JP2013161172A - Merchandise inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a merchandise inspection system etc. which can further reduce a development cost.SOLUTION: A merchandise inspection system comprises: a server device which distributes resource data such as screen display information etc.; and a plurality of handy terminals 2 which perform communication with the server device by HTTP. Each handy terminal 2 comprises: a display unit 25 which displays a text and an image; an input unit 26 in which information to be transmitted is inputted; and a web browser specific to the handy terminals 2. The web browser comprises: an HTTP user agent unit 21 which performs data communication with the server device; a parser unit 22 which analyzes the resource data; a renderer unit 23 which performs display on the basis of the analysis result; and a data storage unit 24 which stores input information and the resource data. The server device comprises: a web server unit which performs data communication; a converter unit which performs conversion to XML information corresponding to a specific handy terminal 2; and an application unit which executes a Java (R) program using the XML information as an XML document.

Description

  The present invention relates to a product inspection system, and more particularly to a product inspection system suitable for a supermarket, a convenience store, a distribution business such as a wholesale business.

In distribution businesses such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and wholesalers, handy terminals equipped with barcode readers that can read barcodes attached to individual products are used to inspect products. The barcode data read from this handy terminal and the data related to the quantity of products are not only managed at individual stores, but also sent to an inventory management database in another location using a communication network such as the Internet. As a result, a system has been developed to collectively manage products in a plurality of stores.
Such a commodity inspection system is not equipped with a general-purpose operating system because computers (processors, memory capacity, etc.) included in the handy terminal are poor. For this reason, software for performing processing such as counting the read barcodes had to be developed individually for each handy terminal.
In addition, when a new handy terminal is to be introduced, software has to be newly developed in accordance with the handy terminal, resulting in a problem that costs increase.
A technique for solving this problem has been developed (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a software execution system that can provide a development environment independent of the model and can reduce development costs.

Japanese Patent No. 4707302

  In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to enable use of many handy terminals including mobile phones, interpreters and interfaces corresponding to each handy terminal are developed in advance, and the interpreters and interfaces are used. The method is adopted. For this reason, it was necessary to develop a considerable number of interpreters and interfaces at the beginning (or whenever a new handy terminal model was developed and sold).

However, if the use is limited when managing the inventory of products using a handy terminal equipped with a barcode reader, not many types of models are used. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of developing a considerable number of interpreters and interfaces by providing a system for inspecting products after limiting the models that can be used in advance.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a product inspection system and the like that can further reduce development costs.

  Thus, the product inspection system according to the present invention includes a server device that distributes information including screen display information as a resource, and a plurality of handy terminals that can perform data communication with the server device through the Internet. And the handy terminal are configured to communicate with each other by a common hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and each handy terminal has a display unit for displaying text and an image. And an input unit for inputting information to be transmitted to the server device, and a web browser specialized for a handy terminal defined in advance, and the web browser includes the server device and Data communication between them, receiving resources from the server device and An HTTP user agent unit that transmits input information to the server device, a parser unit that classifies and analyzes the resources into at least hypertext markup language (HTML), text information, and image information, and the parser. A renderer unit for displaying the text information and the image information at predetermined positions on the display unit based on the analysis result of the unit, and a data storage for storing the input information from the input unit and the resource data from the server device And control of display on the display unit via the renderer unit and transmission of information between the server device via the HTTP server agent unit based on information from the input unit and the input unit While the control unit is provided, the server device includes an HTTP from the web browser. A web server unit that distributes the process of receiving input information including access requests and the process of transmitting resources to each handy terminal, and a specific handy terminal according to information from the web server unit A converter unit for converting into extensible markup language (XML) information, and an application unit for describing the contents of the XML information as an XML document between the converter unit and executing a Java (registered trademark) program And is provided.

  The product inspection software is executed in each handy terminal capable of communicating with the server device through the Internet, and is transmitted from the server device and provided in the handy terminal. A procedure for accepting a resource including screen display information to be displayed in accordance with Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and at least a hypertext markup language (HTML), text information and image information received by this procedure A procedure for classifying the text information and the image information at a predetermined position on the display unit and displaying the input information input from the input unit provided in the handy terminal to the server device. To send to It is characterized in.

  The product inspection handy terminal is configured to be able to communicate with a server device via a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) over the Internet, and the server device displays a text and an image. And an input unit including a barcode reader for inputting information to be transmitted to the mobile phone, and a web browser specialized for the handy terminal. The web browser is connected to the server device. An HTTP user agent unit that performs data communication, receives resources from the server device and transmits input information in the handy terminal to the server device, and at least the hypertext markup language (HTML) and text information Classified into image information A parser unit for analysis, a renderer unit for displaying the text information and the image information at predetermined positions on the display unit based on the analysis result of the parser unit, input information from the input unit, and the server device Based on the information from the input unit and the data storage unit that stores the resource data, display control on the display unit via the renderer unit and the server device via the HTTP server agent unit And a control unit that controls transmission / reception of the information.

Screen display information refers to text information (information related to text content, color, size), image information (information related to image content, size), button information (button position, button check) Information), text information, image information, and button information on the display unit. Further, the resource includes screen display information and may further include additional information (for example, information related to sound (including information related to sound content and utterance timing).
As for the handy terminal, a plurality of handy terminals can communicate data over the Internet. In addition, the handy terminal includes a web browser developed for the handy terminal. Since this web server is communicable by HTTP, a handy terminal that can only use other protocols cannot be used in the present invention.
The input unit indicates a keyboard, a numeric keypad, a barcode reader, and the like. In the present invention, a bar code reader is preferably provided. This is because product information can be easily input using a preset barcode.

  According to the present invention, the server device and the handy terminal can transmit and receive information by common HTTP via the Internet. For this reason, compared to the case of using a method of using an interpreter and an interface corresponding to all handy terminals and using this interpreter and interface as in the prior art, HTTP is used as a handy terminal in advance. By limiting to possible models, it is possible to provide a product inspection system that can further reduce development costs.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the goods inspection system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a server apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a handy terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of screen display information. (A) An XML document on the server device side is shown, and (B) an image displayed on the display unit of the handy terminal is shown.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments, and various forms can be made without changing the gist of the invention. Can be implemented. Further, the technical scope of the present invention extends to an equivalent range.
As shown in FIG. 1, the product inspection system of the present embodiment includes a server device 1 and a plurality of handy terminals 2 capable of data communication with the server device 1 through the Internet. Communication between the server apparatus 1 and the handy terminal 2 is performed using a common HTTP.

<Server device>
The server device 1 is a web server that can use a general computer having a CPU, a storage unit (memory, HDD, SSD, DVD, CD, etc.), a network connection unit, and a display, and operates according to a program installed in advance. To do. The server device 1 stores information (screen display information; resources) that defines the appearance of an interface displayed to the user such as HTML or XML. The server device 1 receives a request by HTTP and distributes screen display information according to the request to the handy terminal 2 that is a request source. The screen display information defines the number, position, and size of screen elements such as text (character string), input fields, and buttons. Among such screen elements, an element (such as a button, an input field, or a button) that receives an instruction operation performed by a user having the handy terminal 2 is referred to as an operation element. The screen display information provided by the server device 1 defines the user interface of the application when viewed from the handy terminal 2.

  The contents of the program of the server device 1 will be described with reference to the functional block diagram shown in FIG. The server device 1 includes a web server unit 11, a converter unit 12, and an application unit 13. The web server unit 11 performs a distributed process of a process of transmitting resources to the handy terminal 2 and a process of receiving input information including an access request by HTTP from the web browser of the handy terminal 2. The converter unit 12 performs conversion processing into XML information corresponding to the specific handy terminal 2 in accordance with information from the web server unit 11. The application unit 13 describes the contents of the XML information as an XML document with the converter unit 12 and executes an appropriate program set in advance, thereby performing processing (business logic) unique to each software, database Perform searches and processing. The business block is described using Java (Java (registered trademark)) which is one of programming languages.

<Handy terminal>
As for the handy terminal 2, not all commercially available models can be used, but only a specific model having a function capable of using the specifications of the web browser of the present application can be used. In the product inspection system, a plurality of handy terminals 2 can be connected to one server device 1 via the Internet. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the handy terminal 2 includes an HTTP user agent unit 21, a parser unit 22, a renderer unit 23, a control unit 27, a data storage unit 24, and a display unit 25. The input unit 26 is provided. The HTTP user agent unit 21 performs data communication with the server device 1 via the Internet, receives resources from the server device 1, and is input from the input unit 26 of the handy terminal 2, and the data storage unit 24. The input information stored in is transmitted to the server device 1 by the HTTP protocol. The parser unit 22 categorizes and analyzes the resource received by the HTTP user agent unit 21 into at least HTML, text information, and image information. It is classified and analyzed by the parser unit 22). The renderer unit 23 arranges and displays text information and image information at a predetermined size on the display unit 25 based on the analysis result of the parser unit 22.

The display unit 25 is a display unit that displays information in accordance with an instruction input from the renderer unit 23. For example, a liquid crystal display can be used.
The input unit 26 includes a bar code reader and a keypad, and uses information input in accordance with a user operation of the handy terminal 2 as input information. This input information is temporarily stored in the data storage unit 24 via the control unit 27. The keypad of the input unit 26 can also be used as the display unit 25 of the multi-touch screen. The data storage unit 24 is configured by a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and temporarily stores input information from the input unit 26 and resource data from the server device 1. In the handy terminal 2 of the present embodiment, since the web browser is controlled by HTTP, it is not necessary to store a preset program or the like. As will be described later, the control unit 27 controls the display of the display unit 25 with respect to the renderer unit 23 based on the information input from the input unit 26, and transmits information to the server device 1 via the HTTP user agent unit 21. Control transmission and reception.

<Operation of product inspection system>
Next, the operation of the product inspection system of this embodiment will be described. A predetermined application program is installed in the server device 1 in advance. The application program is described in a state where information for input / output can be distributed by HTTP. Specifically, the application program is mainly described in Java (registered trademark).
Below, the case where the application program for goods inspection is described is demonstrated. Here, an example is considered in which the product number information input by the barcode and the product quantity information input by the keypad are received, and the quantity of each product is totaled on the application program side.

The application program installed in the server apparatus 1 includes an XML document that defines an interface including an “input field” regarding the product number, an “input field” regarding the product quantity, an “input” button, and an “aggregation” button. , A Java (registered trademark) program that accepts information in response to a pressing operation of an “input” button, and a Java (registered trademark) program that counts information in response to a pressing operation of a “total” button.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the XML document includes a specification of a product number input field and a specification of a quantity input field. For convenience of illustration, a part of the document is omitted in FIG. 4A (the omitted part is “...”). In this description, the part number input field is bar code input enabled (barcode = "yes"), and the quantity input field is bar code input disabled (barcode = "no"). . In addition, it is specified that a numerical value from 10 to 50 should be input as a numerical limit.

The handy terminal 2 is preliminarily designated with the URL of the server device 1, and when an activation operation is performed, a request for acquiring a resource for the designated URL is transmitted using HTTP.
When this request is transmitted to the server device 1 and received by the web server unit 11, the converter unit 12 converts the corresponding XML document into a form for the handy terminal 2 and collects necessary information as resources. And delivered to the handy terminal 2 using HTTP. When the HTTP user agent unit 21 of the handy terminal 2 receives this resource, the parser unit 22 classifies and analyzes it into HTML, text information, and image information, and then displays it on the display unit 25 through the renderer unit 23. 4 (B) is displayed (for convenience of explanation, the illustrated XML document does not include image information. However, those skilled in the art can combine image information and transmit / receive them using HTTP. Is easy to do).
In this display, an input field (product number, quantity) is displayed and an instruction to accept a user operation is included. In addition, operation conditions related to operations in each input field are specified. Specifically, an operation condition indicating that bar code input is possible is specified in the product number input field, and a numerical value of 10-50 is specified in the quantity input field by the keypad. Has been. Thus, the part number input field is displayed at the position specified by x = 5 and y = 10 on the display unit 25, and the quantity input field is displayed at the position specified by x = 5 and y = 15. Is done.

The control unit 27 of the handy terminal 2 first stands by moving the cursor to the product number input field. When a user operates a barcode reader provided in the input unit 26 of the handy terminal 2 to read a barcode related to a product, information read by the barcode reader is output to the control unit 27. The control unit 27 stores the information in the data storage unit 24 and controls the display unit 25 via the renderer unit 23 to display the number in the product number input field, and then moves the cursor to the quantity input field. Moving.
Next, the user uses the keypad provided in the input unit 26 to input an appropriate numerical value between 10 and 50 in the quantity column. Here, when the user tries to input a numerical value outside the allowable range (for example, “1”, “100”, etc.), the control unit 27 sets the maximum value (= 50) and the minimum value (= 10) included in the instruction. After comparing with the input value, the numerical value is not appropriate, so the character string “Quantity is out of range. Please re-enter within the range of 10-50” indicated by “badhint”. The image is displayed on the display unit 25 via the renderer unit 23.

In addition, “barcode =“ no ”” (instruction for prohibiting barcode input) is set as an instruction corresponding to this input field. For this reason, even if the user accidentally tries to input by operating the barcode reader, the character string “barcode input indicated by“ barcode_badhint ”is displayed on the same instruction without accepting the information. “I cannot do it” is displayed on the display unit 25.
When a valid numerical value, for example, “30” is input from the instruction, and the “input” button is operated, the data stored in the data storage unit 24 is transferred to the Internet using the HTTP through the HTTP server agent unit 21. Then, it is transmitted to the server device 1 as a request from the handy terminal 2. In response to this request, the server apparatus 1 executes a Java (registered trademark) program that accepts information, and stores the values shown in the parameter list received earlier in a database (not shown).

When the “total” button is operated, the server apparatus 1 stores it in a database (not shown) based on the Java (registered trademark) program for totalization, as in the case where the “input” button is operated. Using the obtained information, for example, the result of accumulating the quantity using the product number as a key is generated. The resulting data generated in this way may be stored in the server device 1 and displayed and printed later. Alternatively, the server device 1 may convert the output from each Java (registered trademark) program for the handy terminal 2 and then distribute it to the handy terminal 2 using HTTP.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server device 1 and the handy terminal 2 can transmit and receive information using the common HTTP via the Internet. For this reason, as compared with the case where the interpreter and the interface corresponding to all handy terminals are developed as in the prior art and the method of using the interpreter and the interface is adopted, the HTTP is previously set as the handy terminal 2. By limiting to available models, it is possible to provide a product inspection system that can further reduce development costs.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server apparatus, 2 ... Handy terminal, 11 ... Web server part, 12 ... Converter part, 13 ... Application part, 21 ... HTTP user agent part, 22 ... Parser part, 23 ... Renderer part, 24 ... Data storage part, 25 ... Display unit, 26 ... Input unit, 27 ... Control unit

Claims (3)

A server device that distributes information including screen display information as a resource, and a plurality of handy terminals capable of data communication with the server device through the Internet, and the server device and the handy terminal have a common hyper A product inspection system configured to perform communication using a text transfer protocol (HTTP),
Each handy terminal is provided with a display unit for displaying text and images, and an input unit for inputting information to be transmitted to the server device, and a web browser specialized for a handy terminal specified in advance. An HTTP user agent unit that performs data communication with the server device, receives resources from the server device, and transmits input information in the handy terminal to the server device; and A parser unit that categorizes and analyzes the resource into at least hypertext markup language (HTML), text information, and image information, and the text information and image information based on the analysis result of the parser unit. A renderer unit arranged and displayed at a predetermined position, and the input unit Data storage unit that stores resource information from the server device and resource information from the server device, and control of display on the display unit via the renderer unit and the HTTP server agent unit based on information from the input unit While a control unit for controlling transmission and reception of information with the server device is provided,
The server device includes a web server unit that performs a distributed process of a process of receiving input information including an HTTP access request from the web browser and a process of transmitting a resource to each handy terminal, and the web server unit. In accordance with the information of the above, the converter part that converts into extensible markup language (XML) information corresponding to a specific handy terminal, and the contents of the XML information are described as an XML document between the converter part and Java ( An inventory management system provided with an application unit that executes a Java (registered trademark) program. Product inspection software executed on each handy terminal that can communicate with the server device via the Internet,
A procedure for receiving a resource that is transmitted from the server device and includes screen display information to be displayed on a display unit provided in the handy terminal according to a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and a resource received by this procedure Classifying at least hypertext markup language (HTML), text information, and image information, arranging the text information and image information at predetermined positions on the display unit, and displaying the handy A stock management software for executing a procedure of transmitting input information input from an input unit provided in a terminal to the server device. It is configured to be able to communicate with the server device via the Internet using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and a display unit for displaying text and images, and a bar code for inputting information to be transmitted to the server device And an input unit including a reader, and a web browser specialized for the handy terminal. The web browser performs data communication with the server device, and receives data from the server device. An HTTP user agent unit that receives resources and transmits input information in the handy terminal to the server device, and analyzes the resources by classifying them into at least hypertext markup language (HTML), text information, and image information. The parser section and this parser A renderer unit for displaying the text information and the image information at predetermined positions on the display unit based on the analysis result of the above, a data storage unit for storing the input information from the input unit and the resource data from the server device And control for controlling display on the display unit via the renderer unit and transmission / reception of information to / from the server device via the HTTP server agent unit based on information from the input unit A handy terminal for product inspection characterized by having a section.