JP3498918B1 - Product management system and method, management device and information terminal device used in the product management system - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise management system capable of managing merchandise that is taken out of a sales floor and stays in a store without being cleared. An IC tag (1) attached to a product on a sales floor is provided.
00), a sales floor monitoring terminal (211, 212) having sales floor product status notification means for notifying the management device of the sales floor product status information, and a cart (300).
A cart status notification unit (311) for notifying the management device of the cart status information based on the product information obtained from the IC tag (100) attached to the product in the cart.
, A cash register device (420) having a cleared product notification means for notifying the management device of cleared product information, the sales floor product status information, the cart product status information, and the clearing And a management device having in-store product management means (440, 460) for managing products in the store based on the finished product information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product management system for managing products in a store by using IC tags.

The present invention also relates to a management device and an information terminal device used in such a product management system.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a product management system for managing products in a store using an IC tag (for example, Patent Document 1). In this conventional system, inventory management of products is performed, for example. That is, this system communicates via an IC card attached to each product on the product shelf and an antenna installed at a predetermined position on the product shelf to acquire product information about each product at regular time intervals, Based on the product information, the type and number of stocked products on the product shelf are confirmed in real time.

Further, the following means are provided as a method for preventing shoplifting. At the time of payment, the information indicating that the payment has been made is written in the IC card when the POS terminal makes a payment for the product. By installing a shoplifting prevention device equipped with an IC card reading function near the entrance / exit, it is possible to restrict the taking out of non-settled products.

[0005]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-155825

[0006]

However, in the conventional product management system, the products are managed based on the information of the (stock) products existing in the product shelves and the information of the products cleared at the POS terminal. Therefore, it is not possible to manage products that have been brought out of the sales floor (commodity shelf) and have not been cleared by the POS terminal, that is, products that have been brought out of the sales floor and remain in the store. Therefore, effective measures against shoplifting of products cannot be taken in advance.

In the conventional management system, the PO
By writing the information of "cleared" in the IC tag attached to the accounted product at the S terminal, it is possible to distinguish between products that have been cleared and products that have not been cleared to prevent shoplifting. . However, whether or not the product is shoplifted is known only when the product is about to be taken out of the store, and preventive measures against shoplifting cannot be established in advance.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a product management system capable of managing products that are taken out of the sales floor and stay in the store without being cleared. It is a thing.

[0009]

A product management system according to the present invention uses an IC tag which is attached to a product in a store, stores product information including at least information for specifying the product, and has a wireless communication function. Is a product management system for managing products in a store, wherein the management device is connected to an in-store antenna installed at a predetermined position in the store, and is installed in a cart in the store. A cart terminal device that wirelessly communicates with the attached IC tag, and an IC attached to a product in a predetermined area of the sales floor
It has a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with the tag and a cashier device installed at a product clearing place, and the sales floor monitoring terminal device is an IC tag attached to a product in the predetermined area of the sales floor. The cart terminal device has a sales floor product status notification means for notifying the management device of sales floor product status information indicating the status of products in the predetermined area based on product information obtained by wireless communication, and the cart terminal device is a product in the cart. The in-cart product status notification means for notifying the management device of the in-cart product status information indicating the status of the product in the cart based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the The cash register device
It has a cleared product notifying means for notifying the management device of cleared product information indicating a product for which the charge has been cleared, and the management device has the sales floor product status information, the in-cart product status information and the cleared product information. On the basis of the above, there is provided a lost product management means for specifying a product which has not been cleared and which is not present in the predetermined area of the sales floor and in the cart as a lost product.

With such a configuration, the management device stores in the store based on the sales floor product status information from the sales floor monitoring terminal device, the in-cart product status information from the cart terminal device, and the completed product information from the cash register device. Among the staying products, products that have not been cleared and do not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor or in the cart are specified as lost products.

[0011]

[0012]

[0013] The sales floor product status information representing the status of the products within the predetermined area of the sales floor is the product information about all the products within the predetermined range, but the number of products increased or decreased within the predetermined range. It may be product information about a product. In addition, the product status information in the cart, which indicates the status of the products in the cart, is the product information about the products increased or decreased in the cart even if the product information about all the products in the cart. May be.

Further, the product management system according to the present invention is
Whether or not the sales floor product status notification means has increased or decreased products in the predetermined area based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the products in the predetermined area of the sales floor When there is a sales space increase / decrease product determination unit that determines whether there is an increased product or a decreased product in the predetermined area, the increased product product The management device may be notified of the information or the product information of the reduced product as the sales floor product status information.

According to such a configuration, when the customer takes out the product from the predetermined area of the sales floor to purchase the product, or when the customer returns the once taken out goods to the predetermined area of the sales floor, It is determined that there is an increased product or a decreased product in the predetermined area of the sales floor. In such a case, the product information about the product is notified to the management device as the sales floor product status information. Therefore, the processing related to product management in the management device can be efficiently performed.

In the product management system according to the present invention, the number of products in the cart is increased based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the product in the cart. It has an increase / decrease product judging means in the cart for judging whether there is a product or a decreased product, and the increase / decrease product judging means in the cart judges that there is an increased or decreased product in the cart. In this case, the product information of the increased product or the product information of the decreased product may be notified to the management device as the in-cart product status information.

According to this structure, when the customer puts the product in the cart to purchase the product, or when the customer returns the product once put in the cart to the predetermined area of the sales floor, It is determined that there are more or less products in the cart. Then, in such a case, the product information about the product is notified to the management device as the in-cart product status information. Therefore, the processing related to product management in the management device can be efficiently performed.

[0018]

[0019]

The product management method according to the present invention is applied to a product in a store, stores the product information including at least information for specifying the product, and uses an IC tag having a wireless communication function to store the product in the store. A cart terminal device that manages and wirelessly communicates with a management device connected to an in-store antenna installed at a predetermined position in the store and an IC tag mounted on a cart in the store and attached to a product in the cart And I attached to the product in the predetermined area of the sales floor
A product management method in a system having a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with a C tag and a cash register device installed in a product clearing place, wherein the sales floor monitoring terminal device is a product within the predetermined area of the sales floor. A sales floor product status notifying step of notifying the management device of sales floor product status information indicating the status of products in the predetermined area based on product information obtained by wireless communication with an IC tag attached to the cart terminal device The product in the cart notifies the management device of the product status information in the cart indicating the condition of the product in the cart based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the product in the cart through the in-store antenna. A status notifying step, and a cleared product notifying step of notifying the management device of cleared product information indicating the cleared product by the cash register device, The management device identifies, as a lost product, a product that has not been cleared and does not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor or in the cart based on the sales floor product status information, the in-cart product status information, and the cleared product information. The configuration has steps.

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

[0025]

[0026]

[0027]

The management device according to the present invention is attached to a product in a store, stores product information including at least information for specifying the product, and has a wireless communication function.
A product management system for managing products in a store by using a C tag, comprising a cart terminal device mounted on a cart in the store and wirelessly communicating with an IC tag attached to a product in the cart. Used in a product management system having a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with an IC tag attached to a product in a predetermined area of the sales floor, and a cash register device installed in a product clearing place, and the sales floor monitoring terminal device is provided. A sales floor product status information representing the status of the products in the predetermined area, which is notified based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the products in the predetermined area of the sales floor,
A cart indicating the status of the product in the cart, which is notified by the cart terminal device through an in-store antenna installed at a predetermined position in the store based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the product in the cart Information acquisition means for acquiring in-commercial product status information and cleared merchandise information indicating the already-cleared merchandise notified by the cashier device, the sales floor merchandise condition information acquired by the information acquisition means, and the inside of the cart According to the product status information and the cleared product information, there is provided a lost product management means for identifying a product that is not cleared and does not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor and the cart as a lost product.

With such a configuration, on the basis of the sales floor product status information from the sales floor monitoring terminal device, the in-cart product status information from the cart terminal device, and the completed product information from the cash register device, Of these, products that have not been cleared and do not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor or in the cart are specified as lost products.

[0030]

[0031]

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A product management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the product management system is
Management device 400, cashier device 420, sales floor monitoring terminal 21
1, 212 and a cart terminal 310. An IC tag 100 is attached to each product in the store. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, sales floor antennas 221 and 222 are installed in sales floors P1 and P2 (for example, product shelves) in the store. A cart terminal 310 is attached to the cart 300 in the store.
Is installed. Further, in-store antennas 451 and 452 are installed at predetermined positions on the ceiling of the store, for example. The cash register device 420 is installed on the cash register table in the store,
An antenna 430 is connected to 0. In FIG. 2, shoplifting prevention devices are installed at the entrances G1 and G2 of the store.

Further, in FIG. 1, the sales floor monitoring terminal 21
1, 212 are sales floors P1, P2 via the sales floor antennas 221, 222 installed in the sales floors P1, P2 (commodity shelves, etc.).
Information communication is performed with the IC tag 100 of each product placed on P2. The cart terminal 310 displays the I of each product in the cart 300.
Performs information communication with the C tag 100. The cashier terminal 420 performs information communication with the cart terminal 310 in a predetermined area near the cashier table through the antenna 430.

The sales floor monitoring terminals 211 and 212 and the cash register device 420 are communicably connected to the management device 400, and in-store antennas 451 and 452 are connected to the management device 400. The management device 400 includes the sales floor monitoring terminal 21.
1, 212 and the information about the product from the cash register device 420 are received. Information about the product transmitted from the cart terminal 310 via the antenna 320 is stored in the in-store antenna 45.
When the information is received at 1, 452, the information is received by the management device 40.
Supplied to zero. The management device 400 includes the sales floor monitoring terminal 21.
1, 212, cash register devices 451, 452, carts 300
The in-store product management process is performed based on the information from the cart terminal 310 installed in the
Store at 40.

The IC tag 100 is, for example, as shown in FIGS.
It is configured as shown in.

In FIG. 3, the IC tag 100 has a control unit 101, a wireless circuit unit 102, a memory 103, a paint storage unit 104, and an electrostatic sensor 105. In the memory 103, product information, which is information about the product to which the IC tag 100 is attached, is written in advance. This product information includes basic information such as the product name, the material of the product, and the place of production, and the product ID that is unique information assigned to the product. Further, the memory 103 has an area for writing information indicating that the product is “payment completed”. When the settlement of the product is completed, the cart terminal 31
0 and the IC tag 100 exchange information, the memory 1
Information indicating “cleared” is written in 03.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of the IC tag 100.
As a countermeasure against the peeling of the IC tag, the static electricity sensor 105 detects the static electricity generated at the time of peeling, and the energy thereof causes the ink to flow out from the paint storage unit 104.

The cart terminal 310 is constructed, for example, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the cart terminal 310 includes a control unit 311, a transmission / reception unit 312, an antenna 320, and a sensor 3.
30, touch panel unit 351, printer 352 and IC
It has a card R / W unit 353. The sensor 330 is
IC tag 1 attached to the product in the cart 300
00 has the function of communicating with IC tag 1
00, the product information stored in the memory 103 is detected.
The control unit 311 manages the product information detected by the sensor 330. If a newly increased product or a decreased product is confirmed in the management of the product information, the control unit 311 controls the transmission / reception unit 312 to transmit the product ID to the management device 400 via the antenna 320. . At the time of payment, the control unit 311 acquires the latest product information from the IC tag 100 attached to each product in the cart 300 via the sensor 330. The product information is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 312 to the cashier device 420 through the antenna 320 under the control of the control unit 311. The cart terminal 310 includes a printer 352, a touch panel unit 351 (having a display function), an IC card R / W.
An output device such as the unit 353 is connected, and is used for browsing product information, displaying the total price of the products in the cart 300, and the like according to the user's request.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic structure of the cart 300 from the front. The cart 3 has an antenna 3
20, sensors 330a and 330b, a storage unit 340, covers 341a and 341b, a touch panel unit 351, a printer 352, and an IC card R / W unit 353 are mounted. A printer 352 and an IC card R / R unit 353 are arranged on the front surface of the storage unit 340. A touch panel unit 351 having a display function is provided on the upper end of the front surface of the storage unit 340.
Is attached, and the touch panel 351 is provided with an antenna 320. Covers 341a and 341b are openably and closably attached to upper portions of both side surfaces of the storage portion 340, and sensors 330a and 330b (corresponding to the sensor 330 shown in FIG. 5) are provided inside the respective carvers 341a and 341b.
Is attached. The inside of each surface of the storage unit 340 and the covers 341a and 341b are covered with a shield material that shields radio waves.

The printer 352 is used for printing out the product information about the product in the storage unit 340, and the IC card R / W unit 353 is used when the product in the storage unit 340 is settled by the IC card. Used.

The management device 400 is constructed, for example, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, the management device 400 has a control unit 460, a transmission / reception device 480, and an output unit 470. The control unit 460 controls the sales floor monitoring terminals 211 and 212, the cart terminal 310, and the cash register device 4 via the transmission / reception device 480.
Based on the product ID notified from 20, confirm the whereabouts of each product (in the sales floor, in the cart, and closed). Information regarding its whereabouts is provided to the database 440. The control unit 460 determines that the product identified by the product ID is on the sales floors P1 and P.
2. If the product does not exist in the cart 300 and the settlement has not been completed, the product is managed as a missing product (lost product). Since the management information in the database 440 is updated by the control unit 460 at any time, real-time product management is possible. The output unit 470 (display unit, print unit) is a database 4 under the control of the control unit 460.
The information managed by 40 is output.

In the product management system having the above-mentioned configuration, the control unit 311 of the cart terminal 310 performs processing according to the procedure shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, the control unit 311 determines whether or not the clearing operation is performed on the touch panel unit 351 (S100), and searches the IC tag 100 attached to each product in the cart 300. (S101).
This tag search is performed by the sensor 330 (330a, 330a).
This is done by exchanging information with the IC tag 100 using b). The control unit 311 determines whether or not there is a new product based on the product information obtained from the IC tag 100 that has become information exchangeable by the tag search (S1).
02) and whether or not there is a product that has disappeared from the products recognized by the product information that has been managed up to now, that is, there is a lost product (S103). If there is no new product or missing product (NO in S102, N in S103)
O), the control unit 311 confirms the presence or absence of the clearing operation in a predetermined cycle (S100), and performs the tag search process (S10).
Repeat 1).

In this process, when the customer puts the desired product for purchase in the cart 300, it is determined that there is an unconfirmed new product in the cart 300 (YE in S102).
S). Then, the control unit 311 recognizes that there is an intention to purchase a new product (S104), and the management device 400 uses the recognized product ID of the new product as the in-cart product status information.
The transmission / reception unit 314 is controlled to be transmitted to (S10).
5). As a result, the product ID of the new product for which the purchase intention has been confirmed is transmitted, and the product ID is transmitted to the in-store antenna 451.
Alternatively, it is supplied to the management apparatus 400 via 452. After that, the control unit 311 calculates the total amount of the product with the purchase intention based on the product information managed for the products in the cart 300 (S108), and calculates the product amount with the purchase intention displayed on the touch panel unit 351. Update (S10
9). Then, the control unit 311 performs tag search processing while confirming whether or not there is a clearing operation (S100) (S10).
1).

On the other hand, in the process of performing the tag search,
When the customer stops purchasing and takes out the product from the cart 300 and returns the product to the product shelf, the control unit 311 that has obtained the product information about the latest product in the cart 300 by the sensor 330 receives the product information and the current product information. Based on the product information managed up to, it is determined that there is a lost product (YES in S103). Then, the control unit 311 determines that the purchase intention of the product has been canceled (S106), and controls the transmission / reception unit 314 to transmit the product ID of the lost product as the in-cart product status information to the management device 400 ( S107). With this, the product ID of the lost product
Is transmitted, and the product ID is supplied to the management device 400 via the in-store antenna 451 or 452. afterwards,
Similar to the above, the calculation of the price of the product in the cart 300 (the product that the user intends to purchase) and the display of the amount are updated. (S108, S109).

When the customer carries out the clearing operation on the touch panel section 351 in order to carry the cart 300 to the cash register and settle it in the process of repeating the above-mentioned processing (S100 to S109), the control section 311 performs the clearing operation. It is determined that it has been done (YES in S100). Then, the control unit 3
Reference numeral 11 denotes the transmitting / receiving unit 3 for transmitting the product information about the products in the currently managed cart 300 to the cashier device 420.
12 is controlled (S110). This allows the cart 30
The product information about the products in 0 is transmitted, and the product information is supplied to the cashier device 420 via the antenna 430. After that, the control unit 311 determines whether or not there is a payment permission response from the cashier device 420. (S11), if it is determined that the payment permission response is received from the cashier device 420 (YES in S111), the control unit 311 causes the IC tag 100 attached to each product in the cart 300.
Information is exchanged via the sensor 330 with the IC tag 10
The information of “payment completed” is written in the memory 103 of 0 (S
112). Then, the control unit 311 of the cart terminal 310 ends the process.

The shoplifting prevention devices installed at the entrances G1 and G2 of the store exchange information with the IC tags 100 attached to the products passing through the entrances G1 and G2 and store them in the memory 103 of the IC tag 100. It is determined whether or not the information of “cleared” has been written. And I
When it is determined that the information of “cleared” has not been written in the C tag 100, the shoplifting prevention device issues an alarm. Thereby, shoplifting can be prevented.

The cash register device 420, which has acquired the product information of the product in the cart 300 as described above, calculates the total amount of the product based on the product information and displays the calculated amount on the display unit. When the cash clerk of the product between the clerk and the customer of the cashier terminal 420 is completed, the cashier terminal 420 notifies the management device 400 of the product ID of the cleared product as the cleared product information by the operation of the clerk. It

The customer's purchased product can be settled by inserting a prepaid IC card into the IC card R / W section 353 of the cart terminal 310. In this case, the cart terminal 310 to the cash register device 420
For example, only the product ID of the product in the cart 300 is transmitted.

The sales floor monitoring terminals 211 and 212 perform processing according to the procedure shown in FIG. 9 (hereinafter, reference numerals 211 and 212 are omitted in the description of the processing).

In FIG. 9, the sales floor monitoring terminal is a P in the sales floor.
The IC tags 100 attached to the respective products are searched through the sales floor antennas 211 and 212 installed on the first and P2 (S201). This tag search is for P1 and P2 in the sales floor
This is done by exchanging information with the IC tag 100 attached to each product. The control unit 311 determines whether or not there is a new product based on the product ID obtained from the IC tag 100 that has become capable of exchanging information by tag search (S202), and manages the product up to now. It is determined whether or not there is a lost product, that is, a lost product, from the products recognized by the ID (S203). If there is no new product or lost product (NO in S202, N in S203)
O), the sales floor monitoring terminal repeatedly executes the tag search process (S201) at a predetermined cycle.

In such a process, the customer takes out the product at the sales floors P1 and P2, and the product (IC tag 100)
When the customer goes out of the communication area of the sales floor antennas 221 and 222, it is determined that a lost product has occurred (S2).
Yes with 03). Then, the sales floor monitoring terminal recognizes that the product has been taken out of the sales floor (S204), and notifies the management device 400 of the product ID of the lost product as sales floor product status information (S205). On the other hand, for example, when the customer returns the product in the cart 300 to the sales floors P1 and P2, it is determined that a new product has been found by the tag search (YES in S202). Then, the sales floor monitoring terminal determines that the product has been returned (S206). Then, the sales floor monitoring terminal notifies the management device 400 of the product ID of the new product as sales floor product status information (S20).
7). After that, the sales floor monitoring terminal performs the above-described processing (S201).
~ S207) is repeatedly performed.

The control unit 460 of the monitoring device 400 is shown in FIG.
Processing for product management is performed according to the procedure shown in.

The database 440 stores a management table for managing the state (location) of the product as shown in FIG. This management table is for all products in the store in the sales floors P1 and P2, in the cart, in a cleared state, and in other states (lost state).
It indicates which of the two.

In FIG. 10, the control unit 460 controls the cart terminal 310 or the sales floor monitoring terminal 211, as described above.
When the product ID notification of the new product is received from 212 (S301), the management table of the database 440 is updated based on the product ID (S30).
4). In this case, if the notification source of the product ID of the new product is the cart terminal 310, the product ID is displayed in the management table so as to correspond to the cart on which the cart terminal 310 is mounted (in FIG. 11, for example, , ○ in the column corresponding to the product ID “ol1816dm and“ Cart 1 ”
Is marked). If the notification source of the product ID of the new product is the sales floor monitoring terminal 211, the sales floor P monitored by the sales floor monitoring terminal 211 with the product ID in the table.
1 are represented as corresponding to each other (in FIG. 11, for example, a circle is attached to the corresponding column of the product ID “ab232ks” and “sales floor P1”).

As described above, the control unit 460 receives the notification of the product ID of the lost product from the cart terminal 310 or the sales floor monitoring terminals 211 and 212 (S30).
2) Then, the management table of the database 440 is updated based on the product ID (S304). In this case, the notification source of the product ID of the lost product is the cart terminal 3
If it is 10, the product ID in the management table
And the cart equipped with the cart terminal 310, or if the notification source of the product ID of the lost product is the sales floor monitoring terminal 211 or 212, the correspondence between the product ID and the sales floor P1 or P2 in the management table. The relationship is released (see x mark in FIG. 11).

As described above, when the control unit 460 receives the notification of the product ID of the cleared product from the cash register device (S303), it updates the management table of the database 440 based on the product ID (S303). S30
4). In this case, the product ID of the cleared product is displayed as a cleared state in the management table (represented by a double circle in FIG. 11). Further, the state immediately before the product is cleared is displayed in the management table (see the mark Δ in the “Cart 2” column in FIG. 11). For example, it is indicated in the management table that the product with the product ID “fg94iv” was located in the cart 2 immediately before it was settled.

When the updating process (S304) of the management table of the database 440 is completed in this way, the control section 460 refers to the updated management table and confirms the state of each product (S305). Based on the result of this state confirmation, it is determined whether or not there is a product (missed product) that does not apply to any of the sales floor, the cart, and the already-settled status for a certain time or longer (S306).
If it is determined that no such product exists (S
(NO in 306), the process ends because there is no product whose location is unknown. On the other hand, if it is determined that such a product exists (YES in S306), control unit 460.
Indicates that the item ID of the item is lost in the management table (S307) (see the circle in the “lost” column in FIG. 11). In this case as well, the state immediately before the determination that the child is in the lost state is displayed in the management table (see the mark Δ in the “Cart 1” column in FIG. 11). For example, in FIG. 11, the cart 1 currently has a product ID.
It indicates that there is a product specified by "ol1816dm" and is missing after the product specified by the product ID "xc2350zq" exists in this cart 1 (D301).

As described above, the management table of the database 440 manages the states (locations) of all the products in the store. When the administrator performs a predetermined operation on the management device 400, the control unit 460 causes the database 4
Based on the product ID of the product that is lost, referring to the management table 40, the product information (product type, product name, etc.) of the product is output (displayed or printed out) from the output unit 470. Based on the output result, the administrator is in the state of being lost, that is, not cleared,
Moreover, it is possible to know products that are not present in the sales floors P1 and P2 and the cart 300. Thus, not cleared
Moreover, products that do not exist in the sales floors P1 and P2 and the cart 300 have a high probability of being shoplifted, and when there are many such products, measures to prevent shoplifting are taken, for example, by strengthening security inside the store. You will be able to take it in advance. Further, since the type and product name of the lost product can be known, it becomes easy to take measures to prevent shoplifting.

In the example described above, the cart 310 notifies the management device 400 of the product IDs of the increased or decreased products in the cart 300, but the products of all the products in the cart 300 are always notified. ID management device 400
May be notified. Similarly, from the sales floor monitoring terminals 211 and 212 to the management apparatus 400, the sales floors P1 and P
The management device 400 stores the product IDs of all the products placed in No. 2.
May be notified.

Further, the IC tag 100 is placed at a predetermined position in the store.
It is also possible to install an antenna capable of communicating with the management device 400 and communicate with the IC tag 100 via the antenna. In this case, the management device 400 can search the product ID of the product in the lost state to detect the location of the product in the lost state with the resolution of the communicable area of the antenna.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, the management device using the IC tag is the cart terminal device,
It manages the products in the sales floor, the products in the cart, and the goods settled at the cash register device based on the information about the products from the sales floor monitoring terminal device and the cash register device. It becomes possible to provide a product management system capable of managing the products that stay in the store.

Further, according to the present invention, the management device controls the products in the store based on the sales floor product status information from the sales floor monitoring terminal device, the in-cart product status information from the cart terminal, and the paid product information from the cash register device. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide a product management system capable of managing products that are taken out of the sales floor and stay in the store without being liquidated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a product management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of each unit in a store to which the product management system shown in FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of an IC tag.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a cart terminal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a structural example of a cart.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a cart terminal.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a sales floor monitoring terminal.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the management device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a management table for managing the state of products.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 IC tag 101 control unit 102 wireless circuit section 103 memory 104 paint storage 105 Electrostatic sensor 211, 212 Sales floor monitoring terminal 221, 222 sales floor antenna 300 carts 310 cart terminal 311 control unit 312 Transmitter / receiver 320 antenna 330 (330a, 330b) sensor 340 storage 341a, 341b cover 351 Touch panel section 352 printer 353 IC card R / W section 400 management device 420 cash register device 430 antenna 440 database 451, 452 in-store antenna 460 control unit 470 output section 480 transceiver

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product management system which is attached to a product in a store, stores product information including at least information for specifying the product, and manages the product in the store by using an IC tag having a wireless communication function. There is a management device connected to an in-store antenna installed at a predetermined position in the store, and a cart terminal device mounted on a cart in the store and wirelessly communicating with an IC tag attached to a product in the cart. And a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with an IC tag attached to a product within a predetermined area of the sales floor,
A cash register device installed at a product clearing place, and the sales floor monitoring terminal device is configured to perform the predetermined operation based on product information obtained by wireless communication with an IC tag attached to a product in the predetermined area of the sales floor. There is a sales floor product status notification means for notifying the management device of sales floor product status information indicating the status of the products in the area, and the cart terminal device is obtained by wireless communication with an IC tag attached to the products in the cart. The in-cart product status notifying means for notifying the management device of the in-cart product status information indicating the status of the product in the cart based on the product information, and the cash register device is a product whose charge has been cleared. Indicating the cleared product information to the management device, the management device, the management device, the sales floor product status information, the in-cart product status information and And a lost product management means for specifying, as lost products, a product that has not been cleared and does not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor or in the cart based on the cleared product information. 2. The sales floor product status notification means increases or decreases the number of products in the predetermined area based on product information obtained by wireless communication with an IC tag attached to a product in the predetermined area of the sales floor. When there is a sales floor increase / decrease product determination means for determining whether or not there is a product, and it is determined by the sales floor increase / decrease product determination means that there is an increased product or a decreased product, The product management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device is notified of the product information of the increased product or the product information of the decreased product as the sales floor product status information. 3. The in-cart merchandise status notifying means has an increased or decreased merchandise in the cart based on merchandise information obtained by wireless communication with an IC tag attached to the merchandise in the cart. It has an in-cart increase / decrease product determination means for determining whether or not it has been increased when the in-cart increase / decrease product determination means determines that there is an increased product or a decreased product in the cart. The product management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device is notified of the product information of the product or the product information of the reduced product as the in-cart product status information. 4. An in-store product is managed by using an IC tag which is attached to an in-store product and stores at least product information including information for identifying the product and which has a wireless communication function. A management device connected to an in-store antenna installed at a predetermined position, a cart terminal device mounted on a cart in the store and wirelessly communicating with an IC tag attached to a product in the cart, and within a predetermined area of the sales floor Is a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with an IC tag attached to a product, and a cash register device installed at a settlement place of the product. Based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the product in the predetermined area, the sales floor product status information indicating the status of the product in the predetermined area is managed. The product status in the cart showing the status of the product in the cart based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the sales floor product status notifying step for notifying the store and the IC terminal attached to the product in the cart by the cart terminal device. An in-cart merchandise status notifying step for notifying information to the management device through the in-store antenna; a cleared product notification step for notifying the management device of cleared product information indicating products that have been cleared by the cash register device; A step of identifying, as a lost product, a device based on the sales floor product status information, the in-cart product status information, and the cleared product information, which is not cleared and which is not present in the predetermined area of the sales floor and in the cart. A product management method characterized by having. 5. A product management system, which is attached to a product in a store, stores the product information including at least information for specifying the product, and manages the product in the store by using an IC tag having a wireless communication function. A cart terminal device mounted on a cart in the store and wirelessly communicating with an IC tag attached to a product in the cart;
It is used for a product management system having a sales floor monitoring terminal device that wirelessly communicates with an IC tag attached to a product in a predetermined area of a sales floor, and a cash register device installed at a product clearing place. The sales floor product status information indicating the status of the products in the predetermined area to be notified based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the products in the predetermined area of the sales floor, and the cart terminal device is a cart Product status information in the cart indicating the status of the product in the cart, which is notified through the in-store antenna installed at the predetermined position of the store based on the product information obtained by wireless communication with the IC tag attached to the product in the store, Information acquisition means for acquiring cleared product information indicating the cleared products notified by the cash register device, and the sales floor product acquired by the information acquisition means A lost item product management means for identifying, as a lost item, a product that has not been cleared and does not exist in the predetermined area of the sales floor or in the cart, based on the status information, the product status information in the cart, and the cleared product information. A management device characterized by the above.