JP2012113649A - Customer attraction system, gate device, terminal device, and register device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a customer attraction system which automatically measures the number of customers of a group and automatically provide services corresponding to the number of customers of the group for the customers.SOLUTION: A gate device includes measurement means of measuring the number of customers of the group passing through the gate device, determination means of determining service information corresponding to the measured number of customers, and transmission means of transmitting the determined service information to a terminal carried by a person included in the group whose number of customers is determined. A terminal device includes reception means of receiving the service information from the gate device, storage means of storing the received service information, and transmission means of transmitting the stored service information to a register device. The register device includes reception means of receiving the service information from the terminal device, determination means of determining service contents corresponding to the received service information, and settlement means of reflecting the service contents on settlement processing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a customer collection system, a gate device, a terminal device, and a cash register device.

  Currently, coupons are widely used in Japan for marketing purposes. These coupons can be found on magazine pages, whether paid or free, or distributed on the Internet or mobile phone. It is intended to attract customers.

  A group discount system is often used as a service for attracting customers. This is intended to attract customers to the store by providing a predetermined discount service to customers who visit the store with a certain number of people or more.

  On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose techniques using a human body as a transmission medium for electrostatic field communication. When used as a transmission medium for this electrostatic field communication, in addition to being able to communicate between human bodies in contact with a part of the human body such as holding hands, it is possible to communicate with the vicinity of multiple human bodies in contact. A state where communication is possible can be created.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-228524 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-229357 Japanese National Patent Publication No. 11-509380

  When using coupons or applying group discounts, there are disadvantages that require customers to cut magazine pages in advance or download coupons via the Internet, mobile phones, etc. Also, even if you forget the coupon when you use it, you may not be able to receive the service.

  In addition, it is necessary for the store side to check the number of groups to see whether coupon service provision conditions are met at the time of payment.

  When the store side issues a plurality of coupons, the customer side does not always have the optimal coupon, and there is also a problem that the optimal service cannot be provided uniformly from the store side.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a customer collection system that automatically measures the number of groups of customers and automatically provides services to customers according to the number of groups.

  The customer collection system of the present invention is a customer collection system including a gate device, a terminal device, and a cash register device, wherein the gate device includes a gate device-side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the terminal device, and the gate device. Measuring means for measuring the number of customer groups passing through the human body communication with the terminal device carried by a person included in the group, and determining means for determining service information according to the measured number of persons The gate device-side human body communication means transmits the determined service information to the terminal device carried by a person included in the organization that has identified the number of people by human body communication, Terminal device-side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the gate device and receiving the service information from the gate device by human body communication, and storage means for storing the received service information Transmission means for transmitting the stored service information to the cash register apparatus, the cash register apparatus receiving means for receiving the service information from the terminal apparatus, and service contents corresponding to the received service information And a clearing means for reflecting the service contents in the clearing process.

  The gate device of the present invention is based on the human body communication between the gate device side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the terminal device, and the terminal device carried by the person included in the group, the number of customer groups passing through. Measuring means for measuring, and determining means for determining service information corresponding to the measured number of persons, wherein the gate device-side human body communication means includes the determined service information for a person included in an organization that has identified the number of persons It transmits to the said terminal device which is carried by human body communication.

  The terminal device of the present invention performs human body communication with the gate device and receives terminal-side human body communication means for receiving service information from the gate device, storage means for storing the received service information, and the stored service information. Transmission means for transmitting to the cash register apparatus.

  The cash register apparatus according to the present invention includes receiving means for receiving service information from a terminal device, determining means for determining service contents according to the received service information, and clearing means for reflecting the service contents in a clearing process. It is characterized by providing.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the number of customers' organizations can be automatically measured, and services according to the number of organizations can be automatically provided to customers.

(A)-(c) is a figure which shows the outline | summary of an example of operation | movement when the organization with a structure of a gate apparatus and a terminal device passes. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a gate apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a terminal device. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a cash register apparatus. It is a figure which shows the packet structure used by human body communication. It is a table | surface which shows the kind of packet. It is a figure which shows the structure of ID intrinsic | native to an apparatus. It is a table | surface which shows the content of the identification bit. It is a figure which shows the structure of the service information used with a service content notification packet. It is a flowchart which shows the processing flow of a gate apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a cash register apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a cash register apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the human body communication of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the flow with respect to the input from the operation part of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a server. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a mobile telephone.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The customer collection system of the present invention automatically measures the number of organizations passing through a gate, and provides a customer with a service according to the number of organizations. The customer attraction system of the present invention includes a gate device, a terminal device, a cash register device, and a server connected to a network.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of an example of a configuration of a gate device and an operation when a group having a terminal device passes. As for the identification of the group, a group of people whose body parts are in contact with each other, such as connecting hands or arms, is identified as one group.

  First, the configuration of the gate device is shown in FIG. The gate device 101 forms a passage (gate) in which two people cannot pass side by side, that is, a passage (gate) in which a plurality of groups cannot pass at once. A gate formed by the gate device 101 is provided with a pair of human body sensors 102 and a pair of human body communication antennas 103 facing each other. The human body sensor 102 detects a human body near the gate entrance, and further detects the addition of a human body gate. The human body communication antenna 103 is for the human body communication device provided in the gate device 101 to perform human body communication with a terminal device possessed by a person. The gate device 101 includes the human body sensor 102 and the human body communication antenna 103, and further includes other elements as will be described later.

  In the example of FIG. 1A, a person 105 having the terminal device 104 and a person 107 not having the terminal device pass between the two elements of the gate device 101. The terminal device 104 communicates with the human body communication device of the gate device 101, counts people (people passing through the gate) continuously detected by the human body sensor 102 during communication, and notifies the gate device 101 whenever the count increases. To do. The gate device 101 updates the service information corresponding to the notified number of people and transmits it to the terminal device 104. Thereafter, when the checkout is performed at the cash register, the terminal device 104 communicates with a cash register device described later, and transmits the service information to the cash register device. The cash register apparatus reflects the received service information in the settlement contents.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 1 (b) and FIG. 1 (c), an example of an operation when an organization including a person having a plurality of terminals passes will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the human body sensor 102 of the gate device 101 detects a human body, a connection request is made to all terminal devices (terminal devices 111 and 112 in FIG. 1B). The terminal device 111 that has received the connection request first confirms that the other terminal device 112 has not shifted to the connection operation before establishing communication with the gate device 101, and performs a connection process (the terminal device 112 has Although there is a possibility that the connection operation is started first, it is assumed here that the terminal device 111 starts the operation first). At the same time, the human body sensor 102 starts measuring the number of passing people. When the gate device 101 is in a communication state with the terminal device 111, a new connection request is not generated. Therefore, the terminal device 112 that is not currently in the communication state does not enter a communication state with the gate device 101. As the groups indicated by 113 to 116 progress, the human body sensor 102 counts up the number of people, and as the number of people increases, the terminal device 111 notifies the gate device 101 of the number of people, and the gate device 101 counts the number of people passing through. The service information corresponding to is updated and transmitted to the terminal device 111.

  In the state of FIG. 1C, the human body sensor 102 detects that there is no human body near the entrance of the gate device 101, and confirms that no human body passes between the human body sensors 102. Communication with the terminal device 111 is disconnected. If the vicinity of the entrance of the gate device 101 is not empty due to the fact that the next group is immediately behind, a time-out occurs until the next person passes the gate device 101, and the initial state is restored. The device 101 does not count the number of people unnecessarily. Further, the terminal device also recognizes that the disconnection process has been performed due to timeout.

  When the communication with the gate device 101 is disconnected, the terminal device 111 communicates with the terminal device 112 and transmits service information obtained from the gate device 101 to the terminal device 112.

  When there are a plurality of terminal devices other than the terminal device that has communicated with the gate device 101 in the group, the service information obtained from the gate device 101 is transmitted to all of them.

  A detailed method for realizing the above-described operation will be described below with reference to a block diagram and a flowchart of each device.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the gate device. The gate device 200 includes a control unit 201, a human body communication transceiver unit 202, a storage device unit 203, a LAN (Local Area Network) connection unit 204, an ID setting unit 205, a human body sensor unit 206, an antenna unit 207, Is provided.

  The control device 201 controls the operation of the entire gate device 200, and controls each part of the gate device 200 according to the flow described below. Under the control of the control unit 201, the human body communication transceiver unit 202 converts transmission data into radio waves for human body communication and transmits the radio wave via the antenna unit 207, and also transmits radio waves for human body communication transmitted from other devices to the antenna. The data is received via the unit 207 and the received data is sent to the control unit 201. The storage device unit 203 stores and reads data under the control of the control unit 201. The LAN connection unit 204 is connected to the LAN 208 and communicates with the server 209 through the LAN 208 under the control of the control unit 201. The ID setting unit 205 stores an ID unique to the terminal device, which is read out by the control unit 201 and used during communication. The human body sensor unit 206 detects the human body near the gate entrance and detects the passage of the human body through the gate. The antenna unit 207 emits a signal output from the human body communication transceiver unit 202 to the outside, and receives a radio wave and inputs it to the human body communication transceiver unit 202.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the terminal device. The terminal device 210 includes a control unit 211, a human body communication transceiver unit 212, an RTC (Real Time Clock) unit 213, a storage device unit 214, an operation unit 215, a display unit 216, an ID setting unit 217, and an antenna. Part 218.

  The control unit 211 controls the entire terminal device 210. Under the control of the control unit 211, the human body communication transceiver unit 212 converts transmission data into a human body communication radio wave and transmits it via the antenna unit 218, and also transmits a human body communication radio wave transmitted from another device as an antenna. The data is received via the unit 218 and the received data is sent to the control unit 211. The RTC unit 213 outputs the current time. The storage device 214 stores and reads data under the control of the control unit 211. The operation unit 215 transmits an external operation to the control unit 211. The display unit 216 performs display on the outside under the control of the control unit 211. The ID setting unit stores an ID unique to the terminal device. The antenna unit 218 emits a signal output from the human body communication transceiver unit 212 to the outside, receives a radio wave, and inputs it to the human body communication transceiver unit 212.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the cash register apparatus. The cash register apparatus 219 includes a control unit 220, a human body communication transceiver unit 221, a LAN connection unit 222, a BAN information reception button 223, a cash register unit 224, an antenna unit 225, and an ID setting unit 226.

  The control unit 220 controls the entire cash register apparatus 219. Under the control of the control unit 220, the human body communication transceiver unit 221 converts transmission data into radio waves for human body communication and transmits the radio wave via the antenna unit 225, and also transmits radio waves for human body communication transmitted from other devices to the antenna. The data is received via the unit 225 and the received data is sent to the control unit 220. The LAN connection unit 222 is connected to the LAN 208 and communicates with the server 209 through the LAN 208 under the control of the control unit 220. The BAN information reception button 223 is a button for issuing an instruction to read information from the terminal device. The cash register unit 224 has a cash register function, accepts control from the control unit 220, and reflects it in the payment contents. The antenna unit 225 emits a signal output from the human body communication transceiver unit 221 to the outside, and receives a radio wave and inputs it to the human body communication transceiver unit 221. The ID setting unit 226 stores an ID unique to the cash register apparatus.

  Below, the data format used between a gate apparatus, a terminal device, and a cash register apparatus is demonstrated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a packet structure used in human body communication. The packet includes a preamble 301, a packet header 302, a header CRC unit 303, a data unit 304, and a data CRC unit 305.

  The preamble 301 is located at the head of the packet and is used for synchronization and AGC (Auto Gain Control). The packet header 302 is transmitted following the preamble 301 and includes a source address (Src Addr), a destination address (Dist Addr), control information (Ctrl Info), and a data length (Data length). The header CRC unit 303 is transmitted following the packet header 302 and includes a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) value of the packet header 302. The data part 304 is transmitted following the header CRC part 303 and includes transmission data. The data CRC unit 305 is transmitted following the data unit 304 and includes the CRC value of the data unit 304. The preamble and data modulation schemes are not particularly limited. In this embodiment, a BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) scheme is used.

  In this embodiment, a general reception system is used in each human body communication transceiver unit of the gate device, the terminal device, and the cash register device. Upon receiving the preamble 301, each human body communication transceiver unit adjusts AGC, performs symbol synchronization to receive the subsequent packet header 302, receives the packet header unit 302 and the header CRC unit 303, and receives the packet header unit 302. It is confirmed that the CRC value is the same as the CRC value of the header CRC unit 303. If they are not the same, the received packet is discarded. If they are the same, the content of the packet header portion is assumed to be correct and the process proceeds to the next process. First, if the data length is other than 0, it is received that the length of the data part 304 is a designated value, and the data CRC part 305 immediately after is received. It is confirmed that the CRC value of the data part 304 is the same as the CRC value of the data CRC part 305. If not, the received packet is discarded.

  FIG. 6 is a table showing packet types. There are seven types of packets, distinguished by the value of control information. A device-specific ID is used as a source and target address, and is a 48-bit value having the structure shown in FIG. The upper 24 bits are the vendor ID 321, the subsequent 6 bits are the model ID 322, the subsequent 2 bits are the type ID 323, and the last 16 bits are the serial ID 324. The type ID 323 is an identification bit (identification ID) for distinguishing between a gate device, a cash register device, and a terminal device, and the contents thereof are shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a structure of service information used in the service content notification packet. Although the whole has a variable length, it is composed of a fixed-length service information header, a fixed-length block indicating the service text length, and a variable-length service text part. The fixed-length service information header issued in order from the top is a 32-bit service ID portion 341 indicating the type of service information, a 64-bit length expiration date portion 342 indicating the expiration date of the service information, and service information. A 32-bit issue company ID section 343 indicating a company, a 16-bit issue store ID 344 indicating a store that issued service information, and a 16-bit gate ID 345 indicating a gate device that issued service information are arranged. . Following the fixed-length service information header, a 16-bit text length 346 indicating the length of the service text is arranged, and finally, a variable-length service text 347 is arranged.

  In the service content request packet, the service information header is transmitted as data. The receiving device transmits service information that matches the transmitted service information header using the service content notification packet after the ACK packet. When a wild card is designated in each field, all bits in that field are set to 1.

  In this embodiment, the expiration date 342 uses a 64-bit time_t format. The service text uses mhtml (MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML) to enable display of characters and images.

  Next, the processing flow of the gate device 200 will be described below. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the gate device 200. In step S401, the process of the gate device 200 starts, and in step S402, a human detection process near the entrance of the gate device 200 is performed. In step S402, it is confirmed whether or not there is a person using the human body sensor 206. If not, the process returns to step S402. If there is a person, a broadcast call for human body communication is made to the terminal device in step S404. In step S405, it is confirmed whether a terminal response is received from the terminal device. If the terminal response is confirmed in step S406, that is, if the connection is successful, the process proceeds to step S409. If the terminal response cannot be confirmed, the process proceeds to step S407. Transition. In step S407, a connection timeout is detected. The time-out detection method is not particularly limited. For example, a method of re-calling a broadcast for a certain period of time or a method of performing a broadcast call for a certain number of times can be used. If a time-out occurs, the process returns to step S402. If it is before the timeout, backoff processing for preventing congestion is performed in step S408. The back-off process method is not particularly limited. For example, there is a method of delaying a random time next broadcast call. Thereafter, the process returns to step S404, and the broadcast call is performed again. If the connection is successful, in step S409, the human body sensor is used to start counting the number of people in the group. The number of people is counted in parallel with the main processing. The flow of the number counting process is shown after step S441.

  When the counting of the number of people is started in step S441, first, in step S442, a variable for the number of people is initialized (= 1), and in step S443, the human body sensor 206 is used to check whether a person is passing the gate. If so, the process returns to step S443 again. If not, the process proceeds to step S444. In step S444, 1 is added to the variable for the number of persons assuming that one person has passed, and the process proceeds to step S445. In step S445, the human body sensor 206 is used to check whether or not the game is being passed. If it has not passed, it is determined that a new person has not yet arrived, and the process returns to step S445. Advances to step S443. By the above processing, it is assumed that the number of people passing through the gate device 200 continues to be counted after the number of people starts.

  Proceeding from step S409 to step S410, in step S410, the server 209 is inquired of the server 209 via the LAN 208 whether the connected terminal device has been registered as a management target of the server 209, that is, whether it is a customer of the company. . In step S411, if there is a registered notification from the server 209, the process proceeds to step S412. If a notification indicating no registration is received, the process proceeds to step S421. In step S421, the cutting process is called. The content of the cutting process is shown after step S451.

  When the disconnection process is started in step S451, a disconnect packet is transmitted to the terminal device to be disconnected in step S452. In step S453, it is confirmed whether a disconnection response has been received. If a disconnection response has been received in step S454, the process proceeds to step S457 and the disconnection process is terminated. If the disconnection response has not been received, the process proceeds to step S455, where it is determined whether a time-out state has been reached. If the time-out has occurred, the process proceeds to step S457 to terminate the disconnection process. In step S452, the disconnect packet is transmitted again. If it times out, it is considered that the user has moved away from the gate, so that the disconnection process is considered successful without any special recovery process.

  After the cutting process in step S421, the human body sensor 206 is used in step S422 to detect whether there is a human body in the vicinity of the gate device 200. If there is a person in step S423, there is a terminal device that has not yet been registered. In step S422, human body detection is continued. If there are no more people, the process returns to step S402 and waits for someone to use the gate device 200 again.

  If the terminal device is registered in step S411, the process proceeds to step S412 to check whether the number of people is increasing. Here, the initial value for determining whether or not the number has increased is based on the number of people = 0 in step S409, so it is determined that the first person has also increased in number. If the number of persons has not increased in step S412, the process proceeds to step S418, and the process proceeds to human body detection near the gate device 200. When the number of people increases, in step S413, the server 209 is inquired of the service content corresponding to the current number of people, and the service content obtained from the server 209 is used in step S414 by using the service content notification packet to the terminal device. In step S415, it waits for an ACK packet to be transmitted from the terminal device. If an ACK packet cannot be received, it is determined whether or not a timeout occurs in step S416. If no timeout occurs, a back-off time is waited in step S417, and a service content notification packet is transmitted in step S414. If an ACK packet can be received in step S415, the process proceeds to step S418 to detect a human body near the gate device 200 using the human body sensor 206, and in step S419, it is determined that a human body is detected near the gate device 200. If it is determined that the group has passed, the process proceeds to step S412 to continue counting the number of people. When the human body is not detected, the process proceeds to step S420, and after the cutting process, the process returns to step S402 and starts again from the detection of the human body. The above is the operation of the gate device 200.

  Next, the operation of the terminal device 210 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device 210. In step S501, processing is started. In step S502, reception processing is performed using the human body communication transceiver unit 212, and the reception of any packet is awaited. In a communication state described later, a timeout due to no communication in which a packet cannot be received for a predetermined time is also detected. If a timeout is detected whether a packet is received, the process proceeds to step S503, where it is determined whether the received packet is a broadcast call packet. If it is not a broadcast call, the process proceeds to step S507. If it is a broadcast call, the process advances to step S504 to determine whether or not to respond. When responding, “not currently in communication state” and “not in communication state with a device having the same ID within a predetermined time” or “when a broadcast call is made from a gate device with the same ID immediately before” It is. The predetermined time is not uniquely determined, but may be determined by the size of the building, the number of gates, the distance between the gates, and the like. For example, a value of 1 minute or 3 minutes is used. In addition, since the connection response to be transmitted in step S506 to be output later is not received by the gate device, the connection response is transmitted again even when a broadcast call is made from the gate device with the same ID immediately before. And The communication state is from when a connection response is transmitted to a certain device until the disconnection process is completed, no communication is timed out, or a disconnection response is made.

  If no response is received, the process returns to step S502 again to receive a packet. If responding, wait for the back-off time in step S504, and in step S505, use the human body communication transceiver unit 212 to confirm that no one is making a connection response. Returning to S502, packet reception is performed. When no one is responding, a connection response packet is transmitted to the other party that has made the broadcast call in step S506, and then the process returns to step S502 to receive the packet.

  In step S503, if the received packet is other than the broadcast call packet, it is determined in step S507 whether the packet is addressed to its own terminal device. If it is not addressed to its own terminal device, it is determined in step S537 whether it is currently in communication. In the communication state, it is considered that a timeout has occurred in the gate device, and the process proceeds to step S512. If it is addressed to the own terminal device, the process returns to step S502 to receive the packet. If it is addressed to the own terminal device, it is determined in step S508 whether it is a disconnected packet. If it is a disconnection packet, it is determined in step S509 whether or not the partner device connected last including the present is a gate device. If it is not a gate device, a disconnection response packet is sent in step S510. And return to step S502 to receive the packet. If the last connected device is a gate device, after sending a disconnection response packet to the other device in step S511, it is received from the gate device to other terminal devices in the organization in step S512 and thereafter. Send service information.

  In step S512, a broadcast call for human body communication is transmitted. In step S513, it is determined whether or not a connection response is addressed to the own terminal device. If there is no connection response addressed to the own terminal device, the process returns to step S502 to receive a packet. If there is a connection response addressed to the own terminal device, in step S514, service information from the gate device connected last is transmitted to the partner terminal device using the service content notification packet. In step S515, it is determined whether an ACK packet from the counterpart terminal apparatus has been received. If it has been received, a disconnection process is performed in step S519. This cutting process uses the same procedure as that of the gate device. The procedure is repeated as steps S451 to S457. I will omit the explanation of the contents. If an ACK packet cannot be received, a timeout is determined in step S516. If a timeout occurs, a disconnection process is performed in step S519. If not timed out, the process waits for a back-off time in step S517, returns to step S514 again, and transmits a service content notification packet. After performing the disconnection process in step S519, the process returns to step S512 to call another terminal device.

  If the packet is not a disconnection packet in step S508, it is determined in step S520 whether the packet is a service content notification packet. If it is a service content notification packet, it is determined in step S521 whether or not it is currently connected. If it is connected, an ACK packet is transmitted to the partner device in step S522, and in step S523, the storage device 214 stores it. Perform a search. In step S524, it is determined whether the service information that has been sent has the same service ID as the service information in the storage device 214. If there is, the information on the ID is rewritten with the received content in step S526. Otherwise, service information is newly registered in the storage device 214 in step S525. Thereafter, the process returns to step S502 to receive a packet. If connection is not established in step S521, it is determined whether or not a timeout has occurred in step S538. If a timeout has occurred, the process proceeds to step S512 to transmit service information to another terminal device. If not timed out, the process returns to step S502 to receive a packet.

  If it is other than the service content notification packet in step S520, it is determined in step S527 whether it is a service content request packet. If the packet is not a service content request packet, the process returns to step S502 to receive the packet. If it is a service content request packet, it is determined in step S528 whether it is currently connected. If it is not connected, it is determined in step S538 whether a timeout has occurred. If a timeout has occurred, the process proceeds to step S512. The service information is transmitted to another terminal device. If not timed out, the process returns to step S502 to receive a packet. If the connection is established in step S528, an ACK packet is transmitted in step S529, the storage device 214 is searched in step S530, and the service information specified by the service information header indicated in the service content request packet is searched. In step S531, it is determined whether there is designated data. If there is, the designated service information is transmitted in a service information notification packet in step S532. If there is no designated data, the data length is set to 0 in step S533. A service information notification packet is transmitted. After transmitting the service information notification packet, it is determined in step S534 whether an ACK packet has been received. If received, the process returns to step S502 to receive the packet. If an ACK packet has not been received, it is determined in step S535 whether a timeout has occurred, and if a timeout has occurred, the process returns to step S502 to receive the packet. If it is not time-out, it waits for the back-off time in step S536, returns to step S531, and resends the service information notification packet according to the designated data. The above is the operation of the terminal device 210.

Next, the operation of the cash register device 219 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the cash register apparatus 219.
The service information reception of the cash register device 219 is started by pressing the BAN information reception button 223 after the cash register settlement process is completed in the cash register unit 224. When the BAN information reception button 223 is pressed, the control unit 220 automatically receives service information from the terminal in accordance with the flow, notifies the register unit 224 of the service content, and the register unit 224 reflects the content in the settlement content. Hereinafter, the flow of the control unit 220 will be described.

  In step S621, cash register service information processing of the cash register apparatus 219 is started. In step S622, it is determined whether the BAN reception button 223 is pressed. If not, the process returns to step S622 and waits until the BAN reception button 223 is pressed. If it is pressed, a broadcast call packet is transmitted in step S623. In step S624, it is confirmed whether a connection response packet transmitted from the terminal device is received. In step S625, it is determined whether the connection response packet can be received and the connection is successful. If it is not determined that the connection is successful, it is determined in step S626 whether or not a timeout has occurred. If timeout occurs, in step S628, the fact that a communication error has occurred is transmitted to the register unit 224, and the register unit 224 Display. If not timed out, a back-off time is waited in step S627, and a broadcast call is made again in step S623. When it is determined in step S625 that the connection is successful, the subsequent communication is performed with the device that has transmitted the connection response packet. After determining that the connection is successful, a service content request packet is transmitted in step S629. At this time, a search condition is set in the service information header in order to limit valid service information in the operating cash register apparatus 219. For example, the service ID is specified as a wild card, the expiration date is the current time, the issuing company ID and the issuing store ID are the company code and the code of the own store, and the gate ID is specified as a wild card.

  After transmitting the service content request packet, in step S630, it is determined whether an ACK packet has been received. If it has not been received, it is determined in step S631 whether a timeout has occurred. If it is determined that a timeout has occurred, in step S628, the fact that a communication error has occurred is transmitted to the register unit 224, and the register unit 224 displays the communication error. If the timeout has not occurred, a back-off time is waited in step S632, and then a service content request packet is transmitted in step S629. After it is determined in step S630 that the ACK packet has been received, service information packets are received in step S633. In step S634, it is determined whether the reception has been successful. If it is determined that the reception has failed, it is determined in step S635 whether a timeout has occurred. If it is determined that a timeout has occurred, in step S628, the fact that a communication error has occurred is transmitted to the register unit 224, and the register unit 224 displays the communication error. If the timeout has not occurred, a service information packet is received in step S633. If it is determined in step S630 that reception was successful, an ACK packet is transmitted in step S636.

  In step S637, the server 209 is inquired via the LAN 208 to obtain information about whether or not the data in the service information notification packet is valid, and what kind of service content is valid. After the information is acquired, in step S638, it is determined whether there is a service that can be currently used based on the information from the server. If there is a service that can be used, in step S639, the service contents that can be used are registered. To 224. If there is no service available, in step S640, the cashier unit 224 is notified that there is no service available. After transmitting to the cash register, the process returns to step S622 and waits for the BAN information reception button 223 to be pressed. The cash register unit 224 to which the service content has been transmitted reflects the service content sent to the current payment content and asks the customer to pay.

  As described above, each device automatically cooperates to automatically store service information suitable for the terminal device according to the number of groups when passing through the gate device, and automatically stored services from the cash register device. Information can be read and the service information can be reflected in the customer's payment details.

In this embodiment, unnecessary functions are deleted as much as possible in order to explain the object of the present invention. Any function that does not interfere with the object of the invention may be added. For example, in this embodiment, data is only added / changed to the storage device 214 included in the terminal device 210. However, if the capacity of the storage device 214 is used up, the addition / change of data becomes impossible. . A function such as a function of deleting data that has become invalid due to expiration or leaving from the store may be added as appropriate. In addition, a function of displaying the service information currently included in the storage device 214 by operation using the operation unit 215 and the display unit 216 may be added.
In addition, a function of notifying a person with sound or light each time service information of the terminal device 210 is newly updated may be added.

  Further, in this embodiment, when the customer pays out at the cash register device 219, it is confirmed that the customer can surely communicate with the human body and the BAN information reception button 223 is pressed. If the environment is such that no connection is established, communication may be automatically started.

<Example 2>
In the first embodiment, the gate device, the terminal device, and the cash register device are targeted for a configuration that is a new device for the present application. The second embodiment shows an example in which the present application is applied to a so-called POS register in which the register device has no human body communication device and can only read a conventional barcode.

  The gate device shown in FIG. 2 and the terminal device shown in FIG. 3 can be used as they are. However, the control flow of the terminal device needs to be changed. The control flow will be described later. The service information transmitted to the terminal device by the gate device must include the service ID barcode together with the service content. In this embodiment, the service ID is 32 bits long. However, in the bar code, the in-store code that can be used in the store in the JAN code represented by 13 or 8 decimal digits that is popular in Japan. Of these areas, it is necessary to use an area that is not used for goods in the store. Therefore, the barcode value and the service ID value are mapped by the server, and the service information transmitted from the gate device includes the corresponding barcode image together with the service ID and the service content. The mapping information and the service information are stored in a service database different from the product database in the server in the store. This is because the optimization method for the product database and the optimization method for the service database are different, so that the access speed to the database is not lowered by using a single database.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the cash register apparatus according to the present embodiment. The cash register device 227 includes a cash register unit 228, a barcode reader unit 229, and a LAN connection unit 230.

  The register unit 228 has a cash register function. The barcode reader unit 229 reads the barcode and inputs the code to the register unit 228. The LAN connection unit 230 is used when the cash register unit 228 makes an inquiry to the server 209 via the LAN 208. The LAN 208 and the server 209 are the same as those in FIG. The cash register unit 228 has a cash register database for speeding up reading, similar to a general POS cash register, so that a source-marked product that is often handled can be registered without making an inquiry to the server 209. Suppose that

  14 and 15 are flowcharts illustrating a control flow of the terminal device 210 according to the second embodiment. The terminal device 210 operates in substantially the same manner as in the first embodiment except that there is no need to respond to a service content request and that a bar code is required to be displayed by input from the operation unit 215. FIG. 14 shows a flow of human body communication, and FIG. 15 shows a flow for input from the operation unit 215. The flow shown in FIG. 14 and the flow shown in FIG. 15 operate in parallel. The keys used in the operation unit 215 are two types, that is, a service update key and a page change key, and even if there are other keys, they are not handled in this flow.

  First, the flow of FIG. 14 will be described. FIG. 14 only deletes the part responding to the service content request from FIG. Therefore, the same process uses the same step number as FIG. If the packet is not a service content notification packet in step S520, the process returns to the reception process step S502.

  Next, the flow of FIG. 15 will be described in detail. Starting from the terminal operation process START in step S801, it is determined in step S802 whether the key of the operation unit 215 is operated. If the key is not operated, the process returns to step S802 again to wait for the key operation. If the key has been operated, it is determined in step S803 whether the pressed key is a service update key. If it is the service update key, the display number displayed on the display device 216 is reset to 1 in step S804. In step S805, service information is confirmed. The service information confirmation flow is shown in detail from step S821.

  In step S821, confirmation of service information starts. In step S822, service information stored in the storage device 214 is read. In step S823, the newest service information is selected from the service information read from the storage device 214. This is because the newest service information is most likely to be service information obtained from the gate device passed immediately before. In step S824, service information having the same issue company ID and issue store ID as the issue company ID and issue store ID included in the newest service information is selected from the service information read from the storage device 214. . In the selected service information, service information that is valid at the current time read from the RTC unit 213 is further selected. In the following step S825, it is determined whether or not there is valid service information at the current time. If there is, the service information list is created in step S826. If not, the empty service information list is created in step S827. In step S828, the service information confirmation is terminated.

  Subsequent to step S805, in step S806, it is determined whether the service information list obtained by the service information confirmation is an empty list. If the list is not empty, a display number is selected from the service information list in step S807. The service information of the item is displayed on the display unit 216 together with the barcode image. If it is determined in step S806 that the list is empty, the display unit 216 displays that no service is available. Thereafter, the process returns to step S802 to confirm key input.

  If it is determined in step S803 that the pressed key is not a service update key, it is determined in step S809 whether the pressed key is a page change key. If there is no page change key, the process returns to step S802 and waits for key input. If it is a page change key, the display number is incremented by 1 in step S810, and it is checked in step S811 whether the number of items in the list has been exceeded. If the number is less than the number of items in the list, service information is displayed in step S807. Do. If the number of items in the list is exceeded, the display number is set to 1 in step S812, and it is confirmed in step S806 whether the list is empty. The above is the flow of the terminal device 210.

  Next, the operation of the cash register apparatus 227 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device 227. The registration process starts from step S911. First, in step S912, it is determined whether or not payment is required. If it is not payment, it is determined in step S913 whether the barcode has been read. If the barcode cannot be read, it is determined that the barcode has not been input, the process returns to step S913, and the barcode is read again. If there is an input of a barcode, an inquiry is made to the database in the register unit 228 in step S914, and if there is corresponding data in step S915, the data is registered in the payment details in step S916, and the process returns to step S912. If there is no corresponding data, an inquiry is made to the server 209 via the LAN 208 in step S917.

  Processing of the server 209 that has received the inquiry will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing of the server 209. In step S931, an inquiry process is started. First, an article database is searched in step S932, and it is determined in step S933 whether there is corresponding data. If there is such data, in step S936, the contents searched in the database are used as the answer to the inquiry. If there is no corresponding data, the service database is searched in step S934, and it is determined in step S935 whether there is corresponding data. If there is such data, in step S936, the contents searched in the database are used as the answer to the inquiry. If there is no corresponding data, an error is returned in response to the inquiry in step S937. When the answer to the inquiry ends, the process ends in step S938.

  Subsequent to step S917, in step S918, it is determined whether or not there is corresponding data for the inquiry. If there is, the data is registered in the settlement contents in step S916. If there is no corresponding data, a reading error is generated in step S919, and the process returns to step S912. The above is the operation of the cash register unit.

  As described above, each device automatically operates in conjunction with each other, so that service information suitable for the terminal device is automatically accumulated according to the number of groups when passing through the gate device, and a bar code corresponding to the service information at the cash register. Is displayed, the bar code is read by the cash register device, and the corresponding service information is read from the server, so that the service information can be reflected on the customer's payment contents.

  In this embodiment, a bar code is used to transmit service information from the terminal device to the cash register device. However, other types that can be handled by an old cash register, such as a two-dimensional bar code or infrared communication, may be used. .

<Example 3>
In Example 1 and Example 2, a customer carried a dedicated terminal device. In the present embodiment, the functions of the terminal device shown in FIG. 3 are included in other portable devices, so that the customer does not carry the terminal device specially but uses the device that is normally carried by the customer. The example which receives the service shown in Example 2 is shown. Hereinafter, an example of incorporating the function of the terminal device shown in FIG. 3 into a mobile phone will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a mobile phone.

  A portion surrounded by a broken line 1001 is a block extracted from only blocks that can be used in the present invention out of blocks included in a normal mobile phone. A portion surrounded by a broken line 1001 includes a mobile phone control unit 1002, a mobile phone storage device 1003, a mobile phone operation unit 1004, a mobile phone display unit 1005, and a mobile phone RTC unit 1006. The mobile phone control unit 1002 controls the entire mobile phone. The mobile phone storage device 1003 includes a memory in which a mobile phone program and display data are recorded and used during work. The mobile phone operation unit 1004 includes operation buttons and the like equipped on the mobile phone. The mobile phone display unit 1005 is an LCD panel or the like, and is used for information display by the mobile phone. The mobile phone RTC unit measures the current time.

  By slightly improving the processing capability of these blocks or sharing them in time division, most of the functions of the terminal device shown in FIG. 3 can be realized. Specifically, the mobile phone control unit 1002 performs the functions of the control unit 211, the mobile phone storage device 1003 performs the functions of the storage device 214 and the ID setting unit 217, and the mobile phone operation unit 1004 performs the functions of the operation unit 215. The telephone display unit 1005 can also function as the display unit 216, and the mobile phone RTC unit 1006 can also function as the RTC unit 213. Therefore, by connecting the human body communication transceiver unit 1007 and the human body communication antenna unit 1008 to the mobile phone control unit 1002, a function equivalent to the device shown in FIG. 3 can be realized.

  In the present embodiment, the case where it is incorporated in a mobile phone is shown, but it can also be applied to other devices such as a PDA.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the gate device and the registration device are disclosed as different ones, but a gate device and a registration device that can be used in both embodiments are also possible, and any combination is possible.

  The present invention can be used for a customer collection system, a gate device, a terminal device, and a cash register device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Gate apparatus 102 Human body sensor 103 Human body communication antenna 104, 111, 112 Terminal apparatus 200 Gate apparatus 201 Control part 202 Human body communication transceiver part 203 Memory | storage device part 204 LAN connection part 205 ID setting part 206 Human body sensor part 207 Antenna part 208 LAN
209 Server 210 Terminal device 211 Control unit 212 Human body communication transceiver unit 213 RTC unit 214 Storage unit 215 Operation unit 216 Display unit 217 ID setting unit 218 Antenna unit 219 Cash register device 220 Control unit 221 Human body communication transceiver unit 222 LAN connection unit 223 BAN Information reception button 224 Cash register unit 225 Antenna unit 226 ID setting unit

Claims (12)

A customer attracting system including a gate device, a terminal device, and a cash register device,
The gate device includes: a gate device-side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the terminal device; and the terminal device carried by a person included in the organization with the number of customer organizations passing through the gate device. Measuring means for measuring by human body communication, and determining means for determining service information corresponding to the measured number of persons, wherein the gate device side human body communication means sends the determined service information to an organization that has identified the number of persons Send to the terminal device carried by the included person by human body communication,
The terminal device performs human body communication with the gate device, and receives the service information from the gate device through human body communication, a terminal device-side human body communication unit, and a storage unit that stores the received service information. Transmission means for transmitting the service information to the cash register device,
The cash register apparatus includes: a receiving unit that receives the service information from the terminal device; a determining unit that determines service content according to the received service information; and a clearing unit that reflects the service content in a clearing process. A system for attracting customers. A gate device side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the terminal device;
Measuring means for measuring the number of groups of passing customers by human body communication with the terminal device carried by a person included in the group;
Determining means for determining service information according to the measured number of people,
The gate device-side human body communication means transmits the determined service information to the terminal device carried by a person included in an organization that has identified the number of people by human body communication.   3. The gate device according to claim 2, further comprising connection means for connecting to a server, wherein the determination means inquires of the server to acquire the service information. Terminal-side human body communication means for performing human body communication with the gate device according to claim 2 or 3 and receiving service information from the gate device;
Storage means for storing the received service information;
A terminal device comprising: transmission means for transmitting the stored service information to a cash register device. Display means for displaying the service information stored in the storage means;
The terminal device according to claim 4, further comprising an operation unit that updates the service information displayed on the display unit.   The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is a mobile phone.   The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the transmission unit is also used as the human body communication unit.   The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the transmission unit is a display unit that displays a bar code representing the service information. Receiving means for receiving service information from the terminal device according to any one of claims 4 to 8,
Determining means for determining service content according to the received service information;
A cash registering device comprising: a clearing means for reflecting the service contents in a clearing process. Receiving means for receiving service information from the human body communication means of the terminal device according to claim 7;
Determining means for determining service content according to the received service information;
A cash registering device comprising: a clearing means for reflecting the service contents in a clearing process. Receiving means for receiving service information by reading a bar code displayed on the display means of the terminal device according to claim 8;
Determining means for determining service content according to the received service information;
A cash registering device comprising: a clearing means for reflecting the service contents in a clearing process. A connection means for connecting to the server;
The cash register apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the determination unit obtains the service content by inquiring of the server.

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