JP2735108B2 - Self-scanning system equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-scanning system which allows a customer to scan merchandise data of purchased merchandise.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a checkout device provided to a supermarket, a customer scans merchandise data of purchased merchandise by using a self-scanning system device, and a payment operation including money transfer is performed electronically. There is a configuration in which a cashier uses a cash register to perform the operation.

[0003] For example, the checkout device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-46591 is a cashier having a plurality of self-scanning system devices and one common electronic cash register. Meanwhile, 1
There is also a dedicated system composed of one or two self-scanning system devices and one or two dedicated electronic cash registers.

FIG. 5 shows a general configuration of the latter checkout apparatus. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a self-scanning system device, which is an operation unit 10 operated by a customer for scanning.
And the carry-in part 20, the carry-out part 40, and the stock part 50 are arranged in rows in the product flow direction. The operation unit 10 is provided with a product reading means (optical scanner or the like) 11 for reading a barcode attached to a product, and an input / display unit 12 including various switches such as a start button and a display. . The carry-in unit 20 also includes a carry-in conveyor 21 for carrying the self-scanned goods in the direction of the arrow, and a weighing device 2 for measuring the weight of the goods placed on the carry-in conveyor 21.
2 is formed. The unloading unit 40 includes an unloading conveyor 41 and an inclined shooter 42, and is configured to unload the adjusted commodities to the stock unit 50 having the bagging table place 51S.

[0005] Here, the electronic cash register 31
It forms the settlement section 30 and includes the carry-in section 20 and the carry-out section 40
Is provided in between.

In the checkout device (1, 30), when the customer himself scans his / her purchased product on the operation unit 10, the electronic cash register 31 reads out the product weight from the product data file, and The weight of the product placed above is automatically weighed by the weighing device 22, and it is automatically determined whether or not both weights match. When it is determined that they match, the products are registered in the sales registration file and are conveyed to the stock unit 50 through the carry-in conveyor 21 and the carry-out conveyor 41. Therefore, the cashier only needs to perform the payment operation for the customer after scanning in the payment unit 30. Thereafter, the customer is bagged in the stock section 50 (51).

Therefore, the cashier can concentrate on only the settlement work, thereby improving work efficiency. On the other hand, customers can shop quickly without waiting for a long line. According to the checkout device 1 of the above-mentioned publication, work efficiency can be further enhanced by concurrently serving as a cashier. The stock unit 50
Is formed from carts 51C for each customer stopped at a predetermined position as shown in FIG.
According to this, the trouble of the customer can be further reduced.

[0008]

When a scanned commodity is placed on the carry-in conveyor 21, the posture of the commodity rarely varies for each customer, and the posture of the commodity is fixed according to the shape and properties of the commodity. It is often mounted in. In particular, bottled products such as alcoholic beverages have an upright posture as shown in FIG.

Here, according to the above-described conventional configuration, the packed products conveyed through the carry-in conveyor 21 and the carry-out conveyor 41 fall when the goods are transferred from the carry-out section 40 to the stock section 50. That is, when the stock unit 50 is formed from the bagging table 51S, the bottled product is already in the bagging table 5S.
There is a risk that the solid product arriving at 1S may hit the corner of the solid product and be damaged. In particular, when the stock part 50 is formed from the cart 51C, the danger is further increased because the head is large and the falling posture varies.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-scanning system device that can prevent breakage of bottled goods and the like.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a product which is easily damaged, such as a bottled product or a vase, which is weak in the external force from the side of the bottle, but has a small external force from the tip side or the bottom side. The conveyor has a large rigidity, the breakage can be suppressed as much as possible by reducing the falling energy at the time of collision with other products, and the conveyor has a two-part structure of the carry-in side and the carry-out side in relation to the settlement unit 30. Focusing on
The product is forcibly turned over in the middle of transport while utilizing the transport speed difference between the two conveyors, thereby stabilizing the product attitude and preventing breakage when transferring to the stocking section.

That is, in the self-scanning system apparatus according to the present invention, a product reading means, a carry-in section including a carry-in conveyor, a carry-out section including a carry-out conveyor, and a stock section are arranged in this order in the product flow direction. In the self-scanning system apparatus described above, at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor is formed to have a variable transfer speed, and a speed ratio switching means for selectively switching a relative transfer speed ratio between the two conveyors is provided. .

[0013]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, for example, when the conveyed product is a bottled product, a product that is placed on a carry-in conveyor in an upright posture, or a small number of products handled at stores, etc. The transfer speed of at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor is selectively switched to be higher or lower than the other by using the speed ratio switching means.

Then, when the conveyed goods shift from the carry-in conveyor to the carry-out conveyor, they fall over due to a difference in speed between them. If the speed of the unloading conveyor is low with respect to the loading conveyor, the products are moved forward, and if the speed is high, the products are moved backward.
Therefore, if the elasticity of the conveyor is utilized and the conveyor is further provided with a buffer structure, it is possible to prevent the product from being overturned when the product is transferred from the unloading conveyor to the stock section, thereby preventing damage to the product.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the self-scanning system (1) includes two units (1A, 1B) arranged in parallel, and a common settlement unit 30 [two electronic cash registers 3] in the middle.
1 (A), 31 (B)] is provided as a so-called two-lane type checkout device.

This self-scanning system 1A
In (1B), the basic configuration is the same as that of the conventional example (FIG. 6), but at least one of the carry-in conveyor 21 and the carry-out conveyor 41 is formed to have a variable conveying speed, and the relative positions of the two conveyors 21 and 41 are changed. A speed ratio switching means (31) for selectively switching the conveying speed ratio (a: b) is provided, and when transferring the goods being conveyed from the carry-in conveyor 21 to the carry-out conveyor 41, the speed difference is forcibly utilized. It is configured to fall down.

Further, in this embodiment, the speed ratio (a: b) is automatically determined while skillfully utilizing the basic operation of the checkout device (1, 31) to determine whether or not the product is easily damaged. It is formed to be switched.

First, the transfer speed of the transfer conveyor 21 can be changed by changing the rotation speed of the built-in motor 21M shown in FIG. The transport speed of the unloading conveyor 41 can also be changed by changing the rotation speed of the built-in motor 41M. That is, in this embodiment, both conveyors 2
1 and 41 are both of a variable transport speed type so that the product can be moved forward or backward. In the following, the transport speed of the carry-in conveyor 21 is assumed to be constant (normal transport speed a), and the transport speed of the carry-out conveyor 41 will be described. Is selectively switched to the above a and the lower speed b. Therefore, an air cushion 43 indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1 is provided below the unloading conveyor 41 to increase the buffer capacity.

Next, the speed ratio switching means is provided on both conveyors 2.
A means for selectively switching the relative transport speed ratio (a: b) of the electronic cash register 31 and the components of the electronic cash register 31 constituting the checkout device (1,31). It is built with functions.

The outline of the electronic cash register 31 will be described. In FIG. 2, the electronic cash register 31 includes a CPU 32, a ROM 33, a RAM 34 (product data file 34D), a keyboard 35 (a start switch 35ST, a stop switch 35SP), an input port 36, an output port 37, a display (not shown), a printer, The self-scanning system device 1A (1B) includes a drawer and the like.
Is turned on (YES in ST10 of FIG. 3), and the stop switch 35SP is turned on (ST10).
10 (YES) is stopped.

During driving, the customer reads the purchased product using the product reading means 11 constituting the apparatus 1 (ST1).
1 is YES), the CPU 32 sets the product data file 34
D is retrieved to obtain product information (product name, unit price, weight, etc.) (ST12). When the weight of the product placed on the carry-in conveyor 21 by the customer is measured by the measuring device 32, C
The PU 32 compares the information weight and the weighed weight to determine whether the placed product is the same as the read product. If not (YES in ST13), both conveyors 21 and 41 are operated (ST17). Then, when a product is detected by the sensor 23 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carry-in conveyor 21 is stopped (ST18), and the product information is registered for sales (ST19).

Here, the speed ratio switching means includes speed setting units 35a and 35b, CPU 32, ROM 33, R
A flag area 34F formed with a partial storage area of the AM 34 is executed in ST15 and ST16 in FIG. That is, the measurement is OK (YE in ST13).
S), the CPU 32 determines whether or not the speed switching flag is set ("1") in the product section of the flag area 34F, and if it is set (YES in ST14).
Outputs a signal Sa for operating the carry-in conveyor 21 at the normal transfer speed a set by the speed setter 35a to the motor 21M, and drives the carry-out conveyor 41 at the low speed b set by the speed setter 35b. The signal Sb for driving is switched to the motor 41M instead of the signal Sa and output (ST16).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The start button 35ST is turned on to set the drive state. The customer reads the product G (the bottled product shown in FIG. 4) using the product reading means 11 (ST11 in FIG. 3) and places the product G on the carry-in conveyor 21 after observing the display of good reading. Then, CP
U32 searches the product data file 34D to obtain product information (ST12). Subsequently, the measured weight measured by the measuring device 22 is compared with the read weight (ST1).
3). If the weights do not match (NO in ST13), error processing is performed. If the weights match (YES in ST13), the conveyors 21 and 41 are operated (ST17) at the normal transport speed a set by the speed setting device 35a. That is,
Each of the motors 21M and 41M shown in FIG. 2 is rotationally driven by the signal Sa.

Here, the speed ratio switching means (35a, 35
b, 32, 33, 34F) work. That is, the CPU 3
When the flag "1" is set in the product column of the flag area 34F (YES in ST14), the signal 2 is output to operate the unloading conveyor 41 at the low speed b (ST16). The carry-in conveyor 21 remains at the normal transfer speed a (ST15). Therefore, the goods are conveyed by the carry-in conveyor 21 and detected by the sensor 23 (ST
17). At this time, the product falls forward as shown in FIG. 4 depending on the speed ratio (a: b) of the two conveyors 21 and 41.
In other words, since it falls on the carry-out conveyor 41 having a large buffer capacity, the impact is small and there is no fear of damage.

When the sensor 23 is turned on, the unloading conveyor 21 is stopped (ST18). The unloading conveyor 41 switches the unloading speed to the normal transporting speed a again (ST18). The product information is registered for sales (ST19).

Thus, the commodity is delivered to the stock unit 50 (cart 51C) by the unloading conveyor 41 in the falling posture. Since the commodity has already fallen, the collision energy between the commodity and other commodities is small. Can be prevented.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the transfer speed of the unloading conveyor 41 is formed to be variable between the normal transfer speed a and the low speed b, and the speed ratio switching means (35a, 35
b, 32, 33, and 34F), and when the conveyors 21 and 41 are transferred from the carry-in conveyor 21 to the carry-out conveyor 41,
The product can be turned over in advance using the speed difference (ab) of the unloading unit 40 (4
It is possible to prevent the product from being damaged when the product is transferred from 1) to the stock unit 50 (51C).

Further, since the carry-out conveyor 41 is provided with the air cushion 43, the cushioning ability can be further enhanced in addition to the cushioning by the elasticity of the conveyor belt itself.

The speed ratio switching means includes a flag area 3
When a product with the flag set to "1" comes to the 4F, the unloading conveyor 41 is automatically switched to the low speed b, and is automatically switched again to the normal transport speed a after the product falls. As a result, the average product transport speed can be increased.

It should be noted that the speed ratio switching means is provided on one side of the conveyor 2.
1 (41) to the normal conveyor speed a and the other conveyor 41 (2
The configuration is not limited as long as 1) can be a low speed b. For example, a configuration in which the set value of the controller driver of each of the motors 21M and 41M is variable can be implemented, and the set value may be constantly fixed.

[0031]

According to the present invention, at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor is formed to have a variable transfer speed, and speed ratio switching means for selectively switching the relative transfer speed ratio between the two conveyors is provided. The product can be turned over by utilizing the speed difference between the two conveyors when the product is delivered from the conveyor to the unloading conveyor, so that the product can be prevented from being damaged when being delivered from the unloading section to the stock section.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a speed ratio switching unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a product falling operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional example (1).

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional example (2).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Self-scanning system apparatus 10 Operation part 11 Merchandise reading means 12 Operation panel 20 Carry-in part 21 Carry-in conveyor 21M Motor 22 Meter 22 Sensor 30 Settlement part 31 Electronic cash register 32 CPU (Speed ratio switching means) 33 ROM (Speed ratio switching means) ) 34 RAM 34D Product data file 34F Flag area (speed ratio switching means) 35 Keyboard 35a Speed setting device (speed ratio switching device) 35b Speed setting device (speed ratio switching device) 35ST Start switch 35SP Stop switch 36 Input port 37 Output port Reference Signs List 40 carry-out part 41 carry-out conveyor 42 inclined shooter 43 air cushion 50 stock part 51C cart 51S bagging table

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product reading means in a product flow direction, a carry-in section including a carry-in conveyor, and a carry-out section including a carry-out conveyor.
In a self-scanning system device in which stock sections are arranged in this order, at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor is formed to have a variable transfer speed, and a speed ratio for selectively switching a relative transfer speed ratio between the two conveyors. A self-scanning system device comprising switching means.