JP2020190835A - Settlement system - Google Patents

Abstract

To ensure higher reliability of a customer's self-checkout in a small retail store.SOLUTION: A settlement system 10 includes: an operation terminal 12 comprising commodity information reading means 14 for reading commodity information from commodities; a commodity container 20 for housing commodities registered for purchase; commodity weight measuring means 22 for measuring the total weight of the commodities housed in the commodity container 20; commodity weight calculation means 32 for calculating the total weight of the commodities registered for purchase; and commodity weight comparison means 34 for comparing the measured total weight of the commodities with the calculated total weight of the commodities, and issuing warning when the difference between them is equal to or more than a predetermined value. The commodity weight measuring means 22 measures the total weight of the commodities by correcting a change in the weight of the commodities due to the influence of a movement while the commodity container 20 is moving, which allows the total weight of the commodities to be accurately measured even while the commodity container 20 is constantly moved by the customer, ensuring higher reliability of the customer's self-checkout.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a payment system applied to a small retail store having a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters.

In recent years, various systems have been developed in order to achieve labor saving and unmanned retail stores. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a shopping system using a shopping cart, and the shopping cart is provided with reading means, measuring means, and collating means. The reading means is for reading the product data from the recording element attached to the product, the weighing means is for measuring the actual total weight of the product by weighing the product stored in the cart, and the collating means is the reading means. This is to collate whether or not the calculated total weight of the product derived from the product data acquired by the above and the actual total weight of the product measured by the weighing means match. As a result, the product for which the product data has been acquired is matched with the product stored in the shopping cart, and errors and fraud during self-payment by the customer are suppressed. Further, the shopping cart of Patent Document 1 is provided with a movement detecting means for detecting the movement of the shopping cart, and at the timing when it is confirmed that the shopping cart is stopped by the movement detecting means, the goods are measured by the weighing means. By measuring the actual total weight, the influence of the vibration of the shopping cart is eliminated, and the measurement accuracy of the actual total weight of the product is improved.

JP-A-2007-34789

Here, it can be seen that the shopping system disclosed in Patent Document 1 mainly targets relatively large retail stores such as supermarkets because it uses a shopping cart and the like. Therefore, considering that the invention of Patent Document 1 is diverted to a relatively small retail store such as a convenience store, a configuration in which a shopping cart permanently installed in the store instead of a shopping cart is provided with reading means, weighing means, and the like. Can be considered. However, compared to large-scale stores, which are often used to slowly move through large stores and purchase a large number of products, small-scale retail stores speed up customers who have a certain amount of products to purchase. It is often used to finish shopping, and usually, the shopping cart is kept held by the customer except at the time of payment. For this reason, in small retail stores, the shopping cart is constantly moving, and in such a situation, there is no timing to accurately measure the actual total weight of the products in the shopping cart, so it is small. It is difficult to divert the invention of Patent Document 1 to a large-scale store.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the reliability of customer self-payment in a small retail store.

(Aspect of the invention)
The following aspects of the invention exemplify the configurations of the present invention and will be described separately in order to facilitate understanding of the various configurations of the present invention. Each term does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, while taking into consideration the best mode for carrying out the invention, the technical elements of the present invention may also be those in which some of the components of each section are replaced, deleted, or further other components are added. It can be included in the range.

(1) A payment system applied to a small-scale retail store with a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters, which is carried around by a customer in the retail store and includes at least the unit price and the weight of the product from the product. An operation terminal provided with a product information reading means for reading the product, and a product carried around by the customer in the retail store and after the product information is read by the product information reading means and registered for purchase are stored. A product container, a product weight measuring means for measuring the total weight of the product stored in the product storage, and a product weight calculating means for calculating the total weight of the product registered for purchase based on the product information. And, the total weight of the product measured by the product weight measuring means and the total weight of the product calculated by the product weight calculating means are compared, and if there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the two, an alarm is issued. The product weight measuring means includes a product weight comparing means for performing a purchase and a cashless payment means for performing cashless payment of a product registered for purchase, and the product weight measuring means is moved when the product container is moving. A payment system (claim 1) that measures the total weight of a product by compensating for changes in the weight of the product due to the effect.

The payment system described in this section is applied to small-scale retail stores with a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters, such as so-called convenience stores, and is an operation terminal, a product housing, a product weight measuring means, and a product weight calculating means. , Commodity weight comparison means, and cashless payment means. Both the operation terminal and the product accommodating body are carried around by the customer in the retail store, and each of them is provided in the system. The operation terminal is equipped with a product information reading means for reading the product information from the product in the store picked up by the customer, and the product information read by the product information reading means is at least the unit price of the product. And single item weight is included. Further, the product accommodating body is for accommodating the product to be purchased by the customer, and stores the product after the product information is read by the product information reading means and the purchase is registered.

The product weight measuring means is for measuring the total weight of the product contained in the product container, and is usually provided in the product container. The product weight calculation means calculates the total weight of the product registered for purchase based on the product information read by the product information reading means of the operation terminal. That is, the product weight calculation means calculates the total weight of all the products purchased and registered by the customer via the operation terminal by totaling the individual weights included in the product information of each product. In addition, the product weight comparison means compares the total weight of the products contained in the product storage body measured by the product weight measuring means with the total weight of the products registered for purchase calculated by the product weight calculation means. If there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between them, a notification is issued. On the other hand, the cashless payment means is for the customer to settle the purchase-registered product without cash.

Further, the product weight measuring means measures the total weight of the product by correcting the change in the weight of the product due to the influence of the movement when the product container is moved by the customer. For this reason, in a small retail store that is often used by customers to complete their shopping speedily, even if the product housing is constantly moved by the customer, the effect of the movement is eliminated and the total weight of the product is reduced. It will be measured accurately. Therefore, the total weight of the product stored in the product storage body is compared with the total weight of the product registered for purchase with high accuracy by the product weight comparison means, and as a result, the product stored in the product storage body is performed with high accuracy. And the product registered for purchase will match. As a result, unintentional mistakes such as forgetting to register the purchase and fraud such as storing the product in the product storage without intentionally registering the purchase are suppressed, and the reliability of self-payment by the customer is improved. It is a thing.

Moreover, since the self-payment by the customer is performed cashlessly via the cashless payment means, there is no occurrence of cash miscalculation, which also improves the reliability of the self-payment. In addition, the payment system described in this section has the above configuration to minimize labor costs at retail stores, but because the configuration is simple, it can be refurbished on a large scale even for existing retail stores. Is unnecessary and easy to introduce. Furthermore, between the start and the end of shopping, the customer directly handles only the operation terminal, the product container, and the cashless payment means. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to install a dedicated application on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by a customer, and in the extreme, it is not necessary to use such a mobile terminal at all. Even customers who do not have a problem can shop without problems.

(2) In the above item (1), the product weight measuring means is a payment system composed of a plate-shaped sensor unit that is detachably attached to the product container (claim 2).
In the payment system described in this section, the product weight measuring means for measuring the total weight of the product contained in the product container is composed of a sensor unit that is detachably attached to the product container. , The product accommodating body and the sensor unit are attached and detached as needed. That is, when the product container is carried around by the customer, a sensor unit is attached to the product container to measure the total weight of the product, and when the product container is stored in a predetermined place. , The sensor unit is removed from the product housing, and the sensor unit is charged by, for example, a wireless charger. Further, since the sensor unit has a plate shape, it is easy to handle the attachment / detachment work and the like.

(3) In the above items (1) and (2), the product weight measuring means includes an acceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the product container and / or an angular velocity sensor for measuring the angular velocity of the product container. A payment system (claim 3) that uses the measurement result of the acceleration sensor and / or the measurement result of the angular velocity sensor to correct the measurement result of the total weight of the product contained in the product storage body.
In the payment system described in this section, the product weight measuring means for measuring the total weight of the goods contained in the goods containing the goods is an acceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the goods containing the goods and an angular velocity for measuring the angular velocity of the goods containing the goods. It includes at least one of the sensors. Then, the product weight measuring means uses the measurement result when the acceleration sensor is included, and uses the measurement result when the angular velocity sensor is included, and measures the total weight of the product contained in the product storage body. to correct. As a result, the total weight of the product in the product container is measured in a state where the acceleration and angular velocity of the product container are taken into consideration and the influence of the movement of the product container is eliminated, so that the total weight of the product is further increased. It will be measured accurately.

(4) In the above items (1) to (3), when the operation terminal reads the product information from the product by the product information reading means, the operation terminal purchases and registers the product according to the contents operated and input by the customer. A payment system (claim 4) that discriminates between readings for making a purchase and readings for canceling a purchased product.
The payment system described in this section is for reading for purchasing and registering a product according to the contents of the operation input from the customer to the operation terminal when the operation terminal reads the product information from the product by the product information reading means. And the reading for canceling the purchased and registered product. That is, when reading the product information of the product that the customer plans to purchase, the customer wants to cancel the purchase registration by reading the product information with the operation terminal set so as to purchase and register the read product. When reading the product information of the product (to be returned), the product information is read with the operation terminal set so as to cancel the purchase registration of the read product. As a result, both the purchase registration of the product and the cancellation thereof are performed only by the operation terminal operated by the customer, which contributes to the labor saving of the retail store.

(5) In the above item (4), the product weight calculation means has already calculated the individual weight of the read product when the product information reading means has read to cancel the purchase registration. The total weight of the products registered for purchase is recalculated so as to be subtracted from the total weight of the products that have been purchased, and the product weight comparison means is read by the product information reading means to cancel the purchase registration. After that, the total weight of the product in the product storage body measured by the product weight measuring means is compared with the total weight of the product recalculated by the product weight calculating means, and the difference between the two is a predetermined value or more. A settlement system (claim 5) that issues a notification when there is a problem.

In the payment system described in this section, when the product information reading means of the operation terminal reads to cancel the purchase registration of the product, the product weight calculation means re-uses the total weight of the registered product. It is a calculation. That is, the product weight calculation means subtracts the individual weight of the read product for canceling the purchase registration from the total weight of the product calculated before the reading for canceling the purchase registration is performed. In addition, the total weight of the products registered for purchase is recalculated. Further, since the product weight measuring means should have read the product for canceling the purchase registration of the product by the product information reading means, the read product should have been taken out from the product container. Measure the total weight of the product.

Then, the product weight comparison means rereads the total weight of the product in the product storage body measured by the product weight measuring means and the product weight calculating means after reading for canceling the purchase registration by the product information reading means. Compare with the calculated total weight of the goods. As a result, when there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the former and the latter, for example, the product whose purchase registration has been canceled remains in the product container, and a notification is issued. In this way, by checking that the total weight of the product has returned the product properly, forgetting to return the product and the occurrence of fraud are suppressed, and the reliability of self-payment by the customer is further improved. It is a thing.

(6) In the above items (1) to (5), the operation terminal further includes a plurality of photographing means installed in the retail store and a face authentication function unit, and the operation terminal operates the operation terminal. The face recognition function unit includes a photographing unit for photographing the face of a customer who is present, and the face authentication function unit obtains face information of each customer who has entered the retail store from the photographed image of the photographing means installed near the entrance of the retail store. The face information of each customer who grasps and memorizes or starts the operation of the operation terminal is grasped and memorized from the photographed image of the shooting unit of the operation terminal, and the memorized face information of each customer and the said A payment system (claim 6) that grasps the movement of each customer in the retail store based on the images taken by a plurality of shooting means.

The payment system described in this section further includes photographing means installed at a plurality of places in the retail store and a face recognition function unit, and the operation terminal captures the face of the customer operating the operation terminal. It includes a shooting unit for shooting. The face recognition function unit stores the customer's face information grasped by using either the photographing means installed in the retail store or the photographing unit provided in the operation terminal. That is, when using the shooting means installed in the retail store, the face recognition function unit obtains the face information of each customer who entered the retail store from the shooting video of the shooting means installed near the entrance of the retail store. Grasp and memorize. Further, when using the photographing unit provided in the operation terminal, the face recognition function unit grasps and stores the face information of each customer who has started the operation of the operation terminal from the photographed image of the photographing unit of the operation terminal.

Then, the face recognition function unit grasps the movement of each customer in the retail store based on the stored face information of each customer and the captured images of the plurality of photographing means installed in the store. .. That is, the face recognition function unit grasps the position of each customer who has stored the face information from the images in the store taken by a plurality of shooting means, and captures the movement of each customer until the store leaves. .. As a result, the customer is alerted not to act illegally in the store, and the unpaid store exit is monitored, which leads to the reduction of unknown loss. Furthermore, by recording customer movements, the flow of purchases in the store can be grasped, so heat maps can be created to lead to effective product placement, and AI can be used to analyze purchasing motives. Will be.

(7) In the above item (6), the cashless payment means performs QR code payment using a QR code (registered trademark) via the operation terminal, and the face recognition function unit at least uses the operation terminal. When the QR code payment is made via the QR code payment, the stored face information of each customer is collated with the face information of the customer operating the operation terminal, which is acquired from the captured image of the shooting unit of the operation terminal. Payment system (claim 7).
In the payment system described in this section, a cashless payment means for performing cashless payment of a product performs QR code payment using a QR code, for example, by receiving a customer's operation input to an operation terminal. .. For example, the QR code payment may be performed by reading the QR code displayed on the mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer in response to the operation of the customer by the operation terminal. Alternatively, the QR code payment may be performed by displaying a QR code including the total amount of all the products registered for purchase on the operation terminal and reading the QR code with a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer. .. In either case, the payment procedure is performed using the QR code payment application installed on the mobile terminal owned by the customer.

Then, the face recognition function unit is an operation that is acquired from the stored face information of each customer and the captured image of the photographing unit of the operating terminal at least when the QR code payment is performed via the operation terminal as described above. It collates with the face information of the customer who is operating the terminal. In this way, it is possible to confirm that the customer who was shopping is making a payment, and to identify the customer who made the payment if any fraud was committed at the time of payment. Further, it is expected that a great suppression effect against fraud at the time of payment can be expected only by making the customer recognize that the state at the time of payment is being photographed.

(8) In the above items (6) and (7), the cashless payment means includes a payment terminal for making a payment by a credit card or an IC card, and the face recognition function unit stores the face information of each customer. And the payment system (claim 8) that collates the face information of the customer operating the payment terminal, which is acquired from the captured image of the photographing means installed in the vicinity of the payment terminal.
The payment system described in this section includes a payment terminal for the cashless payment means to make a payment by credit card or IC card, and the information of the credit card or IC card possessed by the customer is read by this payment terminal. Therefore, cashless payment procedures are carried out using these cards.

Then, when the customer makes a payment using the payment terminal, the face recognition function unit obtains the face information of each customer stored and the image taken by the shooting means installed near the payment terminal. It collates with the face information of the customer who is operating the terminal. As a result, even when the payment procedure is performed by credit card or IC card, it is confirmed that the customer who was shopping has made the payment, as in the case where the QR code payment described in the above item (7) is performed. In addition, by identifying the customer when some kind of fraud is committed at the time of payment and making the customer aware that the state of the payment procedure is being photographed, the fraud at the time of payment is suppressed. .. The IC card here includes a transportation IC card, an electronic money IC card, and the like.

Since the present invention is configured in this way, it is possible to increase the reliability of customer self-payment in a small retail store.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the structure of the payment system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a layout diagram which shows an example of the small-scale retail store to which the payment system which concerns on embodiment of this invention is applied. It is an image diagram which shows an example of the product accommodating body and the sensor unit used in the payment system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an image diagram which shows an example of the sensor charging part for charging the sensor unit of FIG. It is an image diagram which shows an example different from FIG. 4 of a sensor charging part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the payment method using the payment system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Continuing from FIG. 6, it is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the payment method using the payment system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Continuing from FIG. 7, it is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the payment method using the payment system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the same parts or corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings. Further, detailed description of the same parts as or corresponding parts of the prior art will be omitted.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention for a small-scale retail store (convenience store or the like) having a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters. As shown in the figure, the payment system 10 includes a plurality of operation terminals 12, a plurality of product accommodating bodies 20, a product weight measuring means 22 and an RFID reader 28 provided for each product accommodating body 20, a product weight calculating means 32, and a product weight. It includes a comparison means 34, a cashless payment means 36, a plurality of photographing means 40, and a face recognition function unit 42. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the product weight calculating means 32 and the product weight comparing means 34 are provided in each of the operation terminals 12, the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28 are configured by the sensor unit 29, and the face. The control unit 30 includes an authentication function unit 42 and a part of the cashless payment means 36.

Each of the plurality of operation terminals 12 is carried around by the customer in the retail store 70 (see FIG. 2), receives various operation inputs from the customer, and displays various information to the customer. In addition to the product weight calculation means 32 and the product weight comparison means 34, the product information reading means 14 and the photographing unit 16 are provided. The product information reading means 14 is for reading the product information of each product from each product displayed in the retail store 70, and specifically, a bar code, a QR code, or the like given to each product. Is read to specify the product, and the product information of the specified product is acquired from the operation terminal 12 or the control unit 30 described later. That is, when the operation terminal 12 itself holds the product information of the product displayed in the store 70, the product information of the product specified by the product information reading means 14 may be extracted and referred to, and the operation terminal 12 itself may be referred to. When the product itself does not hold the product information of the product, the product information of the product specified by the product information reading means 14 may be acquired from the control unit 30. Such product information includes, but is not limited to, a product name, a unit price, a unit weight, and the like.

Further, each of the operation terminals 12 has a function of distinguishing between reading for purchasing and registering a product and reading for canceling a purchased and registered product when reading product information from the product via the product information reading means 14. have. For example, when the product information is read by the product information reading means 14 without receiving the operation input from the customer, the operation terminal 12 determines that the reading is the reading for purchase registration, and the product information is read. Purchase and register the product. On the other hand, when the product information is read by the product information reading means 14 after receiving the operation input for the return from the customer (for example, pressing the return button displayed on the operation terminal 12), the operation terminal 12 is used. Judging that the reading is a reading for canceling the purchase registration, the product whose product information has been read is canceled from the purchased and registered product. Then, when each of the operation terminals 12 reads the product information via the product information reading means 14, for example, the product name and unit price of the product for which the product information has been read, the quantity of the products purchased and registered so far, and the quantity Display the total amount, etc.

Further, each of the operation terminals 12 is an operation for receiving various operation inputs from the customer, including the return button described above, a button for selecting a payment method described later (QR code payment button, a card payment button), and the like. Display the button at least when needed. Further, the quantity, total amount, etc. of the products registered for purchase up to that point may always be displayed, and further, the advertisement of the product, etc. may be displayed.
The photographing unit 16 photographs the face of the customer operating the operation terminal 12 at least at a specific timing, and the image captured by the photographing unit 16 is transferred to the face recognition function unit 42 of the control unit 30. Will be sent.

The product weight calculation means 32 calculates the total weight of the products registered for purchase up to that point based on the product information read by the product information reading means 14. That is, as will be described in detail later, when the product information reading means 14 reads for purchase registration, the individual weight of the read product is calculated before the reading is performed. The total weight of the product registered for purchase is calculated so as to be added to the total weight of the product. On the other hand, when the product information reading means 14 reads to cancel the purchase registration, the individual weight of the read product is calculated from the total weight of the product calculated before the reading. The total weight of the products registered for purchase is calculated so as to be subtracted.

The product weight comparing means 34 compares the total weight of the product calculated by the product weight calculating means 32 as described above with the total weight of the product measured by the product weight measuring means 22 as described later, and they are compared. When there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the two, for example, a message is displayed from the operation terminal 12 or a voice is output to issue a report. The timing for performing such a comparison is after the product information has been read by the product information reading means 14, and in this case, the product information is read by reading for purchasing and registering the product and registering the purchase. Includes both reading to cancel the item.
The operation terminal 12 having the above configuration is composed of, for example, a high-performance terminal such as a smartphone, and includes a sensor unit 29 (product weight measuring means 22 and RFID reader 28) provided in the product housing 20 and a control unit 30. Communicate between.

Each of the plurality of product accommodating bodies 20 is for accommodating products that are carried around by the customer in the retail store 70 together with the operation terminal 12 and are purchased and registered via the product information reading means 14 of the operation terminal 12. .. The shape of the product accommodating body 20 is not limited as long as it can accommodate such products and the sensor unit 29 as described later can be detachably attached. For example, the product accommodating body 20 is permanently installed in the retail store 70. It may be a basket-shaped item or a bag-shaped item, or a basket-shaped item or a bag-shaped item brought by the customer. As described above, each of the product accommodating bodies 20 is provided with the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28, and in the present embodiment, the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28 contain the products. It is composed of a plate-shaped sensor unit 29 that is detachably attached to the body 20. The sensor unit 29 has a built-in product weight measuring means 22 and an RFID reader 28, and has an outer shell that can be directly touched by hand. Then, the sensor unit 29 is set and used at the bottom of the product accommodating body 20 in a manner as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Further, each of the sensor units 29 is used by being paired with the operation terminal 12, whereby the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28 are each paired with the operation terminal 12.

The product weight measuring means 22 measures the total weight of the products housed in the product container 20, and includes, for example, a load cell or the like. Further, the product weight measuring means 22 includes an acceleration sensor 24 for measuring the acceleration of the product housing 20 and an angular velocity sensor 26 for measuring the angular velocity of the product housing 20. Then, when the product container 20 is moving, the product weight measuring means 22 uses the measurement results of the acceleration sensor 24 and the angular velocity sensor 26 to correct the change in the weight of the product due to the influence of the movement, and the product. Measure the total weight of. The total weight of the product by the product weight measuring means 22 may be measured at a specific timing such as after the product information is read by the product information reading means 14 of the operation terminal 12, and is always performed at predetermined intervals. You may do it. It is preferable to use a 3-axis acceleration sensor for the acceleration sensor 24, but it may be 2-axis or less as long as the accuracy necessary and sufficient for correcting the total weight of the product can be secured. The same applies to the angular velocity sensor 26, and it is preferable to use a three-axis angular velocity sensor, but two or less axes may be used. Each of the product weight measuring means 22 communicates with the paired operation terminal 12 and transmits the measured total weight of the product and the like to the operation terminal 12. Further, each of the product weight measuring means 22 can also communicate with the control unit 30.

The RFID reader 28 is used when an RFID tag is attached to a product in the retail store 70. In this case, instead of reading the product information by the product information reading means 14 of the operation terminal 12, the RFID reader 28 is used. The product information is read by the RFID reader 28. The RFID reader 28 reads the product information of the product from the RFID tag at the timing when the product is housed in the product container 20, and transmits the read product information to the operation terminal 12 as if it was purchased and registered. Further, the RFID reader 28 reads the product information of the product from the RFID tag at the timing when the product is taken out from the product container 20, and transmits the read product information to the operation terminal 12 as if the purchase registration was canceled. .. Therefore, the RFID reader 28 communicates with the paired operation terminal 12 in the same manner as the product weight measuring means 22.

Here, each of the operation terminals 12 having the above-described configuration and each of the sensor units 29 provided with the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28 are not used by the customer in the retail store 70. For example, it is stored in a predetermined position in the retail store 70 as shown as the charging and storing unit 80 in FIG. At this storage position, the operation terminal 12 is charged by a charging method corresponding to the devices constituting the operation terminal 12, and the sensor unit 29 is also charged by a charging method corresponding to the structure of the sensor unit 29. For example, the sensor unit 29 is charged by the sensor charging unit 80A as shown in FIG. 4 in a state of being removed from the product accommodating body 20. The sensor charging unit 80A is a box-shaped charging device having a plurality of slots, and a wireless charger 81 compliant with Qi or the like is provided at the bottom of each slot. Then, each of the sensor units 29 is placed in contact with the wireless charger 81 in each slot of the sensor charging unit 80A to perform wireless charging. The position of the wireless charger 81 in each slot is not limited as long as the sensor unit 29 can be contacted, and may be, for example, a side portion of the slot.

Further, the sensor unit 29 may be charged in the state shown in FIG. 5, for example. FIG. 5A shows a box-type sensor charging unit 80B connected to the outlet 90, and the sensor unit 29 is attached to the product accommodating body 20 at each of the storage positions of the sensor charging unit 80B. In the as-is state, the product is charged, for example, via a charging contact provided at the bottom of the product container 20. Further, FIG. 5B shows a stand-type sensor charging unit 80C connected to the outlet 90, and at each of the storage positions of the sensor charging unit 80C, the sensor unit 29 is also a product accommodating body. In the state of being attached to the 20th, the product is charged through, for example, a charging contact provided on the handle of the product accommodating body 20. As a matter of course, the charging method as shown in FIG. 5 is used when the product accommodating body 20 is permanently installed in the retail store 70. On the other hand, the charging method shown in FIG. 4 may be either the one in which the product container 20 is permanently installed in the retail store 70 or the one brought by the customer, and in the case of the product container 20 permanently installed in the retail store 70. With the sensor unit 29 removed, is stored in the storage place of the product storage body 20 alone of the charging and storage unit 80 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the plurality of photographing means 40 are installed at various places in the retail store 70 so as to photograph different parts in the retail store 70. As the photographing means 40, as will be described later, those that capture the face information of the customer in the retail store 70 from the captured video at a recognizable resolution are used.
Returning to FIG. 1, the control unit 30 is connected to a POS server or a store controller (not shown) to control and manage the entire payment system 10, and is composed of, for example, one or two computers. The control unit 30 communicates with each of the above-mentioned operation terminals 12, each of the product weight measuring means 22, and each of the photographing means 40, and also communicates with each of the payment terminals 38 described later. For example, the control unit 30 acquires the latest product information of the products displayed or will be displayed in the retail store 70 as a batch process performed at a predetermined time, and transmits the latest product information to each operation terminal 12. Further, the control unit 30 acquires and manages sales information from each of the operation terminals 12.

The control unit 30 of the present embodiment includes a cashless payment means 36 and a face authentication function unit 42, of which the face authentication function unit 42 includes images taken by the photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12 and images taken by the photographing unit 16. The customer's face recognition is performed from the image taken by the photographing means 40 installed in the retail store 70. The specific method of face recognition and the specific timing of face recognition will be described later. The cashless payment means 36 is for performing cashless payment of products registered for purchase on each operation terminal 12, and includes a payment terminal 38 used for payment by a credit card or an IC card. .. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the payment terminal 38 is installed close to the bagger 78 for bagging products, and the photographing means 40 is also installed in the vicinity thereof. As the payment terminal 38, various terminals that support payment with credit cards of each company, transportation IC cards of each company, and electronic money IC cards of each company can be used.

As described above, between the operation terminal 12 and the product weight measuring means 22, between the operation terminal 12 and the RFID reader 28, between the control unit 30 and the operation terminal 12, the control unit 30 and the product weight measuring means 22 Between the control unit 30 and the photographing means 40, and between the control unit 30 and the payment terminal 38 are communicably connected. These connection methods may be arbitrary connection methods according to the devices constituting each part, and such connection methods include wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared connection, and LAN. Includes wired connections using cables and other cables. When the product weight measuring means 22 and the RFID reader 28 are integrated as the sensor unit 29 as in the example of FIG. 1, the sensor unit 29 and the operation terminal are replaced with the individual communication connections as described above. The sensor unit 29 and the control unit 30 may be communicably connected to each other.

Further, the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and a part of a plurality of constituent parts shown in FIG. 1 is deleted or replaced. It may be the one to which a new component part is added. Further, each component part in FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the payment system 10 by functionally dividing it, and does not show each device constituting the payment system 10 as it is, but various hardware, software, or It consists of a combination of them. For example, a part of the functions of the control unit 30 may be given to the POS server or the store controller, and a part of the functions of the cashless payment means 36 or the face authentication function unit 42 is given to each operation terminal 12. You may be. Further, the product weight calculation means 32 and the product weight comparison means 34 may be included in the control unit 30, and in this case, the control unit 30 always manages the total weight of the products purchased and registered by each customer. Become. Further, the operation terminal 12 may be set in the product accommodating body 20, or they may be integrated. Further, the product weight measuring means 22 may include only one of the acceleration sensor 24 and the angular velocity sensor 26, and includes another sensor capable of detecting the movement of the product housing 20 and calculating the correction value. You may be. Further, the RFID reader 28 and the product weight measuring means 22 may be separate from each other without being configured by the sensor unit 29, and the RFID reader 28 may not be provided.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the layout of a small-scale retail store 70 to which the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the retail store 70 has a plurality of display shelves 72 for displaying products, a showcase 74 having refrigerating and freezing functions, a service counter 76 for arranging counter products and providing manned services. , Installed near the bagger 78 for refilling the settled products from the product storage 20 to the shopping bag, the operation terminal 12, the charging and storage unit 80 for storing the product storage 20, the entrance 82 and the exit 84. It is equipped with a gate 86 and the like. As described above, the photographing means 40 are installed at a plurality of places in the retail store 70, and the payment terminal 38 is installed in the vicinity of the bagger 78. The broken line arrow shown in FIG. 2 is an example of a customer flow line in the retail store 70. Further, in FIG. 2, the operation terminal 12, the product accommodating body 20, and the control unit 30 are not shown.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, payment using the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention from the time the customer enters the retail store 70 to the time the customer finishes shopping and leaves the store. The flow of the method will be described. Reference numerals A to C shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 indicate that the same reference numerals are connected to each other in the drawings. See FIG. 1 for the configuration of the payment system 10 and FIG. 2 for the layout of the retail store 70, respectively.
S10 (face information storage): The face recognition function unit 42 stores the face information of a customer who has entered the retail store 70. In the present embodiment, the face information of the customer who has entered the retail store 70 is acquired and stored from the captured image of the photographing means 40 installed near the entrance 82 of the retail store 70. The memory of the face information here indicates that the face information is retained at least while the customer is staying at the retail store 70, and the face information of the customer who left the store is deleted temporarily after the customer leaves the store. Memory. In addition, when the face information is retained even after the customer leaves the store, and the face information acquired in this step matches the already stored face information, that is, the face information of the customer who visited the store before. If they match, it is not necessary to store the face information again, and the count of the number of visits by the customer may be increased.

S20 (receipt of terminal and product container): A customer who has entered the retail store 70 takes out the operation terminal 12 and the product container 20 from the charging and storage unit 80. At this time, when the product accommodating body 20 and the sensor unit 29 are separately stored, or when the product accommodating body 20 brought by the customer is used, the sensor unit 29 is also taken out from the charging and storage unit 80 at the same time. , Attached to the product container 20. After that, the customer starts buying around in the retail store 70.
S30 (power ON and pairing): The operation terminal 12 taken out by the customer in S20 is immediately turned on, and the product weight measuring means provided in the product accommodating body 20 (sensor unit 29) taken out at the same time. Pairing with 22 and the RFID reader 28 (sensor unit 29) is performed. As a result, communication between the operation terminal 12, the product weight measuring means 22, and the RFID reader 28 (sensor unit 29) is established.

S40 (Face information collation): When the operation of the operation terminal 12 is started, the photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12 photographs the face of the customer who is operating the operation terminal 12. Then, based on the captured customer face image, the face recognition function unit 42 uses the face information of the customer who is operating the operation terminal 12 from the face information of the plurality of customers stored or already stored in S10. To identify. Instead of storing the face information in S10, the customer's face information may be stored from the image taken by the photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12 in this step.
S50 (Trend grasping): Based on the face information of each customer stored in S10 by the face recognition function unit 42 and the images taken by the plurality of shooting means 40 installed in the retail store 70, each of them. Understand the movement of customers in the retail store 70. That is, the positions of all customers staying in the retail store 70, not specific customers, are specified over time, and the movements of each customer are monitored and recorded, for example, as shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. The content of this step is to be performed continuously at least while the retail store 70 is open.

S60 (Reading of purchased product): The product that the customer wants to purchase is taken out from the display shelf 72, the showcase 74, etc. of the retail store 70, and the barcode, QR code, etc. attached to the product is used as the product of the operation terminal 12. It is read by the information reading means 14. If an RFID tag is attached to the product, the RFID reader 28 of the product container 20 is made to read the RFID tag.
S70 (purchase registration): Based on the barcode, QR code, etc. read in S60, the operation terminal 12 identifies the product and acquires the product information of the product. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the operation terminal 12 itself holds the product information of all the products displayed in the retail store 70, and the product information is specified and acquired based on the code read from the product information. Then, the product for which the product information has been acquired is recorded as being registered as a purchase.

S80 (commodity storage): The customer who has read the barcode, QR code, or the like in the above S60 stores the product in the product storage 20.
S90 (total weight calculation): The total weight of the product registered for purchase is calculated by the product weight calculation means 32. That is, the total weight of all the products currently registered for purchase, including the products registered for purchase in S70, is calculated by totaling the individual weights included in the product information of each product.
S100 (total weight measurement): The total weight of the products housed in the product container 20 is measured by the product weight measuring means 22. That is, the total weight of all the products currently housed in the product container 20 including the products stored in the product container 20 in S80 is measured by using a load cell or the like constituting the product weight measuring means 22. To measure.

S110 (Movement determination): Using the measurement results of the acceleration sensor 24 and the angular velocity sensor 26 included in the product weight measuring means 22, the product weight measuring means 22 determines whether or not the product housing 20 is moving. .. Then, when it is determined that the product container 20 is moving (YES), the process proceeds to S120, and when it is determined that the product container 20 is not moving (NO), the process proceeds to S130.
S120 (measured total weight correction): The total weight of the product stored in the product housing 20 measured in S100 by the product weight measuring means 22 is measured by the acceleration sensor 24 and the angular velocity sensor 26. To correct. That is, when the total weight is measured in S100, since the product accommodating body 20 is in a moved state, correction is performed so that the change in weight due to the influence of the movement is excluded from the total weight measurement result. ..

S130 (comparison of total weight): The total weight of the product calculated in S90 and the total weight of the product measured in S100 (or the total weight of the product corrected in S120) are combined with the product weight comparison means 34. Compare by.
S140 (comparison result determination): As a result of comparison in S130 above, a difference of a predetermined value or more between the total weight of all the products registered for purchase and the total weight of all the products contained in the product container 20. If there is (YES), the process proceeds to S150, and if there is no difference of a predetermined value or more (NO), the process proceeds to S160. The predetermined value used for determining the difference at this time shall be appropriately set according to the type of the product handled at the retail store 70, the accuracy of each measuring instrument used for measuring the product weight, and the like. To do.

S150 (report): The total weight of all the products registered for purchase and all the products contained in the product container 20 by the product weight comparison means 34, for example, by using the display function and the sounding function of the operation terminal 12. Notify the customer that the total weight of the product is out of proportion. At this time, it is also possible to notify how heavy which total weight is. Upon receiving such an alarm, the customer may take out the product stored in the product container 20 without registering the purchase and return it to the display shelf 72, or register the purchase and store the product in the product container 20. We will take measures such as returning to 20 or storing products that are not stored in the product storage 20 even though they have been registered for purchase in the product storage 20, or performing the return procedure described later. ..

S160 (Return Judgment): If the customer wants to cancel the purchase registration and return the product from the products registered for purchase (YES), the process proceeds to S170, and if not (NO), the process proceeds to S260. To do.
S170 (Return procedure): The customer presses the return button displayed on the operation terminal 12, takes out the product to be returned from the product container 20, and operates the barcode, QR code, etc. attached to the product. It is read by the product information reading means 14 of the terminal 12. After that, the product to be returned is returned to the display shelf 72, the showcase 74, or the like.
S180 (cancellation of purchase registration): Based on the barcode, QR code, etc. read in S170, the operation terminal 12 identifies the product and acquires the product information of the product. Then, the product for which the product information has been acquired is deleted from the list of products registered for purchase.

S190 (total weight calculation): The total weight of the product registered for purchase is calculated by the product weight calculation means 32. That is, the total weight of the product is recalculated so that the individual weight of the product whose purchase registration has been canceled in S180 is subtracted from the total weight of the product calculated in S90. At this time, it may be recalculated by actually performing such a subtraction, or the total weight of all the products currently registered for purchase is totaled by the total weight of each product included in the product information of each product. You may recalculate with.
S200 (total weight measurement): The total weight of the products stored in the product container 20 is measured by the product weight measuring means 22. That is, after the product returned in S170 is taken out from the product container 20, the total weight of all the products currently stored in the product container 20 is calculated by the load cell or the like constituting the product weight measuring means 22. Measure using.

S210 (movement determination): The same process as in S110 described above, it is determined whether or not the product container 20 is moving, and if it is determined that the product container 20 is moving (YES), the process proceeds to S220. If it is determined that the product container 20 has not moved (NO), the process proceeds to S230.
S220 (measured total weight correction): Since the processing is the same as that of S110 except that the total weight of the products stored in the product container 20 measured in S200 is corrected, detailed description thereof will be omitted. ..
S230 (comparison of total weight): The total weight of the product calculated in S190 and the total weight of the product measured in S200 (or the total weight of the product corrected in S220) are combined with the product weight comparison means 34. Compare by.

S240 (comparison result determination): As a result of comparison in S230 above, a difference of a predetermined value or more between the total weight of all products registered for purchase and the total weight of all products contained in the product container 20. If there is (YES), the process proceeds to S250, and if there is no difference of a predetermined value or more (NO), the process proceeds to S260.
S250 (reporting): Since the processing is the same as that of S150, detailed description thereof will be omitted. If there are a plurality of products to be returned, the processes from S170 to S250 may be repeated.
S260 (decision to continue shopping): If the customer still intends to continue shopping (YES), return to the above S60 to continue shopping, and if the customer finishes shopping (NO), move to S270 to make a payment. To do.

S270 (Payment method selection): The customer selects and presses a button for selecting a payment method displayed on the operation terminal 12, one of the QR code payment button and the card payment button in the present embodiment. Then, when the QR code payment button is pressed (QR payment selection), the process proceeds to S280, and when the card payment button is pressed (card payment selection), the process proceeds to S320.
S280 (face information collation): The photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12 photographs the face of the customer who is operating the operation terminal 12. Then, based on the captured customer face image, the face recognition function unit 42 uses the face information of the customer who is operating the operation terminal 12 from the face information of the plurality of customers stored or already stored in S10. Is identified and collated, and it is recognized that the collated customer is making a payment.

S290 (selection of payment company): The customer operates the operation terminal 12 and / or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer to select a QR code payment company to be used.
S300 (QR code display): In response to the operation in S290, the QR code is displayed on the mobile terminal by the QR code payment application installed on the mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer. Alternatively, the cashless payment means 36 causes the operation terminal 12 to display a QR code including the total amount of all the products registered for purchase.
S310 (QR code payment execution): The QR code payment is executed by reading the QR code displayed on the mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer in the above S300 by the operation terminal 12. Alternatively, the QR code payment is executed by reading the QR code displayed on the operation terminal 12 in the above S300 using the QR code payment application installed on the mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer. To do. After that, the cashless payment means 36 acquires the payment information by the QR code and recognizes that the customer collated in S280 has completed the payment.

S320 (Move to payment terminal): The customer moves to the front of the payment terminal 38 installed near the bagger 78 in the retail store 70 in order to make a card payment.
S330 (face information collation): The face of the customer operating the payment terminal 38 is photographed by the photographing means 40 installed near the payment terminal 38. Then, based on the captured customer face image, the face recognition function unit 42 uses the face information of the plurality of customers stored or already stored in S10 to obtain the face information of the customer operating the payment terminal 38. Is identified and collated, and it is recognized that the collated customer is making a payment.

S340 (QR code display): In response to a customer's operation on the operation terminal 12, the cashless payment means 36 causes the operation terminal 12 to display a QR code including the total amount of all the products registered for purchase.
S350 (reading QR code): The customer operates the payment terminal 38, and causes the payment terminal 38 to read the QR code displayed on the operation terminal 12 in S340.
S360 (card information reading): The payment terminal 38 is made to read card information such as a credit card, a transportation IC card, and an electronic money IC card used by a customer for card payment.

S370 (execution of card payment): If necessary, the customer inputs the PIN into the payment terminal 38, and if there is no particular problem with the card information read in S360, the PIN entered in this step, etc. Card payment is executed. After that, the cashless payment means 36 acquires the payment information by the card and recognizes that the customer collated in S330 has completed the payment.
S380 (Product Refill): At the bagger 78, the customer takes out the settled product from the product container 20 and refills it into a shopping bag. At this time, if a basket or the like brought by the customer is used as the product container 20, the sensor unit 29 is removed from the product container 20 without refilling the product.
S390 (return of terminal and sensor unit): The operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29 used by the customer are returned to the charging and storing unit 80. At this time, if the customer is using the permanent product storage 20 in the retail store 70, the product storage 20 is also returned at the same time. Then, the charging and storage unit 80 starts charging the returned operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29.

S400 (payment determination): Let's return the operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29 in the above S390 from the captured image of the photographing means 40 installed near the charging and storing unit 80 and the exit 84 by the control unit 30 and leave the store. It is determined whether or not the customer is a customer who is recognized to have completed the settlement in S310 or S370. Then, if the customer is recognized as having completed the settlement, it is determined that the settlement has been completed (YES), the process proceeds to S420, and the customer is not recognized as having completed the settlement. Determines that the store is about to be closed due to unpaid payment (NO) and shifts to S410.
S410 (alarm): The control unit 30 issues an alarm by sound, light, or the like by using, for example, an alert means (not shown) installed near the exit 84. At this time, the gate 86 may be closed. Further, when the operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29 are returned in S390 and at the same time the determination is made in S400, the returned operation terminal 12 may be used to issue a report.

S420 (return determination): A customer who is about to leave the store from the captured image of the photographing means 40 installed near the charging / storing unit 80 and the exit 84 by the control unit 30 receives the operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29. Determine if both have been returned. If both the operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29 are returned (YES), the explanation of this payment method ends without executing anything in particular. On the other hand, when at least one of the operation terminal 12 and the sensor unit 29 is not returned (NO), the process proceeds to S430. The product housing 20 permanently installed in the retail store 70 may also be included in the return determination target. Further, an RFID tag is attached to the operation terminal 12 or the sensor unit 29 or the like to be determined, and an RFID sensor is installed near the exit 84 of the retail store 70, and the operation terminal 12 or the sensor unit 29 or the like is used by using these. You may decide to return it. In this case, when the RFID sensor detects the RFID tags attached to the operation terminal 12, the sensor unit 29, and the like, it is determined that they have not been returned.
S430 (alarm): The control unit 30 issues an alarm by sound, light, or the like by using, for example, an alert means installed near the exit 84. At this time, the gate 86 may be closed.

The payment methods shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 do not limit the payment method using the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and some of the payment methods shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are shown. Steps may be changed, deleted, reordered, or new steps may be added. Further, for example, when the product information of S70 is read, the information of the recommended product related to the product for which the product information has been read may be displayed on the operation terminal 12. Furthermore, points may be given to each customer according to the purchase price of the product, which may lead to sales promotion.

By the way, according to the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a small-scale retail store 70 having a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters, such as a so-called convenience store as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the above, the operation terminal 12, the product accommodating body 20, the product weight measuring means 22, the product weight calculating means 32, the product weight comparing means 34, and the cashless payment means 36 are included. Both the operation terminal 12 and the product accommodating body 20 are carried around by the customer in the retail store 70, and a plurality of each is provided in the system. The operation terminal 12 includes a product information reading means 14 for reading the product information from the product in the store 70 picked up by the customer, and the product information read by the product information reading means 14 includes the product information. At least the unit price and the weight of the product are included (see S70 in FIG. 6). Further, the product accommodating body 20 accommodates the product to be purchased by the customer, and stores the product after the product information is read by the product information reading means 14 and registered for purchase (FIG. 6). See S80).

The product weight measuring means 22 is for measuring the total weight of the products housed in the product container 20 (see S100 in FIG. 6 and S200 in FIG. 7), and is usually provided in the product container 20. To. The product weight calculation means 32 calculates the total weight of the products registered for purchase based on the product information read by the product information reading means 14 of the operation terminal 12 (S90 in FIG. 6 and S190 in FIG. 7). reference). That is, the product weight calculation means 32 calculates the total weight of all the products purchased and registered by the customer via the operation terminal 12 by totaling the individual weights included in the product information of each product. Further, the product weight comparison means 34 includes the total weight of the products housed in the product container 20 measured by the product weight measuring means 22 and the total weight of the products registered for purchase calculated by the product weight calculating means 32. (See S130 in FIG. 6 and S230 in FIG. 7), and if there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between them, an alarm is issued (see S150 and S250 in FIG. 7). On the other hand, the cashless payment means 36 is for the customer to settle the purchase-registered product without cash (see S270 to S370 in FIG. 8).

Further, the product weight measuring means 22 measures the total weight of the product by correcting the change in the weight of the product due to the influence of the movement when the product housing 20 is moved by the customer (S120 in FIG. 6). And S220 of FIG. 7). For this reason, in a small retail store 70 that is often used so that the customer can finish shopping speedily, even if the product housing 20 is constantly moved by the customer, the influence of the movement is eliminated and the total product is totaled. The weight can be measured accurately. Therefore, the product weight comparison means 34 can compare the total weight of the products housed in the product container 20 with the total weight of the products registered for purchase with high accuracy, and as a result, the product container It is possible to match the products housed in 20 with the products registered for purchase. As a result, it is possible to suppress unintentional mistakes such as forgetting to register the purchase and fraud such as storing the product in the product container 20 without intentionally registering the purchase, and the customer trusts the self-payment. It is possible to improve the sex.

Moreover, since the self-payment by the customer is performed cashlessly via the cashless payment means 36, there is no occurrence of cash miscalculation, and the reliability of the self-payment can be improved. Further, the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the above configuration to minimize the labor cost of the retail store 70, but has a simple configuration, so that the existing retail store 70 can be compared with the existing retail store 70. However, it does not require a large-scale renovation and can be easily introduced. Further, from the start to the end of shopping, the customer directly handles only the operation terminal 12, the product housing 20, and the cashless payment means 36. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to install a dedicated application on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by a customer, and in the extreme, it is not necessary to use such a mobile terminal at all. Therefore, a customer or a mobile terminal who visits the store for the first time is possessed. Even customers who do not have it will be able to shop without problems.

Further, in the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the product weight measuring means 22 for measuring the total weight of the products housed in the product container 20 is, for example, the product container 20 as shown in FIG. The product accommodating body 20 and the sensor unit 29 are attached and detached as needed because the sensor unit 29 is detachably attached to the product accommodating body 20. That is, when the product accommodating body 20 is carried around by the customer, the sensor unit 29 is attached to the product accommodating body 20 in order to measure the total weight of the product, and the product accommodating body 20 is stored in a predetermined place. At that time, the sensor unit 29 can be removed from the product accommodating body 20, and the sensor unit 29 can be charged by, for example, the wireless charger 81 of the sensor charging unit 80A as shown in FIG. Further, since the sensor unit 29 has a plate shape, it can be easily handled at the time of attaching / detaching to / from the product accommodating body 20.

Further, in the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the product weight measuring means 22 for measuring the total weight of the products housed in the product housing 20 is the product housing 20. It includes at least one of an acceleration sensor 24 that measures acceleration and an angular velocity sensor 26 that measures the angular velocity of the product container 20. Then, the product weight measuring means 22 uses the measurement result when the acceleration sensor 24 is included, and uses the measurement result when the angular velocity sensor 26 is included, to total the products housed in the product container 20. The weight measurement result is corrected (see S120 in FIG. 6 and S220 in FIG. 7). As a result, the total weight of the product in the product container 20 can be measured in a state where the influence of the movement of the product container 20 is eliminated by taking into account the acceleration and the angular velocity of the product container 20. It becomes possible to measure the total weight more accurately.

Further, in the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the operation terminal 12 reads the product information from the product by the product information reading means 14, the operation terminal 12 responds to the content input to the operation terminal 12 by the customer. , The reading for registering the purchase of the product and the reading for canceling the registered product for purchase are identified (see S70 in FIG. 6 and S170 and S180 in FIG. 7). That is, when reading the product information of the product that the customer plans to purchase, the product information is read in a state where the operation terminal 12 is set to purchase and register the read product (default state in this embodiment). When the customer reads the product information of the product for which the purchase registration is to be canceled (returned), the operation terminal 12 is set to cancel the purchase registration of the read product (in this embodiment, the return button is pressed. The product information is read in this state. As a result, both the purchase registration of the product and the cancellation thereof can be performed only by the operation terminal 12 operated by the customer, which can contribute to the labor saving of the retail store 70.

Further, in the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the product information reading means 14 of the operation terminal 12 reads for canceling the purchase registration of the product, the product weight calculation means 32 purchases the product. The total weight of the registered products is recalculated (see S190 in FIG. 7). That is, the product weight calculation means 32 subtracts the individual weight of the product read for canceling the purchase registration from the total weight of the product calculated before the reading for canceling the purchase registration is performed. As described above, the total weight of the products registered for purchase is recalculated. Further, since the product weight measuring means 22 should have read the product for canceling the purchase registration of the product by the product information reading means 14, the read product should have been taken out from the product container 20. The total weight of the goods in the housing 20 is measured (see S200 in FIG. 7).

Then, the product weight comparison means 34 includes the total weight of the product in the product container 20 measured by the product weight measuring means 22 and the product after the product information reading means 14 has read to cancel the purchase registration. Compare with the total weight of the product recalculated by the weight calculating means 32 (see S230 in FIG. 7). As a result, when there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the former and the latter, for example, the product whose purchase registration has been canceled remains in the product container 20, and a notification is issued ( See S250 in FIG. 7). In this way, by checking that the product has been returned properly based on the total weight of the product, it is possible to prevent forgetting to return the product and the occurrence of fraud, further improving the reliability of self-payment by customers. It becomes possible to improve.

Further, the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a photographing means 40 installed at a plurality of places in the retail store 70 and a face recognition function unit 42, and the operation terminal 12 performs this operation. It includes a photographing unit 16 that photographs the face of a customer who is operating the terminal 12. The face authentication function unit 42 stores the customer's face information grasped by using either the photographing means 40 installed in the retail store 70 or the photographing unit 16 provided in the operation terminal 12. That is, when the photographing means 40 installed in the retail store 70 is used, the face recognition function unit 42 enters the retail store 70 from the photographed image of the photographing means 40 installed near the entrance 82 of the retail store 70. The face information of each customer is grasped and stored (see S10 in FIG. 6). Further, when using the photographing unit 16 included in the operation terminal 12, the face authentication function unit 42 obtains the face information of each customer who has started the operation of the operation terminal 12 from the photographed image of the photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12. Grasp and store (see S40 in FIG. 6).

Then, the face recognition function unit 42 grasps the movement of each customer in the retail store 70 based on the stored face information of each customer and the captured images of the plurality of photographing means 40 installed in the store 70. (See S50 in FIG. 6). That is, the face recognition function unit 42 grasps the position of each customer who has stored the face information from the images in the store 70 taken by the plurality of photographing means 40, and captures the movement until each customer leaves the store. It is a thing. As a result, it is possible to alert the customer not to act illegally in the store 70, and it is possible to reduce unknown loss by monitoring the unpaid store exit and the like. Furthermore, by recording the customer's movements, it is possible to grasp the customer's buying flow line in the store 70 as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. 2, for example, so that a heat map can be created and linked to effective product placement. Or, it can be used for analysis of purchasing motives by AI.

Further, in the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the cashless payment means 36 for performing cashless payment of goods uses a QR code in response to, for example, a customer's operation input to the operation terminal 12. QR code payment is performed. For example, a QR code payment may be made by reading the QR code displayed on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer in response to the customer's operation by the operation terminal 12, or all registered purchases. QR code payment may be performed by displaying a QR code including the total price of the product on the operation terminal 12 and reading the QR code with a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the customer. In either case, the payment procedure is performed using the QR code payment application installed on the mobile terminal owned by the customer (see S300 and S310 in FIG. 8).

Then, the face recognition function unit 42 acquires from the stored face information of each customer and the captured image of the photographing unit 16 of the operation terminal 12 at least when the QR code payment is performed via the operation terminal 12 as described above. This is to collate the face information of the customer who is operating the operation terminal 12 (see S280 in FIG. 8). This makes it possible to confirm that the customer who was shopping is making a payment, and to identify the customer who made the payment if any fraud was committed at the time of payment. Further, it can be expected to have a great effect of suppressing fraud at the time of payment only by making the customer recognize that the state at the time of payment is being photographed.

Further, the payment system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a payment terminal 38 for the cashless payment means 36 to make a payment by a credit card or an IC card, and the credit possessed by the customer by the payment terminal 38. The information on the card or IC card is read, and the cashless payment procedure using these cards is performed (see S360 and S370 in FIG. 8). Then, the face recognition function unit 42 acquires the face information of each customer stored when the customer makes a payment using the payment terminal 38 and the captured image of the photographing means 40 installed in the vicinity of the payment terminal 38. This is to collate the face information of the customer who is operating the payment terminal 38 (see S330 in FIG. 8). As a result, even when payment procedures are performed using a credit card or IC card, confirmation that the customer who was shopping has made the payment and some fraud at the time of payment are performed, as in the case of QR code payment. It is possible to identify the customer in case of failure, and it is also possible to suppress fraud at the time of payment by making the customer recognize that the state of the payment procedure is being photographed.

10: Payment system, 12: Operation terminal, 14: Product information reading means, 16: Photographing unit, 20: Product housing, 22: Product weight measuring means, 24: Accelerometer, 26: Angle speed sensor, 29: Sensor unit, 32: Product weight calculation means, 34: Product weight comparison means, 36: Cashless payment means, 38: Payment terminal, 40: Shooting means, 42: Face recognition function unit, 70: Retail store, 82: Entrance

Claims (8)

A payment system applicable to small retail stores with a sales floor area of less than 250 square meters.
An operation terminal provided with a product information reading means for reading product information including at least the unit price and the weight of the product from the product, which is carried around by the customer in the retail store.
A product container that is carried around by a customer in the retail store and stores the product after the product information is read by the product information reading means and registered for purchase.
A product weight measuring means for measuring the total weight of the product contained in the product storage body,
A product weight calculation means for calculating the total weight of products registered for purchase based on the product information,
The total weight of the product measured by the product weight measuring means is compared with the total weight of the product calculated by the product weight calculating means, and if there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the two, a notification is issued. Product weight comparison means and
Including cashless payment means for cashless payment of products registered for purchase,
The product weight measuring means is a payment system characterized in that, when the product container is moving, the change in the weight of the product due to the influence of the movement is corrected and the total weight of the product is measured. The payment system according to claim 1, wherein the product weight measuring means is composed of a plate-shaped sensor unit that is detachably attached to the product container. The product weight measuring means includes an acceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the product container and / or an angular velocity sensor for measuring the angular velocity of the product container, and the measurement result of the acceleration sensor and / or the angular velocity sensor. The payment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurement result is used to correct the measurement result of the total weight of the product contained in the product storage body. When the operation terminal reads the product information from the product by the product information reading means, the operation terminal reads the product for purchase registration and cancels the purchase registration product according to the contents of the operation input from the customer. The payment system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it distinguishes from reading. In the product weight calculation means, when the product information reading means reads to cancel the purchase registration, the individual weight of the read product is subtracted from the total weight of the product already calculated. So, recalculate the total weight of the products registered for purchase,
The product weight comparison means calculates the total weight of the product in the product storage body measured by the product weight measuring means and the product weight calculation after the product information reading means has read to cancel the purchase registration. The settlement system according to claim 4, wherein a report is issued when there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the two by comparing with the total weight of the product recalculated by the means. Further, it includes a plurality of photographing means installed in the retail store and a face recognition function unit.
The operation terminal includes a photographing unit that photographs the face of a customer who is operating the operation terminal.
The face authentication function unit grasps and stores the face information of each customer who has entered the retail store from the captured image of the photographing means installed near the entrance of the retail store, or the operation terminal of the operation terminal. The face information of each customer who has started the operation is grasped and stored from the captured image of the photographing unit of the operation terminal, and based on the stored face information of each customer and the photographed images of the plurality of photographing means, The payment system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the movement of each customer in the retail store is grasped. The cashless payment means performs QR code payment using a QR code via the operation terminal.
The operation terminal is acquired from the face information of each customer stored and the captured image of the photographing unit of the operation terminal when the QR code payment is performed at least via the operation terminal. The payment system according to claim 6, wherein the payment system is collated with the face information of the customer who is operating the device. The cashless payment means includes a payment terminal for making a payment by credit card or IC card.
The face recognition function unit obtains the stored face information of each customer and the face information of the customer operating the payment terminal, which is acquired from the captured image of the photographing means installed in the vicinity of the payment terminal. The payment system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the payment system is collated.

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