JP5001844B2 - POS terminal device and driving method of POS peripheral device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for a POS terminal device, and more particularly to a technology for realizing a POS terminal device using a standard Web browser.

Conventionally, terminal devices developed exclusively for POS terminal devices have been used. On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a POS system in which a POS terminal device is configured using a standard Web browser with a general-purpose personal computer or the like.
JP 2005-25738 A

  In Patent Literature 1, business processing necessary as a POS terminal device is not executed by a client, but is executed by a server. In other words, the client relies heavily on the server. Therefore, in this case, if the communication line between the client and the server is not guaranteed, the operation of the POS terminal apparatus will be hindered.

On the other hand, there is a demand to use an inexpensive broadband line even if the quality is somewhat inferior to a dedicated line whose quality is guaranteed.
Furthermore, there is a demand for eliminating the store controller in the store, which has been conventionally used, and transmitting data directly from the POS terminal device to the data collection server in the head office.

In Patent Document 1, the control of the POS peripheral device is not performed by the Web browser but by a program that operates on the client operating system.
In contrast, a program or script that operates on a Web browser has a feature that maintenance is easier than a program that operates on an operating system. Therefore, if the POS peripheral device can be controlled by a program or the like that operates on the Web browser, the maintainability is improved.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to configure a POS terminal device using a standard Web browser. Another object of the present invention is to increase the independence of a server in a POS terminal device using a standard Web browser.

A POS terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a POS terminal device including a peripheral device driver that drives a POS peripheral device and a Web browser,
The web browser
A user page unit including the job processing unit and the command generation, including a command generation unit that generates a command for the peripheral device driver by a job processing unit and a database that perform predetermined job processing stored in the POS terminal device A controller unit including means means is operated in different frames on the browser, and the controller unit is resident in one of the different frames,
Furthermore, the Web page data includes an effective period including a start time and an end time for displaying content.

Thereby, a POS terminal device can be configured using a Web browser.
In a preferred embodiment, the POS terminal device further includes a storage unit that temporarily stores data acquired by the peripheral device driver from the POS peripheral device. The Web browser may further include transmission means for transmitting data stored in the storage unit to a data collection server connected to the POS terminal device.

As a result, even if communication with the data collection server is temporarily interrupted, it can operate without any problem.
In a preferred embodiment, the business processing unit and the command generation unit may operate in different frames on the browser.

In a preferred embodiment, the command generation means may be implemented by JavaScript (registered trademark).
In a preferred embodiment, the POS peripheral device may be a POS printer. In this case, the business processing unit generates print data to be printed by the POS printer, and instructs the command generation unit to print the generated print data. The command generation unit A command for printing the print data may be generated.

1 shows an overall configuration of a client server system according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the data structure of a cache is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence when a goods code is read. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a printing process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence for displaying a web page.

Hereinafter, a client server system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a client server system according to the present embodiment.

In this system, a client 1 and a Web server 3 are connected via a network 9.
Each of the client 1 and the Web server 3 is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer system, and individual components or functions in the client 1 and the Web server 3 described below are realized by, for example, executing a computer program Is done.

  In the present embodiment, a display device 5 such as a liquid crystal display, a POS printer 6 and a barcode reader 7 are connected to the client 1. The client 1 has functions as described below and operates as a POS terminal device.

  The client 1 includes a standard Web browser (hereinafter simply referred to as a browser) 10, an OPOS (Open Point of Service) driver 13 for driving a POS peripheral device such as the POS printer 6 and the barcode reader 7, and the browser 10 is connected to the Web. And a cache 15 for temporarily storing data acquired from the server 3 and data to be transmitted to the Web server 3. The cache 15 includes a web page data storage area 16 for storing web page data acquired from the web server 3 and a database 19.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the data structure of the Web page data storage area 16.
That is, the Web page data storage area 16 includes Web page URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) 161, Web page contents including Java applets (Java is a registered trademark) for performing business processing, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), and the like. 162 and the validity period 163 of the content. The valid period 163 is information indicating the date and / or time of the start time and the end time (expiration date) for displaying the content 162, for example.

  The OPOS driver 13 drives a POS peripheral device according to the OPOS standard. In the present embodiment, the POS printer 6 and the barcode reader 7 conform to the OPOS standard. Accordingly, the OPOS driver 13 drives the POS printer 6 to execute printing, drives the barcode reader 7 to read the barcode, and acquires the read information.

The database 19 stores a transmission data file 191 for transmitting data to the Web server 3 and a reception data file 192 received from the Web server 3.
For example, the transmission data file 191 includes product data read by the barcode reader 7, accounting data including the sales amount, and the like. The received data file 192 includes data of a product table that is acquired from the Web server 3 and stores a product code, a product name, and a unit price in association with each other.

  The browser 10 includes a user page unit 20 and a control unit 30. Each of the user page unit 20 and the control unit 30 is preferably implemented on different frames of the browser 10. In particular, it is desirable to make the control unit 30 resident in one frame. Thereby, even when the frame in which the user page unit 20 is operating is switched to another page according to the user's operation, since the control unit 30 is resident, the output information and the control of the POS peripheral device are controlled. Do not lose information for.

  The user page unit 20 includes an interface unit 21 for the control unit 30, an application processing unit 22 that performs predetermined business processing, and a user form 23 for displaying a screen on the display device 5.

  The application processing unit 22 can be implemented by, for example, a Java applet (Java is a registered trademark). There may be a plurality of application processing units 22. Each application processing unit 22 refers to, for example, the product table in the reception data area 192 via the control unit 30, and converts the product code read by the barcode reader 7 into an amount of money. Processing to generate the print data of the receipt, and processing to instruct printing.

  The user form 23 is described in HTML, for example, and displays a user interface screen (not shown) on the display device 5 in association with the processing of the application processing unit 22.

  The control unit 30 includes a user page interface 31, a data conversion unit 32, an OPOS interface 33, a DB input / output unit 34, an AP update unit 35, and a network communication unit 36.

The user page interface 31 performs data transmission / reception with the user page unit 20.
The data conversion unit 32 converts the data format read by the barcode reader 7 driven by the OPOS driver 13 into a format processed by the user page unit 20. Further, the data conversion unit 32 converts the print command to the OPOS driver 13 based on the print instruction from the user page unit 20.

  The OPOS interface 33 exchanges data with the OPOS driver 13. The OPOS interface 33 is implemented by, for example, JavaScript (registered trademark).

  The DB input / output unit 34 reads / writes data from / to the database 19. For example, the DB input / output unit 34 temporarily stores the product code and transaction data read by the barcode reader 7 in the transmission data file 191.

  The AP update unit 35 acquires the data related to the application processing unit 22 and the user form 23 from the Web page data storage area 16 and incorporates the data into the browser 10, thereby realizing the application processing unit 22 and the user form 23 of the user page unit 20. . Further, the AP update unit 35 causes the display device 5 to display the content 162 related to these Web pages.

The network communication unit 36 transmits / receives data to / from the Web server 3 via the network 9.
For example, the network communication unit 36 transmits the transmission data file 191 to the Web server 3 that is collecting data. At this time, if the network 9 is congested or if data cannot be transmitted temporarily due to the inconvenience of the Web server 3, the network communication unit 36 retries until the transmission is completed. Further, the network communication unit 36 acquires the received data file 192 from the Web server 3 and stores it in the database 19. For example, a received data file 192 including data used by the application processing unit 22 such as a product table is acquired from the Web server 3. When the product table or the like is updated in the Web server 3, the network communication unit 36 acquires the latest data.

  Further, the network communication unit 36 acquires content from the Web server 3 and stores it in the Web page data storage area 16. At this time, the network communication unit 36 also acquires the content validity period and stores it in the Web page data storage area 16.

  Also, when the browser 10 receives a display instruction for a Web page that specifies a URL, the AP update unit 35 determines whether or not to display the content 162 of the specified URL 161 that is stored in the Web page data storage area 16. Is determined based on the validity period 163. For example, if the current date and time is within the period indicated by the validity period 163, the AP update unit 35 displays the content stored in the Web page data storage area 16 on the display device 5. On the other hand, when the current date and time is not within the period indicated by the validity period 163, the network communication unit 36 may newly acquire the content of the URL specified from the Web server 3 and the validity period of the content.

  Further, the network communication unit 36 may acquire the content 162 and the valid period 163 from the Web server 3 at an arbitrary timing and update the cache 15. As a result, the content 162 that has already passed the end time of the effective period or the content 162 that will soon end the effective period on the cache 15 is appropriately updated to a new effective period. As a result, the data on the cache 15 can often be used even when communication with the Web server 3 is interrupted when the user tries to display a Web page. From this point of view, it is desirable to update the cache 15 before the expiration time of the valid period elapses.

  Note that the network communication unit 36 may store data in the cache 15 only for a predetermined URL that is closely related to the application processing unit 22.

Next, a processing procedure of the system having the above configuration will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.
FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure when the barcode reader 7 reads the product code.

First, the barcode reader 7 reads a barcode indicating a product code attached to the product (S11).
The product code read by the barcode reader 7 is notified to the data converter 32 via the OPOS driver 13 and the OPOS interface 33. The data conversion unit 32 converts the received data into a data format suitable for the user page unit 20 (S12).

  Further, the product code data converted by the data conversion unit 32 is notified to the application processing unit 22 via the user page interface 31 and the interface unit 21. Then, the application processing unit 22 refers to the product table of the received data file 192 via the DB input / output unit 34, and acquires the product name and unit price of the received product code (S13). And the application process part 22 displays a brand name and a unit price on the display apparatus 5 using the user form 23 (S14).

The DB input / output unit 34 stores the product code data and transaction data converted by the data conversion unit 32 in the transmission data file 191 (S15).
As a result, the client 1 can perform a product code reading process as a POS terminal device using the browser 10.

FIG. 4 shows the procedure of the receipt printing process.
When the application processing unit 22 receives the print instruction, the total amount is calculated based on the product data read and accumulated by the application processing unit 22 (S21). Further, the application processing unit 22 generates receipt print data based on the product data read and accumulated so far and the calculated total amount (S22). Then, an instruction to print the print data is given to the control unit 30 via the interface unit 21 (S23).

  When the data conversion unit 32 receives the print instruction via the user page interface 31, it generates a print command for the OPOS driver 13 (S24). Then, the data converter 32 sends this print command to the POS printer 6 via the OPOS interface 33, and causes the POS printer 6 to execute printing (S25).

Accordingly, the client 1 can perform receipt printing as a POS terminal device using the browser 10.
FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure for updating the stored contents of the cache 15. The network communication unit 36 periodically or irregularly updates the stored contents of the web page data storage area 16 according to the following procedure.

  The network communication unit 36 refers to the Web page data storage area 16 (S31). Then, based on the valid period 163, the URL 161 whose valid period end time has passed or whose end time is close (for example, the remaining time is within a predetermined time) is detected (S32).

  Then, the content related to the web page of the URL 161 detected in step S32 and the validity period of this content are acquired from the web server 3 and stored in the web page data storage area 16 (S33, S34).

  By performing this cache update at an appropriate cycle, the Web page data storage area 16 can always store content within the valid period. Thereby, even when the client 1 cannot access the Web server 3 for some reason, such as a network problem, the Web page can always be displayed.

  According to this embodiment, the client 1 functions as a POS terminal device using the browser 10 and can control POS peripheral devices. Furthermore, by extending the implementation of the data conversion unit 32 in the control unit 30 of the browser 10, it is possible to deal with any POS peripheral device.

  The above-described embodiments of the present invention are examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those embodiments. The present invention can be implemented in various other modes without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the Web server 3 holds contents and collects product data, but these may be different servers.

Claims (6)

A POS terminal device comprising a peripheral device driver for driving a POS peripheral device and a Web browser,
The web browser
A user page unit including the job processing unit and the command generation , including a command generation unit that generates a command for the peripheral device driver by a job processing unit and a database that perform predetermined job processing stored in the POS terminal device A control unit including means for operating in different frames on the browser, and causing the control unit to reside in one of the different frames,
Furthermore, the POS terminal apparatus is characterized in that the Web page data includes an effective period including a start time and an end time for displaying the content. The POS terminal device
A storage unit that temporarily stores data acquired from the POS peripheral device by the peripheral device driver;
The web browser
2. The POS terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit data stored in the storage unit to a data collection server connected to the POS terminal apparatus. The POS terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command generation unit is implemented by JavaScript (registered trademark). The POS peripheral device is a POS printer,
The business processing unit generates print data to be printed by the POS printer, and instructs the command generation unit to print the generated print data.
2. The POS terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command generation unit generates a command for printing the print data. A POS terminal device comprising a peripheral device driver for driving a POS peripheral device and a Web browser is a method for driving the POS peripheral device,
The web browser
Performing predetermined business processing by business processing means using a database stored in the POS terminal device;
Generating a command by command generation means for the peripheral device driver based on the result of the business process;
Performing storage management of the Web page data based on the effective period from the start time and the end time to display the content included in the Web page data, and driving the POS peripheral device to the peripheral device driver, The user page unit including the job processing unit and the control unit including the command generation unit are operated in different frames on the browser, and the control unit is resident in one of the different frames. And how to. A computer program for operating a computer including a peripheral device driver that drives a POS peripheral device and a Web browser as a POS terminal device,
When executed on the computer,
In the web browser,
Performing predetermined business processing by business processing means using a database stored in the POS terminal device;
Generating a command by command generation means for the peripheral device driver based on the result of the business process;
Performing storage management of Web page data based on the effective period from the start time and the end time for displaying the content included in the Web page data, and driving the POS peripheral device to the peripheral device driver, The user page unit including the job processing unit and the control unit including the command generation unit are operated in different frames on the browser, and the control unit is resident in one of the different frames. A computer program.

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