JP2010237910A - Self-checkout system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent a user from forgetting to pick up a receipt or change or the like in a self-checkout system. <P>SOLUTION: The self-checkout system includes: a change ejection means for ejecting change or a medium for settlement; a receipt ejection means for ejecting a receipt; a detection means for detecting whether or not change, medium for settlement or receipt is removed after being ejected; and a control means for making one of the change ejection means and the receipt ejection means operate after fare adjustment, and for making the other of the change ejection means and the receipt ejection means stand by for the start of operation until it is detected that the ejected object is removed by the detection means, and for, when it is detected that the ejected object is removed by the detection means, making the other start the operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-checkout system in which a customer performs product registration and checkout operations by himself / herself.

  In recent years, in retail stores, a self-checkout system in which customers perform product registration and checkout operations on their own has been introduced. When using the self-checkout system, the customer registers the product by scanning the barcode of the product with a barcode reader, and inserts cash or inserts a credit card or the like into the POS register. As a result, a settlement process is performed, and the change, the credit card used, and the receipt are discharged from the POS register, and the customer receives them and the transaction ends.

  Customers unfamiliar with the operation of such a self-checkout system may forget to take changes, credit cards, or receipts. As a technique for solving this problem, there has been proposed an electronic cash register having a notification means for notifying that a receipt is forgotten when a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a receipt detects the presence of a receipt (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-85649 A

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, since a store clerk or a customer is only notified of forgetting to take a receipt or the like, a sufficient effect cannot be obtained when applied to a self-checkout system. In general, customers tend to neglect receipts, for example, prioritizing receipt of change, so there is a risk of overlooking or missing such notifications, and customers receive only change etc. and do not receive receipts This is because a situation like this is also assumed. In other words, conventionally, there has been a problem that sufficient measures have not been taken to prevent the customer from forgetting to take a receipt or change.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to effectively prevent forgetting receipts, change and the like in a self-checkout system.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a self-checkout system for registering a purchased product and adjusting its price by a customer's operation, product registering means for registering the purchased product; A settlement means for accepting money or a settlement medium and paying the price of the registered purchased product; a change means for discharging change or the settlement medium; a receipt discharge means for discharging a receipt; and the change , Detecting means for detecting whether or not the settlement medium or the receipt has been removed after discharging, and operating one of the change discharging means and the receipt discharging means after the settlement to remove the discharged matter. Until the detection means detects that the other operation start of the change discharge means and the receipt discharge means, When the ones that are serial discharged is removed is detected by said detecting means, characterized in that it comprises a control means for starting the other operation.

  According to this configuration, control is performed so that the change and the settlement medium are not discharged unless it is detected that the receipt has been removed after discharging. Therefore, the customer can know that the transaction in the self-checkout system has not ended because no change or payment medium is discharged, and it is necessary to remove the receipt to end the transaction. You can receive a receipt. Further, according to this configuration, the control is performed so that the receipt is not discharged unless it is detected that the change or the settlement medium is removed after the discharge. Therefore, the customer can know that the transaction in the self-checkout system has not ended because the receipt has not been discharged, and it is necessary to remove the change and the settlement medium to end the transaction. You can receive change and payment media.

  In the self-checkout system, the present invention further comprises history recording means for recording a history as to whether or not the change, the settlement medium, or the receipt has been removed after ejection, and the control means includes the history Based on the history recorded in the recording means, the receipt discharging means is operated before the change etc. discharging means when the receipt or the payment medium is more frequently removed after discharging than the change medium. When the change or the settlement medium is not removed after discharge more frequently than the receipt, the change discharging means is operated before the receipt discharge means.

  According to this configuration, if the frequency of occurrence of forgetting receipts is high as a result of the history, control is performed so that the receipt is discharged before change or a settlement medium. Accordingly, since the change and the settlement medium are not discharged unless the receipt that is easy to forget is removed, the customer can receive the receipt with certainty. In addition, according to this configuration, when the frequency of change or payment medium forgetting to occur is high as a result of taking a history, control is performed so that the change or payment medium is discharged before the receipt. . Accordingly, since the receipt is not discharged unless the change or settlement medium that is easy to forget is removed, the customer can surely receive the change or the settlement medium.

  The self-checkout system may further include member information acquisition means for acquiring member information for each customer, and the history recording means records the history for each customer based on the acquired member information. The control means operates the receipt discharging means and the change discharging means based on the history recorded in the history recording means and corresponding to the acquired member information.

  According to this configuration, either the receipt or the change or settlement medium is first matched to the characteristics of each customer, such as a customer who often forgets to take a receipt or a customer who often forgets change or a settlement medium. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively prevent forgetting to take a receipt or change.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the self-checkout system, there is provided an informing means for informing after the change discharging means and the receipt discharging means are operated.

  According to this configuration, since a notification is made when a receipt, change, or the like is discharged, it is possible to prevent a customer from forgetting to take a receipt, change, or the like.

  According to the present invention, in a self-checkout system, it is possible to effectively prevent forgetting receipts, changes and the like.

1 is an outline configuration diagram of a self-checkout system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a self-checkout system. It is an example of a product file. It is an example of a processing order setting file. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a self-checkout system. It is a display example of a liquid crystal touch panel. It is an example of a forgetting history file.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a self-checkout system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the self-checkout system 1. The self-checkout system 1 is a POS register that allows a customer to register and settle a purchased product by himself / herself, and includes a POS register main body 10 (having a CPU 11, a ROM 12, and a RAM 13), a bar code scanner, and the like. 14, a liquid crystal touch panel 15, a money receipt / payout unit 16, a card reader 17, a receipt printer 18, a first weighing unit 19 </ b> A, a second weighing unit 19 </ b> B, a light emitter 20, and a communication unit 21. ing.

  The CPU 11 reads out and executes the program stored in the ROM 12 and controls the operation of each part of the self-checkout system 1. The ROM 12 stores the program and data necessary for executing the program. The RAM 13 stores a product file (see FIG. 3), a processing order setting file (see FIG. 4), and a forgetting history file (see FIG. 7).

The barcode scanner 14 reads a barcode attached to a product, and outputs the read data to the CPU 11.
The liquid crystal touch panel 15 displays various types of information according to instructions from the CPU 11, receives operation input from a customer, and outputs data indicating operation content to the CPU 11.

  The money receiving / dispensing unit 16 detects the type and number of various coins inserted into the bill insertion slot 161 and the coin insertion slot 162, outputs detection result data to the CPU 11, and instructs the CPU 11 to pay out change. Upon receipt, the number of bills and coins corresponding to the instruction are discharged to the bill payout exit 163 and the coin payout exit 164. The money receiving / dispensing unit 16 includes a sensor that detects whether or not the discharged banknotes and coins are removed from the banknote payout outlet 163 and the coin payout outlet 164. When the banknotes and coins are removed, the CPU 11 To notify.

  The card reader 17 reads information of an IC card storing cash card information or electronic money information, or a cash card (these cards are collectively referred to as a settlement medium), and the read information is sent to the CPU 11. Output. The settlement medium is inserted into the card slot 171 and discharged from the card slot 171 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 11. Further, the card reader 17 includes a sensor for detecting whether or not the discharged payment medium is removed from the card entry / exit 171. When the payment medium is removed, the card reader 17 notifies the CPU 11 of the fact.

  The receipt printer 18 acquires information related to the settlement of purchased products from the CPU 11, prints the information as a receipt, and issues a receipt from the receipt issuing port 181. The receipt printer 18 includes a sensor that detects whether or not the issued receipt has been removed from the receipt issuing port 181, and notifies the CPU 11 when the receipt has been removed.

  The first weighing unit 19A is disposed inside the upper surface of the counter 2 and on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the barcode scanner 14, and measures the weight of the product contained in the first basket 3. The measurement value data is output to the CPU 11. The second weighing unit 19B is disposed inside the upper surface of the counter 2 and on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the barcode scanner 14, and weighs the weight of the product contained in the second basket 4. Then, the measurement value data is output to the CPU 11. The first weighing unit 19A and the second weighing unit 19B are provided for the purpose of preventing unauthorized product registration by a customer.

  That is, the customer places the first basket 3 containing the product to be purchased on the first weighing unit 19A of the counter 2, takes out the products one by one from the first basket 3, and uses the barcode scanner 14 The bar code is read, and the read product is put into the second basket 4 placed at the second weighing unit 19B of the counter 2. At this time, each time the product is taken out from the first basket 3 and put into the second basket 4, the CPU 11 measures the weight decrease value measured by the first weighing unit 19A and the second weighing unit 19B. When the weight increase value is compared, and the value (absolute value) is different, it is determined that the product registration is illegal, and a predetermined notification process (for example, flashing of the light emitting device 20) for the store clerk is performed. Do.

  The light emitter 20 includes a lamp, and when a customer calls a store clerk using the liquid crystal touch panel 15 or when an illegal product registration is performed as described above, the lamp emits light (lights up, blinks, etc.) according to instructions from the CPU 11. )I do. The store clerk can know that there was a problem with the self-checkout system 1 by watching the light emitted from the lamp.

  The communication unit 21 exchanges various data with other computers in the store (such as a store controller that manages product files) and computers on an external network (such as a settlement server of a credit card company) via the LAN.

FIG. 3 is an example of a product file stored in the RAM 13.
The product file stores a PLU number, a product name, and a price in association with each product. The PLU number is an identification number unique to each product, and a part of the barcode attached to the product is data of the PLU number. By specifying the PLU number, product name and price data can be read from the product file. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the product name of the product whose PLU number is 00001 is AAA, and the price is 200 yen.

FIG. 4 is an example of a processing order setting file stored in the RAM 13.
The processing order setting file is a file in which the execution order of the receipt issuing process (steps S11 to S13) and the change / settlement medium discharge process (steps S14 to S16) in the flowchart described below is set. In the example of FIG. 4, the receipt issuance process is executed first, and then the change / settlement medium discharge process is executed. Note that the opposite order may be set.

Next, the operation of the self-checkout system 1 described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, in the initial state, a “product registration start button” is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 15. The customer places the first basket 3 containing the product to be purchased on the first weighing unit 19A of the counter 2 and touches the “product registration start button”. When the customer touches the “product registration start button”, the CPU 11 starts the product registration process, and temporarily stores the measured value from the first weighing unit 19A, that is, the total weight of all purchased products, in the RAM 13 (step S1). .

  Next, when the customer takes out one product from the first basket 3 and holds the barcode attached to the product over the barcode scanner 14, the barcode scanner 14 reads the barcode and displays the result of the reading. Data is output to the CPU 11 (step S2). The CPU 11 extracts the PLU number from this data, reads the product name and price information corresponding to the PLU number from the product file in the RAM 13, and displays the information on the liquid crystal touch panel 15 (step S3). In addition, the CPU 11 displays a message “Please put the registered product in the right basket” on the liquid crystal touch panel 15.

  When the customer puts the product into the second basket 4 according to the message, the data of the measured value output from the second measuring unit 19B to the CPU 11 increases. In response to this, the CPU 11 displays a message “Register next product” on the liquid crystal touch panel 15 to prompt the customer to register the next product (step S4).

  Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the product registration has been completed for all the products that the customer intends to purchase (step S5). Specifically, the CPU 11 determines that the measurement value measured by the first measurement unit 19A is zero and the measurement value measured by the second measurement unit 19B is temporarily stored in the RAM 13 in step S1. It is determined whether or not. In other words, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the first basket 3 is emptied, and all the products that were initially in the first basket 3 have moved to the second basket 4. If this determination result is affirmative, product registration has been completed for all products, and if the determination result is negative, products for which product registration has not been completed still remain in the first basket 3.

If the product registration has not been completed for all products in step S5, the CPU 11 executes the processing from step S2 again in order to register the next product.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the product registration has been completed for all the products, the CPU 11 causes the liquid crystal touch panel 15 to display the product registration completion result (total amount of purchased products, etc.) and “If all products have been registered. Please complete either cash accounting or card accounting. For cash accounting, insert cash into the cash slot. For card accounting, please insert the card into the card slot. " Display a message. Further, the CPU displays a “cash accounting button” and a “card accounting button” on the liquid crystal touch panel 15, and accepts an operation for the customer to select the button (step S6). A display example of the liquid crystal touch panel 15 at this time is shown in FIG.

  Next, the CPU 11 determines whether the customer has touched the “cash accounting button” or the “card accounting button” (step S7).

  When the “cash accounting button” is touched, when the customer inserts cash into the bill insertion slot 161 or the coin insertion slot 162, the money receipt / payout unit 16 outputs data indicating the inserted amount to the CPU 11. CPU11 calculates the amount of change from the amount of money thrown in and the total amount of purchased goods (step S8). At this time, the change is not yet discharged from the money receiving / dispensing unit 16.

  When the “card accounting button” is touched, when the customer inserts the settlement medium into the card slot 171, the card reader 17 reads the information on the inserted settlement medium and outputs it to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 performs payment based on the information about the payment medium acquired from the card reader 17 (step S9). At this time, the settlement medium is not yet discharged from the card reader 17.

  Next, in accordance with the execution order set in the processing order setting file of the RAM 13, the CPU issues a receipt issuance process (steps S11 to S13 described later) and a change / settlement medium discharge process (steps S14 to S16 described later). Is executed (step S10).

Here, for the sake of convenience, the case where the processing order setting file is the setting of FIG. 4 will be described.
First, a receipt issuing process is started (step S10). First, the CPU 11 notifies the receipt printer 18 of information related to the settlement of purchased products and instructs the receipt to be issued. In response to this, the receipt printer 18 prints a receipt and issues it from the receipt issuing port 181 (step S11).

  Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not a notification indicating that the receipt has been removed from the receipt issuing port 181 has been acquired from the receipt printer 18 (step S12). When this notification has not been acquired, the CPU 11 displays on the liquid crystal touch panel 15 that the receipt still remains in the receipt issuing port 181 (step S13). The CPU 11 repeats step S12 and step S13 until obtaining the above notification from the receipt printer 18. Therefore, unless the customer removes the receipt from the receipt issuing port 181, the execution of the next change / settlement medium discharge process is awaited. As a result, change and settlement media are not yet discharged.

  When the notification from the receipt printer 18 is acquired in step S12, change / settlement medium discharge processing is started (steps S17 and S10). The CPU 11 issues a change discharge instruction to the money receiving / dispensing unit 16 or a payment medium discharge instruction to the card reader 17. In response to this, the money receiving / dispensing part 16 and the card reader 17 discharge the change or the settlement medium (step S14).

  Next, the CPU 11 sends a notification indicating that the change has been removed from the banknote outlet 163 and the coin outlet 164 or a notification indicating that the settlement medium has been removed from the card inlet / outlet 171 to the money receiving / dispensing unit 16. Or it is determined whether it acquired from the card reader 17 (step S15). When this notification has not been acquired, the CPU 11 displays on the liquid crystal touch panel 15 that change is still remaining at the banknote payout exit 163 and the coin payout exit 164 or that the settlement medium remains at the card entrance 171. (Step S16). CPU11 repeats step S15 and step S16 until it acquires said notification from the money receipt / payout part 16 or the card reader 17. FIG.

  When the notification from the money receipt / payout unit 16 or the card reader 17 is acquired in step S15, all the processes of product registration and settlement are completed (step S17).

  If the execution order set in the processing order setting file is opposite to that shown in FIG. 4, the change / settlement medium discharge process is first and the receipt issuance process is later, step S14 to step S16. Is executed first, and then Steps S11 to S13 are executed. At this time, the CPU 11 repeats step S15 and step S16 until the notification from the money receiving / dispensing unit 16 or the card reader 17 is acquired. Therefore, unless the customer removes the change from the banknote payout outlet 163 or the coin payout outlet 164, Or, unless the customer removes the settlement medium from the card entrance / exit 171, the next receipt issuing process is awaited and the receipt is not discharged.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, control is performed so that the change and the settlement medium are not discharged unless it is detected that the receipt is removed after discharging. Therefore, the customer can know that the transaction in the self-checkout system has not ended because no change or payment medium is discharged, and it is necessary to remove the receipt to end the transaction. You can receive a receipt. Further, according to the present embodiment, control is performed so that the receipt is not discharged unless it is detected that the change or the settlement medium has been removed after being discharged. Therefore, the customer can know that the transaction in the self-checkout system has not ended because the receipt has not been discharged, and it is necessary to remove the change and the settlement medium to end the transaction. You can receive change and payment media.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is possible to

  For example, the processing order setting file may be updated according to the record that the customer has forgotten to take the receipt, change, or settlement medium. Specifically, for example, a record of forgetting receipts or the like is managed using a forgetting history file as shown in FIG. In this forgetting history file, when the occurrence frequency of forgetting receipts is higher than forgetting change or payment medium, the processing order setting file is set to execute the receipt issuing process first, and change or settlement is performed. When the frequency of forgetting to remove a medium is higher than the frequency of forgetting to take a receipt, the processing order setting file is set to execute the change / settlement medium discharge processing first. The process with the higher frequency of forgetting to take place first is because the next process will not start unless the waste discharged in the first run is removed, so the customer forgets the waste from the previous process. This is because it is expected to act to receive it. The forgetting history file increases the value of the corresponding number of forgetting to assume that the receipt, change, or settlement medium has not been removed from the outlet within a predetermined time, and that the forgetting to forget is taken. Shall.

  Further, by using a forgetting history file that records the forgetting results for each customer as shown in FIG. 7B, the execution order of the receipt issuing process and the change / payment medium discharging process is changed according to the customer. May be. In this case, a member card storing member information for identifying a customer may be read by a member card reader, and product registration and settlement processing may be performed.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the “cash accounting button” and the “card accounting button” are displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 15, and the subsequent processing is proceeded according to the determination result of which the customer touched. However, without displaying such a button, it is detected whether the customer has inserted cash into the bill slot 161 or the coin slot 162 or whether the settlement medium has been inserted into the card slot 171. Subsequent processing may be advanced according to the result.

In addition, as a sensor for detecting whether or not each discharge included in the money receiving / dispensing unit 16, the card reader 17, and the receipt printer 18 has been removed, for example, whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be received by the light receiving unit. A sensor that detects the presence of an object can be used. The object detected by this sensor may be a customer's hand.
Further, for example, when the receipt printer 18 detects that the receipt has not been removed even after a predetermined time has passed since the receipt was issued, the receipt printer 18 notifies the CPU 11 of that fact, and the CPU 11 receives this notification. In this case, a process for displaying on the liquid crystal touch panel 15 that the receipt still remains in the receipt issuing port 181 may be performed (step S13).

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Self-checkout system (POS register) 10 ... POS register body 11 ... CPU 12 ... ROM 13 ... RAM 14 ... Barcode scanner 15 ... Liquid crystal touch panel 16 ... Money receipt / payout part 17 ... Card reader 18 ... Receipt printer 19A ... No. 1 metering unit 19B ... second metering unit 20 ... light emitter 21 ... communication unit

Claims (4)

In the self-checkout system that performs the registration process of purchased products and the settlement of the price by customer operation,
Product registration means for registering the purchased product;
A settlement means for accepting money or a settlement medium and for settlement of the price of the registered purchased product;
Change means for discharging change or the settlement medium;
A receipt discharging means for discharging the receipt;
Detecting means for detecting whether the change, the settlement medium, or the receipt is removed after discharging;
After the settlement, one of the change discharge means and the receipt discharge means is operated, and until the detection means detects that the discharged items are removed, the change discharge means and the receipt discharge means Control means for waiting for the start of the other operation and starting the other operation when the detection means detects that the discharged object has been removed;
A self-checkout system comprising: A history recording means for recording a history of whether the change, the settlement medium, or the receipt has been removed after ejection;
The control means, based on the history recorded in the history recording means, prior to the change etc. discharge means when the receipt or the receipt medium is more frequently removed after discharge than the change medium. The receipt discharging means is operated, and when the change or the settlement medium is not removed after discharging more frequently than the receipt, the change discharging means is operated before the receipt discharging means. The self-checkout system according to claim 1. It has a member information acquisition means to acquire member information for each customer,
The history recording means records the history for each customer based on the acquired member information,
The control means operates the receipt discharging means and the change discharging means based on a history recorded in the history recording means and corresponding to the acquired member information. The self-checkout system according to claim 1 or 2.   The self-checkout system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a notification unit that performs notification after the operation of the change discharge unit and the receipt discharge unit.

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