JP2012093962A - Print processor and print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print processor and a print processing system capable of surely presenting characteristic information of a commodity.SOLUTION: A print processing system includes a commodity information acquisition part for acquiring commodity information identifying a commodity, a commodity information output part for outputting the acquired commodity information to a POS terminal, a spectroscopic information acquisition part for acquiring spectroscopic information which is a measurement result obtained by measuring the commodity by a hyper-spectral camera, a characteristic information generation part for analyzing the acquired spectroscopic information and generating characteristic information including information showing a condition of the commodity according to the analysis result, a printing information acquisition part for acquiring printing information including an accounting processing result of the commodity corresponding to the output commodity information, a printing data generation part for generating printing data by adding the commodity characteristic information generated by the characteristic information generation part to the acquired printing information, and a printing part for printing the printing data on a receipt.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus and a print processing system having a function of generating and presenting characteristic information representing the state of a product.

  Conventionally, as a technique for generating and presenting characteristic information that represents the state of a product, light is irradiated onto a target object mainly of fresh food whose freshness decreases with time, and the reflected light is analyzed to analyze the target object. A freshness sensor that determines freshness and displays the determination result on a display unit is known (see Patent Document 1). This freshness sensor determines the freshness of an object based on the spectrum of reflected light that changes due to a change in the color of the surface of the object, a decrease in moisture, or the like. According to this freshness sensor, the freshness of an object can be determined in a short time and in a non-destructive manner. Therefore, it is possible to inspect all products and determine the freshness in real time.

JP 2007-108124 A

  By the way, from the viewpoint of product sales promotion and customer service, there is a demand for presenting product characteristic information (freshness determination result) generated as described above to a customer when the product is sold. However, with the above technology, the product characteristic information is only temporarily displayed on the display unit of the freshness sensor at the time of measurement, and the characteristic information cannot be reliably presented to the customer. That is, the customer cannot use the property information after purchasing the product, for example, by devising the storage method and the consumption time of the product with reference to the property information.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a print processing apparatus and a print processing system capable of reliably presenting product characteristic information to a customer.

  The print processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a product information acquisition unit that acquires product information for specifying a product, a product information output unit that outputs the acquired product information to a POS terminal, and a measurement result obtained by measuring the product using a hyperspectral camera. From a spectral information acquisition unit that acquires certain spectral information, a characteristic information generation unit that analyzes the acquired spectral information, and generates characteristic information that includes information representing the state of the product according to the analysis result, and a POS terminal, A print information acquisition unit that acquires print information including the accounting processing result of the product corresponding to the output product information, and print data by adding the property information of the product generated by the property information generation unit to the acquired print information A print data generation unit for generating the print data, and a print unit for printing the print data on a receipt.

According to this configuration, by printing the generated characteristic information on the receipt, the characteristic information can be surely presented to the customer instead of temporary presentation. Thus, after purchasing the product, the customer can use the property information when consuming the product, such as devising a consumption method with reference to the property information. Further, the reliability of the product and the store can be improved by presenting the safety and quality of the product to the customer by the characteristic information indicating the state of the product.
In addition, since the print processing apparatus adds the characteristic information to the print information acquired from the POS terminal, the characteristic information can be printed on the receipt without changing the existing configuration of the POS terminal. Even when the POS terminal does not have an interface function for inputting the measurement result of the hyperspectral camera, it is possible to acquire spectral information based on the measurement result and print the characteristic information on the receipt.
The characteristic information is preferably any one of freshness, sugar content, amount of components contained in the product, presence or absence of foreign matter, and the like.

  Another print processing apparatus according to the present invention identifies a print information acquisition unit that acquires print information including a product transaction processing result from a POS terminal, and analyzes the acquired print information to identify a product for which accounting processing is performed. A product identification unit, a spectral information acquisition unit that acquires spectral information that is a measurement result of measuring a product with a hyperspectral camera, and a characteristic information generation unit that analyzes the acquired spectral information and generates characteristic information that represents the state of the product And a print data generation unit that generates print data by adding the product characteristic information generated by the characteristic information generation unit to the acquired print information, and a print unit that prints the print data on a receipt. It is characterized by that.

  According to this configuration, in addition to the above effects, data communication between the POS terminal and the print processing apparatus is performed in only one direction, so that the data processing load of the entire system can be reduced.

  In this case, the apparatus further includes a characteristic information storage unit that stores characteristic information for each product, and the print data generation unit extracts characteristic information corresponding to the product information acquired by the product information acquisition unit with reference to the characteristic information storage unit. Preferably, the print data is generated by adding the characteristic information to the print information.

  Alternatively, the printing apparatus may further include a characteristic information storage unit that stores characteristic information for each product, and the print data generation unit may extract characteristic information corresponding to the product specified by the product specifying unit with reference to the characteristic information storage unit. It is preferable to generate print data by adding information to print information.

  According to these configurations, print information including characteristic information can be generated simply by acquiring product information at the time of sale of the product. Therefore, it is not necessary to acquire spectral information at the time of selling a product, and a receipt on which characteristic information is printed can be issued without increasing the user's operation process.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the product information acquisition unit and the spectral information acquisition unit acquire the product information of the product and the spectral information of the product at substantially the same time.

  According to this configuration, the characteristic information generated based on the spectral information acquired simultaneously with the sale of the product can be printed on the receipt. That is, highly reliable characteristic information can be presented to the customer without changing the state of the product over time from the acquisition of the spectral information to the actual sale of the product.

  In these cases, it is preferable that the print information generation unit generates the characteristic information as a coded image.

  According to this configuration, if the encoded image printed on the receipt is read by the external terminal and the information representing the characteristics and quality of the product included in the characteristic information is visualized, the space for printing the characteristic information on the receipt Can be reduced and a wealth of information can be presented to the customer.

  In these cases, a characteristic-related information storage unit that stores characteristic-related information related to the consumption method of the product for each product is further provided, and the print information generation unit adds the property-related information of the product to the property information of the product and print information Is preferably generated.

  Furthermore, the characteristic related information storage unit stores a plurality of types of characteristic related information for one product, and extracts one characteristic related information from a plurality of types of characteristic related information according to the analysis result of the spectral information. It is preferable to further include a characteristic related information extracting unit.

  According to these configurations, specific information useful for consumption behavior after purchase can be presented to the customer. Note that the information related to the consumption method includes a storage method, a consumption method, a consumption time, and the like of the product. Further, if the characteristic-related information is in accordance with the analysis result of the spectral information, it is possible to present to the customer an optimal storage method and recommended consumption time considering the current state of the product.

  The print processing apparatus of the present invention includes a receipt printer including a product information acquisition unit, a product information output unit, a spectral information acquisition unit, a print information acquisition unit, a print data generation unit, and a printing unit, and a characteristic information generation unit. It is preferable to be configured by a server connected to the above receipt printer.

  Another print processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a receipt printer including a print information acquisition unit, a product identification unit, a print data generation unit, and a print unit, a spectral information acquisition unit, and a characteristic information generation unit, and one or more receipt printers And a server connected to each other.

  According to these configurations, in a printing system configured with a plurality of receipt printers and a single server, the property information can be reliably presented to the customer by printing the property information.

  A print processing system of the present invention includes the above-described print processing apparatus, a scanner for inputting product information, a hyperspectral camera, and a POS terminal.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a print processing system that can reliably present product characteristic information.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. It is the graph (a) of the wavelength-reflectance in the spectral information of a plum, and the graph (b) of freshness index-elapsed days. It is the figure which showed the memory content of the advice information storage section. It is the figure which showed an example of the receipt on which freshness information and advice information were printed. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a receipt on which freshness information and advice information are printed as a coded image, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a display example in which freshness information and advice information included in the coded image are visualized. . 3 is a flowchart illustrating print processing according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the printing processing system concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the memory content of the freshness information storage part. It is the flowchart which showed the printing process concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing the composition of the printing processing system concerning a 3rd embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print processing according to a third embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the printing processing system concerning 4th Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print processing according to a fourth embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a print processing apparatus and a print processing system of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the embodiments described below, in a retail store such as a supermarket, freshness information indicating the freshness level of fresh food that has been accounted for and advice information corresponding to the freshness level are printed on a receipt. Note that “fresh food” refers to fruits and vegetables (fruits and vegetables), fresh fish and meat. “Freshness information” is generated from the results of measurement of fresh food by the hyperspectral camera provided in the print processing system, and “advice information” is the time to eat the fresh food according to the freshness level. It shows the date and time, storage method and recommended way to eat. In the claims, “characteristic information” refers to “freshness information”, and “characteristic related information” refers to “advice information”.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a print processing system SY1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the print processing system SY1 includes a POS terminal 1 that performs accounting processing, a handy scanner 2 that reads a product barcode attached or printed on a product, and a hyperspectral camera that measures the product (fresh food). 3, a receipt printer 4 that issues a receipt, and a store management server 5 that controls the print processing system SY <b> 1. The receipt printer 4, the handy scanner 2, and the hyperspectral camera 3 are connected to each other by a serial interface (for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface) (a peripheral device I / F unit 31 described later). The POS terminal 1, the receipt printer 4, and the store management server 5 are connected by an in-store LAN 6 (wired LAN or wireless LAN).

  Although FIG. 1 shows a case where there is one POS terminal 1, when a plurality of cash register counters are installed in the store, the POS terminal 1, handy scanner 2, hyperspectral camera is provided for each cash register counter. 3 and a receipt printer 4 are provided. The “print processing apparatus” in the claims includes the receipt printer 4 and the store management server 5 among the above-described components.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, an operator measures a product using the hyperspectral camera 3 at the time of accounting. At the time of the accounting, the product barcodes of all the products are read by the handy scanner 2, whereas the products measured by the hyperspectral camera 3 are performed only on fresh foods among all the products. It is assumed that the operator visually determines whether or not the accounting target product is fresh food. Of course, by using the information on the product name and product category included in the product barcode, the POS terminal 1 discriminates and displays it on the operator display, so that the operator can check whether the product to be accounted for is fresh food. It is good also as a structure which notifies.

  The POS terminal 1 has an accounting processing unit 11 and a print information generation unit 12 as main functional configurations. The accounting processing unit 11 has a POS application (not shown) as a main part, and executes accounting processing such as settlement processing based on the product information acquired from the handy scanner 2 via the receipt printer 4. The print information generation unit 12 generates print information for printing on a receipt based on the processing result of the accounting process. In addition, the print information generation unit 12 outputs the generated print information to the receipt printer 4.

  As a main configuration, the hyperspectral camera 3 generates a light source for irradiating a product (fresh food), a spectroscope (both not shown) that scatters the reflected light from the product, and generates spectroscopic information of the reflected reflected light. A spectroscopic information generation unit 13 is provided. The spectroscopic information is obtained by quantifying the detection value of reflected light in each wavelength region. Then, the spectral information generation unit 13 outputs the generated spectral information to the receipt printer 4. The hyperspectral camera 3 may be a handy type or an installation type fixed to a cashier counter as long as the surface of the product can be measured. Further, the method for measuring the product may be a transmission method in which the product is measured using transmitted light instead of the reflection method described above. Further, it is desirable that the spectral information is obtained by quantifying the detection values in each wavelength region including the near infrared region effective for component analysis of products.

  The store management server 5 mainly stores a freshness determination unit 21 (characteristic information generation unit) that determines a freshness level from spectral information acquired from the receipt printer 4, and advice information corresponding to the freshness level for each product. Advice information storage unit 22 (characteristic related information storage unit), eating date and time calculation unit 23 that calculates the eating date and time of the product according to the determination result of the freshness level, and advice according to the determination result of the freshness level from the advice information storage unit 22 An advice information extraction unit 24 (characteristic related information extraction unit) that extracts information is provided.

  The freshness determination unit 21 determines the freshness level of the product from the spectral information acquired from the receipt printer 4 based on a predetermined program stored in a storage unit (not shown). Specifically, the spectral information that is the detection value in each wavelength range is analyzed, and a freshness index that is affected by the amount of main components (such as water content and sugar content) that changes over time and the color of the surface is calculated. The freshness level of the product is determined from the freshness index.

  Spectroscopic information (spectrum) analysis methods are broadly divided into two types: qualitative analysis type and quantitative analysis type. The former includes principal component analysis and cluster analysis, and the latter includes multiple regression analysis and principal component regression analysis. is there. If these already known analysis methods are used, freshness determination can be easily performed, but in this embodiment, a simple method is adopted. The following is a discriminating method devised with reference to a normalized vegetation index (NDVI) known for remote sensing, which can be analyzed even by a CPU with low processing capability. For example, FIG. 2 (a) is a wavelength-reflectance graph for fruit plums. A wavelength section of 575-625 nm is an A section, and a wavelength section of 625-725 nm is a B section. FIG. 2B is a graph showing the freshness index-elapsed days by defining the formula (B−A) / (B + A) as the freshness index. The freshness index increases as the freshness deteriorates. In this embodiment, the freshness index is less than 0.15 in “Lv1: Fresh”, less than 0.15-0.25 in “Lv2: Semi-fresh”, and 0.25 or more in “Lv3: Non-fresh”. Shall be divided. Note that this freshness level is different for each product in consideration of the characteristics of the product (a component that easily changes over time). The determination result (freshness level) determined in this way is output to the POS terminal 1 as freshness information.

  The advice information storage unit 22 stores information including advice information for each product. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents stored in the advice information storage unit 22. As shown in the figure, the advice information storage unit 22 stores, for each product, “product name”, “time to eat / expiration date”, “estimated elapsed time” according to freshness level, “storage method”, “recommended how to eat” Is remembered.

  The “product name” is actually stored as a product code for specifying the product included in the product barcode acquired by the handy scanner 2 (in FIG. 3, the product name is described). “Eating time / time limit” is determined by the shipper, manufacturer, or retail store, and is stored in the elapsed time from the shipping date or the manufacturing date. For example, as shown in the drawing, “Eating time / deadline” of “La France” is the day when 20 days have passed from the shipping date. “Eating time / deadline” indicates the time of eating for fruits and vegetables (fruits and vegetables), and the meaning equivalent to the so-called expiration date for fresh fish and meat. The “estimated elapsed period” is an elapsed period from the shipping date or the manufacturing date of the product estimated from the freshness level (freshness index). Since the “estimated elapsed period” is an elapsed period estimated from the freshness index of the product, it may be an elapsed period different from the actual elapsed period. The “storage method” is an optimal product storage method according to the freshness level. For example, as shown in the figure, in the case of “La France”, a storage method of “Store at room temperature” is stored for the freshness levels of “Lv1” and “Lv2”, and those of “Lv3” The storage method of “Please store refrigerated” is stored. “Recommended how to eat” is the best way to eat according to the freshness level. For example, as shown in the figure, in the case of “tuna red”, the method of eating “savory with sashimi” is remembered for the freshness levels of “Lv1” and “Lv2”, and those of “Lv3” On the other hand, how to eat "Fry and saute is recommended" is remembered. Note that the advice information is not limited to the above, and may include, for example, a “recommended recipe” of a product.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the eating date and time calculation unit 23 refers to the determination result of the freshness determination unit 21 and the “eating time and deadline” and the “estimated elapsed period” of the advice information storage unit 22 to calculate the eating date and time of the product. . Specifically, the date obtained by subtracting the “estimated elapsed period” corresponding to the freshness level from the elapsed period of “eating time / deadline” is added to the current date and time as the eating date and time. For example, in La France where the freshness level is determined to be “Lv2”, the “eating time / deadline” has an elapsed period of “20 days later” and the “estimated elapsed period” is “15 days” (see FIG. 3). . Therefore, the date of eating in La France is the date and time obtained by adding 5 days to the current date and time (see FIGS. 4 and 5). As described above, the “estimated elapsed period”, which is the basis for calculating the date and time of eating, may be an elapsed period different from the actual elapsed period. It is possible to calculate an appropriate eating date and time in consideration of the difference in freshness. For fresh fish and meat, the calculated eating date is a date having substantially the same meaning as the expiration date. For this reason, it is preferable that “expiration date” is written on the receipt instead of “at the time of eating”.

  The advice information extraction unit 24 extracts “save method” and “recommended how to eat” according to the determination result of the freshness determination unit 21. Then, the extracted “saving method” and “recommended how to eat” and the calculated eating date and time are output to the POS terminal 1 as advice information.

  Next, the configuration of the receipt printer 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the receipt printer 4 includes, as main components, a peripheral device I / F unit 31, a POSI / F unit 32, a spectral information detection unit 33, a print information reorganization unit 34 (print data generation unit), and printing. A portion 35 is provided. The peripheral device I / F unit 31 acquires the product information (including product code, product name, price, etc.) included in the product barcode from the handy scanner 2 (product information acquisition unit), and spectroscopically from the hyperspectral camera 3. Information is acquired (spectral information acquisition unit). The POS I / F unit 32 outputs the product information acquired from the handy scanner 2 to the POS terminal 1 (product information output unit) and acquires print information from the POS terminal 1 (print information acquisition unit).

  When detecting that the spectral information has been acquired from the hyperspectral camera 3, the spectral information detecting unit 33 outputs the acquired spectral information to the store management server 5. The spectral information detection unit 33 outputs the product code included in the product information acquired immediately before the spectral information to the store management server 5 together with the spectral information.

  The print information reorganization unit 34 adds the freshness information and advice information acquired from the store management server 5 to the print information acquired from the POS terminal, and reorganizes the print information. If the freshness information and advice information are not acquired from the store management server 5, the print information is not reorganized. Note that freshness information and advice information may be added to the print information as a coded image (see FIG. 5).

  The printing unit 35 includes a printing mechanism that executes printing. The printing unit 35 prints printing information generated by the POS terminal 1 or printing information reorganized by the printing information reorganization unit 34 on a receipt sheet, and issues a receipt.

  4 and 5 show an example of a receipt on which freshness information and advice information are printed. The receipt R1 shown in FIG. 4 includes a first print area E1 in which store information and transaction information are printed in the upper part, and a second print area E2 in which freshness information and advice information of the accounted products are printed in the lower part. have. As shown in the drawing, freshness information and advice information are printed for the accounted “La France” and “Avocado” in the second print area E2. “Freshness level” is printed as freshness information, and “date of eating”, “storing method”, and “recommended how to eat” are printed as advice information. As for “date and time of eating”, the time may be displayed in addition to the date. In addition, information that should be conspicuous, such as “freshness level” and “date and time of eating”, may be printed in the first print area E1 along with the print line of the target product. Further, if the accounted merchandise is not fresh food, freshness information and advice information are not generated, so a receipt having only the first print area E1 is printed.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of a receipt on which freshness information and advice information are printed as a coded image. FIG. 5B shows freshness information and advice included in the printed coded image. A display example in which information is visualized is shown. The receipt R2 shown in FIG. 6A has a first print area E1 and a second print area E2 like the receipt R1, but the freshness information and advice information are encoded in the second print area E2. It is printed as an image C (for example, QR code). For example, when the coded image C is read by the code reading function installed in the customer's mobile phone, the freshness information and the advice information are displayed on the display D ((b) in the figure). Thereby, the printing space of a receipt can be reduced.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the printing process of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the store management server 5 and the receipt printer 4. First, the receipt printer 4 acquires product information from the handy scanner 2 (S01), and outputs the acquired product information to the POS terminal 1 (S02). And the printing information of the receipt based on the accounting process result of the said goods is acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S03). When the spectral information is acquired (S04: Yes), the spectral information and the product code (extracted from the product information) acquired immediately before acquiring the spectral information are output to the store management server 5 (S05). On the other hand, when acquiring the product code and the spectral information, the store management server 5 determines the freshness of the product based on these information (S06). Then, referring to the advice information storage unit 22, advice information is generated based on the product code and the spectral information (S07). Then, the freshness information and the advice information, which are determination results of the freshness determination, are output to the receipt printer 4 (S08). On the other hand, when the receipt printer 4 acquires the product code, the freshness information, and the advice information from the store management server 5, the freshness information and the advice information are added to the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1, and the print information is reorganized (S09). ). Then, the print information is printed on the receipt (S10). On the other hand, when the spectral information is not acquired (S04: No), the receipt printer 4 prints the receipt on the receipt without reorganizing the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S10). Note that “substantially simultaneous” in the claims means that both product information and spectral information of the same product are acquired at the time of accounting.

According to the first embodiment, since fresh food that is the subject of accounting is measured at the time of accounting and each information is generated, highly reliable freshness information and advice information can be presented to the customer for each fresh food. it can. In particular, by calculating the “date of eating” included in the advice information based on the freshness information generated in real time, it is possible to present a more accurate date of eating. This is very useful information for fruits that need ripening after purchase, such as last lance and avocado.
Further, in this embodiment, since the hyperspectral camera 3 that measures a product for generating freshness information is connected to the receipt printer 4, the spectral information of the hyperspectral camera 3 is input to the POS terminal 1. Even if the interface function is not provided, this can be realized.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, about each other embodiment demonstrated below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure similar to said embodiment, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the print processing system SY2 according to the second embodiment. The feature of this embodiment is that the receipt printer 4 has a freshness information storage unit 37 (characteristic information storage unit) that stores freshness information and advice information for each product, and extracts freshness information and advice information corresponding to the accounting product. And printing on the receipt. That is, in the present embodiment, measurement by the hyperspectral camera 3 at the time of accounting is not required. Hereinafter, the characteristic part of each structure is demonstrated.

  The print processing system SY2 includes a store management server 5, a POS terminal 1, a handy scanner 2, and a receipt printer 4. The store management server 5 includes a product / spectral information acquisition unit 25, a freshness information generation unit 26 including a freshness determination unit 21, an eating time calculation unit 23, and an advice information extraction unit 24 described in the first embodiment, and an advice information storage. Part 22. The product / spectral information acquisition unit 25 acquires product information and spectral information that is a measurement result of the hyperspectral camera 3. The product information and spectral information may be acquired from the handy scanner 2 and hyperspectral camera (not shown) connected to the POS terminal 1 or may be acquired from an external device. The freshness information generation unit 26 generates freshness information and advice information for each product by the same processing method as in the first embodiment based on the acquired product information and spectral information, and transmits them to the receipt printer 4. Actually, the store management server 5 generates freshness information and advice information for all fresh foods before accounting processing such as before opening a store, and transmits the freshness information and advice information to the receipt printer 4. The freshness information and advice information to be generated may be based on a representative value of measurement results obtained by measuring each type of multiple products, or may be based on measurement results obtained by measuring individual products. In the present embodiment, the former is adopted.

  The receipt printer 4 includes a peripheral device I / F unit 31, a POSI / F unit 32, a product determination unit 36, a freshness information storage unit 37, a print information reorganization unit 34 (print data generation unit), and a printing unit 35. The product discriminating unit 36 discriminates whether or not the product is a fresh food from the product information acquired from the handy scanner 2. The freshness information storage unit 37 stores freshness information and advice information for each product generated by the store management server 5.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the stored contents of the freshness information storage unit 37. As illustrated, the freshness information storage unit 37 stores “product name”, “freshness level”, “date of eating”, “save method”, and “recommended how to eat” for each product. In other words, the “freshness level” and the “date and time of eating” calculated by the store management server 5 are stored, and the “preservation method” and “recommended how to eat” are the extraction results according to the freshness level by the store management server 5. Is remembered. The stored content of the freshness information storage unit 37 is updated to the latest information every time freshness information and advice information are transmitted from the store management server 5.

  Next, the printing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the receipt printer 4. First, the receipt printer 4 acquires product information from the handy scanner 2 (S21), and outputs the acquired product information to the POS terminal 1 (S22). And the printing information of the receipt based on the accounting process result of the said goods is acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S23). And it is discriminate | determined from the acquired goods information whether the said goods are fresh food (S24). If the product contains fresh food (S24: Yes), the freshness information and advice information corresponding to the product are extracted with reference to the freshness information storage unit 37 (S25). Then, the extracted freshness information and advice information are added to the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1, and the print information is reorganized (S26). Then, the print information is printed on the receipt (S27). On the other hand, if the product does not contain fresh food (S24: No), the receipt printer 4 prints the receipt on the receipt without reorganizing the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S27).

  According to the second embodiment, since it is not necessary to measure the product with the hyperspectral camera 3 at the time of accounting, the operator's operation process is not increased. Further, since freshness information and advice information for each product are already generated at the time of accounting, the processing time until receipt issuance can be shortened. Therefore, the freshness information and advice information can be reliably presented to the customer without increasing the time required for accounting as a whole.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print processing system SY3 according to the third embodiment. The feature of the present embodiment is that the receipt printer 4 has a freshness information generation unit 26A that generates freshness information and advice information for each product, and generates freshness information and advice information for the accounting product at the time of accounting. . Hereinafter, the characteristic part of each structure is demonstrated.

  The print processing system SY3 includes a POS terminal 1, a handy scanner 2, a hyperspectral camera 3, and a receipt printer 4. The receipt printer 4 includes a peripheral device I / F unit 31, a POSI / F unit 32, a spectral information detection unit 33, a freshness information generation unit 26A, an advice information storage unit 22, a print information reorganization unit 34, and a printing unit 35. . The freshness information generation unit 26A includes a freshness determination unit 21A, an eating date and time calculation unit 23A, and an advice information extraction unit 24A that have the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment. The freshness information generation unit 26A is included in the store management server 5 in the above embodiment. Freshness information and advice information are generated by the same processing method as the freshness information generation unit 26 provided.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the receipt printer 4 in the present embodiment. First, the receipt printer 4 acquires product information from the handy scanner 2 (S31), and outputs the acquired product information to the POS terminal 1 (S32). And the printing information of the receipt based on the accounting process result of the said goods is acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S33). When the spectral information is acquired (S34: Yes), freshness information and advice information are generated based on the acquired spectral information and the product code (extracted from the product information) acquired immediately before acquiring the spectral information (S35: The same processing as S06 to S07 in the first embodiment is performed). Then, the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 is added to the generated freshness information and advice information, and the print information is reorganized (S36). Then, the print information is printed on the receipt (S37). On the other hand, if the spectral information is not acquired (S34: No), the receipt printer 4 prints the receipt on the receipt without reorganizing the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 (S37). Whether or not the spectral information is acquired depends on the product discrimination for determining whether or not the operator is a fresh food, as in the above basic example.

  According to the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, highly reliable freshness information and advice information can be presented to the customer. Further, since freshness information and advice information are generated at the POS terminal 1 at the time of accounting, it is not necessary to communicate with the store management server 5, and the processing time can be shortened.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the print processing system SY4 according to the present embodiment. The feature of this embodiment is that the handy scanner 2 is connected to the POS terminal 1. In the present embodiment, the receipt printer 4 analyzes the print information, and when the accounting target product includes fresh food, it prints freshness information and advice information on the fresh food on the receipt. Note that the receipt printer 4 of this embodiment has a freshness information storage unit 37 (characteristic information storage unit) that stores freshness information and advice information for each product, as in the second embodiment, and corresponds to the accounting product. The freshness information and advice information obtained are extracted and printed on the receipt. Hereinafter, the characteristic part of each structure is demonstrated.

  The print processing system SY4 includes a store management server 5, a POS terminal 1, a handy scanner 2, and a receipt printer 4. The store management server 5 includes a product / spectral information acquisition unit 25 (spectral information acquisition unit), a freshness information generation unit including the freshness determination unit 21, the eating time calculation unit 23, and the advice information extraction unit 24 described in the first embodiment. 26 and an advice information storage unit 22.

  The product / spectral information acquisition unit 25 acquires product information (including a product code) and spectral information from the POS terminal 1. The merchandise information and the spectral information may be acquired from the handy scanner 2 and the hyperspectral camera (not shown) connected to the POS terminal 1, or may be acquired from an external device. The freshness information generation unit 26 generates freshness information and advice information by the same processing method as in the second embodiment based on the acquired product information and spectral information, and transmits them to the receipt printer 4. Actually, the store management server 5 generates freshness information and advice information for all fresh foods before accounting processing such as before opening a store, and transmits the freshness information and advice information to the receipt printer 4. The freshness information and advice information to be generated may be based on a representative value of measurement results obtained by measuring each type of multiple products, or may be based on measurement results obtained by measuring individual products. The former is also adopted in this embodiment.

  The receipt printer 4 includes a POSI / F unit 32, a print information analysis unit 38 (product specifying unit), a freshness information storage unit 37, a print information reorganization unit 34 (print data generation unit), and a printing unit 35. The print information analysis unit 38 analyzes the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 and identifies the product for which the transaction is to be made. And it is discriminate | determined whether the specified goods are fresh goods.

  Next, the printing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the store management server 5 and the receipt printer 4. First, when the receipt printer 4 obtains print information from the POS terminal 1 (S41), the receipt printer 4 analyzes the obtained print information and specifies a product for accounting (S42). And it is discriminate | determined whether the specified goods are fresh food (S43). When the specified product contains fresh food (S43: Yes), the freshness information and advice information corresponding to the product are extracted with reference to the freshness information storage unit 37 (S44). Then, the freshness information and advice information extracted are added to the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1, and the print information is reorganized (S45). Then, the print information is printed on the receipt (S46). On the other hand, if the product to be accounted for does not contain fresh food (S43: No), the receipt printer 4 prints the print information acquired from the POS terminal 1 on the receipt without reorganization (S46).

  According to the fourth embodiment, since the handy scanner 2 and the hyperspectral camera 3 are connected to the POS terminal, product information is output from the receipt printer 4 to the POS terminal 1 as in the above embodiments. There is no need. That is, the exchange of data between the POS terminal 1 and the receipt printer 4 is only output of print information from the POS terminal 1 to the receipt printer 4. That is, since data exchange in the printing process is performed in one direction, the processing load of the printing processing system SY2 can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, a freshness information generation unit that generates freshness information and advice information in the receipt printer 4 (consisting of a freshness determination unit 21, an advice information storage unit 22, an eating time calculation unit 23, and an advice information extraction unit 24). The receipt printer 4 may generate freshness information and advice information.

  According to each embodiment described so far, freshness information can be reliably presented to a customer by printing freshness information indicating the freshness level of the commodities for which accounting has been performed on a receipt. That is, as compared with a display that presents information temporarily, the freshness information is printed on a receipt that is always issued at the time of accounting and handed over to the customer, so that the freshness of the purchased product can be reliably presented to the customer. Furthermore, by printing advice information according to the freshness level of the product on the receipt, more effective information about the product can be presented to the customer. Then, by printing these information on the receipt, the customer can use these information when consuming the product after purchase.

  In addition, since the receipt printer 4 adds freshness information and advice information to the print information of the receipt acquired from the POS terminal 1, the POS terminal 1 includes the freshness information and advice information in this print processing. It is only necessary to generate normal print information based on the accounting processing result without considering the above. That is, it is possible to realize the print processing systems SY1, SY2, SY3, and SY4 that can print freshness information and advice information on a receipt without changing the configuration of the POS terminal 1.

  In each of the above embodiments, the freshness information indicating the freshness level of the product is printed on the receipt as the characteristic information. However, if the target product is a fruit, the information indicating the sugar content of the product is added and printed on the receipt. May be. In addition, from the spectral information, the component amount information indicating the analysis result of analyzing the specific component amount included in the product and the component type information indicating the analysis result of analyzing the type of component included in the product are used as characteristic information. It may be generated and printed on a receipt. Furthermore, it is good also considering the result of having determined the presence or absence of the foreign material contamination of goods from the component type information which analyzed the kind of component contained in goods as characteristic information. This makes it possible to present to the customer the quality and safety of the product.

  In each of the above embodiments, the target product is a fresh food. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the target product may be a fresh flower, a processed food, or the like. For example, when the target product is a fresh flower, flowering prediction of the flowering time of the fresh flower can be applied, and when the target product is a processed food, the above component amount information and component type information can be applied as characteristic information to the present invention. It is. Further, the store management server 5 may be provided in a head office server of a retail store where the chain development is performed, and information may be provided to a POS terminal installed in each store. In addition, the system configuration and processing steps of the print processing systems SY1, SY2, SY3, and SY4 can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention, regardless of the above-described embodiment.

  1: POS terminal 2: Handy scanner 3: Hyperspectral camera 4: Receipt printer 5: Store management server 21: Freshness determination unit 22: Advice information storage unit 24: Advice information extraction unit 25: Product / spectral information acquisition unit 31: Peripheral Device I / F unit 32: POSI / F unit 34: Print information reorganization unit 35: Printing unit 37: Freshness information storage unit 38: Print information analysis unit C: Coded image R1, R2: Receipt SY1, SY2, SY3, SY4 : Print processing system

Claims (11)

A product information acquisition unit for acquiring product information for specifying a product;
A product information output unit for outputting the acquired product information to a POS terminal;
A spectroscopic information acquisition unit that acquires spectroscopic information that is a measurement result obtained by measuring a product with a hyperspectral camera;
Analyzing the acquired spectral information, and according to the analysis result, a characteristic information generating unit that generates characteristic information including information representing the state of the product;
A print information acquisition unit that acquires print information including an accounting process result of a product corresponding to the output product information from the POS terminal;
A print data generation unit that generates print data by adding characteristic information of the product generated by the characteristic information generation unit to the acquired print information;
And a printing unit that prints the print data on a receipt. A print information acquisition unit for acquiring print information including the accounting process result of the product from the POS terminal;
Analyzing the acquired print information, a product specifying unit for specifying the product that has been subject to accounting processing,
A spectroscopic information acquisition unit that acquires spectroscopic information that is a measurement result of measuring the product with a hyperspectral camera;
Analyzing the acquired spectral information and generating characteristic information representing the state of the product;
A print data generation unit that generates print data by adding characteristic information of the product generated by the characteristic information generation unit to the acquired print information;
And a printing unit that prints the print data on a receipt. A characteristic information storage unit for storing the characteristic information for each product;
The print data generation unit extracts characteristic information corresponding to the product information acquired by the product information acquisition unit with reference to the characteristic information storage unit, adds the characteristic information to the previous print information, and adds the print data. The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print processing apparatus generates the print processing apparatus. A characteristic information storage unit for storing the characteristic information for each product;
The print data generating unit extracts characteristic information corresponding to the product specified by the product specifying unit with reference to the characteristic information storage unit, and adds the characteristic information to the previous print information to generate the print data. The print processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the product information acquisition unit and the spectral information acquisition unit acquire the product information of the product and the spectral information of the product substantially simultaneously.   The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print information generation unit generates the characteristic information as a coded image. Further comprising a property-related information storage unit for storing property-related information related to the consumption method of the product for each product,
The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print information generation unit generates the print information by adding the characteristic-related information of the product to the characteristic information of the product. . The characteristic related information storage unit stores a plurality of types of characteristic related information for one product,
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a characteristic related information extracting unit that extracts one characteristic related information from the plurality of types of characteristic related information according to the analysis result of the spectral information. Print processing equipment. A receipt printer comprising the product information acquisition unit, the product information output unit, the spectral information acquisition unit, the print information acquisition unit, the print data generation unit, and the printing unit;
The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a server that includes the characteristic information generation unit and is connected to one or more receipt printers. A receipt printer including the print information acquisition unit, the product identification unit, the print data generation unit, and the printing unit;
The print processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a server that includes the spectral information acquisition unit and the characteristic information generation unit and is connected to one or more of the receipt printers. A print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A scanner for inputting the product information;
The hyperspectral camera;
A print processing system comprising the POS terminal.

Images