JP2015141657A - Commodity adjustment system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity adjustment system capable of reducing register work time, reducing labor cost and adjustment facility space, and using a sure radio tag.SOLUTION: The system for adjusting a commodity is configured to: attach a radio tag having a secondary cell and a wireless charging function to a commodity; and adjust the commodity by passing the commodity to a charging gate and communication gate continuously. In the charging gate, an AC electromagnetic wave is generated, and power is charged to the secondary cell by the wireless power feed function of the radio tag. At an information reception gate, the radio tag transmits commodity information by power charged by the secondary cell. The information reception gate receives it, acquires price information of the commodity and displays a total money amount of purchased commodities, for adjustment.

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise checkout processing system including a radio tag reader that reads merchandise information stored in a radio tag having an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) function attached to a merchandise.

  In recent years, research on RFID technology using a wireless tag and a wireless tag reader has been advanced as a product management technology that can replace a barcode. RFID technology uses radio waves (electromagnetic waves) for communication between the RFID tag and the antenna of the RFID tag reader, so it can be read even if there is a certain amount of shielding compared to barcodes, and multiple wireless There is an advantage that the tag can be read.

  In Patent Document 1, RFID technology is used as an example of product price information display, and price information is collected and settled by wireless tags, thereby eliminating time for reading barcode information for each product at a cash register. A system that greatly reduces the waiting time has been proposed. As a result, the labor cost of the cash register worker and the number of cash register systems can be reduced, and the capital investment cost and the labor cost can be suppressed.

Moreover, in patent document 2, it has a paper battery which supplies a transmitter and a power supply which supplies electric power to this transmitter in the product tag, and the checkout device receives the radio wave transmitted by the transmitter. There has been proposed a fee settlement system characterized by having a receiver for decoding.

In the case of the system of Patent Document 2, it is pointed out that the transmitter stops operating when the life of the paper battery serving as a power source is exhausted. For example, a photoelectric converter with high conversion efficiency is attached to the paper battery. It has been proposed to charge the paper battery with illumination energy or to change the paper battery itself to a solar battery or the like.

  Patent Document 3 proposes a non-contact IC medium including an antenna that receives electromagnetic waves, a power supply controller that rectifies current generated in the antenna and supplies electric power, and an electric double layer capacitor that stores electric power. According to this, a method has been proposed in which radio waves are appropriately transmitted in the vicinity of a shelf on which merchandise is displayed, and the electric double layer capacitor is always charged.

JP 2008-299404 A JP-A-8-147561 JP 2006-127363 A

  The purchase price display system according to Patent Document 1 is for checking the product information transmitted from the wireless tag to which the product is attached to the product database to know the price, and adding up these to present the total purchase price. A certain amount of power is required to transmit the product information. The wireless tag is placed on the display shelf until the product is sold, but there is a possibility that the battery will run out when trying to settle the product placed on the display shelf for a long time. In this system, if the product information cannot be transmitted because the battery has run out, the product cannot be charged.

Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a method of charging and using a battery as a power source with in-store lighting. However, in the current display shelf, it is not possible to arrange products so that all products are illuminated. It is possible, and it is not a realistic method because it requires a vast space in order to illuminate all the products that are generally displayed in supermarkets.

Further, Patent Document 3 proposes a method of charging electric power to a battery in a product tag by appropriately transmitting radio waves when on a display shelf, but if the frequency is low, the battery may run out at the time of settlement due to individual differences in the battery. Conversely, if the frequency is high, power is wasted. Further, if a radio wave for charging is radiated to a store, there is a possibility that it may be life-threatening due to malfunction when a pacemaker is used, and the method of this patent is not practical.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. It is possible to shorten the cash register operation time, reduce the capital investment cost and the labor cost, and ensure that there is no charge due to battery exhaustion. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless tag product management system.

A product settlement system using a wireless tag according to the present invention includes a wireless tag including a transmission unit for transmitting product information, a secondary battery, a wireless charging unit, the wireless charging unit, and a control unit for controlling the transmission unit. And a checkout device comprising a charging gate and a communication gate for passing the product with the wireless tag, and immediately after charging the secondary battery built in the wireless tag, the product information is transmitted at the communication gate, The total amount is displayed.

  According to the present invention, the wireless tag attached to the product charges the power for transmission immediately before sending the product information for settlement, and then transmits the product information to the wireless tag reader that reads the tag information. Therefore, there is no possibility of being unable to charge due to running out of battery as in the conventional RFID tag product system. In addition, since it is sufficient to charge the necessary power without waste because it is just before charging, it is possible to charge a shopping basket by a cashier who was necessary in a cash register system using a conventional barcode by providing a battery mounted on the wireless tag. Transfer work is not necessary, and the cashier work time can be shortened. Accordingly, the cash register congestion is eliminated, so that the number of registers can be reduced, and the capital investment cost and the labor cost can be reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the wireless tag by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the payment system by embodiment of this invention.

11 wireless tag 12 wireless charging means 13 secondary battery 14 data communication means 21 position sensor 22 conveyor 23 charging gate 24 communication gate 25 cash register 26 amount display device 27 shopping basket

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the wireless tag, FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the payment system, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the payment system.

The wireless tag includes a wireless charging unit, a secondary battery, and a communication unit. The secondary battery does not need to be charged in the state where it is displayed on the merchandise shelf, and only the power necessary for communicating the merchandise information is charged by the wireless charging device before checkout settlement. The wireless power feeding means converts the current flowing in the wire built in by the alternating magnetic field into direct current, and starts charging the secondary battery. Further, it is detected that the charging of the secondary battery is completed or the current generated by the AC magnetic field is below a certain threshold value, and switching from charging the secondary battery to feeding from the secondary battery is performed, and the communication means IC Activate the chip.

As the secondary battery, an all-solid battery is desirable to make the wireless tag small and thin, and an all-solid lithium ion battery is more preferable.

After the wireless tag arrives at the position of the communication gate, the product information is transmitted to the communication gate. A normal RFID chip can be used.

  The checkout system includes a position sensor that detects that a shopping basket is placed, a conveyor that conveys the shopping basket, a charging gate, a communication gate, a cash register, and a price display device.

  The position sensor detects that the shopping basket is placed on the conveyor and the position of the shopping basket, and issues a conveyance command to the conveyor. Although an existing system can be used as the position sensor, a method using an infrared sensor is preferable from the viewpoint of position accuracy and economy.

The conveyor passes the shopping cart through the charging gate and the communication gate at an appropriate conveyance speed.
The charging gate is installed for the purpose of charging a secondary battery installed in the wireless tag, and generates an AC magnetic field therein. As a result, a current is generated in the coil in the wireless charging means in the wireless tag, and this is converted into direct current to charge the secondary battery. Since the magnitude of current generated in the coil differs depending on the direction in which the product is placed, it is desirable to arrange a plurality of coils so that the magnetic field in the charging gate is also generated in various directions.

  The communication gate has a function of communicating with the wireless tag to receive product information and transmitting it to the cash register.

  The cash register has a function of receiving the product information transmitted from the communication gate, collating it with the product database, receiving the price information, and displaying the price on the price display device.

  The actual checkout method at the cash register will be described. A customer who comes to shop puts the item he wants to buy in the shopping basket, takes it to the cash register and places it on a predetermined position on the conveyor. The shopping cart is detected on the conveyor and is detected by the position sensor of the shopping cart, and is conveyed to the charging gate by the conveyor. The secondary battery in the wireless tag is charged at the charging gate, and then the shopping basket is conveyed to the communication gate. The communication gate receives the merchandise information from the wireless tag and transmits the merchandise information to the cash register. The cash register compares the merchandise information with the merchandise database and converts it into price information, and displays the price on the price display device. When a plurality of products are put in the shopping cart, the total amount is displayed instantaneously here. The cashier receives money based on the displayed amount and ends the settlement.

In addition, the wireless tag charged to the secondary battery at the charging gate at the time of checkout has the advantage of ensuring a sufficient communication distance as an active tag, so customers can also pass near the exit to the store If a large communication gate is installed, it is possible to receive the already-settled product information from the wireless tag, so that it is possible to recognize when an unsettled product has passed.

  In this way, in this system, since product information is transmitted immediately after charging the rechargeable battery mounted on the wireless tag, there is no charge omission, and the transmission distance can be secured, so a plurality of products are settled at the same time as they are in the basket. It becomes possible. Thereby, the congestion of the cash register is eliminated, the number of cash register systems can be suppressed, and the capital investment cost and the labor cost can be reduced.

  The RFID tag product management system according to the present invention can be used for cash register business and product management in a store such as a supermarket.

Claims (1)

A wireless tag for transmitting and receiving product information, comprising a communication means, a secondary battery for operation, and a wireless charging means, and a conveyor for passing a product with the wireless tag through a charging gate and an information communication gate at a constant speed; A merchandise settlement system comprising a cash register that converts merchandise information transmitted from a wireless tag into price information and calculates a total price of merchandise, and a settlement apparatus that includes a display device that displays the total price.