JP2015162178A - Settlement terminal and program of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a settlement terminal and program of the settlement terminal that allow an operator to discriminate a boot of a POS terminal from a boot of an independent operation in an operation screen after being booted.SOLUTION: A settlement terminal proceeding with settlement processing under an input operation of an operator in an input screen displayed in a display part by being booted on the basis of reception of a command transmitted from a POS terminal or displayed in the display part by being booted with an independent operation has: detection means for detecting a POS command from the POS terminal; and notification means for notifying that the input screen is a screen booted from the POS terminal on the basis of the detection of the POS command by the detection means.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a payment terminal and a program thereof.

  Examples of settlement means other than cash include credit settlement and electronic money settlement. Cash settlement is processed at a POS (Point of Sales) terminal, while credit settlement and electronic money settlement are processed at a settlement terminal connected to the POS terminal. The payment terminal activates a business based on the payment information received from the POS terminal, and executes a credit payment process and an electronic money payment process. After starting the business, the operator must make a predetermined input before the time-out occurs.

However, the settlement terminal can start a business in response to a command from the POS terminal, and can start a business by an operator's independent operation regardless of the POS terminal.
The screen (top screen) after startup from the POS terminal is a job selection menu screen for selecting a job, and is substantially the same as the screen in a single operation. Similarly, a screen that is developed from the top screen is displayed in the same manner as the screen in the single operation. For this reason, once a transaction is activated at the payment terminal, the operator may not be able to determine whether the current activation screen is due to activation from the POS terminal or due to activation from a single operation. . In particular, when starting from a POS terminal, the operator misunderstands that it is a single operation on the TOP screen, and it takes time for the next input operation. You may end up with a case where you have misunderstood that is not displayed yet and keeps waiting for the screen. If an input operation is not performed as it is, a countermeasure is necessary because a timeout occurs as it is.

  A problem to be solved by an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a settlement terminal and a program for the settlement terminal in which an operator can determine whether the operation screen after activation is based on activation of a POS terminal or activation of a single operation. .

  The settlement terminal of the embodiment is activated based on reception of a command transmitted from the POS terminal and displayed on the display unit, or is activated by a single operation and input by an operator on the input screen displayed on the display unit In the payment terminal that advances the payment processing below, the input screen is an activation screen from the POS terminal based on detection means for detecting the command from the POS terminal and detection of the command by the detection means And an informing means for informing that.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a payment terminal according to the first embodiment and a POS terminal connected to the payment terminal. FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the payment terminal. FIG. 3 is a screen transition diagram of the payment process in the payment terminal. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the payment process in the payment terminal. FIG. 5 is a comparison screen of a job selection menu screen displayed by a single operation and a job selection menu screen displayed in conjunction with POS. FIG. 6 is a screen configuration diagram when a display window is configured on the job selection menu screen displayed in conjunction with POS. FIG. 7 is a processing flow for displaying the timeout time in a countdown manner. FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen when the job selection menu screen displayed in conjunction with POS is blinked. FIG. 9 is a system block diagram of a payment terminal provided with means for playing voice guidance.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a payment terminal according to the first embodiment and a POS terminal that is communicatively connected to the payment terminal.

  The payment terminal 1 in FIG. 1 includes an upper panel 11 that can be opened and closed at the top of a main body 10. A liquid crystal display 13 having a touch panel 12 provided with a touch sensor as an operation unit superimposed on the surface is disposed on the surface of the upper panel 11. An input screen and a notification screen described later are displayed on the liquid crystal display 13. When the top panel 11 is opened, a printing unit (not shown) provided inside the main body 10 is exposed, and a roll-shaped receipt sheet can be set on the printing unit. The payment terminal 1 is provided with a receipt issuing port 14 between the main body 10 and the top panel 11, and a receipt printed by the printing unit is issued from here.

  The settlement terminal 1 has various communication interfaces for communicating with the POS terminal 2 and a center server (not shown), and a communication cable connection unit (not shown) for connecting to the POS terminal 2 and the center server. ) At the bottom of the main body 10. The figure shows the connection state with the POS terminal 2 via the communication cable K. A POS command from the POS terminal 2 to be described later is received by the internal communication interface via the communication cable K.

The payment terminal 1 further includes a card reading / writing unit 15 on the upper side of the main body 10. A payment card such as a magnetic card or an IC card is inserted into the card reading / writing unit 15 and the payment terminal 1 reads the card information.
Although not shown, the payment terminal 1 further supports the NFC (Near Field Communication) standard for writing to a keypad unit and an electronic money card for reading a card number and for reading card information. A multi-reader / writer is also provided.
Note that a power source for supplying power to each unit is built in the main body 10, and power is supplied to each unit by a power switch 16 provided on a lower side surface of the main body 10.

On the other hand, the POS terminal 2 includes a keyboard 20 on which merchandise accounting keys such as a merchandise key and a settlement key are arranged, a cashier display 21 for displaying merchandise information, merchandise price, etc., a customer display 22, a slip, etc. Is a POS terminal equipped with a drawer 23 or the like for storing the device.
The POS terminal 2 is provided with a communication interface for connecting to the settlement terminal 1 via the communication cable K and a communication cable connection unit. A POS command to be described later is transmitted from the POS terminal 2 to the payment terminal 1 through the communication cable K when the cashier presses the payment key on the keyboard 20.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the settlement terminal of FIG.
The settlement terminal 1 includes a CPU 100, a ROM 101, a RAM 102, a flash ROM 103, a controller 104, a timer unit 105, and communication I / Fs 106 to 108 that are connected to each other via a bus line BL.
The CPU 100 is a central processing unit, and reads instruction codes and data of a program and executes control of each unit and various arithmetic processes.

  The ROM 101 is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). Here, an OS (Operating System) startup program, an initial setting program, and the like are stored.

  The RAM 102 is a rewritable volatile memory such as SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) or DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The RAM 102 is used as a program development area or a work area for temporarily storing intermediate data and parameter values being executed.

  The flash ROM 103 is a rewritable memory that retains stored information even when the power is turned off. Here, various programs and data such as a business processing program M (program shown in FIG. 3 described later) and display data N (various image data shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 described later) are stored.

  The controller 104 is shown as a display unit 109 shown as a liquid crystal display 13 in FIG. 1, an operation unit 110 also shown as a touch panel 12 in FIG. 1, and a card reading / writing unit 15 in FIG. The card reading / writing unit 111 and the printing unit 112 are connected to each other, and each unit 109 to 112 is controlled under the control of the CPU 100. When there is an input from the operation unit 110 or the card reading / writing unit 111, an interrupt signal is appropriately transmitted to the CPU 100.

The display unit 109 expands display data stored in the flash ROM 103 to an internal display memory and displays the display data on the screen of the liquid crystal display 13 under the control of the CPU 100.
The operation unit 110 receives an input signal indicating the position on the screen from the operation unit 110 when the operator touches the position of the input button displayed on the liquid crystal display 13 on the screen, and displays the input button image at the position. The assigned processing command is transmitted to the CPU 100.

The card reading / writing unit 111 reads card information from a magnetic card or IC card inserted into the card reading / writing unit 15 and transmits the card information to the CPU 100.
The printing unit 112 is a printer that prints print data transmitted from the CPU 100 on receipt paper.
The timer unit 105 includes a counter circuit that receives a clock signal in the system and counts it. The timer 105 has a timer function and the like.

  The communication I / F 106 is a communication interface for communicating with a POS terminal. In the embodiment, wired connection is made to the POS terminal 2 of FIG. As a communication standard, for example, RS232C or USB (Universal Serial Bus) is used. The communication I / F 106 establishes communication with the POS terminal and transmits / receives data. Examples of the transmission / reception data include a POS command transmitted from the POS terminal and response data transmitted from the communication I / F 106 to the POS terminal. In the present embodiment, a wired connection is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and wireless communication with the POS terminal 2 may be performed using a wireless communication interface.

The communication I / F 107 is a communication interface for connecting to the center server. The settlement terminal 1 performs settlement processing with the center server through the communication I / F 107.
The communication I / F 108 corresponds to the NFC standard, and is an interface that reads and writes data from and to an electronic money card or point card.
Although not shown, a keypad unit is also provided for allowing the customer to input a password at the time of settlement.
Under such a configuration, the POS command detection means is configured as follows.
The communication I / F 106 notifies the CPU 100 when communication data is received from the POS terminal 2. Upon receiving the notification, the CPU 100 retrieves the POS command embedded in the communication data and detects that it is an instruction to start business processing from the POS terminal 2. Based on this detection, the CPU 100 reads and executes a command stored at a predetermined address in the flash ROM 103. As will be described in detail later by this execution, an input screen, a message screen, and the like are displayed on the display unit 109 upon activation from the POS terminal 2, and notification that the activation screen is due to activation from the POS terminal 2 An informing means is realized.

Next, the payment process in the payment terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a screen transition diagram of the payment process in the payment terminal 1.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the payment process in the payment terminal 1.
The screens arranged in the upper part of FIG. 3 are screen transition diagrams when payment processing is performed by a single operation at the payment terminal. The single operation is an operation performed independently by the operator at the payment terminal 1 regardless of the POS command. The screens arranged in the lower row are screen transition diagrams of the settlement process activated by a POS command from the POS terminal (that is, by POS interlocking).

The upper and lower screens transition from left to right as indicated by an arrow Y in FIG.
As is apparent from the comparison of the screen transitions in the upper and lower stages of FIG. 3, there are many screens that are common between the screen transition when the settlement process is performed by a single operation at the settlement terminal and the screen transition of the settlement process using POS. In the following, each screen transition and process flow will be described specifically, and the common points and differences between single operation and POS linkage will be compared.

  Although there are several processes to be performed by the payment terminal 1, the following description will focus on the business process flow shown in FIG. Therefore, a description will be given assuming that the “business” tab is selected from the initial screen described later and the transaction process assigned to the “business” tab is executed. Further, what should be explained in the single operation is a screen transition and a screen image comparison with the POS interlock. For this reason, the details of the processing will be described in the screen transition of FIG. 3, and the details of the processing will be omitted in the processing flow of FIG.

When the power switch 16 of the settlement terminal 1 is turned on and the OS is started, an initial screen is launched.
FIG. 4 is a processing flow of the payment process after the initial screen is started.
First, it is determined that there is no shutdown operation (S1).
If “YES” is determined in the step S1, it is determined whether or not a POS command is received from the POS terminal 2 (S2). The POS command is transmitted to the payment terminal 1 when the cashier presses the payment key in the POS terminal 2. The POS command is received through the communication I / F 106, and when the communication I / F 106 receives it, the CPU 100 detects it.

If “NO” is determined in step S2, it is determined whether or not an input is received from the operation unit 110 by the operator (S3).
If “NO” determination is made in step S3, the process returns to step S1, and the process from step S1 is repeated again. That is, the reception of the POS command, the operation input from the operation unit 110, or the shutdown operation is monitored by the routine from step S1 to step S3.

  If “YES” is determined in step S3, that is, if any tab of “operation”, “total”, “setting”, “practice”, and “reprint” is selected on the initial screen by the operator's single operation, Executes the process assigned to the selected tab.

When the input of the “business” tab is detected in step S3, the transaction process assigned to the “business” tab is executed (S4).
The upper part of FIG. 3 is a screen transition in the transaction process.
As shown in the figure, when the “task” tab is selected, a task selection menu screen (FIG. 3A) is first displayed. On the business selection menu screen, the type of card to be used such as “credit” or “electronic money” is selected by pressing a button. Such screens that require the operator to press a button or the like are collectively referred to as an input screen.

When the selection of the card type is completed on the job selection menu screen, a message screen for the customer is displayed so that the selected card is inserted into the card reading / writing unit 15 (FIG. 3B).
When the reading of the card information is detected, the “security code input screen (FIG. 3C)” “product code input screen (FIG. 3D)” “money display screen” (FIG. 3E) Are displayed in this order.

Next, a payment method selection menu screen (FIG. 3F) for selecting a payment method is displayed. On this payment method selection menu screen, selection buttons such as “lump sum payment”, “bonus” and “installment payment” are arranged.
When one of the selection buttons is selected on the payment method selection menu screen, a message screen (FIG. 3 (g)) that prompts the customer to input a password is displayed.

When the input of the personal identification number from the keypad is completed, a confirmation screen for the settlement content (FIG. 3 (h)) is displayed. An execution button is displayed on this screen.
When the customer finally confirms the content on the screen and presses the execution button for agreeing to the transaction, the settlement terminal 1 is connected to the center server for communication, and a message screen (FIG. 3 (i)) showing the communication state is displayed. indicate. When the transaction is completed and communication with the center server is disconnected, a completion message (FIG. 3 (j)) is displayed and the transaction process is terminated.

Here, returning to the description of FIG. 4, the processing following step S4 will be described.
When the transaction processing by the single operation is finished in step S4, the transaction content is printed on a receipt sheet and a slip is issued (S5).
After issuing the slip in step S5, the process returns to step S1, and the processing from step S1 is executed again.
Thus, transaction processing by a single operation is performed in the routine from step S1 to step S5.

  On the other hand, the transaction processing by POS linkage is performed when a POS command is received and “YES” is determined in step S2. The following is an explanation of the transaction processing by the POS linkage.

  If “YES” is determined in the step S2, first, a data reception message screen (FIG. 3 (p)) informing that the information necessary for the settlement such as the settlement amount is received from the POS terminal 2 is displayed. A selection menu screen (FIG. 3 (q)) is displayed (S6). Data reception from the POS terminal 2 is instantaneous if no failure occurs. Further, in order to shift to the transaction processing at the settlement terminal 1 as quickly as possible, switching from the data reception message screen (FIG. 3 (p)) to the job selection menu screen is fast. The work selection menu screen (FIG. 3 (q)) displayed thereafter has substantially the same configuration as the single operation display screen (FIG. 3 (a)). However, a notification means is newly provided for notifying the operator that the screen is activated in conjunction with POS.

FIG. 5 is a comparison screen of a job selection menu screen (FIG. 3 (a)) displayed by a single operation and a job selection menu screen (FIG. 3 (q)) displayed in conjunction with POS.
As shown in the figure, the job selection menu screen 500q displayed in conjunction with POS and the job selection menu screen 500a displayed by a single operation are commonly used with five tabs 501 to 505 and four selection buttons (credit 511, debit). 512, UnionPay (registered trademark) 513, and electronic money 514). Further, a paper feed button 521, a help button 522, and a scroll button 523 are configured.

In this screen example, since point processing can be performed by a single operation of the payment terminal 1, a selection button 515 is further configured on the job selection menu screen 500a displayed by a single operation.
In these two similar screens, in the present embodiment, the job selection menu screen 500q displayed in conjunction with POS is colored in a color different from the color used in the job selection menu screen 500a displayed by a single operation.

Specifically, a complementary color of the use color of the job selection menu screen 500a displayed by a single operation is arranged on the job selection menu screen 500q displayed in conjunction with POS.
A complementary color is a combination of colors that are located in opposite directions in the hue circle. For example, in the color element CMYK in the printed matter, the “red” complementary color is “blue-green”, the “orange” complementary color is “blue”, the “yellow” complementary color is “blue-violet”, and the like. The complementary colors are assigned in the same way for the three primary colors RGB of light. Based on the color information (RGB values, etc.) of the colors used for the job selection menu screen 500a that is displayed by a single operation in advance, color information that is a complementary color is calculated, and the calculation is performed on the job selection menu screen 500q that is displayed in conjunction with POS. Set the resulting color information.

  In the job selection menu screen 500q of FIG. 5, in consideration of operability, the five tabs 501 to 505, the four selection buttons 511 to 514, the paper feed button 521, and the help button 522 are for single operation. The same color was used, and other background colors were used as complementary colors. Although shown in monochrome in FIG. 5, at least a region using a complementary color is a color color (red, blue, yellow, etc.).

In the case of this example, about 20% of the entire screen can be composed of complementary colors.
In addition, when giving priority to the operator to recognize that it is POS interlocking, buttons that are not used frequently are preferentially complementary colors, and selection buttons and tab buttons that are frequently used are also complementary colors. The complementary color area in the entire screen may be increased, and finally 100% of the entire screen may be configured with complementary colors. In this case, by changing the color information (RGB values, etc.) set for the target component, or by specifying the target area of the display screen with the coordinate value and changing the color information of the area, the complementary color area To enlarge.

  In this embodiment, in order to make the operator aware that the screen is linked to POS on each screen, each screen after the job selection menu screen is also configured with a complementary color as shown in the lower part of FIG.

Returning to FIG. 4, the processing from step S6 will be described.
After displaying the job selection menu screen in step S6, it is determined whether or not the communication connection with the POS terminal 2 has been released (S7). The cancellation of the communication connection with the POS terminal 2 occurs when the time-out period is exceeded or due to some communication trouble.
If “NO” is determined in the step S7, it is determined whether or not a selection button is input on the job selection menu screen (step S8).

If “YES” is determined in the step S8, a message screen (FIG. 3 (r)) for the customer is displayed so as to insert the selected card into the card reading / writing unit 15 (S9).
Subsequently, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the card information has been read.
If “YES” is determined in step S10, a display screen (FIG. 3 (s)) of the product amount sent from the POS terminal 2 is displayed, and then a payment method selection menu screen (FIG. 3 (t) for selecting a payment method). )) Is displayed (S11).

Subsequently, in step S12, it is determined whether or not a payment button has been selected.
If “YES” is determined in the step S12, a message screen (FIG. 3 (u)) that prompts the customer to input a password is displayed (S13).
Subsequently, in step S14, it is determined whether or not a password has been input.

If "YES" is determined in the step S14, a settlement content confirmation screen (FIG. 3 (v)) is displayed (S15).
Subsequently, in step S16, it is determined whether or not an execution button has been input.
If “YES” is determined in step S16, a message screen (FIG. 3 (w)) indicating that communication is in progress is displayed, and the payment terminal 1 communicates with the center server for payment (S17).

Subsequently, in step S18, it is determined whether a signal indicating completion of payment is received from the center server.
If “YES” is determined in the step S18, the communication with the center server is disconnected, and a completion message (FIG. 3 (x)) is displayed (S19).

  And since all the transaction processing is complete | finished, this transaction content is printed on a receipt paper, and a slip is issued (S20). After the slip is issued, the process returns to step S1, and the processes from step S1 are repeatedly executed.

If “NO” is determined in the determination process from step S8 to step S18, the process returns to step S7, and the process from step S7 is repeatedly executed. That is, it is determined whether or not a time-out has occurred once when a screen with input is displayed on the settlement terminal 1.
If “YES” is determined in the step S7, the process returns to the step S1.
If “NO” determination is made in step S1, the process is terminated.

Note that the business process flow taken up in this embodiment is an example. Since the flow of business processing varies depending on the user, it may be set as appropriate.
Further, the screen activated by the single operation and the screen activated by the POS interlock are shown as examples, and are not limited to this. Their similarity except for the notification means may be low or may be completely coincident. However, the closer to perfection, the greater the effect of the notification means.

As described above, in the present embodiment, on a screen having a selection button activated by POS interlock, as a notification means for notifying an operator that the button has been activated by POS interlock, a complementary color of the use color of the screen activated by a single operation is displayed on the screen. Applied to part or all of
As a result, even on a narrow screen that can be accommodated in the palm of the operator, such as the payment terminal 1, the operator can clearly discriminate that the activation screen is POS-linked by the difference in color. The operator can operate the selection button within a predetermined time while being aware that the operation is POS-linked. In other words, interruption of settlement processing due to timeout is greatly improved.

(Modification 1)
In the first modification, a description will be given of a screen configured with a display window indicating a time until timeout as a notification unit indicating that the screen is activated by POS interlocking.
Note that the following screen data and programs are supplied by being stored in the Flash ROM 103 of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a screen configuration diagram when a display window for displaying a timeout time as a notification means is configured on the job selection menu screen 500q displayed in conjunction with the POS shown in FIG.

  In the job selection menu screen 500q-1 in FIG. 6, a display window 600 is provided in an empty space (an area where no icon or the like is displayed) in the screen. The display window 600 displays a countdown time indicating the remaining time until timeout in seconds. In the drawing, 153 s (seconds) is shown in the display window 600 as the remaining time until timeout. Assuming that any of the selection buttons 511 to 514 is not pressed on the job selection menu screen 500q-1, the number in the display window 600 decreases by “1” every time one second elapses. That is, when the number in the display window 600 becomes “0 s (seconds)”, it means a timeout, and the transaction processing at the payment terminal 1 is interrupted. The operator presses the selection button within the time while confirming the time until timeout in the display window 600.

FIG. 7 is a processing flow for displaying a countdown time until timeout.
When the CPU 100 detects the POS command, the CPU 100 inputs a detection signal to the counter circuit that is the timer 105, and starts counting by the counter circuit. The counter circuit counts the number of waves of the input clock signal and outputs it while switching between the LOW signal and the HIGH signal at intervals of 1 second determined by the period of the clock signal and the number of waves.

The CPU 100 executes the following processing for detecting the POS command and displaying the timeout time while reading the signal switching of the output signal from the counter circuit.
Note that the processing up to the detection of the POS command is the same as the processing up to step S2 in FIG. In FIG. 4, if “YES” determination is made in step S <b> 2, the process proceeds to step S <b> 6, but the following processing is performed in parallel with the processing of FIG. 4 when step S <b> 2 is “YES” determination.

First, it is determined whether or not a POS command is detected (S2).
If "YES" is determined in the step S2, a timeout time is set to the variable I (S21).
Next, the value of the variable I is displayed on the display window 600 (S22). Needless to say, the display window 600 displays the time until timeout in decimal. At this stage, the upper limit of timeout (for example, 270 s) is displayed on the display window 600.
Next, it is determined whether or not the variable I = 0 (S23).

If “NO” is determined in the step S23, the process waits until one second elapses (S24).
If it is detected in step S24 that 1 second has elapsed, "1" is subtracted from variable I to set I = I-1 (S25), and the process returns to step S22 to display the value of variable I. That is, in the first routine, the time (269 s) obtained by subtracting 1 s from the upper limit time (270 s) of the timeout displayed first on the display window 600 is displayed.

In this way, by repeating the routine from step S22 to step S25, the timeout time is subtracted every second and finally becomes zero.
When it finally becomes 0, “YES” determination is made in step S23, for example, a message screen indicating a timeout is displayed on the display screen (S26), and the process is terminated.
This process may be terminated at a predetermined timing. For example, when a predetermined transaction process is completed within the timeout period, an end signal is received from the process of FIG. 4, and a determination is made as to whether or not an end signal has been received anywhere in the routine from step S22 to step S25. If the end signal is received, the process ends.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a display window is provided only on the job selection menu screen 500q-1, but the display screen is not limited to this, and is a POS-linked display screen (FIG. 3 (p) to FIG. 3 (x)). A display window for displaying the time until timeout may be provided for all of the above.
Further, although the display window can display the remaining time until timeout, the display window may be configured to count up instead of counting down.

  Moreover, although the structure which counts down to a display window for every 1 second was shown, it is not this limitation. A wide interval such as a unit of 5 seconds or a unit of 1 minute may be used, a countdown display may be performed from the remaining several seconds, or a predetermined number of seconds may be continuously displayed.

In the first modification, in addition to configuring the screen with complementary colors, a display window that displays the time until timeout is configured, but this is not restrictive. A configuration may be adopted in which complementary color display on the screen is stopped and only the time until timeout is displayed.
By configuring as described above, it is of course possible to determine that it is POS-linked, but more than that, the operator is conscious of how many seconds later it will time out and whether the selection button must be entered. become able to.

  When the time until the POS terminal waits for a response (timeout) is the response from the first job selection menu screen 500q-1, only the display window of the job selection menu screen 500q-1 that is the first input screen is used. You can check the time. Also, if you are waiting for a response from the screen in the middle of the transition screen or waiting for a response from the final screen indicating that transaction processing has been completed, the time until timeout will be found on each screen during transition The operator can predict the operation speed until the transaction is completed.

(Modification 2)
In the second modified example, a description will be given of a display unit that has been subjected to an animation process such as blinking the background or the like as a notification unit indicating that the screen is activated by POS interlocking.
It is assumed that the following screen data and programs accompanying blinking are supplied by being stored in the Flash ROM 103 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen when the screen color and the complementary color in the single operation are alternately switched on the screen that is activated in conjunction with POS.
FIG. 8A shows a state in which complementary colors are displayed (ON state), and FIG. 8B shows a state in which the complementary color display is stopped and the screen color at the time of single operation is displayed (OFF state).

Each color is alternated at a rate that allows a person to see the change. Thereby, a person recognizes that it is blinking.
That is, it is possible to obtain the same effect as an animation in which an image is switched frame by frame and frame advance is performed, or a difference between the movement direction and movement amount of a target graphic is designated at a predetermined time interval to give a movement.

This color change is a software process that uses the output of the counter circuit as a trigger to set the display color to the complementary color at the rising edge of the trigger signal and the same screen color as the single operation at the falling edge of the trigger signal. To do.
If the cycle of the output signal from the counter circuit is shortened, the screen blinks at a high speed. Conversely, if the cycle is lengthened, the screen blinks slowly.

If frame images of each frame are prepared and the frames are sequentially reproduced at predetermined time intervals, more complicated motion can be expressed. Since the display screen is switched at a predetermined frame rate on the screen, it can be recognized that the POS is activated by an animation effect. If the button layout is not changed at this time, the coordinate information on the screen is input by pressing the button on the touch panel, and the button corresponding to the coordinate, that is, the displayed button is pressed. The payment terminal 1 can recognize that this has been done.
As described above, in the configuration of the second modification, the screen is given a facial expression by movement.
With this configuration, it is easy for the operator to notice that the screen is a POS activation screen, and if it is blinking, it is easy to predict that it is a warning display, so that the processing is not left unattended. One can easily take some action, such as pressing a selection button or checking with the staff around.

(Modification 3)
In the third modification, a configuration in which voice guidance is played as a notification unit indicating that the screen is activated by POS interlocking will be described.
FIG. 9 is a system block diagram of the settlement terminal 9 provided with means for playing voice guidance.
As shown in the figure, in addition to the configuration of the system block diagram of FIG. 1, an audio playback unit 900 is provided as a means for playing audio guidance.

The audio reproducing unit 900 has a configuration in which a speaker is connected to a recording / reproducing board.
The memory of the recording / playback board stores voice data (Wave file, Audio file, MP3, etc.) containing guidance.

  When a POS command is detected, the audio playback unit 900 receives a HIGH signal according to a control signal from the CPU 100. Further, it is switched to a LOW signal by a control signal from the CPU 100 and input at a predetermined timing thereafter.

  The audio reproduction unit 900 sets audio data at the rising edge of a signal when a HIGH signal is input, and starts reproduction from the beginning. When the HIGH signal is switched to the LOW signal, the sound reproduction is stopped at the falling edge of the signal.

The reproduced audio data undergoes processing such as D / A conversion and signal amplification and is output to the speaker, and the guidance flows to the outside as audio.
In addition, as the content of the guidance, the guidance of the content indicating that it is activated by POS linkage is played. For example, voice guidance such as “This transaction processing is activated by POS linkage” is played.

  The predetermined timing is when the selection button is selected on the job selection menu screen 500q-1 when the POS terminal waits for a response from the job selection menu screen 500q-1 within the timeout time. When waiting for a response from a screen in the middle of the transition screen or when waiting for a response from the final screen indicating that transaction processing has been completed, the selection button is pressed in the middle of the transition screen, or transaction processing is completed. Is detected.

  Although not particularly illustrated, the speaker is housed inside the payment terminal 1 in an orientation that is easy for the operator to hear, so that the sound from the speaker is not trapped inside a part of the housing of the payment terminal 1. It is assumed that a plurality of through holes are provided.

As described above, the third modification is configured to notify the operator that the POS is linked by voice guidance. With this configuration, not only the operator notices that the operation is POS-linked, but also the surrounding staff can immediately determine that the operation is performed using POS-linked operation without looking into the screen.
If the operator of the POS terminal is different from the operator of the payment terminal, the operator of the POS terminal can confirm that the POS command has arrived by listening to the voice guidance even if there is some distance. .

  Various programs used in the payment terminal of the present embodiment are files in an installable or executable format, and are read by a computer such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). The program may be recorded on a possible recording medium, provided, and read into a flash ROM or the like of the settlement terminal for execution.

  Further, the program may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network.

  In each of the embodiments described above, some configurations of the payment terminal and its program have been described. However, these embodiments are presented as examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Payment terminal 2 POS terminal 10 Main body 11 Upper surface panel 12 Touch panel 13 Liquid crystal display 14 Receipt issue port 15 Card reading / writing part 16 Power switch 20 Keyboard 21 Cashier display 22 Customer display 23 Drawer K Communication cable 100 CPU
101 ROM
102 RAM
103 FlashROM
104 Controller 105 Timekeeping unit 106 to 108 Communication I / F
BL bus line M business processing program N display data 109 display unit 110 operation unit 111 card reading / writing unit 112 printing unit

JP 2012-252729 A

Claims (6)

The settlement process proceeds under the input operation of the operator on the input screen that is activated based on the reception of the command transmitted from the POS terminal and displayed on the display unit or activated by a single operation and displayed on the display unit. At the payment terminal,
Detecting means for detecting the command from the POS terminal;
Informing means for informing that the input screen is a startup screen from the POS terminal based on detection of the command by the detecting means;
A payment terminal comprising: The notification means includes
That the input screen is activated from the POS terminal, an input activated from the POS terminal for a color that is complementary to the used color of the input screen displayed on the display unit by the single operation. Notify by coloring the screen,
The settlement terminal according to claim 1. The notification means includes
Informing that the input screen is activated from the POS terminal by displaying a timeout time of the POS terminal on the input screen activated from the POS terminal;
The settlement terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The notification means includes
Informing that the input screen is activated from the POS terminal by displaying an animation of the input screen activated from the POS terminal;
The settlement terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The notification means includes
Notifying by voice guidance that the input screen activated from the POS terminal is being displayed on the display unit that the input screen is activated from the POS terminal;
The settlement terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The settlement process proceeds under the input operation of the operator on the input screen that is activated based on the reception of the command transmitted from the POS terminal and displayed on the display unit or activated by a single operation and displayed on the display unit. The computer that controls the payment terminal
Detecting means for detecting the command from the POS terminal;
Informing means for informing that the input screen is a startup screen from the POS terminal based on detection of the command by the detecting means;
Program to function as.

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