JP2014095985A - Sales data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a customer to make payment charged on a commodity to be purchased smoothly.SOLUTION: A sales data processor includes: an informing means which informs merchandise information of a registered commodity with a vocal sound; and an information alteration means which lowers sound volume of the informing of the merchandise information or cancels the informing when totalizing operation of registration of the commodity is carried and the informing means informs the merchandise information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a POS register.

Traditionally, when a clerk registers a product, the product name and price of the product (hereinafter referred to as “product information”) are read aloud to confirm whether or not the registered product information is correct. . In addition, the store clerk reads out the product information aloud to indicate to the customer which product is currently purchased and its price. By performing such an action, the store clerk can correctly register the product, and the customer can pay the price with peace of mind.
There has been proposed a POS register (Point Of Sales register) in which the clerk does not read out the product information by voice and the machine performs voice notification (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The POS register of Patent Literature 1 can make a sound notification of product information of a registered product (hereinafter referred to as “registered product”) every time the product is registered.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-187996

However, in the sound notification of the POS register in Patent Document 1, when the product registration (for example, bar code scanning operation) by the store clerk is fast, the product information read out by the machine is interrupted. Then, a phenomenon occurs in which product information of the next registered product is read out. When such a phenomenon occurs, there is a possibility that a customer who purchases a product may feel uneasy about whether or not the product is registered correctly.
Further, the POS register in Patent Document 1 has a problem that, when there are a large number of registered products, the product information of the registered products is continuously read out after the transaction closing operation is performed. When such a problem occurs, the customer who purchases the product does not know whether the store clerk is registering the product or performing an accounting operation for paying the price. In addition, when such a problem occurs, the customer may misunderstand that a product other than the product he / she purchases may be registered. Therefore, when the customer asks the store clerk to pay the price, the customer may feel uneasy about the payment or may be confused because the payment is not ready. That is, there is a problem that the customer cannot smoothly pay for the purchased product.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables a customer to smoothly pay for a product to be purchased.

  One aspect of the present invention is a case in which notification means for notifying product information of a registered product by voice and when the notification means notifies the product information when a closing operation for registration of the product is performed. A sales data processing device comprising: notification changing means for lowering the volume of notification of the product information or canceling the notification.

  One aspect of the present invention is the sales data processing apparatus described above, further comprising a settlement unit that performs settlement based on a total price of the registered product when a closing operation is performed, and the notification unit includes a notification change After the means lowers the volume of the notification of the product information or stops the notification, the total price of the product settled by the settlement means is notified by voice.

  According to the present invention, the customer can smoothly pay for the product to be purchased.

It is an external view of the POS register 1 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the POS register 1 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of the production | generation process of the synthetic speech in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the POS register 1 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the POS register 1 in the modification of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a POS register 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1A is an external perspective view, and FIG. 1B is a side view. The POS register 1 is a device for registering and paying for a product purchased by a customer who has visited the store, and is used in a retail store or the like. The operation display panel 11 is an image display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The operation display panel 11 accepts and displays operations such as mode switching, setting, and registration. The display surface of the operation display panel 11 is provided with a touch panel provided with touch keys (soft keys) which are transparent contact switches, and displays product information on which product registration has been performed, total price, and the like. .

  The operation unit 12 is configured using an existing input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (such as a mouse or a tablet), a button, or a touch panel. The operation unit 12 includes an operation unit for operating the POS register 1. The operation means is, for example, a completion key (for example, a subtotal key, a current total key, etc.) for declaring completion of product registration, a correction key, a preset key, a numeric key, a gift certificate key, and the like. Further, for example, when the store clerk presses an operation key (preset key), the operation unit 12 receives an operation input for a product code or the like that is set and registered in advance corresponding to the key. The operation means of the operation unit 12 may be arranged as a button such as a mechanical key (hard key), or may be arranged on a touch panel provided on the display surface of the operation display panel 11.

The customer display unit 13 displays product information, total amount, etc., for which product registration has been performed, to the customer. The customer display unit 13 is a light-emitting display device using a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays numbers and the like on its surface by dot display (full dot display).
The receipt issuing port 14 discharges a receipt printed by the printing unit 15 built in the POS register 1.
The POS register 1 is connected to a scanner unit 16 (not shown in FIG. 1) used for registering a product by reading a barcode (product code) attached to the product.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the POS register 1 in one embodiment of the present invention.
The POS register 1 includes an operation display panel 11, an operation unit 12, a customer display unit 13, a receipt issuing port 14, a printing unit 15, a scanner unit 16, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 17, a ROM ( A read only memory (RAM) 18, a random access memory (RAM) 19, a hard disk 20, a card reader 21, an audio output unit 22, and a speaker 23 are provided. The functional units of the POS register 1 are connected to each other via a bus 10. In addition, in the part corresponding to FIG. 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

The scanner unit 16 optically reads a barcode (product code) attached to a product. Note that product information is recorded in the product code.
The CPU 17 is a central processing unit, reads out a program stored in the ROM 18 and develops it in the RAM 19. The CPU 17 controls the overall operation of the POS register 1 by executing each step of the developed program.
In addition, when an operation for tightening registration of a product is performed, the CPU 17 (notification changing unit) notifies the product information of the registered product that the voice output unit 22 performs voice notification, and then notifies the product information of the registered product. Decrease the volume or cancel the notification. That is, when the completion key is pressed by the store clerk, when the notification of the merchandise information of the registered merchandise that is being voice-reported at that time ends, the CPU 17 lowers the volume of the merchandise information notification of the registered merchandise thereafter, or Stop reporting. The closing operation is an operation for completing registration of the product information of the registered product by pressing the completion key of the operation unit 12 by the store clerk.

Further, the CPU 17 records the product information recorded in the barcode read by the scanner unit 16 in the RAM 19 as text data.
The CPU 17 reads out the product information recorded in the RAM 19 and performs speech synthesis to generate a synthesized audio signal including the product information. As a speech synthesis technique, for example, formant synthesis may be used. Formant synthesis is a technique for generating artificial synthesized speech signals by adjusting waveforms such as the base frequency, tone color, and noise level to create waveforms.
In addition, text speech synthesis may be used as a speech synthesis technique. Text-to-speech synthesis is a method of artificially synthesizing speech using text data.
The ROM 18 is a read-only memory, and stores a program for operating the POS register 1 in advance.

  The RAM 19 is a read / write memory that stores various information. In the RAM 19, a program read from the ROM 18 is expanded. The RAM 19 stores various data generated by executing the program. The RAM 19 is also used as a working memory for temporarily storing data used when the CPU 17 performs control. The RAM 19 includes a work area for temporarily storing data and the like used when the CPU 17 performs control. The work area includes a receipt buffer that temporarily stores product information of registered products when the CPU 17 performs processing for registering purchased products. A purchased product is a product purchased by a customer.

The RAM 19 stores a word dictionary and a grammar dictionary (hereinafter referred to as “dictionary”). The dictionary is used when the CPU 17 reads the text data of the product information recorded in the RAM 19 and performs text analysis processing. The text analysis process is a process of determining a word reading and an accent of a word after identifying the word recorded in the text data.
The RAM 19 stores an intonation database. The intonation database is a database in which data of intonation and pose insertion positions of read text data is recorded. The intonation database is read out by the CPU 17 when setting intonation.
The RAM 19 stores a voice database. The CPU 17 uses the speech database to search for speech segments from intonation and word reading, and synthesizes speech by connecting the searched speech segments (speech synthesis).

The printing unit 15 prints settlement information and the like on a receipt that is a printing medium, and issues it from the receipt issuing port 14. Payment information is information related to payment. For example, the settlement information is information such as the customer's purchased product, the number of products, the price of the product, the total amount, the payment amount, and change.
The hard disk 20 is a recording device such as a magnetic recording device. The hard disk 20 stores various information. For example, the hard disk 20 stores information on purchased products of customers (for example, unit price, number, price, order information, etc. for each item). The CPU 17 causes the hard disk 20 to store information on the customer's purchased products stored in the RAM 19. The hard disk 20 may store a program executed by the CPU 17 instead of the ROM 18.

The card reader 21 reads information stored in various touched cards (for example, a credit card or a membership card). For example, the card reader 21 reads customer information from various cards. Customer information is information about a customer.
The audio output unit 22 outputs a synthesized audio signal generated by the CPU 17 via the speaker 23.
The speaker 23 notifies the product information by outputting the synthesized audio signal output from the audio output unit 22 as a radio wave.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of synthetic speech generation processing in an embodiment of the present invention. The synthetic voice generation process is performed every time a product is registered.
Step S10: First, the CPU 17 reads the text data in which the product information recorded in the RAM 19 is recorded. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S12.
Step S12: The CPU 17 reads a dictionary stored in the RAM 19. The CPU 17 performs text analysis on the text data read in step S10 using a dictionary. After identifying the word recorded in the text data by text analysis, the CPU 17 determines the word reading and the word accent. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S14.

Step S14: Next, the CPU 17 reads the intonation database stored in the RAM 19. The CPU 17 sets the sentence intonation and pause insertion position of the text data based on the read intonation database. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S16.
Step S16: The CPU 17 reads the voice database stored in the RAM 19. The CPU 17 searches for speech segments using the speech database based on the reading of the words of the text data determined in step S12 and the intonation set in step S14. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S18.
Step S18: The CPU 17 generates a synthesized speech signal by connecting the retrieved speech segments. Thereafter, the flowchart of FIG. 3 ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the POS register 1 in one embodiment of the present invention.
Step S30: First, the scanner unit 16 reads a barcode attached to a product. The operation unit 12 inputs product information when operated by a store clerk. The CPU 17 registers the product by recording the product information recorded in the barcode read by the scanner unit 16 and the product information input by the operation unit 12 in the RAM 19. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S32.
Step S32: The CPU 17 generates a synthesized voice signal based on the product information recorded in the RAM 19 every time a product is registered. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S34.

Step S34: The audio output unit 22 outputs the synthesized audio signal generated by the CPU 17 to the speaker 23. The speaker 23 notifies the product information by outputting the synthesized audio signal output from the audio output unit 22 as a radio wave.
Step S36: The CPU 17 determines whether or not the completion key has been pressed by the store clerk. If the completion key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S38. If the completion key has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S30.
Step S38: When the notification of the product information notified by the audio output unit 22 via the speaker 23 at the time when the processing of Step S38 is started, the CPU 17 sets the volume of notification of the product information of the registered product thereafter. Lower or cancel the notification. Then, the flowchart of FIG. 4 ends.

  According to the POS register 1 configured as described above, when the closing operation is performed, the product information is not read out even when there is product information of a registered product that is not notified. In other words, the POS register 1 may lower the volume of reading of the product information of the registered product after that, or stop the notification when the reading of the product information read out when the closing operation is performed is completed. it can. Therefore, the customer is not misunderstood that a product other than the product to be purchased is registered. As a result, the customer can smoothly pay for the product to be purchased. Therefore, it becomes possible to reduce the troublesomeness which arises when purchasing goods.

<Modification>
In the present embodiment described above, the configuration is shown in which the product information stored in the RAM 19 is converted into text data and then synthesized speech is generated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the POS register 1 may be configured to include a database that stores voice data of product information of each product in advance. In this case, the POS register 1 notifies the audio data of the product information corresponding to the product information of the registered product read by the scanner unit 16.

  Further, the POS register 1 may be configured to include a settlement unit. The CPU 17 (settlement means) settles the customer's purchased product. At that time, for example, the following processing is performed. A specific example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Moreover, since the process from step S30 to step S38 is the same as that of FIG. 4, description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the POS register 1 in the modification of the present invention.
Step S40: The CPU 17 calculates the total amount (total price) at the time of the tightening operation after decreasing the volume of notification of the product information or after stopping the notification. The total amount at the time of the closing operation is the total amount of the product until the registration of the product is started and the completion key is pressed. The CPU 17 displays the calculated total amount on the operation display panel 11 and the customer display unit 13. Further, the CPU 17 records the calculated total amount in the RAM 19 as text data. Thereafter, the CPU 17 reads the total amount recorded in the RAM 19 and generates a synthesized voice signal. The audio output unit 22 outputs the synthesized audio signal generated by the CPU 17 to the speaker 23. The speaker 23 provides notification by outputting a synthesized voice signal including the total amount of money that has been output as a radio wave. In addition, when the speaker 23 notifies the total amount, if the product information is notified with the volume lowered, the CPU 17 ends the notification of the product information. Thereafter, the speaker 23 notifies the total amount. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S42.
Step S42: The CPU 17 settles the customer's purchased product. Specifically, the CPU 17 measures the price paid by the customer, and calculates the difference between the price paid by the customer and the total amount as change. In addition, the printing unit 15 prints information on the customer's purchased products recorded on the hard disk 20 on a receipt sheet and outputs it from the receipt issuing port 14. Then, the flowchart of FIG. 5 ends.

Further, the product information notified by the audio output unit 22 does not need to be the product name and the price of the product, only the product price may be notified, or only the product name may be notified.
A configuration in which a plurality of POS registers 1 are used in one store may be used.
In the embodiment described above, as the appearance of the POS register 1, the operation display panel 11 and the operation unit 12 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction (in the case of FIG. 1, the operation unit 12 is placed horizontally on the lower side of the operation display panel 11). Although an example in which the POS register 1 is arranged has been described, the appearance of the POS register 1 is not limited to this. For example, the operation display panel 11 and the operation unit 12 may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction (for example, the operation unit 12 is arranged vertically on the right side of the operation display panel 11).

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

  Note that a program for executing each process of the POS register 1 of the present invention is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into the computer system and executed, thereby executing the POS. The various processes described above related to each process of the register 1 may be performed. Here, the “computer system” may include an OS (Operating System) and hardware such as peripheral devices. Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used. The “computer-readable recording medium” means a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a writable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, a portable medium such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk built in a computer system, etc. This is a storage device.

  Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” means a volatile memory (for example, DRAM (Dynamic DRAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted through a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. Random Access Memory)), etc., which hold programs for a certain period of time. The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... POS register (sales data processor), 11 ... Operation display panel, 12 ... Operation part, 13 ... Display part for customers, 14 ... Receipt issue port, 15 ... Printing part, 16 ... Scanner part, 17 ... CPU (notification) Change means, settlement means), 18 ... ROM, 19 ... RAM, 20 ... hard disk, 21 ... card reader, 22 ... voice output unit, 23 ... speaker (notification means)

Claims (2)

An informing means for informing the product information of the registered product by voice;
When the notification means is informing the product information when the product registration closing operation is performed, the notification change means for lowering the volume of the notification of the product information or stopping the notification;
A sales data processing apparatus comprising: A settlement means for performing settlement based on the total price of the registered product when a closing operation is performed;
The informing means notifies the total price of the goods to be settled by the settlement means by voice after the notice changing means has lowered the volume of the notice of the merchandise information or stopped the notice. The sales data processing device according to claim 1.

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