JP2012008963A - Drawer system and drawer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable operation where an outside person releases a lock of a drawer after confirming a situation.SOLUTION: A drawer system includes an external device, a drawer device 1, and a drawer switch 3. The drawer device 1 includes a drawer, lock acceptance means, notification means, reception means, and lock means. The lock acceptance means accepts a lock instruction to make the drawer be in a lock state. The notification means notifies the external device of an emergency signal A as a response to the acceptance of the lock instruction. The reception means receives a drawer release signal B to release the lock state from the external device. The lock means makes the drawer be in a lock state according to the lock instruction, and releases the lock state according to the drawer release signal B. The drawer switch 3 outputs a lock instruction corresponding to user's operation to the lock acceptance means.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a drawer system and a drawer apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a POS terminal in a store such as a supermarket or a restaurant is provided with a drawer device that opens and closes a cash drawer (hereinafter referred to as a drawer) that stores cash or the like in accordance with the operation of the POS. In the conventional drawer device, as a security measure for preventing the theft of money stored in the drawer, the opening / closing of the drawer is locked in accordance with the operation of a lock switch provided in a POS terminal or the like.

  However, in the above-described conventional drawer device, the store clerk can be unlocked by inputting a personal identification number, so the lock of the drawer can be locked after an outside person such as the headquarters checks without releasing the lock of the drawer by the store clerk. The system could not be operated to perform a more precise security check such as releasing it.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an embodiment of the present invention is a drawer system including an external device, a lock switch, and a drawer device. The lock switch outputs a lock instruction for setting the drawer in a locked state in accordance with a user operation. The drawer device includes a drawer, a lock reception unit, a notification unit, a reception unit, and a lock unit. The lock receiving means receives a lock instruction output from the lock switch. The notifying means notifies the external device of a first signal corresponding to acceptance of the lock instruction. The receiving means receives a second signal for releasing the lock state from the external device. The lock unit locks the drawer according to the lock instruction, and releases the lock state according to the first signal.

  An embodiment of the present invention is a drawer apparatus including a drawer, a lock receiving unit, a notification unit, a receiving unit, and a locking unit. The lock receiving means receives a lock instruction for bringing the drawer into a locked state. The notifying means notifies the preset destination of the first signal corresponding to the reception of the lock instruction. The receiving means receives a second signal for releasing the lock state from the transmission destination. The lock unit locks the drawer according to the lock instruction, and releases the lock state according to the second signal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the drawer device.

  In the present embodiment, a drawer apparatus including a drawer for storing money such as sales proceeds in a system of a store such as a supermarket or a restaurant and a headquarters that controls each store will be described as an example.

  First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a drawer apparatus 1, a POS terminal 2, a drawer switch 3, and a telephone 7 are installed in the store. In the headquarters, a headquarter server 4 as an external device, a headquarters terminal 5 and a telephone 6 are installed. The store and the headquarters are communicably connected to each other via a communication line NT such as a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, or a telephone line. More specifically, the drawer device 1 and the POS terminal 2 installed in the store and the headquarter server 4 installed in the headquarters are connected via a communication line NT. Further, a telephone set 7 installed in the store and a telephone set 6 installed in the headquarters are also connected via the communication line NT.

  The drawer device 1 includes a drawer for storing money such as sales. The POS terminal 2 performs information processing such as sales registration. The drawer switch 3 outputs a lock instruction for setting the drawer of the drawer device 1 in a locked state according to the operation of a user such as a store clerk to the drawer device 1 wirelessly or by wire. The drawer switch 3 is a switch provided separately from the drawer device 1 and the POS terminal 2, and may be installed at the backyard, the floor of the floor where the store clerk works, or used by the store clerk at all times. It may be a thing. In this manner, by providing the drawer switch 3 separately from the drawer device 1 and the POS terminal 2, for example, when a suspicious person visits, the store clerk can operate the drawer switch 3 without being noticed by the suspicious person.

  When there is an abnormality in the store (for example, a visit by a suspicious person), the store clerk operates the drawer switch 3 to output a lock instruction to the drawer device 1. The drawer device 1 receives a lock instruction from the drawer switch 3 and puts the drawer in a locked state. At this time, the drawer apparatus 1 notifies the headquarter server 4 of an emergency signal A (first signal) corresponding to the reception of the lock instruction. Further, the drawer device 1 notifies the drawer that it is in a locked state by voice or the like. By this notification, a person in the store (including a clerk or a suspicious person who has visited) can recognize that the drawer device 1 is in the locked state. The locked state is a state in which the drawer is locked by a drawer lock portion (details will be described later) with the drawer closed, and the drawer cannot be opened until the lock is released. By setting the drawer to the locked state, the money stored in the drawer cannot be taken out until the drawer is unlocked.

  The headquarter server 4 notifies the headquarters terminal 5 of an emergency contact according to the emergency signal from the drawer device 1. The headquarters terminal 5 notifies the person in the headquarters that the drawer device 1 installed in the store is in a locked state by displaying an emergency contact from the headquarter server 4 on a display or the like. The person at the headquarters receiving this notification checks the status of the store. In this check, it is confirmed whether there is a possibility of theft even if the drawer is unlocked. The check by the person at the headquarters may be performed by calling the telephone 7 installed in the store by the telephone 6 and talking with a store clerk in the store, or by actually visiting the store. . When a person at the headquarters determines that there is no problem even if the drawer is unlocked, the emergency release signal B (second signal) for releasing the drawer locked state is operated by operating the headquarters terminal 5 or the like. The data is output from the headquarter server 4 which is the transmission destination of A to the drawer device 1.

  The drawer device 1 receives the drawer release signal B output from the headquarter server 4 that is the destination of the emergency signal A, and releases the locked state of the drawer according to the received drawer release signal B. Therefore, in the drawer apparatus 1, when the drawer is locked by the operation of the drawer switch 3 by the store clerk, an outside person such as the headquarters checks the store status without causing the store clerk to unlock the drawer. After that, it becomes possible to operate to perform a more precise security check such as unlocking the drawer.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the POS terminal 2 includes a CPU 20, RAM 21, ROM 22, timing unit 23, audio output control circuit 24, display control circuit 26, keyboard control circuit 28, printer control circuit 30, communication I / F 32, drawer device. 1 are electrically connected via a bus 33.

  A CPU 20 (Central Processing Unit) centrally controls the operation of the POS terminal 2 by developing the program stored in the ROM 22 in the work area of the RAM 21 and sequentially executing the program. A RAM 21 (Random Access Memory) provides a work area when the CPU 20 executes a program. A ROM 22 (Read Only Memory) stores programs and various setting information. For example, the CPU 20 performs information processing such as sales registration in response to an operation input from the keyboard device 29 or the like by sequentially executing programs stored in the ROM 22.

  The timer unit 23 is an RTC (Real Time Clock) or the like, and measures the current time. The audio output control circuit 24 controls the audio output in the audio output device 25 such as an amplifier or a speaker under the control of the CPU 20. The display control circuit 26 controls display on a display device 27 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) under the control of the CPU 20. The keyboard control circuit 28 outputs operation inputs from the keyboard device 29 having numeric keys and various function keys to the CPU 20. The printer control circuit 30 controls printing on paper in the printer device 31 under the control of the CPU 20. The printer device 31 prints the sales registration on a sheet and issues a receipt or a journal. The communication I / F 32 is a communication interface that performs data communication with an external device such as the headquarter server 4 under the control of the CPU 20.

  The drawer device 1 includes a drawer control unit 11, a drawer lock unit 12, a drawer 13, a notification unit 14, and a communication unit 15. The drawer control unit 11 is a microcontroller or the like, and controls the operation of the drawer device 1 by sequentially executing programs preset in an internal ROM or the like. The drawer control unit 11 controls energization to a solenoid (not shown) for opening / closing the drawer 13 under the control of the CPU 20 while the drawer 13 is not locked by the drawer lock unit 12. Thus, the opening / closing of the drawer 13 may be controlled.

  Under the control of the drawer control unit 11, the drawer lock unit 12 sets the drawer 13 in a locked state in accordance with a lock instruction from the drawer switch 3. Further, the drawer lock unit 12 releases the locked state of the drawer 13 in response to reception of the drawer release signal B for releasing the locked state under the control of the drawer control unit 11. Specifically, the drawer lock unit 12 includes an actuator such as a solenoid and a lock mechanism (none of which is shown) that locks the drawer 13 in a closed state in accordance with driving of the actuator. The drawer lock unit 12 locks the drawer 13 when the actuator is driven in accordance with an electrical signal from the drawer control unit 11. Further, the drawer lock unit 12 releases the locked state of the drawer 13 when the electrical signal from the drawer control unit 11 is stopped and the driving of the actuator is stopped.

  The notification unit 14 is a voice output circuit, a speaker, or the like (none of which is shown), and performs voice notification according to the control of the drawer control unit 11. Specifically, a preset voice is notified under the control of the drawer control unit 11. For example, when the drawer 13 is in the locked state, the drawer 13 is notified by voice that the drawer 13 is in the locked state under the control of the drawer control unit 11. Note that the notification by the notification unit 14 may be performed not only by sound but also by display of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The communication unit 15 receives a lock instruction output from the drawer switch 3 wirelessly or by wire, and outputs the lock instruction to the drawer control unit 11.

  Next, the operation of the drawer device 1 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the drawer device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the process is started, the drawer control unit 11 determines whether or not the drawer switch 3 has received a lock instruction by turning on the drawer switch 3 in accordance with an operation of a user such as a store clerk. Is determined (S1). When the drawer switch 3 is not turned on and no lock instruction is received (S1: NO), the drawer control unit 11 waits for processing.

  When the drawer switch 3 is turned on and a lock instruction is accepted (S1: YES), the drawer control unit 11 causes the drawer lock unit 12 to lock the drawer 13 (S2). Next, the drawer control unit 11 transmits an emergency signal A corresponding to the reception of the lock instruction to the headquarter server 4 via the communication I / F 32 (S3). It is assumed that the address of the headquarter server 4 to which the emergency signal A is transmitted is set in advance in the internal ROM of the drawer control unit 11 or the like. Next, the drawer control unit 11 starts notification by the notification unit 14 indicating that the drawer 13 is in a locked state (S4).

  Next, the drawer control unit 11 determines whether or not the drawer release signal B is received via the communication I / F 32 from the headquarter server 4 that is the destination of the emergency signal A (S5). When no drawer release signal B is received (S5: NO), the drawer control unit 11 stands by for processing. That is, until the drawer release signal B is received from the headquarter server 4 to which the emergency signal A is transmitted, the locked state of the drawer 13 and the notification by the notification unit 14 are continued.

  When the drawer release signal B is received (S5: YES), the drawer control unit 11 releases the locked state of the drawer 13 by the drawer lock unit 12 (S6). Next, the drawer control unit 11 ends the notification by the notification unit 14 started in S4 (S7), and ends the process.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the drawer 13 is locked by the operation of the drawer switch 3 by a store clerk, the emergency signal A is transmitted to the headquarter server 4, and the headquarter server that is the destination 4 until the drawer release signal B is received, the drawer 13 is kept locked. In addition, the drawer device 1 allows a person outside the store (for example, a person at the headquarters) to check the store's situation after receiving a communication from the headquarter server 4 that has transmitted the emergency signal A without causing the store clerk to unlock the drawer 13. After that, when the drawer release signal B is output from the headquarter server 4, the locked state of the drawer 13 is released. Therefore, for example, after a person at the headquarters checks the situation of the store, it is possible to perform a more precise security check such as unlocking the drawer 13.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration in which a lock instruction for bringing the drawer 13 into a locked state is received from a drawer switch 3 provided separately from the drawer device 1 and the POS terminal 2 is exemplified. However, the lock instruction for bringing the drawer 13 into the locked state may be a predetermined operation input by the keyboard device 29 of the POS terminal 2. In this case, the store clerk can lock the drawer 13 while operating the POS terminal 2.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drawer apparatus 2 POS terminal 3 Drawer switch 4 Headquarter server 5 Headquarter terminal 11 Drawer control part 12 Drawer lock part 13 Drawer 14 Notification part 15 Communication part 20 CPU
21 RAM
22 ROM
32 Communication I / F
33 Bus A Emergency signal B Drawer release signal NT Communication line

JP 2001-273562 A

Claims (6)

An external device;
A lock switch that outputs a lock instruction to lock the drawer according to a user operation;
A drawer, a lock receiving means for receiving a lock instruction output from the lock switch, a notification means for notifying the external device of a first signal in response to the reception of the lock instruction, and a second for releasing the lock state Receiving means for receiving a signal from the external device, a drawer device including a locking means for setting the drawer in a locked state in response to the lock instruction and releasing the locked state in response to the second signal;
A drawer system characterized by comprising: The drawer device further includes a notification unit that notifies the lock state according to the lock instruction;
The drawer system according to claim 1. The external device is installed outside the store where the drawer device is installed;
The drawer system according to claim 1, wherein: With drawer,
Lock accepting means for accepting a lock instruction for bringing the drawer into a locked state;
A notification means for notifying a first destination of a first signal in response to reception of the lock instruction;
Receiving means for receiving from the destination a second signal for releasing the locked state;
Lock means for locking the drawer in response to the lock instruction and releasing the lock state in response to the second signal;
A drawer apparatus comprising: Further comprising notifying means for notifying the lock state in response to the lock instruction;
The drawer device according to claim 4. The transmission destination is an external device outside the store where the drawer device is installed,
The drawer device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein

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