is switched and displayed on the department selection screen E (second column, second row from the left in FIG. 9), the control unit 253 displays “ "Please press the button of your product" is displayed along with a pattern to support the work. Thereby, the customer can know what operation should be performed next.

  Therefore, according to the guidance, if the customer touches and designates one food item from the department selection screen E (second column, second row from the left in FIG. 9) with the touch panel 211, the food item is displayed in the user area B2 in the basic screen B. A department registration screen F for the third column (second column, second row from the left in FIG. 9) appears. The department registration screen F (third column, second row from the left) shown in FIG. 9 shows an example in which “Tamago Tofu” is designated by touch. In this case, the department registration screen F for “Tamago Tofu” appears. The department registration screen F includes transaction information such as the unit price of the product, the discount amount, the number of purchases, and the purchase amount, and includes characters based on the text data of the product name of the product and a pattern based on the image data of the product. Includes a numeric keypad. The numeric keypad enables the change input of the purchase points whose default setting is one point. These various data are cited from information recorded in a department file provided separately from the PLU file in the payment terminal 201 as an example. The department registration screen F includes a cancel button F1 and a determination button F2. When the cancel button F1 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the screen returns to the screen (second column, second row from the left in FIG. 9) in which the department selection screen E is displayed in the user area B2 of the basic screen B.

  When the department registration screen F is displayed in the user area B2 in the basic screen B (third column, second row from the left in FIG. 9), the control unit 253 displays “when changing the score” in the guidance display area B1. "Enter from the numeric keys and press the" Enter "button" is displayed along with a picture that supports the task. Thereby, the customer can know what operation should be performed next.

  Therefore, according to the guidance, on the department registration screen F (third column, second row from the left in FIG. 9), if the purchase point is changed and input with the numeric keypad as necessary, the decision button F2 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211. The department registration for the selected food, “Tamago Tofu” in the example shown in FIG. 9, is completed by the number of purchase points changed or input by default or the numeric keypad. Therefore, the control unit 253 reduces the brightness of the user area B2 in the basic screen B displayed on the LCD 210, generates the reading confirmation screen C, and displays the generated reading confirmation screen C so as to overlap the user area B2 ( (4th column, 2nd row from the left in FIG. 9). In addition, the control unit 253 shifts the display of the guidance display area B1 in the basic screen B to the display of “please place the product in a shopping bag or my basket” (the fourth column from the left in FIG. 9). 2nd line). Although not shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 253 changes not only the characters but also the pattern displayed in the guidance display area B <b> 1 to a pattern that supports the operation of putting the product into the shopping bag or my basket. By displaying the reading confirmation screen C without overlapping the guidance display area B1, the customer can easily confirm the guidance display and the transition in the guidance display area B1.

  Here, when five types of product designation buttons B22 “yasai”, “fruit”, “sozai”, “fish shell”, and “others” are touch-designated by the touch panel 211 and the department is registered, that is, “ When the product designation button B22 other than “Assembly” is touch-designated and department registration is performed, the processing after the reading confirmation screen C is displayed over the user area B2 in the basic screen B is a weight check processing. is there. In other words, it has the same processing as that when the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203 described above. Therefore, description of the subsequent processing is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of screen transition when executing a self-checkout process for packed products. “Assembly” set in the product designation button B22 in the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) means a packed product. That is, in a supermarket or the like, it is common practice to install a corner where various food items are arranged so that customers can freely pack fried foods, tempura, yakitori, etc. The product to be packed at such a corner is “packing”.

  In the first basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9), when the product designation button B22 “packing” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 is displayed on the LCD 210. In the basic screen B, the brightness of the user area B2 is reduced, screen generation is performed so that the transaction information B21 displayed in the user area B2 is switched to the department selection screen E, and this department selection screen E is displayed on the LCD 210. (First column, first row from the left in FIG. 13). On the department selection screen E, various foods included in the category of “packing” are displayed in a scrollable manner by a scroll button with a total of 16 types of 4 columns and 4 rows.

  When the transaction information B21 of the user area B2 in the basic screen B is switched and displayed on the department selection screen E (first column, first row from the left in FIG. 13), the control unit 253 displays “ "Please press the button of your product" is displayed along with a pattern to support the work. Thereby, the customer can know what operation should be performed next.

  Therefore, according to the guidance, when one food item is touch-designated on the touch panel 211 from the department selection screen E for “packing”, the control unit 253 generates a department registration screen F for the food item, and the user in the basic screen B The department registration screen F generated is displayed in the user area B2 with the brightness of the area B2 lowered (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 13). FIG. 13 shows an example in which “croquette” is touch-designated. In this case, the department registration screen F for “croquette” appears (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 13). The department registration screen F includes transaction information such as the unit price of the product, the discount amount, the number of purchases, and the purchase amount, and includes characters based on the text data of the product name of the product and a pattern based on the image data of the product. Includes a numeric keypad. The numeric keypad enables the change input of the purchase points whose default setting is one point. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the number of purchase points is changed and input by two keys using the numeric keypad.

  When the department registration screen F is displayed in the user area B2 in the basic screen B (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 13), the control unit 253 displays “when changing the score” in the guidance display area B1. "Enter from the numeric keys and press the" Enter "button" is displayed along with a picture that supports the task. Thereby, the customer can know what operation should be performed next.

  Therefore, in accordance with the guidance, on the department registration screen F (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 13), if the purchase number is changed and input using the numeric keypad as necessary, the enter button F2 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211. The department registration for the selected food, “croquette” in the example shown in FIG. 13, is completed by the number of purchase points changed or input by default or the numeric keypad. Thereafter, the control unit 253 displays the department selection screen E again without displaying the reading confirmation screen C (for example, the fourth column and the second row from the left in FIG. 9) (the third from the left in FIG. 13). Column first row). However, on the department selection screen E for the second and subsequent times (first column, third row from the left in FIG. 13), a decision button E2 is displayed instead of the return button E1. Therefore, the food displayed on the department selection screen E can be registered repeatedly until the enter button E2 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211.

  In the department selection screen E after the second time (third column, first row from the left in FIG. 13), the control unit 253 presses the button of the product you have in the guidance display area B1 to display all the items in the pack. When the input of the product is completed, the text “please press the“ OK ”button” is displayed together with a pattern that supports the work. Thereby, the customer can know what operation should be performed next.

  Therefore, according to the guidance, the customer repeats the operation for registration on the department selection screen E and the department registration screen F for all the foods packed by himself. Then, when the registration work for all the food items in the pack is completed, the customer touches the enter button E2 with the touch panel 211. As a result, the control unit 253 generates the reading confirmation screen C, and displays the reading confirmation screen C generated in the user area B2 in an overlapping manner while reducing the brightness of the user area B2 in the basic screen B (see FIG. 13). 3rd column, 2nd row from the left). Further, the control unit 253 shifts the display of the guidance display area B1 in the basic screen B to a display of “please place the product in a shopping bag or my basket” (in the third column from the left in FIG. 13). 2nd line). Although not shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 253 changes not only the characters but also the pattern displayed in the guidance display area B <b> 1 to a pattern that supports the operation of putting the product into the shopping bag or my basket. By displaying the reading confirmation screen C without overlapping the guidance display area B1, the customer can easily confirm the guidance display and the transition in the guidance display area B1.

  Thereafter, a weight check process is executed. In this case, in the self-checkout process of the packed product, a weight check process different from the weight check process described above is executed. For convenience, the above-described weight check process will be referred to as a first weight check process, and the weight check process for a “packaged” product will be referred to as a second weight check process.

  As described above, in the user area B2 (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) in the first basic screen B, “easy”, “fruit”, A product designation button B22 including six kinds of touch buttons of “sazazai”, “fish shell”, “others”, and “assortment” is displayed. The product finally specified based on the touch specification of these product specification buttons B22 is not set in the PLU file but is a non-PLU product set in the department file. Among these products, the non-designated items that are finally designated based on the touch designation of the product designation button B22 including the touch buttons of “Yasai”, “Kakumono”, “Souzai”, “Fish” and “Others”. For PLU products, corresponding weight data is set in the department file. Therefore, the first weight check process can be performed. On the other hand, the corresponding weight data is not set in the department file for the non-PLU product that is finally specified based on the touch specification of the product specification button B22 including the “packing” touch button. For this reason, the first weight check process cannot be executed, and the second weight check process is executed.

  In the second weight check process, it is determined whether a product is placed on the weighing pan 303 based on the output from the weighing device 301. That is, in the scale device 301, if the measured weight increases even a little, it is determined that the registered packed product is correctly placed in the shopping bag 401 or my basket, or placed on the temporary table 306. In other words, a simple weight check process is executed.

  In this case, it is not necessary to guide the customer whether or not the second weight check process is executed, which only determines whether or not the product is placed on the weighing pan 303. On the contrary, it can be a trigger for fraud. Therefore, in the standby screen (third column, second row from the left in FIG. 13) in which the reading confirmation screen C is displayed over the user region B2 in the basic screen B, the guidance display region B1 displays “Product is a shopping bag” Or, please put it in my basket "and display the same guidance as when performing the first weight check. As a result, it is possible to prevent the customer from being notified that only a simple weight check process has been performed.

  However, the self-checkout operation at the self-checkout terminal 101 of the present embodiment is such that the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203, and the product from which the barcode is read is stored in the shopping bag 401 or my basket. The basic operation is to place it on the table or on the temporary table 306. For this reason, in the case of a non-PLU product that is finally registered based on the touch designation of the product designation button B22, an operation different from normal is required. Due to such operational differences, the customer puts the registered packed product in the plastic bag 401 or my basket, or places it in the temporary storage table 306, and then mistakenly puts the unregistered product in the plastic bag 401 or my bag. It is expected that it will be placed in a basket or placed on the temporary table 306, that is, every second occurrence. When such an occurrence occurs twice, a non-PLU product for which the first weight check process is executed is an error, so that no major problem occurs.

  On the other hand, among non-PLU products, in the case of a product for which the second weight check process is executed, that is, a packed product in the present embodiment, it is merely determined whether or not the product is placed on the weighing pan 303. In other words, since the second weight check process, which is a simple weight check process, is executed, even if every second unregistered product occurs, this cannot be regarded as an error. In this case, after recognizing the increase in weight based on the output from the scale device 301, a countermeasure may be considered in which an error is generated when a further increase in weight is recognized. However, the weighing apparatus 301 cannot perform weighing for a predetermined time after the article is placed on the weighing pan 303 until the vibration is settled. For this reason, it is necessary to set the standby time as a predetermined time or more until the vibration is settled, and when this occurs twice within this standby time, this cannot be regarded as an error.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, for a product for which the second weight check is executed, it is determined whether the weight measured by the scale device 301 exceeds a specified value, and if it exceeds, an error is determined. Execute. As a result, when a product is placed twice following a packed product, an error can be made if the total weight exceeds the specified weight. When such an error occurs, the control unit 253 may display, on the LCD 210, a screen that displays the weight error screen D as illustrated in FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a caution screen that appears when the shopping bag 401 is removed after the product code is read and before the product is placed in the shopping bag 401. When the plastic bag 401 or the my basket contains products, the control unit 253 can recognize the weight reduction based on the output from the scale device 301 when the plastic bag 401 or the my basket is removed from the scale device 301. . In this case, if the barcode attached to the product is not read by the barcode scanner 203, there is no risk of fraud even if the shopping bag 401 and my basket are full and need to be replaced. However, no problem arises. On the other hand, if the weight reduction is recognized based on the output from the scale device 301 after reading the barcode attached to the product by the barcode scanner 203, the weight of the product after the barcode reading is checked. I won't get. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 253 generates a caution screen G as illustrated in FIG. 14, reduces the overall brightness of the basic screen B, and displays the generated caution screen G in the user area B2.

  As another example, FIG. 14 illustrates an example in which an increase in weight is not recognized by the output from the scale device 301 even after a specified time has elapsed after the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203. A simple screen may be displayed on the LCD 210.

  FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a cancel screen that appears when the cancel button Y is pressed. When the stop button Y displayed on each screen is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit generates a stop screen H as illustrated in FIG. 15, reduces the overall brightness of the basic screen B, and the user area B2. The generated stop screen H is displayed in an overlapping manner. On the cancel screen H, two selection buttons H1 and H2 labeled “Yes” and “No” are displayed together with the words “Are you sure you want to stop shopping?”, And a call button Z is also displayed. Is done. When the selection button H1 displayed as “Yes” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 stops all the processes, and displays the LCD 210 on the initial initial guidance screen A (first from the left in FIG. 9). Return to column first row). On the other hand, when the selection button H2 displayed as “No” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 returns the process to the previous state.

  FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a salesclerk call screen that appears when the call button Z is pressed. When the call button Z displayed on each screen is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit generates a clerk call screen I as illustrated in FIG. 16A, and reduces the overall brightness of the basic screen B. Then, the generated salesclerk call screen I is superimposed on the user area B2. On the clerk call screen I, two selection buttons I1 and I2 displayed as "Yes" and "No" are displayed together with the characters "Call clerk. Are you sure?" When the selection button I1 displayed as “Yes” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 causes the salesclerk call screen I to transition as illustrated in FIG. On the clerk call screen I shown in FIG. 16B, a call stop button I3 is displayed with the words “I will stop the call” along with the characters “I'm waiting for the store clerk now. Therefore, when the call stop button I3 is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 executes a store clerk calling process. As the calling process, the control unit 253 outputs the clerk calling information to the attendant terminal 501 to which the own device is assigned. On the other hand, when the selection button I2 displayed as “No” is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 stops the clerk calling process and returns the process to the previous state.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an example of screen transition when executing the self-checkout process when M & M (mix and match) is established. FIG. 17 shows an example in which the barcode scanner 203 reads the barcodes in the order of yogurt, beef belly, yogurt, and yogurt. As an example, assuming that M & M is established with three yogurts, and that M & M is established, a discount for one piece is assumed. In the example shown in FIG. 17, M & M (mix and match) is established. Yes. Therefore, referring to the transition of the basic screen B displayed on the LCD 210 after the bar code is read in FIG. 17, as the total amount in the transaction information B21 displayed in the user area B2, the first yogurt 150 yen after registration (unit price 150 yen), 630 yen (150 yen + 480 yen) after registration of beef belly (unit price 480 yen), 780 yen after registration of the second yogurt (unit price 150 yen) (150 yen + 480 yen + 150 yen), and after registration of the third yogurt (unit price 150 yen), it will be 780 yen (150 yen + 480 yen + 150 yen + 150 yen-150 yen). Since the M & M is established with three yogurts, the control unit 253 performs a discount process on 150 yen, which is the unit price for one yogurt, and −150 yen as the “set discount” of the transaction information B21 displayed in the user area B2. Is displayed (fourth column, second row from the left in FIG. 17).

  In FIG. 17, the transaction information B21 displayed in the user area B2 displays the yogurt that is the target product of M & M with a round mark. This is displayed based on the M & M information stored in the PLU file. The control unit 253 recognizes that the product is an M & M target product based on the M & M information in the PLU file, and executes M & M processing.

  Returning to the description based on FIG. In the user area B2 (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 9) in the basic screen B, an accounting button B23 displayed as “accounting” is displayed. The touch designation of the accounting button B23 means a tightening designation. Therefore, when the accounting button B23 is touch-designated on the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 executes a settlement process. That is, the control unit 253 generates an accounting screen J and displays it on the user area B2 (second column, third row from the left in FIG. 9). The accounting screen J displays the total amount, the payment method selection buttons J1 to J5, and “return to the detail screen” for returning to the first basic screen B (second column, third row from the left in FIG. 9). And a return button J6 displayed. The selection button J1 is cash, the selection button J2 is credit, the selection button J3 is an electronic money type contactless IC card, the selection button J4 is a bank account withdrawal type contactless IC card, and the selection button J5 is a gift certificate / coupon. Select and specify.

  When the accounting screen J is displayed in the user area B2, the control unit 253 displays a suggestion about the card settlement that “you can pay with the next card” in the guidance display area B1. The control unit 253 receives near-empty information, empty information, near-full information, and full information for each denomination from a control unit (not shown) of the deposit / withdrawal apparatus 221. Therefore, the control unit 253 displays the near empty information for each received denomination and change information based on the empty information in the guidance display area B1. In the example shown in FIG. 9, it is displayed in the guidance display area B1 that 10,000 yen is out of change (second column, third row from the left).

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of screen transition at the time of executing the checkout process with cash. In the accounting screen J displayed in the user area B2 of the basic screen B (second example, third line from the left in FIG. 9), when the selection button J1 for selecting cash is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 (FIG. 9). 18 from the left in the first column and the first row), the control unit 253 generates the guidance screen K and displays it in the user area B2 of the basic screen B (the second column from the left in FIG. 18 and the third row). Column first row). The guidance screen K displays a guidance including a letter “please insert money” and a picture indicating an operation for the customer together with a settlement status when cash is not yet inserted into the deposit / withdrawal apparatus 221 ( (Second column, first row from the left in FIG. 18). Then, when cash is inserted, the guidance on the guidance screen K transitions to the guidance “Please insert money, please press the“ Confirm ”button” and the input amount confirmation button K1 appears. (Third column, first row from the left in FIG. 18). At this time, the control unit 253 displays guidance information about available banknotes in the guidance display area B1 of the basic screen B.

  When the input amount confirmation button K1 that appears on the guidance screen K is touch-designated, the control unit 253 reduces the overall brightness of the basic screen B and displays the settlement confirmation screen L in an overlapping manner (the third from the left in FIG. 18). Column second row). The settlement confirmation screen L has selection buttons L1 and L2 on which “Yes” and “No” are displayed. When the selection button L2 corresponding to “No” is touch-designated, the control unit 253 returns to the previous guidance screen K (third column, first row from the left in FIG. 18), and the selection button corresponding to “Yes”. When L1 is touched, the settlement end screen M (the fourth column from the left in FIG. 18 to the second row) displays the guidance “Please take change and receipt” to the final screen N (from the left in FIG. 18). The screen display is shifted in order to the fourth column and the third row). The screen transition from the settlement end screen M to the final screen N is based on a timer process.

  FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of screen transition when executing a checkout process using a credit card. In the accounting screen J (second example, third line from the left in FIG. 9) displayed in the user area B2 of the basic screen B, the selection button J2 for selecting a credit is touch-designated by the touch panel 211 (FIG. 9). 19, the control unit 253 generates the guidance screen K and displays it in the user area B2 of the basic screen B (from the left side of FIG. 19, the first column, the second row and the first row). Column third row). The guidance screen K includes a collective / revolving payment confirmation button K2 (first column, second row from the left in FIG. 19), and the overall brightness of the basic screen B is lowered by touch designation of the collective / revolving payment confirmation button K2. A transition is made to a screen that allows selection between lump sum payment and revolving payment (first column, third row from the left in FIG. 19).

  Therefore, the customer selects either lump sum payment or revolving payment, and scans the credit card along the card reading groove 212 provided on the LCD 210 of the settlement terminal 201. When the information recorded in the magnetic stripe of the credit card is correctly read by the card reader / writer 252, the control unit 253 reduces the overall brightness of the basic screen B and displays the payment confirmation screen L in an overlapping manner (see FIG. 19). 2nd column, 2nd row from the left). If the information recorded on the magnetic stripe of the credit card is not read correctly, a second scan is prompted (second column, third row from the left in FIG. 19).

  The settlement confirmation screen L has selection buttons L1 and L2 on which “Yes” and “No” are displayed. When the selection button L2 corresponding to “No” is touch-designated, the control unit 253 returns to the previous guidance screen K (third column, first row from the left in FIG. 19), and the selection button corresponding to “Yes”. When L1 is touch-designated, the display screen is shifted to the authentication-in-progress surface O that “I'm currently authenticating, please wait for a while” (third column, second row from the left in FIG. 19), and authentication processing is executed. Thereafter, when the authentication is not obtained, the control unit 253 changes the display screen to the authentication rejection screen P (third column, second row from the left in FIG. 19). On the other hand, when the authentication is obtained, the control unit 253 displays the final screen N from the settlement end screen M (fourth column, second row from the left in FIG. 19) displaying the guidance “Please take a receipt”. The screen display is changed in order from the left in FIG. 19 to the fourth column and the third row. The screen transition from the settlement end screen M to the final screen N is based on a timer process.

  In the above, the case of cash settlement (FIG. 18) and the case of credit settlement (FIG. 19) have been described as examples. In the accounting screen J (second example, third line from the left in FIG. 9) displayed in the user area B2 of the basic screen B, a selection button J3 or bank account withdrawal for selecting an electronic money type contactless IC card When the selection button J4 for selecting the drop-type non-contact IC card is touch-designated by the touch panel 211, the settlement processing by a similar method can be performed. That is, in the payment terminal 201, when the customer designates the closing by touching the accounting button B23 on the touch panel 211, the control unit 253 uses the magnetic card such as cash or credit card for the payment amount calculated in the merchandise sales data processing. Then, settlement processing using an electronic money type contactless IC card or a bank withdrawal type contactless IC card is executed.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a screen transition at the time of executing a checkout process when using a gift certificate or a coupon. The gift certificate or coupon can be used when the settlement is made by any of the above methods. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20, the store clerk is called and an operation by the store clerk is required. For this purpose, the payment terminal 201 changes from an inquiry screen asking whether to call a clerk (second column, first row from the left in FIG. 20) to a standby screen (third column, first row from the left in FIG. 20). Then, it becomes a checker mode. When the checker mode is set, the control unit 253 shifts the screen display to the checker mode standby screen Q (fourth column, first row from the left in FIG. 20).

  FIG. 21 is a schematic view illustrating the checker mode standby screen Q. Not only when using a gift certificate or coupon, but when shifting to a checker mode that requires an operation by a clerk, the control unit 253 sets the display screen to the checker mode standby screen Q. When this checker mode standby screen Q is displayed, only when the bar code for the store clerk is read by the bar code scanner 203, the operation mode of the device is set to the checker mode, and operation by the store clerk becomes possible. When the checker mode standby screen Q is displayed on the LCD 210, the control unit 253 does not accept an operation by the customer.

  FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a screen transition example in the checker mode. When the checker mode standby screen Q is displayed on the LCD 210 and the bar code for the clerk is read by the bar code scanner 203, the control unit 253 sets the screen display to the checker mode initial screen R (first from the left in FIG. 22). Column first row), allowing operation by store clerk. On the checker mode initial screen R, a change replenishment button R1, an accounting operation button R2, and a maintenance mode button R3 are displayed so that they can be touched, and two types of return buttons “return to start screen” and “return to original screen” are displayed. R4 and R5 are displayed so that touch designation is possible. Therefore, when the change replenishment button R1, the accounting operation button R2 or the maintenance mode button R3 is touch-designated on the touch panel 211, the change replenishment, the accounting operation, and the maintenance can be executed.

  In the change replenishment by touching the change change button R1, the completion button R6 is displayed together with the message “Please press the completion button when the change change / recovery operation is finished” and the message is displayed from the left in FIG. 1st column, 2nd row), change replenishment work etc. to the depositing / dispensing device 221 becomes possible.

  The accounting operation by touch-specifying the accounting operation button R2 is used, for example, in the checkout process when using the above-described gift certificate or coupon, and it becomes possible to input the deposit amount using the numeric keypad (from the left in FIG. 22). 2nd column 2nd row). Therefore, if the amount of change is input, the control unit 253 displays from the settlement end screen M (second column, third row from the left in FIG. 22) to the final screen N (displaying the guidance “Please take a receipt”). The screen display can be sequentially shifted from the left in FIG. 22 to the third column and the third row), and the settlement process can be terminated.

  Various maintenances are possible in the maintenance mode in which the maintenance mode button R3 is designated by touch.

  The search process, weight check process (first weight check process, second weight check process), merchandise sales data process, and settlement process in the self-checkout terminal 101 have been described above. In an actual transaction for executing such various processes, the payment terminal 201 has a learning function for taking in the weight into the PLU file. In other words, various kinds of information such as unit price and weight can be acquired from the PLU file by the above-described search processing because the desired information is stored in the PLU file. On the other hand, the operation of storing the product weight corresponding to each product code in the PLU file is extremely complicated.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 253 determines whether or not the corresponding weight can be acquired from the PLU file as a result of the search process in the actual transaction scene. Then, after the barcode attached to the product is read by the barcode scanner 203, a weight registration process is executed for registering the weight of the product weighed by the scale device 301 as the weight of the product corresponding to the PLU file.

  That is, when the bar code is read by the bar code scanner 203, the control unit 253 performs a search process for searching various product information such as unit price and weight from the PLU file using the product code specified by the bar code as a key. Execute. At this time, if the weight corresponding to the PLU file is not stored, the weight data cannot be obtained as a matter of course. For example, the fact that weight data cannot be obtained can be easily determined by acquiring NULL data recorded in the weight column of the PLU file, or by a no-weight flag recorded in the PLU file. is there. Therefore, when the control unit 253 obtains the determination result that the weight cannot be obtained from the PLU file, the control unit 253 temporarily stores this in the work area of the RAM 254, for example.

  Thereafter, the control unit 253 waits for a weight check process with reference to the output from the scale device 301. In this standby process, when the weighing result is received from the scale device 301, the control unit 253 executes the weight check process, that is, the first weight check process for the product whose weight is obtained from the PLU file. On the other hand, the determination result that the weight cannot be obtained from the PLU file is temporarily stored in the work area of the RAM 254. In this case, the measurement value received from the scale device 301 is specified by reading the barcode. Are registered in the PLU file in association with the product code. At this time, the control unit 253 calculates a lower limit value and an upper limit value for the registered weight, and writes them in the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the PLU file. As an example, the lower limit value and the upper limit value are determined by a common percentage for all products. Here, the weight registration process is executed. This eliminates the need for the store side to store the product weight corresponding to each product code, thereby improving the work efficiency.

  When executing the weight registration process, the control unit 253 allows the merchandise sales data process as it is without executing the weight check process. However, in order to ensure security, the second weight check process is executed, and only when it is recognized that a load has been applied to the weighing pan 303 by the output from the weighing device 301, the subsequent merchandise sales data process proceeds. Is acceptable.

  Further, the control unit 253 has a function of distributing the weight registered in the PLU file by the weight registration process to other self-checkout terminals 101. For example, when the weight is registered in the PLU file, or after the store is closed, the weight registered in the PLU file by the own device is distributed to other self-checkout terminals 101 using the communication network 41. . In this case, when a system configuration is adopted in which the PLU can be distributed from the store controller 31, which is the host device, to each settlement terminal 201, the control unit 253 stores the weight registered in the PLU file by the weight registration process. 41 may be used for transmission to the store controller 31. In this case, the store controller 31 distributes the weight registered in the PLU file received from the payment terminal 201 to other payment terminals 201.

  FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring screen on the attendant terminal 501. The self-checkout terminal 101 described above transmits and outputs various types of information on the communication network 41 in association with the identification code of the own device to the attendant terminal 501 to which the own device is assigned. Various types of information include operating status information, usage declaration information, merchandise sales data processing information, error occurrence information, error release information, error occurrence time information, clerk call information, clerk call suspension information, clerk call occurrence time information, money type Excess or deficiency information.

  The operation status information is information related to the operation status of whether each self-checkout terminal 101 is on standby or scanning a product. The control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 outputs information regarding the operating status of whether the self-checkout terminal 101 is waiting or product scanning to the attendant terminal 501.

  The usage declaration information is, for example, usage declaration information of My Basket. My basket use declaration information is output when the use of my basket is declared in each self-checkout terminal 101 (first column, second row from the left side of FIG. 9).

  The merchandise sales data processing information is information relating to the merchandise sales data processing that is being executed at each self-checkout terminal 101. The control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 outputs transaction information generated in the product sales data processing flow to the attendant terminal 501.

  The error occurrence information is information about an error that has occurred in each self-checkout terminal 101. As the error occurrence information, the self-checkout terminal 101 has a change machine abnormality when any abnormality occurs in the deposit / withdrawal device 221, a printer abnormality when any abnormality occurs in the receipt printer 251, a card reader / writer 252 or a card reading unit. If any abnormality occurs in 206, the card abnormality is output as error occurrence information.

  The error cancellation information is information for canceling an error that has occurred at each self-checkout terminal 101. As error cancellation information, the self-checkout terminal 101 can detect an abnormality in a change machine when an abnormality occurs in the deposit / withdrawal device 221, an abnormality in the printer when an abnormality occurs in the receipt printer 251, a card reader / writer 252 or a card reading unit. If any abnormality occurs in 206, the card abnormality cancellation information is output as error cancellation information.

  The error occurrence time information is information about the error occurrence time. When an error occurs, the control unit 253 of the payment terminal 201 acquires the time when the error occurred by using a clock circuit (not shown). Then, the acquired error occurrence time information is output to the attendant terminal 501. However, the error occurrence time information may not be acquired from the payment terminal 201 but may be acquired by the attendant terminal 501 using a clock circuit (not shown). In this case, as an example, the time when the attendant terminal 501 receives the error occurrence information is set as the error occurrence time.

  The clerk call information is output from the self checkout terminal 101 to the attendant terminal 501 when the call button Z is touch-designated in each self checkout terminal 101.

  The salesclerk call suspension information is output from the self-checkout terminal 101 to the attendant terminal 501 when the call stop button I3 (see FIG. 16B) is touched after the call button Z is touched. The

  The clerk call occurrence time information is information regarding the clerk call occurrence time. When a clerk call occurs, the control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 acquires the clerk call occurrence time by using a clock circuit (not shown). Then, the acquired clerk call occurrence time information is output to the attendant terminal 501. However, the attendant call occurrence time information may not be acquired from the settlement terminal 201, but may be acquired by the attendant terminal 501 using a clock circuit (not shown). In this case, as an example, the time when the attendant terminal 501 receives the clerk call information is set as the clerk call occurrence time.

  The money excess / deficiency information is output for each denomination by the deposit / withdrawal device 221, and the control unit 253 of the settlement terminal 201 outputs the near empty information, empty information, and near full for each denomination to the attendant terminal 501. It consists of information and full information.

  In the attendant terminal 501 that receives the various types of information described above, the CPU 506 generates a monitoring screen 521 corresponding to each self-checkout terminal 101 according to the control program transferred from the HDD 510 to the RAM 508 at the time of activation. In this case, as an example, when the arrangement shown in FIG. 2 is adopted, the self-checkout terminal 101 on the left back side as viewed from the attendant terminal 501 is cash register 1, the self checkout terminal 101 on the right back side is cash register 2, and the left front side. The self-checkout terminal 101 is assigned as a cash register 3 and the self-checkout terminal 101 on the right front side is assigned a number as a cash register 4 so that a screen arrangement simulating an actual arrangement is obtained. That is, in the monitoring screen 521, the divided screen configuration is executed so that the cash register 1 is the upper left column, the cash register 2 is the upper right column, the cash register 3 is the lower left column, and the cash register 4 is the lower right column. When the CPU 506 receives various types of information transmitted from the payment terminal 201 of the self-checkout terminal 101, the CPU 506 displays a screen display based on the received information on the display 503 using the VRAM 509 or the like. Hereinafter, the monitoring screen 521 will be described in detail.

  Each divided monitoring screen 521 has a title bar 522 for displaying a register number, an error information column 523, a usage declaration information column 524, a transaction information display column 525, and a change status information display column 526.

  The title bar 522 is arranged in a horizontally long shape at the uppermost position in each monitoring screen 521, and the right side is opened below the title bar 522 so that the error information column 523, the usage declaration information column 524, and the transaction information display column 525 are directed downward. Are arranged in order. As shown in FIG. 23, the title bar 522 displays information from the cash register 1 to the cash register 4 as information for specifying the assigned self-checkout terminal 101.

  The error information field 523 has three types of display fields, a change machine abnormality display field 523a, a printer abnormality display field 523b, and a card abnormality display field 523c. These change machine abnormality display field 523a, printer abnormality display field 523b, card The abnormality display column 523c is arranged in a horizontal row.

  The use declaration information column 524 has a my basket use declaration display column 524a, and two blank columns 524c are arranged in a horizontal row next to the my basket use declaration display column 524a.

  The transaction information display column 525 is a column for displaying the transaction information received from the self-checkout terminal 101 in horizontal writing.

  The change status information display column 526 has an area on the right side where the error information column 523, the usage declaration information column 524, and the transaction information display column 525 are offset from the top, ¥ 10,000, ¥ 5,000, ¥ 2,000, The money type status display 526a is arranged in a vertical row in the order of ¥ 1,000, ¥ 500, ¥ 100, ¥ 50, ¥ 10, ¥ 5, and ¥ 1. On the left side of these denomination status indications 526a, character displays 526b of “replenishment” and “collection” selectively appear as denominations.

  In the monitoring screen 521, as a common item, a time display column 527 for displaying the current time is arranged at the upper right, and a command display column 528 is arranged in a vertical line below it. The command display field 528 is assigned with two command buttons 528a of “start other business” and “end”, and other command buttons 528a can be assigned as necessary.

  Using such a monitoring screen 521, the attendant terminal 501 performs state monitoring of the assigned self-checkout terminal 101. That is, when the attendant terminal 501 receives the operating status information, the attendant terminal 501 causes a unique form for each operating status to be generated in the title bar 522 in the monitoring screen 521, and the received operating status information is displayed in the corresponding individual monitoring screen 521. indicate. In this case, as an example, the unique form is color. For example, the title bar 522 is displayed in white for the waiting self-checkout terminal 101 (register 2), and the title bar 522 is displayed in blue for the self-checkout terminal 101 (register 1) during product scanning. . As another example, since the form means a shape, a pattern, or a color, the specific form may be a shape, a pattern, or a combination of at least two elements of a shape, a pattern, and a color.

  When the attendant terminal 501 receives the usage declaration information from the individual self-checkout terminal 101, here, the usage declaration information of the my basket, the my basket usage declaration display column 524a is highlighted in the usage declaration information column 524. The highlighting is performed by coloring with the same color as the title bar 522.

  In FIG. 23, the state in which the title bar 522 and the my basket use declaration display column 524a are colored in the same color on the monitoring screen 521 of the cash register 1 is indicated by diagonal lines.

  When the attendant terminal 501 receives the merchandise sales data processing information from the individual self-checkout terminal 101, the attendant terminal 501 displays the received transaction information in the transaction information display field 525. As an example, the transaction information display field 525 of the monitor screen 521 of the cash register 1 includes a purchase history information field such as “potato chip light salt 1 point 140”, “detergent 1 point 298”, “draft beer 4 points 1,000”. 525a and a settlement information column 525b of “total discount 0 yen”, “total amount 2,386 yen”, “payment amount”, and “change” are displayed. Further, in the settlement information column 525b, a warning display for prohibition of sale under 20 years old is displayed, which is composed of a message “Pursuing alcohol / cigarettes” and a mark indicating the message. This is because “draft beer” has been purchased as can be seen by referring to the transaction information display field 525. Such an alert display can be displayed based on information from the self-checkout terminal 101 as an example. The self-checkout terminal 101 can easily distinguish the self-checkout terminal 101 by storing in the PLU file of the payment terminal 201 that the product is prohibited from sale under 20 years old.

  When the attendant terminal 501 receives the error occurrence information from each self-checkout terminal 101, the attendant terminal 501 first causes a unique form on the monitoring screen 521, and secondly, an error having a form common to the unique form. The notification screen 529 is generated and displayed on the corresponding monitoring screen 521, and thirdly, an error corresponding to the error information column 523 is displayed in a form common to the specific form.

  That is, the unique form generated on the monitoring screen 521 is color as an example. For example, the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 displays the title bar 522 in red for the self-checkout terminal 101 (register 4) that transmitted the error occurrence information. As another example, since the form means a shape, a pattern, or a color, the specific form may be a shape, a pattern, or a combination of at least two elements of a shape, a pattern, and a color.

  The CPU 506 generates an error notification screen 529 having a form common to the title bar 522 of the monitoring screen 521 and displays the error notification screen 529 on the monitoring screen 521 of the cash register 4. Since the title bar 522 has a form of red as described above, the error notification screen 529 is also displayed in a color of red in order to have a form common to the title bar 522. Then, the CPU 506 displays an OK button 529a on the error notification screen 529 so that an operation can be designated. When the OK button 529a is designated for operation by the pointing device 505 included in the attendant terminal 501, the CPU 506 deletes the display. Further, the CPU 506 displays on the error notification screen 529 what type of abnormality has occurred along with the time of occurrence. That is, there are three types of error occurrence information: a change machine abnormality, a printer abnormality, and a card abnormality, and the other is displayed on the error notification screen 529. Further, since the error occurrence time is known from the error occurrence time information transmitted and output from the self-checkout terminal 101 or the error occurrence time information acquired by the attendant terminal 501, the CPU 506 sets the known error occurrence time as an error. Displayed on the notification screen 529.

  Then, the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 highlights the change machine abnormality display field 523a when the error occurrence information is abnormal for the change machine, and displays the error information field 523 when the error occurrence information is a printer abnormality. Highlights the printer abnormality display field 523b, and if the error occurrence information indicates a card abnormality, the card abnormality display field 523c is highlighted. In this case, the error display in the error information column 523 is also displayed in a red color in order to have a common form with the unique form generated in the title bar 522 of the monitoring screen 521.

  Here, the error notification screen 529 can be deleted by operating the OK button 529a. Since the error notification screen 529 is a screen that is displayed over the monitoring screen 521, an error occurrence can be effectively indicated to the clerk of the attendant (attendant), but the display of the monitoring screen 521 is hidden. . Therefore, after the store clerk recognizes that an error has occurred in a certain self-checkout terminal 101, here, the self-checkout terminal 101 of the cash register 1, the error notification screen 529 is deleted by specifying the operation of the OK button 529a by the store clerk. In addition, the visibility of the monitoring screen 521 is improved. On the other hand, after deleting the error notification screen 529, there is a possibility of misidentifying what kind of error occurred for which self-checkout terminal 101. Therefore, even after the error notification screen 529 is erased, the error display in the error information column 523 is left so that it can be easily confirmed later what kind of error has occurred for which self-checkout terminal 101.

  Then, by receiving error cancellation information from the self-checkout terminal 101, the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 also deletes the error display in the error information column 523.

  In FIG. 23, the state in which the title bar 522, the error notification screen 529, and the error information column 523 are colored in the same color on the monitoring screen 521 of the cash register 4 is indicated by diagonal shading.

  When the attendant terminal 501 receives the clerk call information indicating that the clerk is being called from each self-checkout terminal 101, the attendant terminal 501 first causes a unique form on the monitoring screen 521, and secondly, the unique clerk A sales clerk call screen 530 having a form common to the form is generated and displayed on the corresponding monitoring screen 521 in an overlapping manner.

  That is, the unique form generated on the monitoring screen 521 is color as an example. For example, the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 displays the title bar 522 in yellow for the self-checkout terminal 101 (register 3) that transmitted the clerk call information. As another example, since the form means a shape, a pattern, or a color, the specific form may be a shape, a pattern, or a combination of at least two elements of a shape, a pattern, and a color.

  The CPU 506 generates a store clerk call screen 530 having a form common to the title bar 522 of the monitoring screen 521 and displays it on the monitoring screen 521 of the cash register 3 in an overlapping manner. Since the title bar 522 has a form of yellow as described above, the salesclerk call screen 530 is also displayed in a color of yellow in order to have a form common to the title bar 522. Then, the CPU 506 displays an OK button 530a on the clerk call screen 530 so that the operation can be designated. When the OK button 530a is designated by the pointing device 505 included in the attendant terminal 501, the CPU 506 deletes the display. Further, the CPU 506 displays on the clerk call screen 530 that the clerk is being called together with the call occurrence time. Since the clerk call occurrence time information is known from the clerk call occurrence time information transmitted and output from the self-checkout terminal 101 or the clerk call occurrence time information acquired by the attendant terminal 501, the CPU 506 determines the known clerk call occurrence time. Is displayed on the salesclerk call screen 530.

  In FIG. 23, the state in which the title bar 522 and the clerk call screen 530 are colored in the same color on the monitoring screen 521 of the cash register 3 is indicated by a grid-like shade.

  When the attendant terminal 501 receives from the individual self-checkout terminal 101 money amount excess / deficiency information indicating excess / deficiency information for each denomination in the deposit / withdrawal device 221 included in the self-checkout terminal 101, the received money type The excess / deficiency information is displayed in the corresponding individual monitoring screen 521. That is, the denomination excess / deficiency information is displayed as a denomination display displayed in a column. The denomination display includes a denomination status display 526a in the change status information display field 526 and a character display 526b that selectively appears on the left side of the denomination status display 526a.

  Each self-checkout terminal 101 transmits near-empty information, empty information, near-full information, and full information for each denomination to the attendant terminal 501 as denomination excess / deficiency information. Therefore, when the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 receives near empty information for a certain denomination, the denomination portion 526a of the denomination status display 526a is highlighted and a character display 526b of “replenishment” appears on the left side thereof. Let The emphasis display of the money type status display 526a is made by coloring the highlighted portion in a color of, for example, gray. Further, when the CPU 506 of the attendant terminal 501 receives near-full information for a certain denomination, the denomination portion 526a of the denomination status display 526a is highlighted, and a character display 526b “collected” appears on the left side. . The emphasis display of the money type status display 526a is performed by causing the highlighted portion to be colored in a color such as red, for example.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall system configuration as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the arrangement | positioning state of each part in a self-checkout system. It is a perspective view which shows a self-checkout terminal. It is a perspective view which shows a scale apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the shopping bag is hold | maintained at the holding arm. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical hardware constitutions of a payment terminal. It is a schematic diagram which shows the electrical hardware constitutions of a scale apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the electrical hardware constitutions of an attendant terminal. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of the self-checkout process execution in a self-checkout terminal. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the basic screen and reading confirmation screen about the goods which should be mounted in a temporary placement stand. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the weight error screen made to appear when the measured weight and the weight of the purchased goods are not identical as a result of the weight check. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the basic screen and reading confirmation screen about a product which is not a weight check object. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of execution of the self-checkout process of packed goods. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the caution screen which appears when the plastic bag is removed after reading the product code and before putting the product into the plastic bag. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the cancellation screen which appears when a cancellation button is pushed. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the salesclerk call screen which appears when a call button is pushed. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of self-checkout process execution in case M & M (mix and match) is materialized. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of the checkout process by cash. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of the checkout process by a credit card. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition at the time of checkout process execution in the case of using a gift certificate or a coupon. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates a checker mode standby screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a screen transition in checker mode. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the monitoring screen in an attendant terminal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 201 ... Payment terminal, 203 ... Merchandise code reading part (bar code scanner), 206 ... Payment part (card reading part), 207 ... Input part (ten key), 210 ... Display part (LCD), 211 ... Input part (touch panel) , 221 ... Settlement unit (payment / withdrawal device), 251 ... Receipt printer, 252 ... Settlement unit (card reader / writer), 301 ... Weighing unit, 303 ... Weighing pan, 304 ... Bag holder, 306 ... Temporary table, 401 ... Storage bag (plastic bag)

Claims (8)

A user interface including a product code reading unit, a display unit, an input unit, and a settlement unit for executing product sales data processing is arranged at a position where the customer can operate and provide information to the customer, and the customer self-checks. A payment terminal that allows you to
A scale device for weighing the product placed on the weighing pan, the weighing device having a weighing pan on which the product code read by the product code reading unit is placed;
Means for executing a search process for searching for a corresponding unit price from a product data file storing a unit price corresponding to each product code when the product code is read by the product code reading unit;
When the product code is read by the product code reading unit, the product data file corresponding to which of the weighing pan and the place other than the weighing pan should be used as a place for placing the product after reading the product code is stored. Means for determining the placement location of the product from which the product code is read with reference to the product placement location definition defined for each product in relation to the information being
Means for displaying guidance on the display section of the determined product placement location;
Means for executing a weight check process for determining whether the weight measured by the scale device after reading the product code is identical to the weight of the product;
When a place other than the weighing pan is determined as a place for placing the commodity from which the commodity code is read, means for skipping the weight check process;
If the weighing pan is determined as the place where the product code is read, the weight check process results in a determination that there is an identity between weights. If a place other than the weighing pan is determined, means for executing product sales data processing based on the unit price acquired by the search processing without the conditions;
A self-checkout terminal. A user interface including a product code reading unit, a display unit, an input unit, and a settlement unit for executing product sales data processing is arranged at a position where the customer can operate and provide information to the customer, and the customer self-checks. A payment terminal that allows you to
The product code reading unit has a weighing pan on which the product code is read and a temporary placing table on which the product is temporarily placed, and the weight of the product placed on the weighing pan or the temporary placing table. A weighing device for weighing;
Means for executing a search process for searching for a corresponding unit price from a product data file storing a unit price corresponding to each product code when the product code is read by the product code reading unit;
When the product code is read by the product code reading unit, it is stored in the product data file corresponding to which of the weighing pan and the temporary table should be used as a place for the product after reading the product code. Means for determining the placement location of the product from which the product code is read, with reference to the product placement location definition defined for each product in relation to the existing information;
Means for displaying guidance on the display section of the determined product placement location;
Means for executing a weight check process for determining whether the weight measured by the scale device after reading the product code is identical to the weight of the product;
As a result of the weight check process, when a determination result that there is identity between weights is obtained, means for executing a merchandise sales data process based on the unit price acquired by the search process;
A self-checkout terminal. The product data file also stores the weight corresponding to each product code,
The search process searches the product data file for the weight corresponding to the read product code,
The weight check process uses the weight acquired by the search process as the weight of the product.
The self-checkout terminal according to claim 1 or 2. A bag holder for holding the storage bag in a spread state on the weighing pan;
When the determined product placement location is the weighing pan, the guidance display guides that the product should be put in the storage bag spread on the weighing pan.
The self-checkout terminal according to claim 2 or 3.   The self-checkout terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the product placement location definition defines the temporary placement table as a placement location in association with a product code stored in the product data file. . The product placement location definition is also defined as a place other than the weighing pan and the temporary placement table as an option as a product placement location after reading the product code,
When the location is determined as a product placement location, the execution of the weight check process is skipped.
The self-checkout terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The product placement location definition may be selected from places other than the weighing pan and the temporary placement table as product placement locations after reading the product code when the weight stored in the product data file is heavier than a specified weight. Defined as
When the place is determined as the place where the product is placed, the execution of the weight check process is skipped.
The self-checkout terminal according to claim 3. The self-checkout terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the guidance display includes a character and a picture.

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