JP2021081892A - Settlement system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a configuration where the intention to perform settlement processing can be expressed to others by limiting an area where the settlement processing can be performed.SOLUTION: A cart 30 provided with a storage unit 32 where a commodity G is housed includes: a wireless tag reading unit 43 that reads settlement information from the wireless tag T of a commodity G housed in the storage unit 32; an area determination unit 46 that determines whether or not the cart 30 is in a settlement area entry state where the cart has entered the settlement area S; and a communication unit 48 that transmits a reading result of the wireless tag reading unit 43 and a determination result of the area determination unit 46 to the settlement terminal 20. When the settlement terminal 20 receives the determination result that the cart 30 is in the settlement area entry state from the cart, settlement processing is performed using the settlement information or the like received from the card 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a payment system that performs payment processing using a wireless tag attached to a product.

Conventionally, in order to improve the efficiency of payment work at the time of product purchase, a payment system has been adopted in which payment information such as a selling price is collectively read from a wireless tag attached to each product to perform payment processing. As a technique related to a payment system that performs payment processing using a wireless tag attached to a product in this way, for example, a sales management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this sales management system, an electronic tag reader is provided in the shopping cart, and payment processing is performed using the product information read from the electronic tag of the product put in the shopping cart by this electronic tag reader. In addition, the shopping cart is provided with a weight sensor that measures the weight of the loaded product, and detects the loading or unloading of the product based on the measurement result of the weight sensor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-250512

By the way, in the system in Patent Document 1 above, there is no specific reference to when and in what state the settlement process is started for the product put in the shopping cart. Then, in the configuration of performing the payment processing as described above, the payment processing can be executed anywhere in the store. Therefore, for example, the purchaser who has completed the payment processing near the store entrance moves inside the store and then outside the store. In the case of going out to the store, the salesperson or the like may mistakenly think that the purchaser is out of the store without completing the payment. On the other hand, depending on the purchaser, even if he / she goes out of the store after completing the payment process, he / she may be worried that the salesperson or the like may misunderstand that he / she goes out of the store without completing the payment.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to limit the area in which payment processing can be executed to indicate the intention to perform payment processing to the surroundings. The purpose is to provide the configuration to be obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the claims is
A payment system (10, 10a) that uses a payment terminal (20) to make payments for goods stored in a transportable container (30, 30a).
A wireless tag (T) that records payment information is attached to the product.
The containment body
A storage unit (32) for storing the product and
A wireless tag reading unit (43) that reads payment information from the wireless tag of the product housed in the accommodating unit, and
An area determination unit (46) that determines whether or not the accommodation body is in the settlement area entry state in which the accommodation body has entered the predetermined settlement area (S), and
A transmission unit (48) that transmits the reading result of the wireless tag reading unit and the determination result of the area determination unit to the payment terminal, and
With
The payment terminal is
Communication unit (26) and
(21) A payment processing unit (21) that performs payment processing using the reading result received from the housing when a determination result of entering the payment area is received from the housing via the communication unit. When,
A payment system characterized by being equipped with.
The reference numerals in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later.

In the invention of claim 1, the accommodating body including the accommodating portion in which the product is accommodated includes a wireless tag reading unit that reads payment information from the wireless tag of the product accommodated in the accommodating portion, and the accommodating body makes a predetermined settlement. An area determination unit that determines whether or not the payment area has entered the area is provided, and a transmission unit that transmits the reading result of the wireless tag reading unit and the determination result of the area determination unit to the payment terminal. .. Then, when the payment processing unit of the payment terminal receives the determination result that the payment area has entered from the accommodation body via the communication unit, the payment processing is performed using the reading result received from the housing body. ..

With such a configuration, in order to start the settlement processing of the goods accommodated in the accommodating portion, the purchaser needs to bring the accommodating body into a predetermined settlement area. For this reason, the purchaser can indicate the intention to perform the payment processing to the surroundings by the purchaser's act of moving the accommodation body into the predetermined payment area, and the salesperson and the like perform the payment processing by the purchaser. You can easily recognize that you have a will.

In the invention of claim 2, the accommodating body is provided with a light emitting unit that becomes a predetermined light emitting state by receiving the payment completion information transmitted from the payment terminal due to the completion of the payment processing. As a result, when the settlement is completed, the light emitting unit provided in the housing is put into a predetermined light emitting state, so that the salesperson or the like who sees the light emitting state can easily recognize that the settlement has been completed.

In the invention of claim 3, when the area determination unit determines that the settlement area is in the entry state, the accommodation body is provided with a notification unit for notifying the fact. By this notification, the purchaser can make the surroundings more clearly aware that he / she has entered the payment area with the intention of performing the payment processing.

In the invention of claim 4, the product is attached with an information code in which payment information is optically readable and recorded. In the housing body, information attached to the stored product when the wireless tag is not read by the wireless tag reading unit when the measurement result by the weight sensor that measures the weight of the product stored in the housing unit increases. Information prompting the operation of reading the code by the information code reading unit is displayed on the display unit. Then, the transmission unit further transmits the reading result of the information code reading unit to the payment terminal as the reading result.

As a result, if the wireless tag of the product housed in the storage unit is not read, information prompting the operation to read the information code attached to the product is displayed on the display unit, so that the reading of the wireless tag fails. It is possible to suppress the resulting omission of accounting.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the payment system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the payment area which can execute the payment using a wireless tag. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the electric structure of the payment terminal of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the electric structure of the reading device of FIG. In the first embodiment, it is a part of a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing performed by a payment terminal and a flow of processing performed by a reading device at the time of purchasing a product. In the first embodiment, it is a part of a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing performed by a payment terminal and a flow of processing performed by a reading device at the time of purchasing a product. It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the payment system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. In the second embodiment, it is a part of a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing performed by the payment terminal and the flow of processing performed by the reading device at the time of purchasing the product.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the first embodiment embodying the payment system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The payment system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for performing payment processing using a wireless tag T such as an RFID tag attached to each product G displayed in the store. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the payment system 10 transmits payment information (information identifying the product G, selling price, etc.) of the wireless tag T attached to the product G before payment by non-contact communication. It is configured as a system that can improve the efficiency of payment work, etc. by reading all at once.

As shown in FIG. 2, the store where the payment system 10 is adopted is provided with a predetermined payment area (hereinafter, also referred to as payment area S) capable of executing payment using the wireless tag T, and this payment is made. The area S is set as an area between the store entrance and the store exit and between the product area where each product shelf is arranged and the store exit (the area where the loading platform is arranged). In the present embodiment, an access point (not shown) for setting an area for determining the payment area S is arranged in the payment area S, and when wireless communication via this access point is possible, the payment area It is determined that it is located in S.

As shown in FIG. 1, the payment system 10 accommodates a payment terminal operated by a purchaser (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a payment terminal 20) and a product G before payment while being carried by the purchaser. It is equipped with a shopping cart (hereinafter, also referred to as a unit, a cart 30) that functions as an accommodating body.

The payment terminal 20 is a portable information terminal for making payments related to the product G stored in the cart 30, and is provided by a smartphone or the like on which a payment application program (hereinafter, also referred to as a payment application) described later is installed. Can be configured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the payment terminal 20 is displayed by a control unit 21 composed of a CPU and the like, a storage unit 22 composed of semiconductor memories such as ROM and RAM, an imaging unit 23 configured as a camera, and a control unit 21. Communication for communicating with external devices such as a touch panel type display unit 24 in which is controlled, an operation unit 25 that outputs an operation signal corresponding to a touch operation or key operation to the touch panel to the control unit 21, a cart 30, and a payment server 100. It is equipped with a part 26 and the like. The storage unit 22 stores personal information and the like used for payment such as a credit number.

In the payment terminal 20 configured in this way, the payment processing performed by the control unit 21 by activating the payment application stores the payment information and the storage unit 22 received from the cart 30 as described later. By communicating with the payment server 100 using personal information or the like, the purchased product is settled.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cart 30 wirelessly communicates with the cart main body 31 provided with the accommodating unit 32 for accommodating the product G and the payment terminal 20 regarding the payment information and the like read from the wireless tag T of the product G. It is configured to include a reading device 40. The cart main body 31 is a shopping cart provided with casters for transportation at the bottom, and the accommodating portion 32 is arranged at the upper portion where the purchaser can easily put in the product G.

As shown in FIG. 4, the reading device 40 is controlled by a control unit 41 including a CPU and the like, a storage unit 42 including semiconductor memories such as ROM and RAM, a wireless tag reading unit 43, and a control unit 41. To communicate with external devices such as a display unit 44, an operation unit 45 that outputs an operation signal corresponding to a key operation to the control unit 41, an area determination unit 46, a light emitting unit 47, a payment terminal 20, and a product server (not shown). It is equipped with a communication unit 48 and the like. The product server is configured as a database so that update information and the like related to payment information read from the wireless tag T can be transmitted in response to a request.

The wireless tag reading unit 43 functions as a reading means for reading payment information from the wireless tag T of the product G controlled by the control unit 41 and housed in the accommodating unit 32, and one or more antennas are contained in the accommodating unit. It is arranged so as to surround the side surface side and the like of 32.

The area determination unit 46 determines whether or not the cart 30 is in the settlement area entry state in which the settlement area S has entered the above-mentioned settlement area S. The area determination unit 46 is controlled by the control unit 41, and when wireless communication via the access point is possible, the area determination unit 46 is configured to output a predetermined signal to the control unit 41 as being in the settlement area entry state. Has been done.

The light emitting unit 47 is an LED or the like capable of emitting light of a plurality of colors whose light emitting state is controlled by the control unit 41, so that the light emitting state can be easily visually recognized by a purchaser who carries the cart 30 or a salesperson in the vicinity. , It is arranged near the display unit 44 and the operation unit 45 at the upper part of the cart main body 31. In particular, in the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41, and for example, when the pairing between the reading device 40 and the payment terminal 20 is completed as described later, the first light emitting state (for example, lighting green). When the area determination unit 46 determines that the payment area has entered the state), the second light emitting state (for example, a blinking blue state) is set, and when the payment process is completed by the payment terminal 20, the third light emitting state (state) For example, it becomes a blue lighting state). Therefore, the surrounding sales staff and the like can accurately and easily grasp the payment status of the product G housed in the cart 30 only by looking at the light emitting state of the light emitting unit 47.

In the reading device 40 configured in this way, the payment information read by the wireless tag reading unit 43 is sequentially transmitted to the payment terminal 20 by the reading process performed by the control unit 41. Then, when the area determination unit 46 determines that the payment area is in the settlement area entry state, the settlement possible information indicating that the light emitting unit 47 is in the second light emission state and payment is possible is transmitted to the payment terminal 20. When the payment completion information is received from the payment terminal 20, the light emitting unit 47 enters the third light emitting state.

Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, when the purchaser who owns the payment terminal 20 purchases the product G using the cart 30, the processing performed by the payment terminal 20 and the processing performed by the reading device 40 will be described. It will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in 5 and 6.

First, the purchaser who entered the store brings the payment terminal 20 that has activated the payment application closer to the reading device 40 of the cart 30, and the pairing between the payment terminal 20 and the cart 30 is completed (S101 in FIG. 5). ). As a result, data communication is possible between the payment terminal 20 and the reading device 40. Subsequently, the light emitting unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41 to enter the first light emitting state (S103).

Then, when the purchaser stores (inserts) the product G into the storage unit 32 (S105), the payment information of the wireless tag T attached to the product G is read by the wireless tag reading unit 43, and the payment information is read. Is transmitted to the payment terminal 20 as a reading result (S107). On the payment terminal 20, the product name, price, and the like specified from the received payment information are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 24 (S109). After that, the state in which the wireless tag T can be read continues until the area determination unit 46 determines that the settlement area has entered (No in S111).

Then, when the purchaser who has accommodated one or more products G before settlement in the accommodating section 32 causes the cart 30 to enter the settlement area S, the area determination unit 46 determines that the item G is in the settlement area entry state ( Yes in S111). In this case, the settlementable information is transmitted and received between the cart 30 and the payment terminal 20 (S113 in FIG. 6), and the light emitting unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41 to enter the second light emitting state (S115).

In this second light emitting state, when the purchaser does not perform a payment operation on the payment terminal 20 (No in S117), if the area determination unit 46 determines that the payment area is not in the payment area entry state (S119). No), as the purchaser only temporarily enters the payment area S, the light emitting unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41 to enter the first light emitting state (S103), and the state in which the product G can be purchased continues.

Then, when the area determination unit 46 determines that the payment area has entered (Yes in S119) and the purchaser performs a payment operation on the payment terminal 20 (Yes in S117), the payment is made. A process for completing the settlement is performed by the control unit 21 that functions as a processing unit (S121). As a result, as described above, the payment information received from the cart 30 and the personal information and the like stored in the storage unit 22 are transmitted from the payment terminal 20 to the payment server 100 as information for payment, so that the payment conditions When the condition is satisfied, the settlement is completed (S121).

When the payment is completed in this way, the payment completion information is transmitted and received between the payment terminal 20 and the cart 30 (S123), and the light emitting unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41 to enter the third light emitting state (S125). After that, when a predetermined termination operation is performed on the payment terminal 20 or the payment terminal 20 and the cart 30 are separated by a predetermined distance or more, the payment application is terminated and the pairing between the payment terminal 20 and the cart 30 is canceled. (S127), the light emitting unit 47 is turned off.

As described above, in the payment system 10 according to the present embodiment, the cart 30 including the storage unit 32 in which the product G is housed receives payment information from the wireless tag T of the product G housed in the storage unit 32. The wireless tag reading unit 43 to be read, the area determination unit 46 for determining whether or not the cart 30 is in the payment area entering the payment area S, and the reading result and area determination unit of the wireless tag reading unit 43. A communication unit 48, which functions as a transmission unit for transmitting the determination result of 46 to the payment terminal 20, is provided. Then, when the payment terminal 20 receives the determination result that the payment area has entered from the cart 30 (S113), the payment processing is performed using the payment information (reading result) received from the cart 30. It is said.

With such a configuration, in order to start the payment processing of the product G stored in the storage unit 32, the purchaser needs to bring the cart 30 into the payment area S. Therefore, when the purchaser moves the cart 30 into the payment area S, the purchaser can indicate the intention to perform the payment processing to the surroundings, and the salesperson or the like indicates the purchaser's intention to perform the payment processing. Can be easily recognized as having.

In particular, since the area where payment is possible is limited as the payment area S, by setting the payment area S in the area where the conventional loading platform is placed (the area where products are transferred from the shopping cart to the shopping bag after payment). , The flow of purchasers from entering the store to making payments through the product area will not change significantly from the past. For this reason, compared to the case where the flow line of the purchaser changes significantly from the conventional case because the payment process can be executed anywhere in the store, the purchaser feels uncomfortable due to the difference in the flow line. It can be difficult.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cart 30 is provided with a light emitting unit 47 that is in a third light emitting state by receiving the payment completion information transmitted from the payment terminal 20 due to the completion of the payment processing (S123). As a result, when the payment is completed, the light emitting unit 47 provided in the cart 30 is in the third light emitting state, so that the salesperson or the like who sees the light emitting state can easily recognize that the payment has been completed. The light emitting unit 47 that is in the third light emitting state can correspond to an example of "a light emitting unit that is in a predetermined light emitting state".

Further, when the area determination unit 46 determines that the settlement area has entered, a light emitting unit 47 for notifying the fact in the second light emitting state is provided in the cart 30 as a notification unit. By this notification, the purchaser can make the surroundings more clearly aware that he / she has entered the payment area S with the intention of performing the payment processing.

In the present embodiment, the cart 30 is used as the transportable housing, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a shopping basket may be used. In this case, the above effect can be obtained even if the shopping cart body is adopted instead of the cart body 31 and the accommodating portion 32 and the shopping basket body is provided with the reading device 40.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the payment system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
The second embodiment is mainly different from the first embodiment in that the payment information is read from the information code C attached to the same product G when the payment information cannot be read from the wireless tag T. Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

If the wireless tag T is damaged or the like, the payment information may not be read from the wireless tag T. In this case, the product G housed in the storage unit 32 and the product G before payment grasped by the payment terminal 20 are different.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the information code C is generated so as to optically readablely record the same information as the payment information recorded in the wireless tag T, and is generated in this way. The information code C is attached to the product G to which the wireless tag T that records the same payment information is attached. Here, as the information code C, for example, a bar code, a QR code (registered trademark), or the like is assumed. Then, the cart 30a in the payment system 10a according to the present embodiment has an information code reading unit 51 that can optically read the information code C with respect to the above-mentioned cart 30, and a product G housed in the storage unit 32. It is configured to newly add a weight sensor 52 for measuring the weight. In the present embodiment, the information code reading unit 51 is a portable scanner, and the reading result is output to the control unit 41 via the connection cable.

Hereinafter, in the payment system 10a according to the present embodiment, when the purchaser possessing the payment terminal 20 purchases the product G using the cart 30a, the processing performed by the payment terminal 20 and the reading device 40 are performed. The processing will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
Similar to the first embodiment, when the pairing between the payment terminal 20 and the cart 30a is completed (S101 in FIG. 8) and data communication is possible between the payment terminal 20 and the reading device 40, light is emitted. The unit 47 is controlled by the control unit 41 to enter the first light emitting state (S103).

Then, when the purchaser stores (inserts) the product G in the storage unit 32 and the weight measured by the weight sensor 52 increases (Yes in S201), it is assumed that the product G is stored in the cart 30a (S203). ), The process for reading the payment information of the wireless tag T is started by the wireless tag reading unit 43 (S205). When the reading from the wireless tag T is successful (Yes in S207), the read payment information is transmitted and received between the payment terminal 20 and the reading device 40 (S209). Then, on the payment terminal 20, the product name, price, and the like specified from the received payment information are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 24 (S109).

On the other hand, if the reading of the wireless tag T fails when the weight measured by the weight sensor 52 is increasing (No in S207), the information code C attached to the housed product G is read by the information code reading unit 51. Information (operation promotion information) prompting the operation to be read is displayed on the display unit 44 (S211). For example, notification information such as "Please scan the barcode displayed on the product with a scanner" is displayed on the display unit 44. The operation promotion information may be displayed on the screen on the display unit 24 of the payment terminal 20 by receiving a predetermined instruction from the reading device 40.

When the purchaser who sees the operation promotion information operates the information code reading unit 51 to read the information code C attached to the product G, the payment information recorded in the information code C is read as the reading result of the payment terminal 20. Is transmitted to (S213). Then, on the payment terminal 20, the product name, price, and the like specified from the received payment information are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 24 (S109).

As described above, in the payment system 10a according to the present embodiment, the product G is attached with an information code C that optically readablely records the payment information. In the cart 30a, when the wireless tag T is not read by the wireless tag reading unit 43 when the measurement result by the weight sensor 52 that measures the weight of the product G accommodated in the accommodating unit 32 increases (No in S207). ), Information (operation promotion information) prompting the operation of reading the information code C attached to the stored product G by the information code reading unit 51 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 44 (S211). Then, the communication unit 48 further transmits the reading result of the information code reading unit 51 to the payment terminal 20 as the reading result (S213).

As a result, when the wireless tag T of the product G housed in the storage unit 32 is not read, information (operation promotion information) prompting the operation of reading the information code C attached to the product G is displayed on the display unit 44. Since it is displayed on the screen, it is possible to suppress the omission of accounting due to the failure to read the wireless tag T.

The information code reading unit 51 is not limited to being configured as a portable scanner, and may be fixed to the cart body 31 or the like and configured as a fixed scanner. Further, the payment terminal 20 may be provided with a reading function of the information code reading unit 51. That is, when the operation promotion information is displayed, the payment terminal 20 uses the payment information read by imaging the information code C attached to the product G with the imaging unit 23 to obtain the product name. , Price, etc. may be additionally displayed on the display screen of the display unit 24.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and modifications, and may be embodied as follows, for example.
(1) The area determination unit 46 is not limited to determining that the settlement area is in the settlement area S when wireless communication is possible via the access point for area setting, and is not limited to other cases. The determination method may be used to determine whether or not the user is in the settlement area entry state. For example, the area determination unit 46 may determine whether or not it is in the settlement area entry state by using the beacon function of Bluetooth (registered trademark). Further, the area determination unit 46 is a camera that captures the floor surface in the traveling direction of the carts 30 and 30a on the premise that the floor surface constituting the settlement area S is provided with a predetermined color or pattern. When the pattern is imaged, it may be determined that the payment area has been entered.

(2) The payment terminal 20 is not limited to being composed of a smartphone or the like owned by the purchaser, and may be composed of, for example, a mobile terminal for payment lent by the store. In this case, the payment terminal 20 is not limited to being configured as a separate body with respect to the carts 30 and 30a, but may be configured to be integrated.

(3) In the payment area S, the process for completing the payment is not limited to being started by the control unit 21 when the purchaser performs a payment operation on the payment terminal 20, but the carts 30 and 30a May stop in the settlement area S for a predetermined time or longer, and the control unit 21 may automatically start the process for completing the settlement.

10, 10a ... Payment system 20 ... Payment terminal 21 ... Control unit (payment processing unit)
26 ... Communication unit 30, 30a ... Cart (containment body)
31 ... Cart body 32 ... Accommodating unit 40 ... Reading device 41 ... Control unit 43 ... Wireless tag reading unit 46 ... Area determination unit 47 ... Light emitting unit (notifying unit)
48 ... Communication unit (transmitter)
51 ... Information code reader 52 ... Weight sensor C ... Information code G ... Product S ... Payment area T ... Wireless tag

Claims (4)

A payment system that uses a payment terminal to make payments for goods stored in a transportable container.
The product is attached with a wireless tag that records payment information.
The containment body
A storage unit for storing the product and
A wireless tag reading unit that reads payment information from the wireless tag of the product housed in the storage unit, and
An area determination unit that determines whether or not the containment body has entered a predetermined settlement area and is in a settlement area entry state.
A transmission unit that transmits the reading result of the wireless tag reading unit and the determination result of the area determination unit to the payment terminal, and
With
The payment terminal is
With the communication department
A payment processing unit that performs payment processing using the reading result received from the housing when a determination result of entering the payment area is received from the housing via the communication unit.
A payment system characterized by being equipped with. When the settlement process is completed, the settlement processing unit transmits the settlement completion information to the accommodating body via the communication unit.
The payment system according to claim 1, wherein the accommodating body includes a light emitting unit that is brought into a predetermined light emitting state by receiving the payment completion information from the payment terminal. The payment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the accommodation body includes a notification unit for notifying the fact that the accommodation body is determined to be in the payment area entry state by the area determination unit. An information code that optically readablely records the payment information is attached to the product.
The containment body
An information code reader that can optically read the information code,
A weight sensor that measures the weight of the product housed in the storage unit, and
When the wireless tag reading unit does not read the wireless tag when the measurement result by the weight sensor increases, the operation of reading the information code attached to the housed product by the information code reading unit is performed. A display unit that displays prompting information and
With
The payment system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission unit further transmits the reading result of the information code reading unit to the payment terminal as the reading result.

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