JP3694295B2 - Product sales registration data processing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus having a merchandise information reference function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a merchandise sales registration data processing device such as an electronic cash register or a point-of-sale information management (POS) terminal that manages merchandise sales etc. by registering sales data of merchandise purchased by customers in a retail store in a storage unit, When the barcode attached to the product is scanned by the scanning scanning of the scanner, the product code is obtained from the barcode, the product data file is searched with this product code, the unit price is read, and the product sales data is based on the product unit price. In general, the value is calculated.
[0003]
In this product, product setting data such as product code, unit price, product name, tax type and other status information set in advance in the product data file is encoded into a two-dimensional data code and attached to the product. A merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus has been developed that enables registration of merchandise sales data by reading the image data with a scanner and eliminates the need for a merchandise data file.
[0004]
By the way, in a retail store that handles large items such as home appliances and automobiles, there are cases where there is no inventory of products that customers want to purchase. In this case, the store clerk is asked by the customer about the performance and form of the product, and when there is no knowledge, the customer must refer to the catalog or contact the manufacturing company over the phone to respond quickly. There was something that could not be done.
[0005]
On the other hand, the Internet has recently become widespread as a computer network. Therefore, a data file storing product information image data indicating the performance, form, etc. of the product is stored in each computer owned by each manufacturing company, and this computer is connected to the Internet to connect to the WWW (World Wide Web). A data file storing image data of a desired product can be retrieved via the Internet by accessing the WWW server by a computer owned by a retail store or an individual, and can be referred to on a computer display screen. A product information reference system is considered.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when accessing a WWW server on the Internet and specifying a data file stored in the server, the type of communication protocol to be used [HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)], the WWW server to be accessed, and the identification of the data file Access information consisting of information such as a server name and a data file name, so-called URL (Uniform Resource Locator), has to be input from the computer keyboard.
[0007]
For this reason, in a retail store that uses the product information reference system, each store clerk knows access information so that the manufacturer can access the WWW server of the manufacturer who wants to refer to the product information and specify the data file of the product. I had to be familiar with computer key operations.
[0008]
The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to be able to input the access information for accessing the data file stored in the server with a simple one-touch operation, performance of the product being, is intended to provide a commodity sales registration data processing apparatus having a shortened can Ru merchandise information reference function significantly time required to refer to the product information in the form or the like.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the product registration mode, when a code attached to a product is scanned by a scanner scanning in the product registration mode, product sales data is acquired based on the code, and the product sales data is registered in the storage unit and displayed on the display unit. In the merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus to be output, the server to be accessed is connected to a computer network to which a plurality of servers storing data files storing product information image data indicating the performance, form, etc. of various products are connected. Mode switching means for encoding the access information comprising the identification information of the data and the identification information of the data file into a code readable by a scanner, and switching the operation mode between the product registration mode and the product information reference mode, and this mode switching Scan with the product information reference mode specified by When the access information code is read by the access information acquisition means for analyzing the code and acquiring the access information, and accessing the server to be accessed via the computer network based on the access information acquired by the access information acquisition means Product information acquisition means for acquiring product information image data in the specified data file and product information display control means for displaying the product information image data acquired by the product information acquisition means on the display unit It is.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic cash register that functions as a merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus having a merchandise information reference function, and is an Internet that is a computer network via a dedicated line such as a public line or ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting). 2 is connected. The Internet 2 stores data files that are owned by each product manufacturer (Company A, Company B,...) And store product information image data indicating the performance and form of their products. Computers functioning as WWW servers (hereinafter referred to as A company server 3a and B company server 3b) are connected.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the electronic cash register 1 includes a keyboard 11 provided with various keys such as a numeric key, a department key, a subtotal key, a deposit / cash key k1, and a cancel key. An operator display 12 that displays the name and price of the product registered for sale by the operator, the total price of one customer, etc., a customer display 13 that displays similar information to the customer, and one customer purchased for receipt paper Receipt printer 14 for printing product registration details and total information and issuing receipts from receipt issuing port 14a, drawer 15 for storing cash, scanner 16 for reading two-dimensional data code by scanning, floppy disk ( (Registered trademark) FDD (Floppy) which writes and reads data by accessing the floppy disk 18 detachably inserted from the insertion / removal port 17a Peripheral devices such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) device 19 for accessing and writing data by accessing a disk drive) device 17 and a previously installed hard disk are mounted.
[0012]
As a control unit for controlling these peripheral devices and executing registration processing of merchandise sales data, a CPU (Centrl Processing Unit) 20 for processing various programs, a ROM (Read Only) for storing fixed data such as programs in advance. Memoly) 21, RAM (Random Access Memoly) 22 that forms a storage unit for registering merchandise sales data, the FDD controller 23 to which the FDD device 17 is connected, and the HDD controller to which the HDD device 19 is connected 24, a keyboard controller 25 to which the keyboard 11 is connected; a scanner controller 26 to which the scanner 16 is connected; a drawer controller 27 to which the drawer 15 is connected; a printer controller 28 to which the printer 14 is connected; Table to which each display 12, 13 for customer is connected An indicator controller 29 and the like are provided.
[0013]
The electronic cash register 1 has a modem 30 through which data can be transmitted / received to / from computers on the Internet 2 (A company server 3a, B company server 3b, etc.). Yes.
The CPU 20, ROM 21, RAM 22, modem 30, and controllers 23 to 29 of each peripheral device are connected by a bus line 31 such as an address bus or a data bus.
[0014]
Therefore, the electronic cash register 1 accesses the product registration mode for registering the sales data of the product registered for sale in the storage unit and the company A server 3a and the company B server 3b on the Internet 2 to access the product data. A product information key k2 is provided on the keyboard 11 as a mode switching means for acquiring image data of product information indicating performance, form, etc. and switching the product data reference mode for displaying the image data on the display units 12 and 13, and the RAM 22 The mode selection flag F that is reset to “0” in the product registration mode and set to “1” in the product information reference mode is stored. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 20 checks the state of the mode selection flag F in response to the input of the product information key k2, and sets it to “1” if it is reset to “0”. Is set to “0”, a program is formed so as to execute a merchandise information key input process to be reset to “0”.
[0015]
The electronic cash register forms a program so that when the two-dimensional data code is read by scanning scanning of the scanner 16, the CPU 20 executes the scanning process shown in FIG.
The two-dimensional data code includes a product two-dimensional data code obtained by encoding product setting data such as a product code, unit price, product name, tax type and other status information, and a company A server 3a and a company B server on the Internet 2. Access consisting of the type of communication protocol necessary to access 3b and specify the data file stored in the server, the server name that is the identification information of the server to be accessed, and the data file name that is the identification information of the data file There are two types of information, a URL two-dimensional data code encoding a so-called URL.
[0016]
That is, when starting the scanning process, the CPU 20 first checks the state of the mode selection flag F as ST (step) 1. If it is reset to “0”, it is the product registration mode, so it is determined whether the two-dimensional data code read by the scanner 16 is a product two-dimensional data code as ST2. If it is a product two-dimensional data code, the product two-dimensional data code is analyzed in ST3, and product setting data such as product code, unit price, product name, tax type and other status information is acquired. In step ST4, product sales data is acquired based on the product setting data, and is registered in the storage unit of the RAM 22. The merchandise sales data is displayed on the operator display 12 and the customer display 13.
[0017]
On the other hand, when the mode selection flag F is set to “1”, since it is the product information reference mode, it is determined whether the two-dimensional data code read by the scanner 16 is a URL two-dimensional data code as ST5. . If it is a URL two-dimensional data code, the URL two-dimensional data code is analyzed as ST6, and access information including a communication protocol type, a server name, and a data file name is acquired (access information acquisition means).
[0018]
Next, in ST7, connection to the Internet 2 is performed via the modem 30 based on the access information. As a result, connection to the Internet 2 is performed using the corresponding communication protocol, and the server (A company server 3a or B company server 3b) having the same server name is connected via the Internet 2, so the connection is made as ST8. The access target server is accessed, and the image data of the product information stored in the data file specified by the data file name is acquired (product information acquisition means).
[0019]
Thereafter, as ST9, the image data of the product information acquired from the access target server is displayed on the operator display 12 and the customer display 13 (product information display control means).
Thereafter, when the input of the deposit / cash total key k1 functioning as a business end key is detected as ST10, the image data of the product information displayed on the operator display 12 and the customer display 13 is deleted as ST11, and this processing is performed. Exit.
[0020]
In a retail store using the electronic cash register 1 of this embodiment configured as described above, each product is sold with a product two-dimensional data code attached thereto. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a list 40 of each product that is manufactured by the manufacturing company A and stores image data of product information indicating performance, form, etc. is prepared in the A company server 3a. Similarly, a list of each product manufactured by the manufacturing company B and storing image data of product information indicating performance, form, etc. is also prepared in the B company server 3B.
[0021]
Incidentally, in the list 40, together with the product name 41, a URL 42 necessary for accessing the company A server 3a and designating a data file of the corresponding product stored in the server, and a URL two-dimensional data code obtained by encoding the URL 42 43 is printed. In the URL 42 of this embodiment, [htpp] is the type of communication protocol, [www.xxx.co.jp] is a server name for identifying the A company server 3a, and [catalog. (Product name)]. ] Is a file name for identifying a data file.
[0022]
If a clerk of such a retail store receives a question from a customer about the performance, form, etc. of a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer) of a manufacturing company A, for example, first, the electronic cash register 1 The product information key k1 provided on the keyboard 11 is input to switch the operation mode of the electronic cash register 1 from the product registration mode to the product information reference mode. Next, the URL two-dimensional data code 43 of the product “personal computer” printed in the A company product list 40 is scanned by the scanner 16.
[0023]
Then, the two-dimensional data code 43 is analyzed, and the communication protocol type [htpp], the server name of the A company server 3a [www.xxx.co.jp], and the product information image data of the A company personal computer are stored. The file name [catalog.pc. Then, connection to the Internet 2 is performed using the communication protocol HTTP in the procedure shown in FIG. As a result, it is connected to the A company server 3a via the Internet 2, and the connected A company server 3a is accessed, and the data file storing the product information image data of the A company personal computer is read. Based on the image data in the data file, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, a product information image 50 composed of a product function description such as the performance, characteristics, and specifications of the personal computer of company A and an appearance image thereof is used for the operator. It is displayed on the display 12 and the customer display 13.
Therefore, the clerk answers the customer's question from the contents of the product information image 50 displayed on the operator display 12. Further, the customer confirms himself / herself from the contents of the product information image 50 displayed on the customer display 13.
[0024]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to input access information for accessing a data file stored in a server on the Internet by a one-touch operation by simply scanning the URL two-dimensional data code 43 with the scanner 16. Since it is possible to save the trouble of keying this access information character by character, the time required to refer to the product information such as the performance and form of the desired product stored in the server can be greatly shortened.
In addition, it is not necessary to know the type of communication protocol to be used, the name of the WWW server to be accessed, and the name of the data file, and it is not necessary to operate the keyboard to input characters one by one. Even an operator can easily refer to information on a desired product.
[0025]
Further, the electronic cash register 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a modem 30 in the conventional electronic cash register having the scanner 16 capable of reading the commodity two-dimensional data code, and connected to the Internet 2 as shown in FIG. Since the business program for controlling the product information key processing shown and the scanning processing shown in FIG. 5 can be loaded into the main memory of the RAM 22, the product information reference system using the Internet 2 can be easily and low-cost for retail stores. There is an advantage that can be introduced.
In this case, the business program for controlling the merchandise information key process shown in FIG. 4 and the scanning process shown in FIG. 5 is stored in, for example, the floppy disk 18 as a computer-readable recording medium, and from the FDD 17 to the RAM 22 as necessary. Just load it.
[0026]
The present invention is not limited to the one embodiment.
For example, in the above embodiment, the access information is encoded into a two-dimensional data code, but it may be encoded into a barcode and read by a barcode scanner. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the image data of the merchandise information acquired from the A company server 3a and the B company server 3b via the Internet 2 was displayed on the operator display 12 and the customer display 13, You may make it display on one display.
[0027]
In addition, the present invention provides a computer that can be connected to the Internet with a scanner that reads a two-dimensional data code, a bar code, and the like by scanning scanning, and a code analyzing means that analyzes the code read by the scanner and obtains access information. It may be provided as a dedicated machine for the product information reference device. In this case, the image data of the product information acquired from the A company server 3a and the B company server 3b via the Internet 2 may be printed on a recording sheet by a printer instead of being displayed on the display screen of the personal computer.
Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the access information for accessing the data file stored in the server can be input with a simple one-touch operation, and the product information such as the desired product performance and form It is possible to provide a merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus that can significantly reduce the time required to refer to the item.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view of the electronic cash register according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic cash register.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing merchandise information key processing executed by the CPU of the electronic cash register.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a scanning process executed by the CPU of the electronic cash register.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a product list used in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a communication protocol in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a product information image in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic cash register, 2 ... Internet, 3a ... Company A server, 3b ... Company B server, 11 ... Keyboard, 12 ... Display for operator, 13 ... Display for customer, 14 ... Printer, 16 ... Scanner, 20 ... CPU, 30 ... modem.

Claims (2)

When a code attached to a product is read by scanning scanning of the scanner in the product registration mode, product sales data is acquired based on the code, and the product sales data is registered in the storage unit and displayed on the display unit. In the registered data processing device,
Connected to a computer network to which a plurality of servers that store image data of product information indicating the performance, form, etc. of various products are connected, and from the identification information of the server to be accessed and the identification information of the data file And encoding the access information into a code readable by the scanner, and
Mode switching means for switching the operation mode between the product registration mode and the product information reference mode;
When the code of the access information is read by the scanner in a state where the product information reference mode is designated by the mode switching means, the access information acquisition means for analyzing the code and acquiring the access information;
Product information acquisition means for accessing the server to be accessed via the computer network based on the access information acquired by the access information acquisition means and acquiring product information image data in the designated data file;
Product information display control means for displaying the product information image data acquired by the product information acquisition means on the display unit;
Means for causing an error when a code attached to the product is read by the scanner in a state where the product information reference mode is designated by the mode switching means;
Means for setting an error when the code of the access information is read by the scanner in a state where the product registration mode is designated by the mode switching means;
A merchandise sales registration data processing apparatus comprising: In the merchandise sales registration data processing device according to claim 1,
  The access information acquired by the access information acquisition means is a URL ( Uniform Resource Locator A product sales registration data processing device product information reference device.

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