JP2009238043A - Settlement system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a settlement system for detecting entry of a user holding goods into a designated charging area based on a position information of the user, and executing the charge to the user with respect to the goods. <P>SOLUTION: By a position detecting part 56, the position of a user terminal 10, moving with the user, for transmitting the identifiable information each other is calculated as the position of the user. Based on the position of the user being included in a charging area 8B, the entry of the user into the charging area 8B is detected by a charging area entry detection part 62. In a purchased goods detection part 62, the goods held by the user is detected. In a charging means 64, the total amount of charging is determined based on the purchased goods information with respect to the goods held by the user and the information of the price of the goods. Based on the information stored in a user tag 17, the user is identified and the charging processing is executed to the identified user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a payment system, and in particular, can detect a user's position and charge a product held by the user based on the user entering a predetermined charging area. It is about the system.

  In recent years, a so-called non-stop cashless automatic billing process has been proposed in which a user does not perform the payment procedure himself. For example, ETC (Electric Toll Collection) proposed as a toll collection system for toll roads. In such ETC, for example, a ground device provided at a predetermined point of a predetermined facility to be charged, such as a toll road, and an in-vehicle device provided in a vehicle communicate with each other by wireless communication. The advance is detected, the charge amount of the user is determined, and the determined charge amount is settled.

  In such ETC, as described above, it is necessary to provide a ground device at a predetermined point in order to detect the entry and advance of the vehicle in use. Conversely, entry and advancement with respect to the billing object is limited to the point where the ground device is provided.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a charging apparatus that detects entry and advance to a billing facility using GPS (Global Positioning System), determines a use fee based on the detected entry point and advance point, and performs billing processing. ing. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the entry and advance into the billing facility are authorized based on the position of the user measured by GPS.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-66365

  By the way, in many of so-called non-stop billing systems such as the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, the billing amount is based on, for example, the usage distance or time of the billing facility, depending on the entry point and the entry point with respect to the billing facility. It is supposed to be decided. Therefore, for example, a technique for determining the purchase amount for the purchase of goods at the charging facility has been demanded.

  By the way, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system is known in which information is read out in a non-contact manner from a wireless tag (responder) in which predetermined information is stored by a predetermined wireless tag communication device (interrogator). This RFID system is capable of reading information stored in a wireless tag by communication with the wireless tag communication device even when the wireless tag is dirty or disposed at an invisible position. Therefore, practical use is expected in the field of product management.

  The present invention has been made in the background of the above circumstances, the purpose is to detect that the user holding the product has entered a predetermined billing area based on the location information of the user, An object of the present invention is to provide a settlement system for charging the user for the product.

  The gist of the invention according to claim 1 for solving the problem is that (a) a user holds a product and enters the predetermined billing area, and the user (B) a radio wave between a user terminal that moves with the user and can transmit mutually identifiable information and a base station installed at a known location. A customer position detecting means for detecting the position of the user terminal as the position of the customer based on the reception result; and (c) the product in the area where the customer can move A billing area database section for storing information defining the location of a predetermined billing area where billing is performed, and (d) the location of the customer detected by the customer location detecting means is the billing area data Charging area entry detecting means for detecting that the user has entered the charging area based on being included in the charging area stored in the database section; and (e) a product held by the user. And (f) the user detected by the purchased article detection means when the charging area entry detection means detects that the user has entered the charging area. Determine the total billing amount based on the purchased article information about the product to be held and the information about the price of the product, identify the customer based on the identifiable information transmitted by the user terminal, and identify And charging means for performing a charging process for the used user.

  Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that: (a) the charging area database unit defines the position of the charging area for each of a plurality of sellers of the product; The charging area entry detecting means is based on the fact that the position of the user detected by the user position detecting means is included in any one of the charging areas defined in the charging area database unit. Detecting that a customer has entered the billing area and detecting which seller the billing area the user has entered is; and (c) the billing means detects the billing area entry When the means detects that the user has entered the billing area, the user has entered, detected by the billing area entry detection means. Based on the information about the seller to be charged corresponding to the gold area, the purchased product information about the product held by the customer detected by the purchased product detection means, the price of the product and the information about the seller Then, among the products held by the customer, a total charge amount is determined for a product for which the seller and the chargeable seller match, and charging processing is performed.

  Preferably, according to a third aspect of the present invention, when the charging process is executed a plurality of times, the charging unit performs the charging process before the previous time and the purchased article information detected by the purchased article detection unit. The purchased article information at the time of purchase is compared, and the product that is the target of the billing process when the previous billing process is executed is excluded from the target of the billing process again.

  Preferably, the invention according to claim 4 further includes a notifying unit for notifying that the charging process by the charging unit has been executed.

  According to the payment system according to claim 1, in the billing area entry detection unit, the user position detection unit moves with the customer and can transmit mutually identifiable information to the user terminal. Radio waves are transmitted / received to / from a base station installed at a known location, the location of the user terminal is calculated as the location of the customer based on the reception result, and the location of the customer is the billing Based on the fact that the information defining the position is stored in the area database unit is included in the billing area, it is detected that the customer has entered the billing area, and the purchase article detection means detects the use When a product held by a customer is detected and the billing means detects that the user has entered the billing area by the billing area entry detecting means. The total charge amount is determined based on the purchased article information about the product held by the customer and the information about the price of the product, which is detected by the purchased article detection means, and transmitted by the user terminal The user is identified based on the identifiable information to be charged, and charging processing is performed on the identified user. Therefore, based on the fact that the user has entered the predetermined charging area while holding the product. Thus, the user can be charged for the product.

  According to the payment system according to claim 2, the charging area database unit defines the position of the charging area for each of the plurality of sellers of the product, and the charging area entry detecting means Based on the fact that the location of the customer detected by the customer location detection means is included in any one of the accounting areas defined in the accounting area database unit, the customer enters the accounting area. And detecting which of the sellers the billing area that the customer entered is, and the billing means enters the billing area using the billing area entry detection means. When it is detected that the charging has been made, the charging area detected by the charging area entry detecting means corresponds to the charging area that the user has entered. Based on the information about the target seller, the purchased article information about the product held by the customer detected by the purchased article detection means, and the price of the product and information about the seller, Among the products to be held, the total charge amount is determined for the products for which the seller and the seller to be charged match, and charging processing is performed, so the products held by the customer are mixed with products from a plurality of sellers. Even in such an environment, the user can charge the user for the product based on the fact that the user holds the product and enters a predetermined charging area.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the charging process is executed a plurality of times, the charging unit performs the charging process before the previous time and the purchased article information detected by the purchased article detection unit. Compared with the purchased product information at the time of purchase, the products that were subject to the billing process when the previous billing process was executed are excluded from the billing process again, so that the same product is charged twice. Therefore, the user can be charged for the product.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when the charging process is executed by the charging means, the charging process is executed by generating at least one of sound, sound, optical display, vibration, and the like. Since the notification means for notifying that is provided, it is possible to notify the user that the charge has been made.

  Preferably, the charging area is divided into a plurality of payment methods corresponding to each of a plurality of types of charging processing, and the charging unit is configured to select one of the charging areas divided and set. The charging method is determined based on whether it is included in the password. In this way, the customer can select a settlement method in the billing process depending on which billing area is set by dividing into a plurality of billing areas.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the payment system 6 of the present embodiment. In this payment system 6, a display area 8A in which a product is displayed and the user can select the displayed product, and a product selected by the user in the hatched area in FIG. The billing area 8B where the billing process is performed is defined in advance, and information about the display area 8A, the position and size of the billing area 8B, and the like is stored in the billing area database unit 60 described later.

  The settlement system 6 of the present embodiment uses, as a user position detection means, a user terminal 10 that moves with the user and radio waves for detecting the position of the user terminal 10 transmitted from the user terminal 10. It includes a plurality of base stations 12 installed at known positions for receiving and calculating the reception result, and a server 14 for performing necessary calculations. The server 14 and the plurality of base stations 12 are connected by a communication cable 20 so that information can be exchanged. FIG. 1 illustrates three user terminals, a first user terminal 10A, a second user terminal 10B, and a third user terminal 10C, which move with each of three users. However, the number of user terminals is not limited to three. Hereinafter, when these user terminals are not distinguished, they are represented as user terminals 10. In FIG. 1, four base stations 12 (hereinafter referred to as the first base station 12A to the fourth base station 12D) of the first base station 12A, the second base station 12B, the third base station 12C, and the fourth base station 12D are distinguished. If not, the base station 12 is shown). However, as will be described later, if the base station is equal to or more than the minimum number of base stations required for positioning of the user terminal 10, the base station 12 The number is not limited to four. In the display area 8A and the billing area 8B, for example, a coordinate system is defined as shown in FIG. 1, and the positions of the user terminal 10 and the base station 12 in the indoor area 8 are as shown in FIG. Expressed using common coordinates.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an embodiment of the user terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 10 moves along with the customer by being attached to a cart or the like used by the customer in a store or the like to which the payment system 8 is applied, for example. The user terminal 10 also communicates information stored in a user tag 17 for identifying a user and a product tag 16 attached to a product selected by the user and taken into the cart or the like via short-range wireless communication. Read by. Further, the user terminal 10 transmits a radio wave for calculating (positioning) the position of the user terminal 10 to the base station 12 by long-range wireless communication, and is read by the short-range wireless communication. Information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 is transmitted to the server 14 via the base station 12.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining an overview of functions of the user terminal 10. The user terminal 10 is calculated by the short-range wireless unit 86, the short-range wireless communication antenna 90, the long-range wireless unit 88, the long-range wireless communication antenna 92, the user terminal control unit 78, and the user terminal control unit 78. A storage unit 80 such as a memory for storing the data in a readable manner, an input / output interface 82 for connecting a device for input / output by the user terminal control unit 78, and a user terminal control unit via the input / output interface 82 78 is configured to include a display unit 84 as an output unit connected to 78. Preferably, the user terminal 10 has a power source such as a battery (not shown), and the short-range radio unit 86, long-range radio unit 88, user terminal control unit 78, etc. are driven by power supplied from this power source. To do. The user terminal control unit 78 includes, for example, a so-called microcomputer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The CPU performs signal processing according to a program stored in the ROM in advance while using a temporary storage function of the RAM. Do.

  The short-range wireless unit 86 reads information about the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 that are within a predetermined communication range of the user terminal 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the predetermined communication range is attached to a user tag 17 of a customer using a cart with the user terminal 10 and a product taken into the cart. The product tag 16 is determined to be a communication target. The short-range wireless unit 86 constitutes a so-called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system together with a user tag 17 and a product tag 16 described later. Specifically, the short-distance moneyless part 86 transmits a predetermined question wave to the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 that are communication targets (detection targets), and the user tag 17 and the product that have received this question wave. A response wave modulated and transmitted by the tag 16 is received. In this manner, the short-range wireless communication unit 86 reads information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 that are communication targets.

  The short-range wireless communication antenna 90 is used when the above-described short-distance line portion 86 transmits and receives radio waves, and an antenna suitable for the frequency of radio waves to be transmitted and received is used. Further, as described above, the communication with the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 to be communicated by the short-range wireless unit 86 is suitably performed, and for example, the product of the product not taken into the cart of the user terminal 10, for example. An antenna whose directivity is adjusted so that communication with a communication partner that does not require communication such as the tag 16 is not performed is preferably used.

  The long-distance wireless unit 88 implements a wireless communication function with the base station 12 and transmits and receives radio waves using the long-distance wireless communication antenna 92. For example, the long-distance radio unit 88 uses the spreading code for calculating the correlation value for the base station 12 and the information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 acquired by the short-range radio unit 86. Transmit radio waves including. Moreover, the radio wave containing the instruction | command regarding the operation | movement of the user terminal 10 transmitted from the base station 12 is received. The long-range wireless unit 88 is an oscillator that generates a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency, a modulator that modulates the carrier wave based on a signal transmitted by radio waves, a modulator that performs digital modulation, and the like. It has a transmission amplifier to amplify. Further, the long-distance wireless unit 88 performs demodulation by a reception amplifier that amplifies the reception wave received by the long-distance wireless communication antenna 92, a filter that extracts only a predetermined frequency component from the reception wave, digital demodulation, a detector, and the like. A reception function realized by a demodulator or the like is included. At this time, for example, so-called digital communication is preferably used as the wireless communication performed by the long-distance wireless unit 88, and thus the long-distance wireless unit 88 includes a mechanism for modulation or demodulation necessary for the digital communication.

  Here, the radio wave transmitted by the long-distance radio unit 88 of the user terminal 10 includes, for example, a code for identifying the individual user terminal 10 in the header portion of the signal wave included in the radio wave. The information stored in the user tag 17 acquired in 86 is transmitted, or a different spreading code is transmitted by each user terminal 10, and is transmitted by a predetermined method. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of user terminals 10, the user terminal that has received the radio waves analyzes the received radio waves according to the predetermined method, so that the received radio waves can be transmitted to any user terminal 10. Can be identified.

  The long-distance wireless communication antenna 92 is used when the above-described long-distance wireless unit 88 transmits and receives radio waves, and an antenna suitable for the frequency of radio waves to be transmitted and received is used. Further, when the distance from the user terminal 10 is the same, the long distance wireless communication is performed so that the base station 12 having the same distance from the long distance wireless communication antenna 92 can receive radio waves regardless of the direction from the user terminal 10. As the antenna 92, an antenna that is omnidirectional with respect to at least the propagation direction of radio waves is preferably used.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram for explaining an overview of the functions of the user terminal control unit 78 of the user terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal control unit 78 includes an operation command receiving unit 94, a tag reading unit 96, a transmission information setting unit 98, and the like.

  Among these, the operation command receiving unit 94 controls the operation of the user terminal 10 based on the command transmitted from the base station 12, and specifically, for example, the mobile station control unit 24 moves. Transmission or reception switching, carrier frequency setting, and output setting in the transmission amplifier are performed for the station radio unit 22. The determination of the set value in these controls depends on the result of communication with the base station 12, for example, a command transmitted from the base station 12 included in the radio wave from the base station 12 received and decoded by the long-range radio unit 88. To be determined.

  The tag reading unit 96 reads information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16, and causes the short-range wireless unit 86 to transmit a query wave and the short-range wireless communication. Information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 included in the response wave received by the unit 86 is extracted and stored in the tag information storage unit 100 provided in a predetermined area of the storage unit 80, for example.

  The transmission information setting unit 98 sets a signal included in the radio wave transmitted from the long-distance radio unit 88 of the user terminal 10 to the base station 12. The included signal is set to a spreading code for positioning, or information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 read by the tag reading unit 96 and stored in the tag information storage unit 100.

  Here, the spreading code for positioning set by the transmission information setting unit 98 is obtained by, for example, reading a spreading code stored from a storage means (not shown) or by a predetermined generation method, for example, a predetermined primitive polynomial. It is determined by generating based on.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless tag used as the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 (hereinafter referred to as tags 16 and 17 when they are not distinguished from each other). The tags 16 and 17 receive the interrogation wave transmitted from the short-range radio unit 86 of the user terminal 10 and transmit / receive a response wave according to the interrogation wave. A tag wireless unit 26 for transmitting and receiving radio waves by the antenna unit 30 and a tag control unit 28 for processing a signal received by the tag wireless device 26 are provided.

Among these, the tag wireless unit 26 includes a rectifier circuit, rectifies the interrogation wave received from the short-range wireless unit 86 received by the antenna unit 30, and converts it into electric power. The converted power is used for the operation of the tag control unit 28 and the response wave response by the tag radio unit 26. In this way, the tags 16, 17 need not have a power source for operation.

  The tag wireless unit 26 demodulates the interrogation wave received via the antenna 30 and outputs the demodulated wave to the tag control unit 28, generates a clock signal from the interrogation wave, and outputs the clock signal to the tag control unit 28. The tag control unit 28 to which the reception signal and the clock signal are input outputs a predetermined information signal stored in advance to the tag wireless unit 26. The tag wireless unit 26 performs a predetermined modulation process based on the input signal, generates a response wave, and transmits the response wave via the antenna 30. Here, the predetermined information signal is set to a value unique to each of the tags 16 and 17 in advance, so that the short-range radio unit 86 is one in which the received response wave is transmitted from any tag. Can be identified.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the outline of the functions of the base station 12. The base station 12 includes an antenna 36, a base station radio unit 32, an electronic control device 33, a clock 40, a communication interface 42, and the like. The electronic control unit 33 includes a so-called microcomputer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output interface and the like, for example, and the CPU is stored in the ROM in advance using the temporary storage function of the RAM. By performing signal processing according to the program, processing in the reception time detection unit 38, base station control unit 34, and the like is executed.

  The base station radio unit 32 realizes a so-called radio communication function, and transmits and receives radio waves using the antenna 36. The base station radio unit 32 transmits radio waves including a command for controlling the operation of the user terminal 10. Further, the base station radio unit 32 receives the radio wave transmitted by the user terminal 10, and passes the contents to a reception time detection unit 38, which will be described later, as necessary, to execute processing. That is, the base station radio unit 32 generates an oscillator that generates a carrier wave having a predetermined frequency, modulates the carrier wave based on a signal transmitted by radio waves, and performs a modulator that performs digital modulation and the like. Demodulator having a transmission amplifier that amplifies the output, a reception amplifier that amplifies the received wave received by the antenna 36, a filter that extracts only a predetermined frequency component from the received wave, and demodulation by digital demodulation or a detector It is realized by a vessel. At this time, for example, so-called digital communication is preferably used for the wireless communication performed by the base station wireless unit 32, and thus the base station wireless unit 32 includes a mechanism for modulation or demodulation necessary for the digital communication.

  The antenna 36 is used when the base station radio unit 32 transmits and receives radio waves, and an antenna suitable for the frequency of radio waves to be transmitted and received is used. In addition, radio waves can be received when the mobile station 10 exists at the same distance from the base station 12 regardless of the position of the user terminal 10, that is, the direction of the user terminal 10 viewed from the base station 12. The antenna 36 is preferably an antenna that is omnidirectional with respect to at least the propagation direction of radio waves.

  The base station control unit 34 and the reception time detection unit 38 are realized by the electronic control device 33. Among these, the base station control unit 34 controls the base station radio unit 32. Specifically, for example, the base station control unit 34 performs transmission / reception switching, carrier frequency setting, transmission amplifier output setting, and the like for the base station radio unit 32. The setting values in these controls are determined based on the result of communication with the server 14 or the user terminal 10 described later. In addition, the base station control unit 34 controls the reception time detection unit 38 to control the reception time detection execution and to request and acquire the reception time detection result output. In addition, the base station control unit 34 analyzes the contents of radio waves transmitted from the user terminal 10 that are received and decoded by the base station radio unit 32. Similarly, the base station control unit 34 analyzes the transmission content from the server 14 received by the communication interface 42 described later, and extracts a command related to the control operation of the base station 12. Furthermore, the base station control unit 34 transmits necessary information to other devices via a communication interface 42 and a base station radio unit 32 described later.

  The reception time detection unit 38 calculates a correlation value between the spreading code included in the radio wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 and the replica code of the spreading code. Specifically, the reception time detection unit 38 has the same replica code as the spreading code transmitted from the user terminal 10 in advance, and the replica code and the received radio wave from the user terminal 10 are extracted. By inputting the spread code (received code) to the matched filter, the correlation value between them can be obtained. The time indicating the peak of the correlation value is the radio wave reception time. Accordingly, the reception time is detected by obtaining the time indicating the peak of the correlation value from the clock 40 described later.

  The clock 40 measures time, and is referred to when the reception time detection unit 38 detects reception time, for example. Each base station 12 has its own clock, and their times are synchronized in advance.

  The communication interface 42 performs information communication between the other base station 12 connected by the communication cable 20 and the server 14. Specifically, the reception time of the radio wave detected by the synchronization time detection unit 38 of the base station 12 and information included in the radio wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 are transmitted from the base station 12 to the server 14, A command or the like regarding the operation of the base station 12 transmitted from the server 14 is received.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the configuration of the server 14. As shown in FIG. 7, the server 14 corresponds to a CPU, corresponds to an electronic control device 48 that performs necessary arithmetic processing, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, etc., and receives information according to an instruction from the electronic control device 48 or the like. An operation result by the server 14 and the input unit 53 such as a keyboard and a mouse that are connected to the storage unit 50, the input / output interface unit 52, and the input / output interface unit 52 for receiving the input operation from the user. The computer includes a so-called computer having an output unit 54 for displaying such as a display display device, a communication interface unit 46, etc., and the CPU uses the temporary storage function of the RAM in advance in the ROM. Signal processing can be performed according to the stored program.

  The communication interface unit 46 performs information communication with another base station 12, another server 14, or the shared device 16 through the communication cable 20, for example. The communication interface 48 transmits, for example, a command related to the control operation of the base station 12 from the server 14 to the base station 12, and information related to the position of the user terminal 10 calculated by the positioning unit 56 described later. 12, for example, information related to the reception time of radio waves at the base station 12 is received. The reception time of the radio wave at the base station 12 is detected by the reception time detection unit 38 as the reception time of the spread code transmitted from the user terminal 10.

この（２）式を解くことにより未知数ｘ、ｙが得られる。具体的にはニュートン法などの求解法を使用することにより（２）式の解、すなわち利用者端末１０の位置を算出する。そして、利用者端末１０はその利用者端末１０が取り付けられたカートを利用する利用客と共に移動させられるので、算出された利用者端末１０の位置は利用客の位置でもある。なお、測位部５６と、利用者端末１０、基地局１２などからなる位置検出システムが位置検出部に対応する。なお、前記（１）式および（２）式に示す様に、利用者端末１０が２次元平面を移動する場合には、少なくとも３局の基地局１２によって移動局１０からの電波を受信する必要がある。なお、この測位部５６と、前記利用者端末１０、および前記複数の基地局１２によって構成される移動局１０の位置を測位するためのシステムが、位置検出部に対応する。 FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram for explaining an overview of the functions of the electronic control device 48 of the server 14. This function is realized, for example, by executing a predetermined program in the server 14 of FIG. The positioning unit 56 calculates the position of the user terminal 10 based on the time difference between the reception times of the radio waves for positioning from the user terminals 10 detected by the four base stations 12, that is, the radio waves including the spread codes. (TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) method). The coordinates of the mobile station are (x, y), the coordinates indicating the position of the first base station 12A are (x _B1 , y _B1 ), the coordinates of the second base station 12B are (x _B2 , y _B2 ), and the third base When the coordinates of the station 12C are (x _B3 , y _B3 ) and the coordinates of the fourth base station 12D are (x _B4 , y _B4 ), the position of the mobile station is expressed by the following equation (1). Here, the coordinates of the base station 12 and the user terminal 10 are represented by a coordinate system defined as shown in FIG. 1, for example.
(x _B1 −x) ² + (y _B1 −y) ² = {c × (Tr ₁ −Ts)} ²
(x _B2 −x) ² + (y _B2 −y) ² = {c × (Tr ₂ −Ts)} ²
(x _B3 −x) ² + (y _B3 −y) ² = {c × (Tr ₃ −Ts)} ²
(x _B4 −x) ² + (y _B4 −y) ² = {c × (Tr ₄ −Ts)} ² … (1)
Here, Tr _{1 to} Tr ₄ (sec) are the reception times of radio waves at the first base station 12A to the fourth base station 12D, and Ts is the transmission time of radio waves at the user terminal 10, for example, the user terminal 10 is transmitted to the base station 12 by radio waves, and is obtained by the base station 12 receiving it. That is, the ₍₁₎ (Tr i -Ts) on the right side of each equation of type (i = 1,2, ...) represents the radio wave propagation time from the user terminal 10 to the base station 12i, c × _(Tr i -Ts) represents the distance between the user terminal 10 and the base station 12i. Equation (1) is a simultaneous equation with x, y, and Ts as unknowns. When Ts is eliminated from the equation (1), the following equation (2) is obtained.

By solving this equation (2), unknowns x and y are obtained. Specifically, the solution of equation (2), that is, the position of the user terminal 10 is calculated by using a solution method such as Newton's method. And since the user terminal 10 is moved with the customer who uses the cart to which the user terminal 10 is attached, the calculated position of the user terminal 10 is also the position of the user. A position detection system including the positioning unit 56, the user terminal 10, the base station 12, and the like corresponds to the position detection unit. As shown in the equations (1) and (2), when the user terminal 10 moves on a two-dimensional plane, it is necessary to receive radio waves from the mobile station 10 by at least three base stations 12. There is. In addition, the system for positioning the position of the mobile station 10 configured by the positioning unit 56, the user terminal 10, and the plurality of base stations 12 corresponds to the position detection unit.

FIG. 9 illustrates the relationship of the expression (1). For ease of explanation, the arrangement of base stations 12 in FIG. 9 is different from that in FIG. In FIG. 9, r _{1 to} r ₄ represent the distance between each of the first base station 12A to the fourth base station 12D and the user terminal 10, and correspond to the square root of the right side of each of the equations (1). Is. That is, the calculation of the solution of equation (1) is performed by using a circle with a radius r ₁ centered on the first base station 12A, a circle with a radius r ₂ centered on the second base station 12B, and a third base station 12C in FIG. circle of radius r ₃ around the, and calculates the intersection of the circle of radius r ₄ around the fourth base station 12D. On the other hand, since the expression (1) is transformed into the expression (2), the expression (2) does not include Ts, and therefore, the transmission time of the radio wave at the user terminal 10 is required. The position of the user terminal 10 can be calculated without any problem.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the billing area database unit 60 stores information about the positions of the display area 8 </ b> A and the billing area 8 </ b> B (see FIG. 1) in a readable manner in the storage unit 50 of the storage server 14, for example. These pieces of information are stored by being input in advance. FIG. 10 is an example of information expressed by a coordinate range for the display area 8A and the charging area 8B stored in the charging area database unit 60. The coordinates are expressed by coordinates defined as shown in FIG. 1, for example, and it is determined whether the detected position of the user terminal 10 is in the display area 8A or the charging area 8B. It is read at the time of.

  The billing area entry detection unit 58 determines whether the customer is based on the location of the customer calculated by the positioning unit 56 and information on the location of the billing area 8B stored in the billing area database unit 60. It detects that it has entered the billing area 8B. Specifically, when the location of the customer calculated by the positioning unit 56 is included in the range of the billing area 8B stored in the billing area database unit 60, the billing area entry detection unit 58 It is detected that the user has entered the billing area 8B. In the example of FIG. 1, when the history of the position of the user terminal 10 calculated by the positioning unit 56 is represented by a locus 119, the position of the user terminal 10 is a point 120 and a point 122. When calculated, the billing area entry detector 58 detects that the user has entered the billing area 8B. This billing area entry detection unit 58 corresponds to billing area entry detection means.

  The purchased article detection unit 62 acquires information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 within a predetermined communication range of the user terminal 10 with respect to the short-range wireless unit 86 of the user terminal 10, and 14 to transmit. Thus, the information stored in each of the user tag 17 of the user who uses the cart attached to the user terminal 10 and the product tag 16 attached to the product taken into the cart is stored. can get. In the present embodiment, the server 14 has a function for wired communication via the communication cable 20 and does not have a function for wireless communication, while the user terminal 10 has a function for wired communication. Since it does not have a function, the execution command from the server 14 having the purchased article detection unit 62 to the short-range wireless unit 86 to the user terminal 10 can be wired via the server 14 and the communication cable 20. And via the base station 12 capable of wireless communication with the user terminal 10. The operation of acquiring the information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 by the purchased article detection unit 62 is performed, for example, by the charge area entry detection unit 58 from the display area 8A to the charge area 8B. It is executed when it is detected that the vehicle has entered. The purchased article detection unit 62, the tag reading unit 96 of the user terminal 10, the user tag 17, the product tag 16, and the like constitute a purchased article detection unit. In addition, information corresponding to information stored in the product tag 16 from information stored in the product tag 16 acquired in the purchase article detection unit 62 in this way or information stored in a product information database unit 66 described later. The information read out as, that is, the information about the product attribute corresponds to the purchased article information.

  The product information database unit 66 stores the information stored in the product tag 16 and the information about the attribute of the product to which the tag is attached in a readable manner in the storage unit 50 of the server 14, for example. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of information stored in the product information database 66. As shown in FIG. 11, in the product information database unit 66, information (product attributes) related to the attributes of products with product tags is associated with each piece of information (product ID) stored in the product tag 16. The information about the attribute of the product can be read based on the information stored in the product tag 16.

  Further, the product price database unit 68 stores information about the attribute of the product and information about the price of the product in a readable manner in, for example, the storage unit 50 of the storage server 14. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an example of information stored in the commodity price database unit 68. As shown in FIG. 12, the product price database unit 68 stores the price (unit price) of the product corresponding to each of the information (product attributes) related to the product attributes stored in the product information database unit 66. Therefore, based on the information regarding the attribute of the product, information about the price of the product can be read out. The information about the price of the product is not limited to information about the unit price of the product. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, more than a predetermined number of the same products are purchased at the same time (five in FIG. 12). Information corresponding to the sales mode may be stored, such as the collective selling unit price in the case.

  The user database unit 67 stores the information stored in the user tag 17 and the information about the user having the tag in a readable manner in the storage unit 50 of the storage server 14, for example. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of information stored in the user database 67. As shown in FIG. 13, in the user database unit 67, information about the user having the user tag 17 (the user name in FIG. 13), and the payment set in advance for each of the users. Detailed information about the method and its payment is stored, and information about the user and the payment method to the user can be read based on the information (user ID) stored in the user tag 17. .

  The charging unit 64 acquires the user acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62 when the charging area entry detection unit 58 detects that the user has entered the charging area 8B from the display area 8A. Information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 within a predetermined communication range of the terminal 10, information stored in the product information database unit 66, information stored in the product price database unit 68, and a user database Based on the information stored in the unit 67, a charging process is performed. The charging unit 64 corresponds to a charging unit.

  Specifically, the billing unit 64 first determines the billing object based on the information stored in the product tag 16 acquired by the purchase article detection unit 62 and the information stored in the product information database unit 66. Determine the attribute (type) and number of products to be sold. For example, when the purchased article information acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62 is the product IDs 000001 and 000002, which are information stored in the product tag 16, the product information database unit 66 of FIG. Referring to the information stored in, the billing object is determined to be two apples.

  Subsequently, the billing unit 64 determines a billing amount based on the information about the determined attribute and number of products and the information stored in the product price database unit 68. For example, when it is determined that the object of billing is two apples as described above, the billing amount is based on sales of one to four apples with reference to the information stored in the product price database unit 68 of FIG. It is determined to be 200 yen obtained by multiplying the unit price of 100 yen by 2 pieces.

  Further, the billing unit 64 is connected to the user who is charged based on the information stored in the user tag 17 acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62 and the information stored in the user database unit 67. The settlement method is determined and settlement processing is executed. For example, when the user ID, which is information stored in the user tag 17 acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62, is 900003, from the information stored in the user database unit 67 of FIG. The user is Ueno, the payment method for the user is a credit card, and the card number, for example, is read out. Then, settlement processing, that is, processing for payment of the determined charge amount is performed by the read settlement method. This settlement process does not have to be performed inside the server 14, and the server 14 requests, for example, a financial institution determined in advance corresponding to each of the settlement methods to perform the settlement process. May be.

  The charged product database unit 69 also stores information on the product for which payment processing has been performed in the charging unit 64, such as information stored in a product tag attached to the product, for example, the storage unit 50 of the storage server 14. The data is stored in a readable manner. FIG. 14 is an example of information stored in the charged product database unit 69, and is a diagram for explaining information about a list of products that have already been charged for a certain customer. In the charged product database unit 69, for each of the customers, a product ID that is information held by the product tag 16 attached to the product that has already been settled by the charging unit 64 is stored as a purchased product ID. ing. Further, the charging unit 64 excludes the product stored in the charged database unit 69 from the charging target when determining the charging target. In this way, when the charging process is repeatedly performed, the same product is not charged a plurality of times.

  The notification unit 70 causes the output unit 84 of the user terminal 10 that is the target of the payment process to display information about the payment process performed by the charging unit 64. For example, the display device provided as the output unit 84 optically displays information about the charge amount and information about the details thereof. Instead of the display device as the output unit 84, an audio output device may be provided as the output unit 84, and the information on the billing amount may be uttered by voice by the audio output device, or simply a predetermined buzzer. A signal sound such as a sound or vibration may be generated to notify that the billing has been performed. The notification unit 70 corresponds to notification means.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the control operation of the settlement system 6 in the present embodiment, and the operations of the tags 16 and 17, the user terminal 10, the base station 12, and the server 14 will be described in association with each other. Which is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals. When there are a plurality of user terminals 10, this flowchart is executed for each of the user terminals 10. First, in a step (hereinafter, “step” is omitted) SA1 corresponding to the customer position detecting means, a positioning routine for calculating the position of the user terminal 10 is executed.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a control operation in the positioning routine executed in the above-described SA1 or the like, and positioning of the user terminal 10, the plurality of base stations 12, and the server 14, particularly the server 14 It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the part 56 linked | related.

  First, in step (hereinafter, “step” is omitted) SB1, a command for performing positioning of the user terminal 10 is issued from the server 14 to each of the base stations 12. This command is (1) a command for causing the user terminal 10 to transmit a radio wave for positioning to any one of the plurality of base stations 12 from the base station radio unit 32 of the base station 12 to the user terminal. And (2) receiving a radio wave for positioning transmitted from the user terminal 10 to each of the plurality of base stations 12, detecting a reception time, and detecting the detected reception time to the server 14 Command to be transmitted. Among these, the command of (1) is that the server 14 does not have a function for transmitting and receiving radio waves for wireless communication, so the command from the server 14 to the user terminal 10 is any base station. The one base station 12 is, for example, a base station 12 that is arbitrarily selected.

  In SB2, in each base station 12, it is waited whether the instruction | indication of SB1 from the server 14 was received. When the SB1 command from the server 14, that is, the commands (1) and (2) or only the command (2) is received, the determination at this step is affirmed and the subsequent SB4 is executed. On the other hand, when the SB1 command from the server 14 is not received, the determination at this step is denied, and the SB1 is repeatedly executed, and the process waits until the SB1 command from the server 14 is received.

  In SB3, in response to the command from the server 14 received in SB2, the command (1), that is, the radio wave for positioning to the user terminal 10 is sent to any one of the plurality of base stations 12. It is determined whether or not a command for transmitting a command for transmission from the base station radio unit 32 of the base station 12 to the user terminal 10 is included. In any one of the base stations 12 that has received the command (1), the determination in this step is affirmed, and the subsequent SB4 is executed. On the other hand, in the base station that has received only the command (2), the determination in this step is denied, and a radio wave for positioning transmitted from the user terminal 10 is received in SB6 described later.

  SB4 is a step executed when the determination of SB3 is affirmed. Specifically, the instruction (1) is executed at the base station that has received the instructions (1) and (2) at SB2. Is done. That is, a command for causing the user terminal 10 to transmit a radio wave for positioning is transmitted to the user terminal 10 by radio, and a radio wave for positioning transmitted from the user terminal 10 after transmission is transmitted. Reception is performed.

  In SB5, the user terminal 10 waits for a command (SB4) for transmitting a radio wave for positioning received. When the user terminal 10 receives a command for transmitting a radio wave for positioning, the determination in this step is affirmed and the subsequent SB6 is executed. On the other hand, when the command for transmitting the radio wave for positioning is not received, the determination of this step is denied, and SB5 is repeatedly executed to receive the command for transmitting the radio wave for positioning. Wait until

  In the SB 6 corresponding to the long-distance wireless unit 88 of the user terminal 10, radio waves for positioning are transmitted from the user terminal 10. The radio wave for positioning includes a spread code for detecting the reception time.

  In SB 7 corresponding to the base station radio unit 32 of each base station 12, it is determined whether or not a positioning radio wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 has been received. When a radio wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 is received, this determination is affirmed and the subsequent SB10 is executed. On the other hand, when the radio wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 is not received, the determination in this step is denied and the following SB8 is executed.

  In SB8, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time since the start of reception of radio waves from the user terminal has exceeded a preset timeout time. If the elapsed time exceeds the timeout time, the determination in this step is affirmed and SB9 is executed. If the elapsed time does not exceed the timeout time, the determination in this step is denied and radio waves are continuously received from the user terminal 10.

  In SB9 that is executed when the determination of SB7 is affirmed, an error process is performed on the base station for which the determination of SB8 is affirmed, assuming that radio waves from the user terminal 10 could not be received. . Specifically, for example, information indicating that the radio wave from the user terminal 10 has not been received is transmitted to the server 14.

  In the SB 10 corresponding to the reception time detection unit 38, the spreading code included in the radio wave for positioning from the user terminal 10 received in SB7, and the spreading that each base station has in advance. The correlation value of the code with the replica code is calculated, and the time when the correlation value reaches its peak is detected as the reception time of the radio wave from the user terminal 10.

  In SB 11, information about the reception time of the radio wave from the user terminal 10 detected in SB 10 in each base station 12 is transmitted to the server 14.

  In SB 12, whether or not the information about the reception time of the radio wave from the user terminal 10 in each base station 12 has been transmitted from a predetermined number of base stations 12 and received by the server 14. To be judged. This predetermined number is a number necessary for calculating the position of the user terminal 10 in the subsequent SB15. For example, when the movement of the user terminal 10 is a three-dimensional space, the predetermined number is four. In the case of a two-dimensional plane, or even in a three-dimensional space, there are three cases where information about the height of the user terminal 10 can be obtained by a height detection means (not shown). When information about the reception time is received from the predetermined number of base stations 12 or more, the determination in this step is affirmed and the following SB15 is executed. On the other hand, when the information about the reception time is not received from the predetermined number or more of the base stations 12, the determination of this step is denied and the following SB13 is executed.

  In SB13, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time since the instruction of SB1 has exceeded a preset timeout time. If the elapsed time exceeds the timeout time, the determination in this step is affirmed and SB14 is executed. If the elapsed time does not exceed the timeout time, the determination in this step is denied and information about the reception time from the base station 12 is continuously received.

  In SB 14 that is executed when the determination of SB 13 is affirmed, the reception time of radio waves from the user terminal 10 is received from the number of base stations 12 necessary to calculate the position of the user terminal 10. Error handling is performed if it could not. Specifically, for example, information indicating that the calculation of the position of the user terminal 10 has failed is recorded.

  In the SB 15 corresponding to the positioning unit 56 of the server 14, the position of the user terminal 10 is calculated based on the information about the reception time of the radio wave from the user terminal 10 in each base station 12 received in the SB 12. Is done. Specifically, by solving the equation (2) based on information about the reception time of the radio wave from the user terminal 10 at each base station 12 and information about the position of each base station 12 that is known in advance. The position of the user terminal 10 is calculated as the position of the worker.

  Returning to FIG. 15, in SA2 corresponding to the billing area entry detector 58, the position coordinates of the user terminal 10 as the position of the customer calculated in SA1 are displayed with reference to the billing area database 60. It is determined whether or not the display area 8A has entered the billing area 8B by comparing the range representing the area 8A and the range representing the billing area 8B. That is, it is determined that the user has entered the billing area 8B when the coordinates (x, y) of the customer detected by the positioning unit 56 satisfy the inequality condition representing the range representing the billing area 8B shown in FIG. The This determination is made, for example, when the position of the user terminal 10 is repeatedly calculated, the user terminal 10 that was in the display area 8A in the previous calculation is in the billing area 8B in the previous calculation in SA1. If it is calculated that the position of the customer is, the position of the user is determined to have entered the billing area 8B from the display area 8A. If the determination at this step is affirmative, SA3 and the subsequent steps are executed because it is necessary to perform a settlement process. On the other hand, if the determination at this step is negative, SA1 is repeatedly executed in order to continue to calculate the position of the user.

  Subsequent SA3 to SA7 correspond to the purchased article detection unit 62. First, in SA3 to SA4, a command is issued from the server 14 to the user terminal 10 so as to acquire information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 within a predetermined communication range and transmit them to the server 14. It is. As described above, in this embodiment, the server 14 has a function for wired communication via the communication cable 20 and does not have a function for wireless communication. Therefore, the command from the server 14 to the user terminal 10 is first transmitted from the server 14 to the base station 12 by wired communication via the communication cable 20 in SA3, and then SA4. In FIG. 2, the information is transmitted from the base station 12 to the user terminal 10 by wireless communication. Note that any one of the plurality of base stations 12 is used as the base station 12 that operates SA4 and SA6 and SA12 described later.

  In SA5 corresponding to the short-range radio unit 86 of the user terminal 10 or the like, the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 in the predetermined communication range of the user terminal 10, that is, the user terminal 10 is attached to the cart. If so, a purchased article detection routine for reading out information stored in each of the user tag 17 of the customer who uses the cart and the product tag 16 attached to the product captured in the cart is executed. The

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the control operation in the purchased article detection routine. First, in a step (hereinafter, “step” is omitted) SC1 corresponding to the operation command receiving unit 94 of the user terminal 10, information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 is acquired from the server 14. It is determined whether or not a command has been issued. When the user terminal 10 receives a command from the server 14, the determination in this step is affirmed, and SC2 and subsequent steps are executed. On the other hand, when the user terminal 10 has not received a command from the server 14, SC1 is repeatedly executed, and the command from the server 14 is waited.

  In SC2 corresponding to the tag reading unit 96 of the user terminal 10, a query wave for reading information stored in the tag is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the user tag 17 and the product tag 16.

  In SC3, in the tags 16 and 17 that have received the interrogation wave transmitted from the user terminal 10 in SC2, a response wave is generated based on the unique information stored in each of the tags 16 and 17, and the user terminal 10 is transmitted.

  In SC4 corresponding to the transmission information setting unit 98, the long-distance radio unit 88, etc. of the user terminal 10, the response waves respectively transmitted from the tags 16 and 17 in SC3 are received by the user terminal 10, The unique information stored in each of the tags 16 and 17 is extracted from the response wave. Information unique to each of the extracted tags 16 and 17 is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the server 14.

  Returning to FIG. 15, in SA 6, the command transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the server 14 is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the server 14 in the same manner as the command from the server 14 to the user terminal 10 is performed through the base station 12 in SA 4. The information stored in each of the tags 16 and 17 is transmitted by wireless communication from the user terminal 10 to at least one arbitrary base station 12 in the SC4, and from this arbitrary one base station 12 to the server in this step SA6. 14 through the communication cable 20.

  In SA7, based on the information stored in each of the tags 16 and 17 transmitted from the base station 12 to the server 14 in SA6, it is determined whether or not the user has a product. Specifically, if the information stored in the product tag 16 is included in the information transmitted from the base station 12 to the server 14 by SA6, it is determined that the user possesses the product and SA8 The subsequent steps are executed. On the other hand, when the information transmitted from the base station 12 to the server 14 by SA6 does not include the information stored in the product tag 16, but includes only the information stored in the user tag 17, Since it is not necessary to perform the settlement process, the determination at this step is denied and the process returns to SA1, and the flowchart of FIG. 15 is repeatedly executed.

  Subsequent SA8 to SA10 correspond to the accounting unit 64. First, in SA8, based on the information stored in the product tag 16 obtained in SA6 and the information stored in the product information database unit 66, the attribute (type) of the product held by the customer. And the number are determined as candidates for charging. Subsequently, based on the information stored in the charged database section 69, the charging target is determined by excluding the product for which the settlement processing has already been performed from the charging target candidates.

  In the subsequent SA9, the charge amount is determined based on the information about the charge object determined in SA8 and the information stored in the product price database unit 68.

  In SA10, the user to be charged and the settlement method are determined based on the information stored in the user tag 17 obtained in SA6 and the information stored in the user database unit 67. Then, settlement processing, that is, processing for payment of the determined charging amount is performed.

  In SA11 corresponding to the notification unit 70, a command for displaying the settlement process in SA10 or displaying the contents of the settlement process on the display unit 84 of the user terminal 10 is transmitted. Note that, similarly to the above-described SA4, the command transmission from the server 14 to the user terminal 10 in this SA11 is also performed via any one base station 12. That is, in SA 11, a command for display on the user terminal 10 is transmitted to the arbitrary one base station 12 via the communication cable 20. In SA12, the instruction for display is transmitted wirelessly from the base station 12 that has received the instruction from the server 14 in SA11 to the user terminal 10.

  In SA13 corresponding to the display unit 84 of the user terminal 10 or the like, an output corresponding to the content of the display command transmitted in SA11 is performed. As described above, for example, information on the billing amount of the settlement processing performed at SA10 is displayed on the display unit 84, or information on the billing amount is generated by an audio output device or the like, as described above. An electronic sound is simply generated.

  According to the settlement system 6 of the present embodiment, the position of the user terminal 10 that moves with the user and transmits mutually identifiable information by the positioning unit 56 (SA1) is the position of the user. In the charging area entry detection unit 62 (SA2), the position of the customer is included in the charging area 8B in which information defining the position is stored in the charging area database unit 60. Based on this, it is detected that the user has entered the billing area 8B, the purchased article detection unit 62 detects the product held by the customer, and the billing unit 64 detects the billing area entry detection unit. 58, when it is detected that the user has entered the billing area 8B, the purchased article detection means 62 (SA3 to SA7) A total charge amount is determined based on the purchased item information about the product held by the user and the information about the price of the product stored in the product price database unit 68, and the user terminal The user is identified based on the information stored in the user tag 17 that is identifiable information transmitted by the user 10 and the charging process is performed on the identified user. And the user can be charged for the product based on having entered the predetermined billing area 8B.

  Further, according to the settlement system 6 of the present embodiment, the billing unit 64 (SA8), when the billing process is executed a plurality of times, the purchased article information detected by the purchased article detection means, and the billing Compared with the purchased article information stored in the finished product database unit 69 when the billing process was performed before the previous time, the product that was the target of the billing process when the previous billing process was executed is re-charged. Therefore, the same product is not charged twice, and the user can be charged appropriately for the product.

  Further, according to the settlement system 6 of the present embodiment, when the charging process by the charging unit 64 (SA8) is executed, at least one of sound, voice and optical display is displayed on the output unit 84 of the user terminal 10. Since it has the notification means 70 (SA11) which generate | occur | produces, it can alert | report that the charge was performed with respect to the said user.

  Subsequently, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the part which is common between Example, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an area to which the payment system 6 in the present embodiment is applied. In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of sellers, and for each of these sellers, a display area where the seller can display the product and a user can select the product, and a product for the selected product is displayed. A billing area where billing processing is performed for the selected user is provided. In FIG. 18, regions 102A, 104A, 106A, 108A, 110A, 112A, 114A, and 116A are display areas provided for each of the eight sellers. The region 118 is, for example, a passage, and is a region that does not belong to any of the display areas of the plurality (eight) sellers. The user can move within an area formed by these areas 102A, 104A, 106A, 108A, 110A, 112A, 114A, 116A and the area 118 (hereinafter referred to as the entire area). The base station 12 is arranged in a necessary number and interval so that the user position detecting means can detect the position of the user terminal 10 in the area. In FIG. 18, the description of the base station 12 and the server 14 is omitted.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the display area 112A and the billing area 112B, taking as an example a seller having the area 112A as the display area among the plurality of sellers. As shown in FIG. 19, the seller billing area 112B with the area 112A as the display area is defined to be an area excluding the area 112A as the display area in the entire area. The same applies to other sellers. As described above, information about the display area and the position of the billing area for each of the plurality of sellers is defined in advance and stored in the billing area database unit 60.

  Further, the billing area entry detection unit 58 is configured to determine the position of the customer calculated by the positioning unit 56 and the billing area position for each of the plurality of sellers stored in the billing area database unit 60. Based on the information, it is detected that the user has entered the billing area 8B. Specifically, when the position of the customer calculated by the positioning unit 56 is included in one of the seller's charging areas stored in the charging area database unit 60, the charging area entry detection unit 58 It detects that the customer has entered the billing area of the seller. In the example of FIG. 18, when the position history of the user terminal 10 calculated by the positioning unit 56 is represented by a locus 123, the position of the user terminal 10 is calculated as a point 124. The charging area entry detecting unit 58 detects that the customer has entered the charging area of the seller whose area 112A is the display area, and the position of the user terminal 10 is calculated to be 126. In this case, the billing area entry detection unit 58 detects that the user has entered the billing area of the seller whose area 116A is the display area. This billing area entry detection unit 58 corresponds to billing area entry detection means.

  In the present embodiment, in the product information database unit 66, in addition to the information stored in the product tag 16 and the information on the attribute of the product to which the tag is attached, the seller who sells the product Is stored. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining an example of information stored in the product information database 66. As shown in FIG. 20, in the product information database unit 66, information on the attributes of the products with the product tags and information about the sellers of the products (store attributes) are stored in the information stored in the product tags 16. Based on the information stored in the product tag 16, information related to the attribute of the product and information about the seller of the product can be read out.

  Further, the billing unit 64 detects that the user has entered the billing area of the seller (hereinafter referred to as a billing seller) from the seller's display area by the billing area entry detection unit 58. In this case, information stored in the user tag 17 and the product tag 16 within a predetermined communication range of the user terminal 10 acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62, information stored in the product information database unit 66 Based on the information stored in the product price database unit 68 and the information stored in the user database unit 67, the charging target seller is charged. The charging unit 64 corresponds to a charging unit.

  Specifically, the billing unit 64 first determines the billing target based on the information stored in the product tag 16 acquired by the purchase article detection unit 62 and the information stored in the product information database unit 66. The products sold by the seller are extracted, and the attribute (type) and the number of products to be charged are determined. For example, when the product IDs that are information stored in the product tag 16 acquired by the purchased product detection unit 62 are 000001 and 000015, the information stored in the product information database unit 66 of FIG. Referring to the product held when the customer enters the billing area of the billing seller, the apple is one apple and one gentleman's socks, while the billing seller is the fruit store A. In this case, the charging target product is determined to be one apple whose product ID is 000001.

  Subsequently, the billing unit 64 determines a billing amount based on the information about the determined attribute and number of products and the information stored in the product price database unit 68. For example, when it is determined that the billing target is one apple as described above, the billing amount is based on sales of one to four apples with reference to the information stored in the product price database unit 68 of FIG. It is determined to be 100 yen obtained by multiplying the unit price of 100 yen by one piece.

  Further, the billing unit 64 is connected to the user who is charged based on the information stored in the user tag 17 acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62 and the information stored in the user database unit 67. The settlement method is determined and settlement processing is executed. For example, when the user ID, which is information stored in the user tag 17 acquired by the purchased article detection unit 62, is 900003, refer to the information stored in the user database unit 67 of FIG. Then, the user is Ueno, the payment method for the user is a credit card, and the card number, for example, is read out. Then, settlement processing, that is, processing for payment of the determined charge amount is performed by the read settlement method. Further, this payment is made to be made to the billing seller. This settlement process does not have to be performed inside the server 14, and the server 14 requests, for example, a financial institution determined in advance corresponding to each of the settlement methods to perform the settlement process. May be.

  The operation of the settlement system 6 is the same as that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  According to the payment system 6 of the present embodiment, the charging area database unit 60 defines the position of the charging area for each of a plurality of sellers of the product, and the use is detected by the positioning unit 56. Based on the fact that the position of the customer is included in the charging area of any one of the sellers defined in the charging area database unit 60, the charging area entry detection unit 58 determines that the customer is the seller's The charging unit 64 detects that the user has entered the charging area and the charging area to which the user has entered, and the charging unit 64 uses the charging area entry detection unit 58 to detect the user. Is detected by the charging area entry detecting unit 58, the charging area where the user has entered is detected. Information on the corresponding chargeable seller, purchased article information about the product held by the customer detected by the purchased article detection unit 62, and stored in the product information database unit 66 and the product price database unit 68, respectively. Based on the information on the seller and price of the product, the total charge amount is determined for the product held by the customer and the seller and the seller to be charged match. Since the processing is performed, even in an environment in which the products held by the customer are mixed with products from a plurality of sellers, the user holds the product and enters the predetermined billing area. The user can be charged.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described in detail based on drawing, this invention is applied also in another aspect.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the positioning unit 56 receives radio waves transmitted from the user terminal 10 by the plurality of base stations 12, and the user based on the reception times as reception results at the plurality of base stations 12. Although the position of the terminal 10 has been calculated, the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, the radio waves transmitted by the user terminal 10 with a predetermined output are received by the plurality of base stations 12, and the reception strength is detected as a reception result. Based on the detected reception intensity of the radio wave and the relationship between the radio wave reception intensity stored in advance and the propagation distance of the radio wave, the distance between the user terminal 10 and each of the plurality of base stations 12 is calculated and used. The position of the person terminal 10 may be calculated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the radio waves for positioning are transmitted from the user terminal 10 and received by the plurality of base stations 12, and the positioning unit 56 is used based on the respective reception results at the plurality of base stations 12. Although the position of the person terminal 10 is calculated, the present invention is not limited to such a mode. For example, the user terminal 10 receives a radio wave for positioning transmitted from each of the plurality of base stations 12 to the user terminal 10, calculates a reception result, and performs positioning based on the reception result. The unit 56 can also calculate the position of the user terminal 10.

  In addition, a large number of base stations 12 are arranged, for example, in a lattice pattern, radio waves transmitted from the user terminals 10 are received by the large number of base stations 12, and the received intensity is measured. The position of the user terminal 10 can also be measured by a so-called zone detection method in which the position of the base station 12 that received the radio wave from the user terminal 10 with the strongest reception intensity is the position of the user terminal 10. In this case, the arrangement intervals of the base stations 12 arranged in the grid are determined based on the positioning accuracy required when calculating the position of the user terminal 10. In this case, what is transmitted from the user terminal 10 toward the base station 12 is not limited to radio waves, and may be signal waves using infrared rays, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the server 14 and the base station 12 are connected via the communication cable 20 so as to be capable of information communication. However, this communication is not limited to wired communication but may be wireless communication.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the information about the price of the product and the information about the seller of the product are based on the product ID that is information stored in the product tag 16 attached to the product. Obtained by appropriately reading from the information stored in 66 or the information stored in the product price database unit 68, the information is stored in the product tag 16 and acquired by the purchased product detection unit 62. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, so-called passive tags that do not require a power source are used as the product tag 16 and the user tag 17, respectively. An active tag that can transmit a radio wave with electric power supplied from may be used. In other words, any function is possible as long as it has a function of returning an individually identifiable response wave to the interrogation wave from the user terminal.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the purchased article detection unit 62 detects a product to be charged based on information stored in the product tag 16 read by the short-range wireless unit 86 of the user terminal 10. However, it is not limited to such an aspect. For example, an active tag capable of transmitting individually identifiable radio waves for position detection by an output that can be received by the plurality of base stations 12 using power supplied from the power source is a product tag. Is added to the user terminal, the position of the active tag as the product tag is calculated by the positioning unit 56, and the position of the product as the calculated active tag position is the user terminal as the position of the customer. If the product is within a predetermined range of 10 positions, for example, at a distance that can be regarded as being taken into the cart, the product may be charged.

  In the above-described embodiment, the positioning unit 56 as the user position detecting unit measures the position of the user terminal 10 and also reads the user tag 17 read by the short-range radio unit 86 of the user terminal. Although the position of the user and the user are specified based on the information stored in the above, the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, in the case of a user terminal that transmits a radio wave that can identify a user in advance, it is not necessary to have the user tag 17 in addition to the user terminal 10, and the user terminal 10 and the user tag 17 are common. This is realized by one active tag.

  In the above-described embodiment, the user terminal 10 is attached to the cart. However, the user terminal 10 is not limited to such a mode. The user terminal 10 is moved along with the user, and the position of the user is calculated by the positioning unit 56. Any mode that can be regarded as the position of the user terminal 10 is acceptable.

  In the above-described embodiment, the billing area 8B is provided as a single type of area for each seller, but is not limited to such a mode. Specifically, the billing area 8B is divided into a plurality of payment methods corresponding to a plurality of types of billing processes, and the billing area entry detection unit 58 is configured so that the position of the user terminal 10 is The billing unit 64 detects which part of the billing area 8B divided from the display area 8A has entered, and the billing unit 64 detects the part of the billing area 8B where the entry of the customer is detected by the billing area entry detection unit 58. The charging may be executed by a corresponding settlement method. In this way, the customer can select a settlement method in the billing process depending on which billing area is set by dividing into a plurality of billing areas. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to perform payment not limited to the payment method stored in the user database unit 67. The payment method includes, for example, bank payment, payment by credit card, payment from a prepaid card (prepaid account), or lump sum payment or installment payment in credit card payment.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display area 8A and the charging area 8B are provided, and that the position of the user terminal 10 measured by the positioning unit 56 has entered the charging area 8B from the display area 8A. The charging process by the charging unit 64 is performed when detected by the detection unit 58, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, between the display area 8A and the billing area 8B, the user terminal 10 is provided with detection of purchased items by the purchased item detection unit 62 and calculation of the total billing amount for those purchased items and the calculated total billing amount. A total calculation presentation area 8C for output by the output unit 84 may be provided. In this case, when the charging area entry detection unit 58 detects that the position of the user terminal 10 measured by the positioning unit 56 has entered the total calculation presentation area 8C from the display area 8A, only the total charging amount is presented. When the charging area entry detection unit 58 detects that the position of the user terminal 10 measured by the positioning unit 56 has entered the charging area 8B from the total calculation presentation area 8C, the charging process by the charging unit 64 is performed. May be performed. In this way, the user can confirm the total billing amount before the billing process is performed.

  The above description is only an embodiment, and the present invention can be implemented in variously modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

It is a figure explaining one embodiment of the settlement system of the present invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the embodiment of the user terminal in the payment system of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of a structure of the user terminal in the payment system of FIG. It is a functional block diagram explaining the outline | summary of the control function which the electronic control apparatus of the user terminal of FIG. 3 has. It is a figure explaining an example of a structure of the user tag and goods tag in the payment system of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of composition of a base station in a settlement system of Drawing 1, and an outline of a function which the base station has. It is a figure explaining an example of a structure of the server in the payment system of FIG. It is a functional block diagram explaining the outline | summary of the control function which the electronic control apparatus of the server in the payment system of FIG. It is a figure explaining the principle of calculation of the position of a user terminal by the positioning part of FIG. It is a figure explaining the information of the display area and charge area memorize | stored in the charge area database part of the server of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the information memorize | stored in the merchandise information database part of the server of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the information memorize | stored in the goods price database part of the server of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the information memorize | stored in the user database part of the server of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the information memorize | stored in the purchased goods database part of the server of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary in an example of the control action of the payment system of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary in an example of the control action of the positioning routine performed in the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary in an example of the control action of the purchase goods detection routine performed in the flowchart of FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the area | region in case the some seller with which the payment system is applied in another Example of this invention exists. It is a figure explaining the example of the display area and sales area which are set about one seller among several sellers of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the information memorize | stored in the goods information database part of the server of FIG. 8 in another Example of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure corresponding to FIG.

Explanation of symbols

6: Settlement system 8B: Billing area 10: User terminal 56: Positioning unit (customer position detecting means)
58: Charge area entry detection unit (charge area entry detection means)
60: Billing area database unit 62: Purchased article detection unit (purchased article detection means)
64: Billing section (billing means)
70: Notification section (notification means)

Claims (4)

A payment system for charging a user for a product based on the fact that the user has entered the predetermined billing area while holding the product,
Radio waves are transmitted and received between a user terminal that moves with the customer and can transmit mutually identifiable information and a base station installed at a known location, and the usage is performed based on the reception result. User position detecting means for detecting the position of the user terminal as the position of the user;
A billing area database unit for storing information defining a predetermined billing area position where billing for the product is performed in the area where the user can move;
Based on the fact that the location of the customer detected by the customer location detecting means is included in the billing area stored in the billing area database unit, it is detected that the customer has entered the billing area. Billing area entry detection means to
Purchased article detection means for detecting products held by the customer;
When the charging area entry detecting means detects that the user has entered the charging area, the purchased article information about the product held by the user detected by the purchased article detecting means; and Billing for determining the total billing amount based on the information about the price of the product, identifying the customer based on the identifiable information transmitted by the user terminal, and billing the identified customer A payment system characterized by comprising: In the charging area database unit, the position of the charging area is defined for each of a plurality of sellers of the product,
The charging area entry detecting means is based on the fact that the position of the user detected by the user position detecting means is included in any one of the charging areas defined in the charging area database unit. Detecting that the customer has entered the billing area and detecting which seller the billing area the customer has entered is
When the charging area entry detecting means detects that the user has entered the charging area, the charging means detects the charging area where the user has entered, detected by the charging area entry detecting means. Based on the information about the corresponding chargeable seller, the purchased article information about the product held by the customer detected by the purchased article detection means, the price of the product and the information about the seller, 2. The settlement system according to claim 1, wherein among the products held by the customer, a total charge amount is determined for a product for which the seller and the chargeable seller match, and charging processing is performed. The charging unit compares the purchased article information detected by the purchased article detection unit with the purchased article information when the charging process was performed before the previous time when the charging process is executed a plurality of times. The settlement system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a product that has been subject to billing processing at the time of previous billing processing execution is excluded from another billing processing target. The settlement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an informing unit that informs that the accounting process by the accounting unit has been executed.

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