JP5114294B2 - Merchandise sales data processing apparatus and control program thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise sales data processing apparatus and a control program therefor, and more particularly to a merchandise sales data processing apparatus having a customer display unit for displaying information to customers who purchase merchandise and a control program therefor. .

Some merchandise sales data processing devices represented by POS (point-of-sale) terminals have traditionally used dot matrix display devices for customer displays (customer display units), and sales registration processing ( Some of them displayed advertisements related to so-called settlement information and products.
However, the information displayed on the display unit for such customers can be viewed not only by customers in the sales registration process (settlement process) but also by other customers waiting for the settlement process. As a result, displaying personal information such as the customer's name on the customer display during the checkout process tends to be avoided, and further, displaying the product name to be purchased may be disliked.

In view of this, for example, a device has been proposed in which a shielding object for preventing peeping is provided so that it is difficult to visually check the display unit for customers other than the customer during the checkout process (for example, see Patent Document 1). Alternatively, it is proposed to control the switching of the viewing angle according to the content of data displayed on the customer display unit by switching the viewing angle of the liquid crystal display constituting the customer display unit 6 (for example, Patent Document 2). reference). Alternatively, it has been proposed that a user of each display device is specified in a communication system, the viewing range is limited according to the user, and information is provided only to the specific user (for example, Patent Document 3). reference).
JP-A-8-22575 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-23042 JP 2004-252811 A

  In the above, it is difficult to see information displayed by a person other than a specific person by providing a shield or narrowing the viewing angle of the liquid crystal display. However, this can only provide information to customers who are in the process of checkout.

  On the other hand, customers who are in the process of settlement and waiting for the settlement process are unsatisfactory, and it is effective to provide guidance and advertisement to those customers. For this reason, there is a strong demand to display guidance and advertisement along with information related to settlement during settlement, or to provide guidance and advertisement to customers waiting for settlement. However, it is usually necessary to efficiently use a limited space at a cash register (settlement table), etc. It is necessary to install separate displays for customers who are in the process of settlement and customers who are waiting for settlement. From the viewpoint of the above, it is also not preferable from the viewpoint of the cost required for the display. Further, in order to make the display screen larger and more easily noticeable, it is preferable to share the customer screen during the settlement process and the customer screen waiting for the settlement order.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and displays different information on both a customer who is paying for a product and a customer waiting for the checkout on a single display. A product sales data processing apparatus and a control program therefor are provided.

  The present invention relates to a sales registration processing unit that performs a sales registration process of a product to be sold, and a display unit for a customer that displays information to a customer who purchases the product. Multi-view display mode that displays two or more different information at the same time depending on whether you want to see, or single view display mode that displays the same information regardless of whether the customer sees the customer display from either the left or right viewpoint A customer display unit that can be switched to a display mode; and a display control unit that controls the display mode switching and information to be displayed on the customer display unit, the display control unit responding to the start of the sales registration process. The customer display unit is switched to the multi-view display mode, and sales registration processing information is displayed on a screen viewed from a predetermined position (settlement position) corresponding to the sales registration processing. The screen viewed from a position providing merchandise sales data processing apparatus characterized by controls to display the different information and information of the sales registration processing.

  Furthermore, from a different point of view, the present invention is a customer display unit that displays information to a customer who purchases a product, and the two or more are different depending on which angle the customer views the customer display unit. Multi-view display mode that displays information at the same time, customer display that can be switched to one of the display modes of single view display mode that displays the same information regardless of whether the customer views the display for customer from either left or right angle A sales registration processing unit that executes a sales registration process for a product to be sold, and a display unit for the customer. The control computer functions as a display control unit that controls display mode switching and information to be displayed on the customer display unit. In response to the start of the registration process, the customer display unit is switched to the multi-view display mode, and sales registration process information is displayed on a screen viewed from a predetermined position (settlement position) corresponding to the sales registration process. There is provided a control program for a merchandise sales data processing apparatus, characterized in that control is performed so that information different from information of sales registration processing is displayed on the screen viewed from the above viewpoint.

  In the merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to the present invention, the display control unit switches the customer display unit to the multi-view display mode in response to the start of the sales registration process, and displays a screen to be viewed from the settlement position corresponding to the sales registration process. The sales registration process information is displayed, and the screen viewed from other positions is controlled so that information different from the sales registration process information is displayed. Different information can be provided to both of them by using one display. Therefore, it is possible to provide guidance and advertisement to customers who are not on hand during the sales registration process and for waiting for the sales registration process. It is not seen by other customers.

  In the present invention, the settlement control unit that performs the sales registration process and the display control unit that controls the customer display unit are realized by the computer executing the control program. The computer processes data on the memory and / or controls the operation of the hardware circuit.

Further, the customer display unit of the present invention can simultaneously display two or more different information depending on which viewpoint the customer sees from the left and right. A specific embodiment of such a display is, for example, a display device marketed as a dual view liquid crystal. However, the customer display unit of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be any unit that can simultaneously display a plurality of information such as a triple view. Further, the customer display device is not limited to a liquid crystal display device, and for example, a self-luminous display device such as an organic EL or a plasma display panel may be used.
In an embodiment described later, the customer display unit corresponds to a dual view liquid crystal display device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.
The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a customer detection unit for detecting a customer at a settlement position, wherein the display control unit is configured to display a customer display unit in response to detection of the customer by the customer detection unit. Switch to view display mode, display sales registration processing information for customers at the checkout position, and control to display information different from sales registration processing information on the customer display section viewed from other positions May be. The multi-view display mode is a mode in which different information is displayed according to the viewpoint from which the customer views the display unit for customers. Therefore, in this way, in response to the customer coming to the checkout position, information related to the checkout is displayed to the customer at the checkout position, and different information is provided to the customer who sees the customer display unit from another viewpoint. be able to. Further, since the information relating to the settlement is displayed when the customer performing the settlement stands in front of the customer display unit, the information relating to the settlement is not seen by other customers who happen to be located behind the customer.

  In addition, a cross-border detection unit that detects a customer in a boundary region that is predetermined as a left and / or right boundary where the information displayed for the customer at the checkout position can be visually recognized during the sales registration process, The display control unit switches the customer display unit to the single view display mode in response to the cross-border detection unit detecting the customer and the customer detection unit not detecting the customer, It may be controlled to display a display for guiding to the customer display unit. In this way, it is possible to reliably lead the customer who is in the sales registration process to the checkout position, and to reliably provide information related to the checkout to the customer. Moreover, the customer who sees the display unit for customers from other viewpoints does not see information related to payment.

  Furthermore, the display control unit switches the customer display unit to the single view display mode in response to the customer detection unit detecting the first customer and the cross-border detection unit detecting the second customer, You may further control so that the display for guide | inducing a 2nd customer out of a payment position and out of a boundary area may be displayed on the display part for customers. In this way, when there is a possibility that a customer waiting for the settlement order may enter the settlement position, the customer is warned, and the customer can be led out of the settlement position and out of the boundary area. Therefore, the customer who is waiting for the checkout order cannot see the information related to the checkout.

  The customer display unit is provided so that customers in the sales registration process queue can be viewed from a different viewpoint from the payment position until the customer reaches the payment position, and the payment position is ahead of the queue. Also good. In this way, information related to the settlement, guidance and advertisements are displayed to the customer during the sales registration process on one customer display unit, and guidance and advertisements are displayed to the customers waiting for the settlement. can do.

  Further, the display control unit independently controls display brightness, contrast and / or hue for a customer at a checkout position and display brightness, contrast and / or hue for a customer in the queue during the multi-view display mode. You may make it set. Even when the brightness of the background is significantly different when viewing the customer display unit from different viewpoints, it is possible to make each display easy to view by setting the brightness and / or contrast of each display independently.

Furthermore, a first illuminance detection unit that detects the ambient brightness that the customer at the checkout position sees through the customer display unit, and the ambient brightness that the customer in the queue sees through the customer display unit is detected. A second illuminance detection unit, wherein the display control unit sets brightness, contrast and / or hue of display for the customer at the settlement position according to the detection result of the first illuminance detection unit, and detects the second illuminance The brightness, contrast, and / or hue of display for the customers in the queue may be set according to the detection result of the copy. In this way, the brightness and / or contrast of each display can be set to an optimum state in accordance with the ambient brightness viewed from each viewpoint through the customer display unit. In the case of a self-luminous display, the emission luminance of the line corresponding to each viewpoint may be set individually.
The various preferable aspects shown here can also be combined.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following description is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It should not be interpreted as limiting this invention.

≪Commodity sales data processing device configuration≫
First, a configuration example of the merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the commodity sales data processing apparatus of the present invention. A specific mode of the merchandise sales data processing apparatus in FIG. 1 is POS. The POS in FIG. 1 is roughly composed of a POS main body 1 and a stationary scanner unit 3. Both include blocks in a rectangular frame indicated by a chain line in FIG. The external appearance of the POS main body 1 includes a liquid crystal display device 23 and a keyboard 19. Furthermore, you may have the cash drawer (money storage part) which is not shown in figure. The appearance of the stationary scanner unit 3 is as follows: a checkout table for placing a product purchased by a customer, a fixed scanner 31 that is installed on the checkout table and reads a bar code attached to the product, and near the fixed scanner 31 An operator liquid crystal display 33, an operator keyboard 37, and a dual view liquid crystal display 35 serving as a customer display unit are provided.

The operator and the customer are located on the opposite side through the checkout table. In FIG. 1, it is located above the checkout table and to the left of the POS main body 1. The customer enters from the lower left side of the checkout table and waits for the goods to be settled at the checkout position as the effective range of the human sensor 41. Subsequent customers form a queue on the left side of the boundary area as the effective range of the human sensor 43, and wait for the end of settlement of the previous customer.
The human sensor 41 corresponds to the checkout customer detection unit of the present invention, and the human sensor 43 corresponds to the cross-border detection unit of the present invention.

  The stationary scanner 31, the operator liquid crystal display 33, and the keyboard 37 are installed toward the operator side, and the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is installed along the traveling direction of the customer. The customers in the checkout position and in the queue see the dual view liquid crystal 35 from different viewpoints.

  The POS main body 1 includes a CPU 11, a chip set 13, a memory 15, an HDD 17, a keyboard 19, a LAN 21, a liquid crystal display 23, and graphic boards 25 and 27. The CPU 11 downloads the control program stored in the HDD 17 to a predetermined area of the memory 15 at the time of activation, and executes the downloaded control program. When the CPU 11 executes the control program, the function as the settlement unit of the present invention is realized. Further, the operation of the stationary scanner 31 is controlled. Further, the display control of the liquid crystal display 23 of the POS main body and the display of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 and the operator liquid crystal display 33 arranged in the stationary scanner unit 3 are controlled. The display control of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 corresponds to the function as the display control unit of the present invention.

  Based on the barcode information read by the stationary scanner 31, the input from the keyboards 19 and 37, and the data stored in the HDD 17 as a price table, the CPU 11 determines the information, the price, the total price, etc. for each product to be settled. The settlement information is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 15. Then, the settlement information is displayed on the liquid crystal displays 23 and 33 and the dual view liquid crystal display 35. In addition, the information of guidance, advertisement, and advertisement stored in the HDD 17 is displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35.

  In the chipset 13, the CPU 11 controls the operation of peripheral blocks such as the memory 15, HDD 17, keyboard 19, LAN 21, graphic board 25, 27, and stationary scanner unit 3, and acquires and / or information between them. Or a circuit for providing.

The memory 15 stores a control program executed by the CPU 11, provides a work area, and stores contents to be displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 and the like.
The HDD 17 stores a control program executed by the CPU 11, control parameters related to display control, etc., and data of the above-described amount table. In addition, information on guidance, advertisements, and advertisements to be displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is stored.

The keyboard 19 is used for an operator to input an instruction to the POS main unit 1 and information related to a product to be settled.
The LAN 21 is a communication interface for exchanging merchandise sales data with a host connected via a communication line, and acquiring information related to advertisements, advertisements and guidance from a server connected via the communication line.

The liquid crystal display 23 is for displaying information on the POS main body 1 and information related to product production processing to the operator.
The graphic board 25 is an interface circuit for driving the liquid crystal displays 23 and 33. The graphic board 27 is an interface circuit for driving the dual view liquid crystal display 35.

The stationary scanner unit 31 is for reading a barcode attached to a product.
The liquid crystal display 33 displays the same content as the liquid crystal display 23 of the POS main body 1.
The keyboard 37 has the same function as the keyboard 19 of the POS main body 1.

The dual view liquid crystal display 35 is for providing information to the customer at the checkout position and the customer in the queue. The switching of display contents will be described later.
The human sensor 41 is a sensor for detecting that the customer is at the checkout position. Specifically, a reflection type photosensor is arranged on the side of the checkout table. The human sensor 43 is a sensor for detecting the presence of a customer in the boundary region, and a reflection type photo sensor is applied.

  The optical sensors 45 a and 45 b are sensors for detecting the brightness of the background that the customer sees through the dual view liquid crystal 35. Specifically, a light receiving sensor such as a photodiode or a phototransistor is arranged on the side surface of the checkout table. The optical sensor 45b detects the brightness of the background seen by the customer at the checkout position, and detects the brightness of the background seen by the customer in the queue.

≪Principle of dual view liquid crystal≫
The dual view liquid crystal applied in this embodiment as a customer display is a known display device, but its operation principle will be briefly described.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing the principle that the dual-view liquid crystal display according to this embodiment performs two-screen display. FIG. 2 is a view of the dual view liquid crystal 35 as viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the dual view liquid crystal 35 has a parallax barrier 35b disposed in front of a dot matrix type TFT liquid crystal display device 35a. The parallax barrier 35b is a shielding film in which a plurality of slits extending in the vertical direction are formed. The interval between adjacent slits is substantially equal to twice the interval between the pixels of the TFT liquid crystal display device 35a disposed on the rear side. When displaying two screens, the TFT liquid crystal display device 35a displays the contents of the screen (first screen) viewed from the viewpoint V1 on the pixels Pv11, Pv12, Pv13,.. In Pv21, Pv22, Pv23,..., The contents of the screen (second screen) viewed from the viewpoint V2 are displayed.

As described above, when the TFT liquid crystal display device 35a is viewed from the viewpoint V1 through the parallax barrier 35b in a state where different screen contents are displayed for each pixel, the first screen is displayed there. On the other hand, when the TFT liquid crystal display device 35a is viewed from the viewpoint V2, the second screen is displayed there.
A case where the same content is displayed on the first screen and the second screen is a one-screen display. In this state, the same image is displayed from any viewpoint.

<< Control of display section for customer by display control section-1
Next, the basic processing of the display control unit according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a first display mode of the customer display unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3A shows that when there is no customer who is in the process of payment and a customer who is waiting for the payment order, the CPU 11 as the display control unit switches the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the single view display mode and displays it on one screen. Show. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how the customer display unit according to the present invention displays guidance and advertisements for customers when there is no customer who is paying out and there are no customers waiting for the checkout.

  Here, when the customer C1 comes to the checkout position and the checkout process of the product is started, the display control unit switches the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the dual view display mode (FIG. 3B). Then, the settlement screen is displayed for the customer C1 at the settlement position. However, the customer C2 who waits for the settlement order cannot see the settlement screen, and the guidance and advertisement are displayed as in the case of FIG.

<< Control of display unit for customer by display control part-2 >>
Next, in the embodiment having the human sensor, an example of processing of the display control unit from when the customer starts the checkout of the product to when it ends will be described.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a second display mode of the customer display unit according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5A, in response to the customer approaching the checkout table, the CPU 11 serving as a display control unit is instructed by a POS operator or a detection signal from a human sensor (not shown in FIG. 5). Displays a message for guiding the customer to the checkout position on the screen of the dual-view liquid crystal display 35 in addition to the guidance and advertisement that have been displayed until then, or in addition to the guidance and advertisement. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the message is “Go to the checkout position”. At this time, the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is a one-screen display.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a third display mode of the customer display unit according to the present invention. When the customer according to the message displayed in FIG. 5B approaches the checkout position, the human sensor 43 detects the customer in the front area of the dual-view liquid crystal display 35, that is, the boundary area (FIG. 6). (A)). In response to the detection of the customer in the boundary area, the CPU 11 changes the message to be displayed on the screen of the dual view liquid crystal display 35. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, the message “Please go a little further” is displayed to surely guide the customer to the checkout position.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a fourth display mode of the customer display unit according to the present invention. When the customer reaches the settlement position according to the message displayed in FIG. 6B, the human sensor 41 detects the customer at the settlement position (FIG. 7A). In response to the detection of the customer at the checkout position, the CPU 11 switches the display mode of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the dual view display mode. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, a settlement screen is displayed for the customer C1 at the settlement position, and a guidance and advertisement screen is displayed for the customer C2 waiting for the settlement order (two-screen display). Therefore, the customer C1 checkout screen is not visible to the customer C2.

  When the checkout process for the customer C1 is completed, the display control unit switches the display mode of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the single view display mode. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, a message for guiding the next customer to the checkout position is displayed on the screen of the dual view liquid crystal display 35. The display control of FIGS. 5 to 7 is repeated until there are no customers waiting for the turn. When there are no customers to be checked out, a guidance or advertisement screen is displayed in the single view display mode as shown in FIG. Note that the CPU 11 has detected that there is no customer who needs to perform the payment process in response to the fact that the human sensors 41 and 43 have not detected any customers for a predetermined time or longer and the payment process for the product is not performed. to decide.

<< Control of display section for customer by display control section-3>
Further, the process when the customer waiting for the turn during the checkout process approaches the checkout position will be described.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a fourth display mode of the customer display unit according to the present invention. FIG. 8A shows that the human sensor 43 detects that the customer C2 waiting for the turn has approached the payment position during the payment process for the customer C1. When both of the human sensors 41 and 43 detect the customer, the CPU 11 switches the display mode of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the single view display mode in response thereto. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, a message for returning the customer approaching the settlement position to the original position is displayed on the screen of the dual view liquid crystal display 35. Since the checkout screen is temporarily not displayed, the contents are not seen by the customer C2.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the customer C2 leaves the checkout position and returns to the original position in accordance with the message shown in FIG. 8B. When the customer C2 returns to the original position, the human sensor 43 does not detect the customer, and only the human sensor 41 detects the customer C1. In response to this, the CPU 11 switches the display mode of the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the dual view display mode again (FIG. 9A). Then, a settlement screen is displayed for the customer C1 at the settlement position, and a guidance or advertisement screen is displayed for the customer C2 waiting for the settlement (two-screen display in FIG. 9B). Therefore, the customer C1 checkout screen is not visible to the customer C2.

  As described above, by controlling the display mode and display content of the dual-view liquid crystal display 35 according to the detection results of the human sensors 41 and 43, the customer's customer's account can be viewed while preventing the customer from seeing the payment screen. Guides and advertisements can be provided to customers who guide the flow and are waiting for payment.

<< Control of display section for customer by display control section-4
In order to make the two-screen display easier to see, the brightness, gradation characteristics, and / or hue of the screen may be individually set according to the background when each screen is viewed. Such an embodiment will be described.
As a typical scene where the POS according to this embodiment is installed, a window of a large retail store such as a so-called supermarket is assumed. After the customer selects the necessary products at the product counter in the store, the customer checks out the products at the cash register near the window, and when the payment is completed, the customer moves further to the window and puts the adjusted products in a bag and goes to the exit. Head.

  In such a scene, the background that the customer who is checking out sees through the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is the sales floor in the store. On the other hand, the background seen by the customer waiting for payment through the dual-view liquid crystal display 35 is the scenery spreading out of the window. It is easy to imagine that the brightness of the background they see is quite different. That is, the background in the window direction is much brighter during the day than in the store in the store. On the other hand, the background in the window direction is much darker at night than at the store in the store.

In this case, in order to make it easy for the customer who is paying out and the customer who is waiting for the checkout order to see the screen of the dual view liquid crystal display 35, the brightness, contrast or color of the screen seen by each customer is made independent. It is preferable that it can be set.
In addition, since the brightness and color of the background of the customer display change from moment to moment, the first sensor that detects the surrounding situation that the customer at the checkout position sees through the display for customers, and the customer waiting for the checkout order It is preferable to provide a second sensor for detecting the surrounding situation seen through the customer display unit. Then, the brightness, contrast and / or hue of the screen viewed by the customer at the checkout position is set according to the detection result of the first sensor, and the customer waiting for the checkout order according to the detection result of the second sensor It is preferable to set the brightness, contrast and / or hue of the screen.
Furthermore, since the surrounding conditions change from moment to moment, it is preferable that the above setting be performed intermittently or continuously.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an aspect in which the POS according to this embodiment includes a sensor that detects the brightness of the background. More specifically, the first sensor S1 that detects the surrounding situation that the customer at the checkout position sees through the customer display section, and the surrounding situation that the customer waiting for the checkout order sees through the display section for the customer. The second sensor S2 to be detected is arranged on the side surface of the checkout table. An example of a specific mode of the sensors S1 and S2 is a photodiode, a phototransistor, or an array thereof that detects the brightness in each direction. Alternatively, an optical sensor made of a known photosensitive material such as cadmium sulfide (Cds) or zinc oxide may be applied. As a detection target, each sensor may detect ambient brightness. Alternatively, the background color may be detected.

  When the sensors S1 and S2 detect ambient brightness, the CPU 11 may display display data with different contrasts on the dual-view liquid crystal display 35 according to the detection result. That is, high-contrast two-screen display data used when the background is bright, low-contrast two-screen display data used when the background is dark, and normal contrast display data are prepared in advance. In this way, in the case of the two-screen display, the high-contrast display data is used for the customers waiting for the checkout in the daytime so as not to lose the bright background. For customers at the checkout position, display is performed using normal display data for contrast. On the other hand, for the customers waiting for the settlement at night, the low-contrast display data is used so that a dark background can be displayed without any discomfort. For customers at the checkout position, display is performed using normal display data for contrast. In this way, even if the brightness of the background changes, it is possible to perform a display that is easy for the customer to see with a corresponding contrast.

When the customer display uses a self-luminous display device, the luminance for each line may be set independently. By doing so, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of display data having different contrasts, so that the data storage capacity can be saved.
The sensors S1 and S2 may detect a background color. For example, the background color may be detected using an area image sensor for the sensors S1 and S2. Based on the detection result, the CPU 11 selects a color complementary to the background color as a character color of a message for guidance or advertising, and displays it on the customer display unit. In this way, the message is less likely to be buried in the background, and a display that is easily visible to the customer is possible.

<< Display Control Processing Procedure-Part 1 >>
A processing procedure when the embodiment described above is viewed from the CPU 11 will be described with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a procedure of basic control processing according to this embodiment. FIG. 11 corresponds to the display control of FIG. 3 and FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the POS does not have the human sensors 41 and 43.

  When the settlement process of the previous customer is completed, or when there is no customer near the settlement table and the POS operation is not performed for a predetermined time or longer as shown in FIG. Switch to the screen display (step S11), display mode for control (state variables to be secured in the memory to control the flow of processing, "single view mode", "dual view mode", "preparation "Mode" can be taken. Hereinafter, the display mode is simply referred to as "single view mode" (step S13).

  Then, the CPU 11 transfers the display data of the guidance and advertisements stored in the HDD 17 to the left screen VRAM prepared in the graphic board 27 for the customer display (step S15). Here, the graphic board 27 is provided with a left screen VRAM and a right screen VRAM. This is because the dual view liquid crystal display 35 performs two-screen display. The left screen VRAM is a video memory for storing display data to be displayed on a screen when viewed from the left viewpoint (a screen viewed by a customer waiting for settlement in FIG. 3) when displaying two screens. In this embodiment, the left screen VRAM is also used as the video memory when displaying one screen. Accordingly, the contents of the display data transferred to the left screen VRAM in the above-described step S15 are displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 (step S17). On the other hand, the VRAM for the right screen is a video memory for storing display data to be displayed on a screen viewed from the right viewpoint (a screen viewed by a customer who is paying in FIG. 3) when displaying two screens. Although not shown in the flowchart, the CPU 11 transfers the display data of the initial settlement screen to the right screen VRAM when the POS is turned on and when the last settlement processing is completed.

  Subsequently, the CPU 11 monitors whether or not the operator has operated the keyboard 19 or 37 or has read the barcode by the stationary scanner 31. That is, it is determined whether or not the checkout process should be started (step S19). If the keyboard is not operated or the barcode is not read, the routine returns to the process of step S15, and the guidance and advertisement screen display is continued (No in step S19).

  When the customer arrives at the cash register and the keyboard is operated or the barcode is read, the CPU 11 responds to it (Yes in step S19) and starts the settlement process. First, the CPU 11 switches the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the two-screen display (step S21) and changes the display mode to the dual view mode (step S23). As a result, the dual view liquid crystal display 35 enters the state shown in FIG. The customer C1 at the checkout position displays the initial checkout screen stored in the right screen VRAM. On the other hand, for the customer C2 waiting for the checkout order, the left screen VRAM guidance and advertisement screen are continuously displayed.

  The CPU 11 transfers the display data of the guidance and advertisements stored in the HDD 17 to the left screen VRAM prepared in the graphic board 27 for the customer display, and updates the screen viewed by the customer C2 waiting for the settlement order ( Step S25).

  On the other hand, the CPU 11 causes the stationary scanner 31 to read the barcode of the product to be settled, reads the input information from the keyboard 19 or 37 by the operator, and refers to the price table to check the price of each product to be settled. Is acquired (step S27). Then, the total amount of products sold using the acquired amount is calculated (step S29). Then, information related to the settlement (settlement information) such as the product name, the amount of money to be settled, and the total amount is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 15. Then, display data corresponding to the settlement information is created (step S31), and the created display data is transferred to the right screen VRAM (step S33). Further, the CPU 11 creates display data to be displayed on the liquid crystal displays 23 and 33 provided in the POS main body 1 and the stationary scanner unit 3 respectively, and the POS screen VRAM and scanner in the graphic board 25 for the operator display. Transfer each to the screen VRAM.

Here, the CPU 11 may combine the guidance screen information, advertisement, and advertisement information stored in the HDD 17 with the settlement information to create display data for the right screen and display it to the customer C1.
As described above, the display corresponding to the display data respectively transferred to the left screen VRAM and the right screen VRAM is displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 in two screens (step S35).

Subsequently, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the settlement process for the customer C1 has been completed by pressing a predetermined key (step S37). While the checkout process continues (No in step S37), the routine returns to step S25 and loops. On the other hand, when the settlement process is completed, the routine proceeds to step S11, and returns to the one-screen display state of FIG.
The above is the flow of basic display control processing.

<< Display Control Processing Procedure-Part 2 >>
Next, the flow of processing when the display control of the customer display is performed according to the detection results of the human sensors 41 and 43 will be described. That is, it corresponds to the state shown in FIGS.
12 and 13 are flowcharts showing a control process when the POS in this embodiment has a human sensor. Since there are many steps, the flowchart is divided into FIG. 12 and FIG.

  When the settlement process of the previous customer is completed, or when there is no customer near the settlement table and the POS operation is not performed for a predetermined time or longer as shown in FIG. Switch to the screen display (step S51). Further, the display mode is set to “single view mode” (step S53).

  Then, the CPU 11 transfers the display data of the guidance and advertisements stored in the HDD 17 to the left screen VRAM prepared in the graphic board 27 for the customer display (step S55). Accordingly, the contents of the display data transferred to the left screen VRAM in the above-described step S15 are displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 (step S57).

  Subsequently, the CPU 11 monitors whether or not a predetermined key on the keyboard 19 or 37 is operated, and thereby determines whether or not the settlement process should be started (step S59). If the predetermined operation is not performed, the routine returns to the process of step S53, and the screen display of guidance and advertisement is continued (No in step S59). The above processing flow is almost the same as that in FIG.

  If it is determined that the checkout process is to be started (Yes in step S59), the CPU 11 next checks what the current display mode is (step S61). When this processing is reached through the above-described step S53, that is, when the display mode is the single view mode, the routine proceeds to step S63. In step S63, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the human sensor 43 (front sensor) that detects the customer in the boundary area has detected the customer. When the customer is not detected (No in step S63), that is, there is a customer who should perform the checkout process, but when the customer is not detected by the front sensor, the CPU 11 says “Proceed to the checkout position” to the left screen VRAM. The message display data is transferred (step S65). This is a state corresponding to FIG. Thereafter, the routine proceeds to step S87. The processing of steps S87 to S93 is processing for preparing display data for the right screen VRAM, but no meaningful data is prepared at this stage because there is no data to be settled. However, as shown in step S95, when the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is a single screen display, the information of the left screen VRAM is displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 and the contents of the right screen VRAM are displayed. Not. Note that steps S95, S97, and S99 are not processes that the CPU 11 performs independently, but are described as a reference for easy understanding of the results of the processes.

  In step S101, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the checkout process for the customer C1 has been completed because a predetermined key has been pressed. While the checkout process continues (No in step S101), the routine returns to step S61 and repeats the process. On the other hand, when the settlement process is completed, the routine proceeds to step S51 and repeats the process from the top of the flowchart.

  Explaining in the order of occurrence of typical events, the flow chart shows steps S61, S63, S65, and S87 with the message “Go to the checkout position” set in step S65 described above displayed on one screen. , Loop through S101. When the customer proceeds to the checkout position according to the message, the human sensor 43 detects the customer. Then, the determination in step S63 is changed to Yes. In that case, the routine proceeds to step S67. In step S67, the CPU 11 sets the display mode to the preparation mode. The preparation mode is a state defined corresponding to the state until the customer reaches the checkout position. Subsequently, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the human sensor 41 (settlement position sensor) has detected a customer at the settlement position. If the customer has not reached the checkout position (No in step S69), the CPU 11 transfers the display data of the message “Go ahead a little more” to the left screen VRAM. This is a state corresponding to FIG. Thereafter, the routine returns to S61 through steps S87 and S101, and loops through S63, S69, and S71.

  Eventually, when the customer reaches the checkout position, the determination result in Step S69 changes to Yes. At this time, the routine proceeds to step S73. In step S73, the CPU 11 determines whether there is a customer in the boundary area. If there is a customer only at the checkout position and no other customer is detected by the front sensor, the determination result in step S73 is No. At this time, the CPU 11 performs control so that the settlement screen is displayed to the customer at the settlement position. That is, the dual view liquid crystal display 35 is switched to the two-screen display (step S81), and the display mode is set to the dual view mode (step S83). Then, the display data of the guidance and advertisements stored in the HDD 17 is transferred to the left screen VRAM (step S85). This is a state corresponding to FIG.

  Further, the CPU 11 creates display data of the right screen VRAM in the processes of steps S87 to S93. Specifically, the CPU 11 causes the stationary scanner 31 to read the barcode of the product to be settled, reads the input information from the keyboard 19 or 37 by the operator, and refers to the amount table to check each of the settlement targets. The amount of the product is acquired (step S87). Then, the total amount of products sold using the acquired amount is calculated (step S89). Then, information related to the settlement (settlement information) such as the product name, the amount of money to be settled, and the total amount is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 15. Then, display data corresponding to the settlement information is created (step S91), and the created display data is transferred to the right screen VRAM (step S93). Further, the CPU 11 creates display data to be displayed on the liquid crystal displays 23 and 33 provided in the POS main body 1 and the stationary scanner unit 3 respectively, and the POS screen VRAM and scanner in the graphic board 25 for the operator display. Transfer each to the screen VRAM.

Here, the CPU 11 may combine the guidance screen information, advertisement, and advertisement information stored in the HDD 17 with the settlement information to create display data for the right screen and display it to the customer C1.
As described above, the display corresponding to the display data respectively transferred to the left screen VRAM and the right screen VRAM is displayed on the dual view liquid crystal display 35 in two screens (steps S95 and S99). During the checkout process, the determination result in step S101 is No, and the routine loops through steps S61, S73, S81, S87, S95, S99, and S101.

  Here, when the customer waiting for the payment order approaches the payment position during the payment, the human sensor 43 detects the customer who has reached the boundary region. This is a state corresponding to FIG. Then, the determination in step S73 changes to Yes. At this time, the CPU 11 switches the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the single screen display (step S75), sets the display mode to the preparation mode (step S77), and displays a message “Checkout in progress. Transfer the display data to the left screen VRAM. Thereafter, the routine loops through steps S87, S95, S97, S101, S61, S73, S75, and S79.

When the customer waiting for the checkout order moves backward from the boundary area according to the displayed message, the front sensor does not detect the customer, so the determination in step S73 becomes No again. Then, the CPU 11 switches the dual view liquid crystal display 35 to the two-screen display in step S81 and sets the display mode to the dual view mode (step S83), and displays the settlement information again for the customer at the settlement position.
The above is the flow of display control according to the detection results of the human sensors 41 and 43.

<< Display Control Processing Procedure-Part 3 >>
Next, an aspect in which the brightness and / or contrast of each screen in the two-screen display is individually set according to the background brightness will be described. This corresponds to FIG. 10 of the embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing in which the POS in this embodiment changes the screen brightness and contrast according to the brightness of the background. Here, the flowchart of FIG. 14 shows that steps S21 to S35 in the flowchart of FIG. 11 are replaced. That is, if the CPU 11 executes S121 in place of step S21 in FIG. 11, executes each step in FIG. 14 to execute the final step S157, and then executes step S37 in FIG. Processing in a mode in which adjustment of the screen according to the brightness of the background is added to the control is realized.

  Below, each step of FIG. 14 is demonstrated along a flowchart. Steps S121 to S133 correspond to steps S21 to S33 in FIG. 11, respectively. That is, when 100 is subtracted from the code of each step in FIG. 14, it matches the code of each corresponding step in FIG. Therefore, the description of steps S121 to S133 is omitted.

  In step S135, the CPU 11 reads a predetermined threshold value stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 17. Then, the value detected by the optical sensor 45b (corresponding to the sensor B in FIG. 10) for detecting the brightness of the background seen by the customer waiting for the payment order through the customer display is read (step S137) and compared with the threshold value. (Step S139).

  As a result, if the detected background brightness is less than or equal to the threshold value, the display data (standard display data) transferred to the VRAM is not corrected, and the routine proceeds to step S147. However, if the detected brightness of the background exceeds the threshold, the CPU 11 reads the contents of the left screen VRAM, that is, the display data of the left screen (step S141), and shifts the brightness of each dot to the screen. The brightness and / or the contrast is corrected so as to increase (step S143). Then, the left screen VRAM is updated with the corrected display data (step S145). By this processing, the display on the left screen is corrected to high contrast. That is, when the background seen over the left screen is brighter than the threshold, the display on the left screen is corrected to high contrast.

  Next, the CPU 11 reads the value detected by the optical sensor 45a (corresponding to the sensor A in FIG. 10) that detects the brightness of the background seen by the customer at the checkout position through the customer display (step S147), Compare with the threshold (step S149).

  As a result, if the detected background brightness is equal to or less than the threshold value, the display data (standard display data) transferred to the VRAM is not corrected, and the routine proceeds to step S157. However, if the detected brightness of the background exceeds the threshold, the CPU 11 reads the contents of the right screen VRAM, that is, the display data of the left screen (step S151), and shifts the brightness of each dot to the screen. The brightness and / or the contrast is corrected so as to increase (step S153). Then, the right screen VRAM is updated with the corrected display data (step S155). By this processing, the display on the right screen is corrected to high contrast. That is, when the background seen through the right screen is brighter than the threshold, the display on the right screen is corrected to high contrast.

  As described above, the brightness and / or contrast of the display data on each screen is corrected according to the brightness of each background and transferred to the VRAM for each screen, so that the display data is displayed in the dual view liquid crystal display. Is displayed on the device 35 (step S157).

  In addition to the embodiments described above, there can be various modifications of the present invention. These modifications should not be construed as not belonging to the scope of the present invention. The present invention should include the meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims and all modifications within the scope.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of an electrical structure of the merchandise sales data processing apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the principle in which the dual view liquid crystal display based on this embodiment performs a 2 screen display. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st display mode of the display part for customers concerning this invention. In the customer display unit according to the present invention, when there is no customer who is in the process of payment and a customer who is waiting for the order of payment, it is an explanatory view showing a state in which guidance and advertisement for the customer are displayed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd display mode of the display part for customers concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd display mode of the display part for customers concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 4th display mode of the display part for customers concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 4th display mode of the display part for customers concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the customer C2 left | separated from the payment position and returned to the original position according to the message of FIG.8 (b). It is explanatory drawing which shows the aspect in which POS which concerns on this embodiment has a sensor which detects the brightness of a background. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the basic control processing which concerns on this embodiment. It is a 1st flowchart which shows the control processing in case POS in embodiment has a human sensitive sensor. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the control process in case POS has a human sensitive sensor in embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing in which the POS in the embodiment changes the screen brightness and contrast according to the background brightness.

Explanation of symbols

1: POS main unit 3: Stationary scanner unit 11: CPU
13: Chipset 15: Memory 17: HDD, hard disk drive 19: Keyboard 21: LAN
23: Liquid crystal display for operator 25: Graphic board (for operator display)
27: Graphic board (for customer display)
31: Stationary scanner 33: Liquid crystal display (for operator)
35: Display unit for customer, Dual view liquid crystal display 37: Keyboard 41: Settlement position sensor, Human sensor 43: Front sensor, Human sensor 45a, 45b: Optical sensor

Claims (8)

A sales registration processing unit that performs sales registration processing of products to be sold;
A display unit for a customer for displaying information to a customer who purchases the product, a multi-view display mode for simultaneously displaying two or more different information depending on whether the customer views the display unit for customer from which viewpoint A customer display unit that can be switched to one of the display modes of a single view display mode that displays the same information regardless of whether the customer views the customer display unit from the left or right viewpoint;
A display control unit for controlling the display mode switching and information to be displayed on the customer display unit,
The display control unit switches the customer display unit to the multi-view display mode in response to the start of the sales registration process, and displays information on the sales registration process on a screen viewed from a predetermined position corresponding to the sales registration process. The commodity sales data processing apparatus is characterized in that control is performed so that information different from information of sales registration processing is displayed on a screen viewed from another position. A customer detector for detecting a customer at the predetermined position;
The display control unit switches the customer display unit to a multi-view display mode in response to the customer detection unit detecting a customer, and displays sales registration processing information for a customer at a predetermined position. The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so that information different from the information of the sales registration process is displayed on the customer display unit viewed from another position. A cross-border detection unit for detecting a customer in a predetermined boundary area as a left and / or right boundary where the information displayed for the customer at the predetermined position is visible during the sales registration process; Prepared,
The display control unit switches the customer display unit to a single view display mode in response to the cross-border detection unit detecting a customer and the customer detection unit not detecting a customer, The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a display for guiding to a predetermined position is controlled to be displayed on the customer display unit.   The display control unit switches the customer display unit to the single view display mode in response to the customer detection unit detecting the first customer and the cross-border detection unit detecting the second customer, The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 3, further controlling to display a display for guiding a customer out of the predetermined position and out of the boundary area on the display unit for customers.   The customer display unit is provided so that customers who are queued for sales registration processing can be visually recognized from a viewpoint different from the predetermined position until the customer reaches the predetermined position. The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the assigned position is ahead of the queue.   In the multi-view display mode, the display control unit is configured to display brightness, contrast and / or hue for the customer at the predetermined position and display brightness, contrast and / or hue for the customer in the queue. The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the items are set independently. A first illuminance detector that detects the ambient brightness seen by the customer at the predetermined position through the customer display; and the ambient brightness that the customer in the queue sees through the customer display. And a second illuminance detection unit
The display control unit sets display brightness, contrast and / or hue for the customer at the predetermined position according to the detection result of the first illuminance detection unit, and according to the detection result of the second illuminance detection unit. The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein brightness, contrast and / or hue of display for the customers in the queue are set. A multi-view display mode for displaying information to a customer who purchases a product, and simultaneously displaying two or more different information depending on from which angle the customer views the customer display unit A customer display unit and a control computer that can be switched to any one of the single view display modes for displaying the same information regardless of whether the customer views the customer display unit from the left or right angle A program to be executed by a control computer of a product sales data processing apparatus,
A sales registration processing unit that performs sales registration processing of products to be sold;
The control computer functions as a display control unit that controls display mode switching of the display unit for customer and information displayed on the display unit for customer,
The display control unit switches the customer display unit to the multi-view display mode in response to the start of the sales registration process, and displays information on the sales registration process on a screen viewed from a predetermined position corresponding to the sales registration process. And a control program for a merchandise sales data processing apparatus, characterized in that control is performed so that information different from information of sales registration processing is displayed on a screen viewed from another viewpoint.