JP2008003905A - Commodity retrieval and purchase support system and control method of commodity retrieval and purchase support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save a shopper's labor and time by providing guide information for payment waiting time to the shopper, in the range of a purchase support system within a store. <P>SOLUTION: The store system 100 comprises a cart terminal 50 having a display part, a plurality of payment counters 70, a commodity information storage device 40 storing each commodity and information related to the display shelf position of the commodity concerned, and an information management server 30. The cart terminal 50 displays a list of commodities to be purchased and positions in an internal commodity display shelve 60 of the commodities on the display part. The information management server 30 displays, in response to a request from the cart terminal 50, a payment waiting predicted time for each of the plurality of payment counters 70 on the display part of the cart terminal 50. Accordingly, the shopper can select a payment counter at which the payment appears to be ending early on his/her own judgment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a product search / purchase support system for supporting a product search / purchase activity of a shopper in a large-scale store such as a supermarket and a control method for the product search / purchase support system.

  Conventionally, in such a large-scale store, it is difficult to find a target product in a wide store, and a shopper (shopper) spends a lot of time searching the store or interviewing a nearby store clerk as appropriate. There was a need. In addition, when there are a wide variety of products to be purchased, it is necessary to prepare a memo or the like to prevent forgetting to buy, and even if a memo is prepared, it is difficult to completely prevent forgetting to buy.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-56067 (Patent Document 1) discloses a shopping support system in which an information terminal function is installed in a shopping cart to reduce the labor and time of a shopper. A similar technique is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-11617 (Patent Document 2) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-107183 (Patent Document 3).

JP 2002-56067 A (page 3-5, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-11617 (page 7-10, FIG. 3) JP-A-6-107183 (page 2-3, FIG. 2)

  With the techniques disclosed in these patent documents, it is possible to save labor and time until a product to be purchased is put into a shopping cart. However, it is often the case that a payment counter (register) waits for a long time when paying. When there are a lot of checkout counters, it is unexpected because the actual checkout work depends on the number of products and the processing capacity of the store clerk, even if you line up at a counter with few people waiting in order to finish shopping as soon as possible. Often waited for.

  Patent Document 1 also mentions the application of automatic settlement, but the specific details are unknown. Further, in order to integrate the shopping support system with the automatic settlement system, it is necessary to secure a high level of security including financial institutions, which requires a large amount of capital investment.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide the shopper with guide information on the settlement waiting time in the range of the support system in the store, thereby making it possible to further reduce the labor of the shopper. To provide a product search / purchase support system and a control method for the product search / purchase support system.

  The first product search / purchase support system according to the present invention is a product search / purchase that supports a purchase activity of a customer by displaying a store shelf position of a product to be purchased in a store on a display unit of a cart terminal mounted on a shopping cart. In the support system, the settlement waiting estimated time of the settlement counter is displayed on the display unit of the cart terminal.

  A second product search / purchase support system according to the present invention is a product search / purchase support system for supporting purchase activities of a customer in a store, a cart terminal mounted on a shopping cart and having a display unit, and a plurality of checkout counters. A merchandise information storage device that stores information related to the merchandise and the display shelf position of the merchandise, and an information management server connected to the merchandise information storage device and the plurality of checkout counters. Display a list of scheduled products and the display shelf positions of those products in the store, the information management server calculates a settlement waiting estimated time for each of the plurality of settlement counters, and responds to a request from the cart terminal, An estimated payment waiting time is displayed on the cart terminal.

  In the product search and purchase support system of the present invention, an RFID tag is provided on the product display shelf, and the cart terminal has an RFID reader for reading information of the RFID tag, and the product display corresponding to the read RFID tag. You may make it display the position of a shelf on the said display part.

  Further, in the product search / purchase support system of the present invention, in the cart terminal, the display unit includes a touch panel, and touches a touch panel corresponding to a product in the displayed list of purchase planned products, thereby corresponding to the product. The display shelf position display may be deleted.

  Also, in the product search and purchase support system of the present invention, the information management server, for each of the payment counter, information of the work efficiency of the payment processing employee, information of the purchase planned product of the customer waiting for payment processing, The estimated settlement waiting time may be calculated based on the above.

  The product search and purchase support system according to the present invention further includes a portable terminal carried by the customer, acquires information about the product from the information management server by the portable terminal, and creates a list of the planned purchase products. Anyway.

  The control method of the first product search purchase support system of the present invention supports the purchase activity of the purchaser by displaying the display shelf position of the product to be purchased in the store on the display unit of the cart terminal mounted on the shopping cart. In the control method of the product search / purchase support system, the settlement waiting estimated time of the settlement counter is calculated and displayed on the display unit of the cart terminal.

  The control method of the second product search / purchase support system of the present invention includes a cart terminal having a display unit mounted on a shopping cart, a plurality of checkout counters, and product information for storing information on the product and the display shelf position of the product. A storage device, and an information management server connected to the product information storage device and the plurality of checkout counters, and a control method for a product search / purchase support system for supporting purchase activities of a customer in a store, The cart terminal displays a list of products to be purchased and the display shelf positions of the products in the store, the information management server calculates a waiting time for settlement of each of the plurality of settlement counters, and requests from the cart terminal In response, the payment waiting estimated time is displayed on the cart terminal.

  Further, in the control method of the product search / purchase support system of the present invention, an RFID tag is provided on the product display shelf, and the cart terminal has an RFID reader for reading information of the RFID tag, and corresponds to the read RFID tag. The position of the product display shelf to be displayed may be displayed on the display unit.

  Further, in the control method of the product search and purchase support system of the present invention, in the cart terminal, the display unit includes a touch panel, and the product is obtained by touching the touch panel corresponding to the product in the displayed list of products to be purchased. The display shelf position display corresponding to may be deleted.

  Further, in the control method of the product search purchase support system of the present invention, the information management server, for each of the settlement counters, information on the work efficiency of the settlement processing employee and the purchase planned products of the customers waiting for settlement processing. The estimated payment waiting time may be calculated based on the information.

  Further, in the control method of the product search purchase support system of the present invention, the mobile terminal carried by the purchaser obtains information about the product from the information management server and creates a list of the planned purchase product. good.

  According to the present invention, by displaying not only the position of the product display shelf to be purchased on the display unit of the cart terminal mounted on the shopping cart in the store, but also the guide information of the settlement waiting time of each settlement counter is displayed. Saves shoppers labor and time.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. One embodiment of the present invention includes a mobile terminal 10, a network 20, and a store system 100.

  The mobile terminal 10 is a terminal device owned by a shopping user (purchaser) and can be connected to the network 20. The mobile terminal 10 is, for example, a mobile phone, and the network 20 is, for example, the Internet.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 10 includes a communication unit 11, a short-range communication unit 12, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 13, a display unit 14, an input key 15, and a storage unit 16. Yes.

  The communication unit 11 is connected to the network 20 and performs communication. For example, in the case of a mobile phone, the communication unit 11 is a wireless communication unit. The short-range communication unit 12 performs communication by short-range wireless such as infrared or Bluetooth. The CPU 13 executes control of each part of the mobile terminal 10 and information processing. The display unit 14 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device and displays various types of information. The input key 15 includes a keypad and receives an operation from the user. The storage unit 16 stores various control programs for the mobile terminal 10 and information received from the network 20.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the store system 100 will be described. The store system 100 provided in the store includes an information management server 30, a product information storage device 40, a shopping cart equipped with a cart terminal 50, a product display shelf 60 equipped with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag 61, And a plurality of settlement counters 70 (70a-70x).

  The information management server 30 is a server that is connected to the network 20 and provides various types of information to the user through the network 20, and has a WEB server function, a product information and display shelf information transmission processing function to be described later, and the like. . Further, the information management server 30 is connected online with the settlement counter 70, and also manages information related to these settlement operations. In other words, the information management server 30 reads the sales price information of the product from the product information storage device 40 and distributes it to the total settlement counter 70, thereby enabling the settlement operation.

  In addition, the information management server 30 collects and manages the work information of each checkout counter 70. For example, the settlement work results are totaled for each employee, and work efficiency is calculated and managed. Such work efficiency information for each employee can be used for wage calculation and salary increase. For example, an employee with high work efficiency is set to have a higher hourly wage than an employee with low work efficiency. In order to discriminate the employee who performs the checkout work, each checkout counter 70 is provided with a card reader (not shown) that reads ID information from the employee ID card. In addition, the information management server 30 has a function of performing settlement waiting time prediction using the above-described work efficiency information for each employee and providing the prediction information to the user. Details will be described later.

  The merchandise information storage device 40 stores merchandise information and display shelf information. A cart terminal 50 is provided in the shopping cart. As will be described in detail later, the cart terminal 50 includes an RFID reading unit 51 and can read the RFID tag 61 provided on the product display shelf 60. The merchandise display shelf 60 is provided with a large number of RFID tags 61 corresponding to the positions of the shelves or the categories of the displayed products. Each RFID tag 61 has a unique ID and is read by the RFID reading unit 51 of the cart terminal 50 as a display shelf ID.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the cart terminal 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The cart terminal 50 includes an RFID reading unit 51, a communication unit 52, a short-range communication unit 53, a CPU 54, a display unit 55, and a storage unit 56.

  As described above, the RFID reading unit 51 reads the RFID 61 installed at the main point of the merchandise display shelf 60. The communication unit 52 is connected to the network 20 for communication, and is a wireless communication unit, for example. The short-range communication unit 53 performs communication by short-range wireless such as infrared rays or Bluetooth. The CPU 54 performs control and information processing of each unit of the cart terminal 50. The display unit 55 includes a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel function, and displays various types of information and accepts input from the user. The storage unit 56 stores various control programs for the cart terminal 50 and information received from the network 20. Further, display shelf information stored in the product information storage device 40 is transmitted and stored in the storage unit 56 via the information management server 30 and the network 20.

  FIG. 4 is an example of product information and display shelf information stored in the product information storage device 40 of the store system 100. As shown in the figure, the product information includes a product name and a sales price. The display shelf information includes a product name and a display shelf ID. As shown in the drawing, the ID of the display shelf on which the product is displayed is set for the product name.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 55 of the cart terminal 50. The screen is composed of a purchase list display part (left side in the figure) and a display shelf display part (right side in the figure). The purchase list display section is provided with a list of product names that the user wants to purchase and a check box indicating whether or not the product has been put in the cart. When the user touches the touch panel of the product name after putting the product in the cart, for example, a “re” point is displayed in the check box, and the character color and background color of the product name are changed. Therefore, it is possible to discriminate between a product (purchased product) put in the cart and a product that has not been put in at a glance.

  The display shelf display section displays the layout of display shelves existing in a predetermined area of the store, and each display shelf is displayed in a classified manner corresponding to the display shelf ID. Then, among the products displayed in the purchase list, display shelves corresponding to products that have not been put in the cart are displayed in different colors. When the product on the shelf is put in the cart and the product name is touched, the color-coded display disappears. Further, the shelf closest to the position where the user is present is displayed in a different color.

  Next, the operation of the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation from product search to determination in one embodiment of the present invention.

  First, before going to the store, the user uses the mobile terminal 10 to access the information management server 30 via the network 20 and requests product information. The information management server 30 extracts the product information from the product information storage device 40 and transmits it to the mobile terminal 10 via the network 20 (step S1). When the mobile terminal 10 receives the product information via the network 20 (step S2), the mobile terminal 10 displays it on the display unit 14. The user views the display on the display unit 14 and selects a product to purchase by operating the input key 15 (step S3). Information on the product selected by the user is stored in the storage unit 16 as purchased product information.

  Next, the user goes to the store with the portable terminal 10 storing the purchased product information. Then, the purchased product information is transmitted to the cart terminal 50 provided in the shopping cart at the store using short-range wireless communication. That is, the purchased product information is transmitted from the short-range communication unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 to the short-range communication unit 53 of the cart terminal 50 (step S4).

  When the cart terminal 50 receives the purchased product information from the mobile terminal 10 (step S5), the cart terminal 50 displays the product name on the purchase list display unit of the display unit 55 (step S6). Next, the cart terminal 50 reads the display shelf information from the storage unit 56, and displays the location of the display shelf ID corresponding to the product name of the unchecked product on the display shelf display unit in comparison with the purchased product information (step S7). This display screen example is as described in FIG.

  Subsequently, the cart terminal 50 receives the display shelf ID from the RFID tag 61 of the nearest product display shelf 60, and displays the location of the product display shelf 60 on the display shelf display unit of the display unit 55 (step S8). . The display of the location (current position) of the nearest product display shelf 60 changes in conjunction with the movement of the shopping cart. That is, when the shopping cart moves to another RFID tag 61 and the RFID reading unit 51 reads another display shelf ID, the display of the current position changes. Therefore, the user can know the location of the target product and the relative position of the current position by displaying on the display shelf display unit, and can easily reach the product display shelf 60 of the target product.

  The user goes to the merchandise display shelf 60 where unpurchased merchandise is displayed, picks up the merchandise and puts it in the shopping cart, and then touches the corresponding merchandise name (touch panel) in the purchase list display section of the display section 55 (step). S9). The cart terminal 50 detects the touch of the product name at any time. When the product name is touched (YES in step S9), a check mark is displayed and the display of the corresponding display shelf is reset (step S10). . If all the unchecked products are touched at this time (that is, all purchases are checked in the purchase schedule list), the process ends (YES in step S11). If unchecked items still remain, the process returns to step S7 (NO in step S11). Note that the display unit 55 of the cart terminal 50 displays the total amount of products checked in the purchase list (that is, products currently in the shopping cart).

  Next, the operation after all the products to be purchased are put in the shopping cart will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation after product determination in one embodiment of the present invention. The user goes to the checkout counter 70 after determining all the products to be purchased in the shopping cart. At this time, if the settlement counter 70 to be settled is determined, the number of the settlement counter 70 is input from the touch panel (soft keyboard) of the display unit 55 of the cart terminal 50 (step S12). The cart terminal 50 transmits the information of the input settlement counter number and purchase decision product (product checked in the list = product in cart) to the information management server 30 through the communication unit 52 (step S13).

  The information management server 30 receives this information sequentially (step S14), so that it is possible to know how many users are waiting in what settlement counter 70. On the other hand, each settlement counter 70a-70x transmits the information to the information management server 30 every time the settlement operation of the user waiting for settlement is completed (step S15).

  The information management server 30 receives these pieces of information (step S14), and calculates the payment waiting estimated time for each payment counter. That is, the information management server 30 grasps the latest information on the processing capacity of the employee in charge of payment processing (the above-mentioned work efficiency data), the number of users waiting for payment, and the amount of each purchase for each payment counter. Therefore, the latest payment waiting estimated time for each payment counter is calculated based on the information. This calculation result is updated (recalculated) every time new information is entered, and the latest result at that time is obtained (step S16). Here, the estimated payment waiting time is provided to the user as a guide. Therefore, the meaning is an estimated time that indicates "how many minutes will it take for my turn to come if I list this checkout counter now". In this calculation, basically, the lower the processing capacity of the working employee, the greater the number of waiting for payment, and the greater the amount of shopping, the greater the payment waiting time.

  The user can select the settlement counter to be used by looking at the estimated settlement waiting time before listing at the settlement counter. When the “adjustment search” panel button displayed at the bottom of the purchase list on the touch panel on the left side of FIG. 5 is touched, the cart terminal 50 transmits an adjustment search request to the information management server 30 via the communication unit 52 (FIG. 7). Step S17). The information management server 30 receives this settlement search request (step S18), and transmits the latest settlement waiting estimated time of each settlement counter at that time to the cart terminal 50 that requested it (step S19).

  The cart terminal 50 receives the information on the estimated payment waiting time and displays it on the display unit 55 (step S20). This is displayed in the order from the shortest settlement waiting estimated time, for example, “settlement counter 70b: 2 minutes, settlement counter 70x: 3 minutes,...”. Based on this information, the user determines which of a plurality of checkout counters 70a to 70x is to be listed. Since the total amount of the products scheduled to be purchased is displayed on the display unit 55 of the cart terminal 50, the user can take out the necessary amount immediately. When the user inputs the number of the settlement counter arranged from the cart terminal 50 (step S12), the settlement waiting estimated time is updated (recalculated).

  In the present invention, the settlement counter 70 performs settlement by ordinary cash / prepaid card / credit card payment through a store employee, and does not perform automatic settlement by the store system 100. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce an extremely sophisticated security system including a computer of a financial institution necessary for automatic settlement, and it is possible to improve the service for customers at a low cost.

  In step S12 of FIG. 7, the user himself / herself inputs the number of the checkout counter arranged for the checkout process. However, an RFID tag is installed in each checkout counter 70a-70x, and any checkout counter is set. The RFID reading unit 51 of the cart terminal 50 may automatically read whether it is in a line.

  Further, a search screen using a soft keyboard may be provided on the display unit 55 of the cart terminal 50 so that a product that is remembered during shopping can be newly input and the location can be searched. The search is performed by examining the product name and the display shelf ID from the display shelf information stored in the storage unit 56.

  Furthermore, in the cart terminal 50, communication with the information management server 30 has been described by wireless communication by the communication unit 53, but information transmission / reception may be performed by the short-range communication unit 53.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the portable terminal 10 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of cart terminal 50 in one embodiment of the present invention. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows an example of the information in the merchandise information storage device. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows an example of the information displayed on the display part 55 of the cart terminal 50. FIG. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement from goods search to determination. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement after goods determination.

Explanation of symbols

10 mobile terminal 11 communication unit 12 short-range communication unit 13 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Display part 15 Input key 16 Memory | storage part 20 Network 30 Information management server 40 Merchandise information storage apparatus 50 Cart terminal 51 RFID reading part 52 Communication part 53 Short-distance communication part 54 CPU
55 display unit 56 storage unit 60 merchandise display shelf 61 RFID tag 70 checkout counter 100 store system

Claims (12)

In the product search purchasing support system that supports the purchase activity of the purchaser by displaying the display shelf position of the product to be purchased in the store on the display part of the cart terminal mounted on the shopping cart,
A product search / purchase support system, characterized in that a settlement waiting prediction time of a settlement counter is displayed on a display unit of the cart terminal. A product search purchasing support system for supporting purchasing activities of a customer in a store,
A cart terminal mounted on a shopping cart and having a display unit;
Multiple checkout counters,
A product information storage device for storing information about the product and the display shelf position of the product;
An information management server connected to the product information storage device and the plurality of checkout counters;
With
The cart terminal displays a list of products to be purchased and display shelf positions of those products in the store,
The information management server calculates an estimated settlement waiting time for each of the plurality of settlement counters, and displays the estimated settlement waiting time on the cart terminal in response to a request from the cart terminal. Search purchasing support system. RFID tags are provided on the product display shelf,
3. The product search according to claim 2, wherein the cart terminal has an RFID reading unit that reads information of the RFID tag, and displays a position of a product display shelf corresponding to the read RFID tag on the display unit. Purchasing support system. In the cart terminal, the display unit includes a touch panel, and the display shelf position display corresponding to the product is erased by touching the touch panel corresponding to the product in the displayed list of products to be purchased. The product search / purchase support system according to any one of claims 2 to 3. The information management server calculates, for each checkout counter, the checkout waiting prediction time based on information on the work efficiency of the checkout processing employee and information on a product scheduled to be purchased by a customer waiting for checkout processing. The product search / purchase support system according to any one of claims 2 to 4. A mobile terminal carried by the buyer;
The product search / purchase support system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the mobile terminal acquires information about the product from the information management server, and creates a list of the product to be purchased. In the control method of the product search purchasing support system for supporting the purchase activity of the customer by displaying the display shelf position in the store of the product to be purchased on the display unit of the cart terminal mounted on the shopping cart,
A control method of a product search / purchase support system, characterized in that an estimated settlement waiting time of a settlement counter is calculated and displayed on a display unit of the cart terminal. A cart terminal mounted on a shopping cart, having a display unit, a plurality of checkout counters, a product information storage device for storing information on products and display shelf positions of the products, the product information storage device, and the plurality of checkout counters A product search purchasing support system control method for supporting purchase activities of a customer in a store, comprising a connected information management server,
The cart terminal displays a list of products to be purchased and display shelf positions of those products in the store,
The information management server calculates an estimated settlement waiting time for each of the plurality of settlement counters, and displays the estimated settlement waiting time on the cart terminal in response to a request from the cart terminal. Control method for search and purchase support system. RFID tags are provided on the product display shelf,
9. The product search according to claim 8, wherein the cart terminal has an RFID reading unit that reads information of the RFID tag, and displays a position of a product display shelf corresponding to the read RFID tag on the display unit. Control method for purchasing support system. In the cart terminal, the display unit includes a touch panel, and the display shelf position display corresponding to the product is erased by touching the touch panel corresponding to the product in the displayed list of products to be purchased. The control method of the product search purchasing support system according to any one of claims 8 to 9. The information management server calculates, for each checkout counter, the checkout waiting prediction time based on information on the work efficiency of the checkout processing employee and information on a product scheduled to be purchased by a customer waiting for checkout processing. The method for controlling a product search / purchase support system according to any one of claims 8 to 10. The product according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein information relating to a product is acquired from the information management server by a portable terminal carried by the purchaser, and a list of the planned purchase product is created. Control method for search and purchase support system.

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