JP5148556B2 - Wireless tag reading processor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless tag reading processing apparatus for making a payment while a product placed on a shopping cart is placed on a shopping cart in a retail store where a plurality of cash registers are arranged such as a supermarket and a shopping center.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, technology development for shortening the settlement processing time at retail stores has been actively conducted by utilizing wireless tags.
That is, a wireless tag that transmits product information is attached to each product, and the customer purchases the product placed in the shopping cart (moving body) to the gate (settlement position) of the checkout device. Is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in large-scale retail stores such as supermarkets and shopping centers, it is necessary to process many customers' accounts at the same time.

  Therefore, conventionally, a plurality of gates are provided at the accounting location of the store so that accounting can be performed at each gate.

  In addition, it is desired that the intervals between the gates be set as close as possible due to the installation space.

  However, the above-described gate is provided with an antenna of a wireless tag reader for communicating with the wireless tag and reading data of the wireless tag.

  For this reason, when a plurality of gates are provided at close intervals, the radio wave transmitted from the antenna of the wireless tag reader reaches the adjacent gate, and the product information in the cart passing through the adjacent gate is erroneously read. There is a fear. In order to prevent such misreading, for example, a method of covering the gate with a radio wave absorber is conceivable. However, in such a case, the gate itself is increased in size, which is not preferable for store use where space saving is required.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is to read product information in a mobile body passing through an adjacent settlement position by mistake even if the settlement position is narrowed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless tag reading processing apparatus that is not provided.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a movement in which a storage body for storing a product with a wireless tag is mounted on the upper side, and a product placement portion is provided below the storage body portion. A body is moved to a settlement position, and data of a wireless tag of the product is read by wireless communication, provided at the settlement position, and when the mobile body is moved to the settlement position, the storage body and the product placement A holding body positioned between the holding portion, a first antenna on the upper surface side of the holding body, and a second antenna on the lower surface side, and a lower portion of the moving body from the first antenna to the storage body of the moving body emits electrodeposition waves toward the upper side from the side, the second data of quinic line tag before radiates radio waves toward the lower side from the upper side with respect to product placement portion of the moving body from the antenna Reading means for reading and reading by this reading means Characterized by comprising a payment means for payment of the goods on the basis of data of the wireless tag that is.

In the invention according to claim 5, the storage body for storing the product attached with the wireless tag is mounted on the upper side, and the movable body having the product placement portion below the storage body portion is moved to the reading position . When reading the wireless tag data of the product by wireless communication,
Provided in the reading position, when the movable body is moved to the reading position, Preparations and holding member, the antenna on the lower surface side of the holding member located between the housing body and the product placement portion And reading means for reading radio tag data by radiating radio waves from the antenna toward the product placing portion of the mobile body from the upper side toward the lower side.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if it closes the space | interval of a payment position, the radio | wireless tag reading processing apparatus which prevented reading the goods information in the cart which passes the adjacent payment position accidentally can be provided. .

The perspective view which shows the checkout area provided with the wireless tag reading processing apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which expands and shows the radio | wireless tag reading processing apparatus of FIG. The side view which shows the radio | wireless tag reading processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the wireless tag reading processing device of FIG. 2. The figure which shows the structure of the wireless tag reading part of the wireless tag reading processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing operations of the wireless tag reading processing apparatus of FIG. 2. The figure which shows the guidance screen displayed on the display with a touch panel of FIG. The figure which shows the update display screen displayed on the display with a touch panel of FIG. The figure which shows the screen of the payment intention confirmation display displayed on the display with a touch panel of FIG. The figure which shows the screen of payment cancellation displayed on the display with a touch panel of FIG. The figure which shows the screen of the payment completion display displayed on the display with a touch panel of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a wireless tag reading processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to an accounting system for a large-scale retail store such as a supermarket will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an accounting system in the present embodiment.

  In this system, wireless tag reading processing devices 2 are arranged at a plurality (three in the figure) of settlement positions 1A, 1B, and 1C, respectively.

  In this embodiment, a wireless tag is attached to each product sold in the store, and a unique tag ID set for each wireless tag is set as the product ID of the product to which the wireless tag is attached. doing.

  The plurality of RFID tag reading / processing devices 2 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a passage 28 is formed between the plurality of RFID tag reading / processing devices 2 through which a shopper can push the shopping cart 5 as a moving body. Has been.

  The shopping cart 5 has a basket mounting portion 29 for mounting a basket 5a as a storage body for storing a product with a wireless tag attached to the upper side, and a lower stage product placement portion is provided below the basket mounting portion 29. 30 is provided. The basket 5b as a storage body for storing the product is placed on the lower product placement unit 30, or the product is placed directly without placing the basket 5b.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the wireless tag reading processing device 2 includes a casing 51 having a U-shaped cross section, and a top plate 52 is provided on the upper surface of the casing 51. In addition, a holding plate 53 as a holding body is provided in parallel with the casing 51 below the top plate 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface portion of the holding plate 53 is an upper antenna 6A for reading the RFID tag as the first antenna, and a moving object is detected in front of the upper antenna 6A. A cart detection sensor 46 is provided as a sensor. In addition, a lower antenna 6B for reading a RFID tag as a second antenna and a lower product detection sensor 55 are provided on the front side of the lower antenna 6B on the lower surface of the holding plate 53. Yes. As the cart detection sensor 46 and the lower product detection sensor 55, a reflective photosensor or the like can be used.

  The housing 51 has an opening 51a on the front side, and the shopping cart 5 pushed to the settlement position 1A (1B, 1C...) Is introduced into the inside from the opening 51a side. The holding plate 53 is provided at a height located between the upper basket 5 a and the lower basket 5 b of the shopping cart 5. When the shopping cart 5 is pushed toward the settlement position 1A (1B, 1C...), The shopping cart 5 is detected by the cart detection sensor 46 and the lower product detection sensor 55, and then the upper antenna 6A is connected to the upper side. The lower antenna 6B faces the lower surface of the cage 5a, and the lower antenna 6B faces the upper surface of the lower cage 5b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 6A on the upper side for reading the RFID tag is attached so that the radiation direction 35a of the radio wave faces upward from the lower side of the basket 5a on the upper side of the shopping cart 5 toward the upper side. It has been. As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 6 on the lower side is attached so that the radiation direction 35 b of the radio wave is downward from the upper side of the basket 5 b on the lower side of the shopping cart 5 toward the lower side.

  Accordingly, it is desired that radio waves radiated from the upper and lower antennas 6A and 6B for reading the RFID tag are not directed to the shopping cart at the adjacent settlement position and are not directed to the shopping cart arranged in the rear. Only the wireless tag of the product can be read.

  The casing 51 has side plate portions 51b as radio wave shields disposed on both sides of the upper and lower antennas 6A and 6B, and shopping at a settlement position where radio waves radiated from the upper and lower antennas 6A and 6B are adjacent to each other. It can be blocked so that it does not go to the cart.

  In addition, a settlement processing unit 37 as a settlement unit constituting the wireless tag reading processing device 2 is provided on the front end side of the top plate 52 of the casing 51. A display 7 with a touch panel as an operation display unit is provided on the front surface of the settlement processing unit 37.

  The upper and lower antennas 6A and 6B described above perform wireless communication with a wireless tag attached to a product stored in the carts 5a and 5b of the shopping cart 5 or a product held by a shopper who pushes the cart 5. The tag ID, that is, the product ID is received from the wireless tag.

  The display 7 with a touch panel displays a payment guidance screen, a registered product screen, a payment screen, a payment cancellation screen, etc., which will be described later, and functions as an input device for buttons displayed on each screen.

  The settlement processing unit 37 processes the settlement of the commodity price by cash or credit card. In the case of cash settlement, the change amount is calculated from the amount inserted from the cash insertion slot and the product price, the change is paid out from the change payment outlet, and a receipt is printed and issued. In the case of credit card payment, the host is inquired about the authentication of the payment by the credit card read by the card reader, and when approved, the credit slip is printed and issued.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the wireless tag reading processing device 2.

  The wireless tag reading processor 2 includes a settlement processing unit 37 as a settlement unit, and the settlement processing unit 37 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11. The CPU 11 is connected to a storage unit of a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, a touch panel interface 17 and an external device interface 18 via a bus line 12 such as an address bus and a data bus. Connected.

  The touch panel interface 17 controls transmission / reception of data signals to / from the display 7 with a touch panel. The external device interface 18 controls transmission / reception of a data signal to / from the wireless tag reader 20 described later.

  The external device interface 18 is connected to the RFID tag reading device 20 including the cart detection sensor 46, the lower product detection sensor 55, the upper RFID tag reading antenna 6A, and the lower RFID tag reading antenna 6B. Yes. A touch panel display 7 is connected to the touch panel interface 17.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the wireless tag reader 20.

  The wireless tag reader 20 includes a wireless processing unit 21, a memory unit 22, a communication unit 23, a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) unit 24, a transmission unit 25, and a reception unit 26. In addition, the RFID tag reader 20 connects the antennas 6A and 6B via a directional coupler 27 such as a circulator.

  The wireless processing unit 21 digitally encodes transmission data using, for example, a PIE (Pulse Interval Encoding) code, and sends the encoded transmission data to the transmission unit 25. The transmission unit 25 converts the encoded transmission data into an analog signal by the DA converter 31, limits the band of the analog signal by the band filter 32, and then supplies the analog signal to the mixer 33. A local signal having the same frequency as the carrier frequency output from the PLL unit 24 is input to the mixer 33, and the transmitting unit 25 amplitude-modulates the local signal with an analog signal by the mixer 33.

  Further, the transmission unit 25 amplifies the amplitude-modulated transmission signal with the power amplifier 34, and then transmits the amplified signal to the antenna 6A (6B) via the directional coupler 27 to radiate it as a radio wave.

  On the other hand, when the antenna 6A (6B) receives the radio wave radiated from the wireless tag, the radio signal is input from the antenna 6A (6B) to the receiving unit 26 via the directional coupler 27. The receiver 26 amplifies the radio signal with the low noise amplifier 41 and then supplies the amplified signal to the mixer 42. The mixer 42 receives the local signal output from the PLL unit 24, and the receiving unit 26 mixes the radio signal and the local signal in the mixer 42 to generate a received signal.

  The receiving unit 26 removes unnecessary frequency components from the reception signal generated by the mixer 42 by the band filter 43. Thereafter, the received signal is amplified by the variable gain amplifier 44, converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 45, and then supplied to the wireless processing unit 21.

  The wireless processing unit 21 decodes the reception signal supplied from the receiving unit 26 into response data of the wireless tag according to a response signal modulation method of the wireless tag, for example, a modulation method such as FM0 modulation. The response data of the combined wireless tag is output to the external interface 18 via the communication unit 23.

  Next, the operation of the wireless tag reading processing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the shopping cart 5 storing products with wireless tags in the upper and lower baskets 5a, 5b is pushed into the settlement position 1A (1B, 1C) and positioned in the casing 51 of the wireless tag reading processing device, and the cart is detected. When detected by the sensor 46 and the lower commodity detection sensor 55 (step ST1), the detection information is notified to the settlement processing unit 37. When this notification is given, for example, a guidance screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display 7 with the touch panel (step ST2). The customer sees this guidance screen and presses the reading start button 7a. As a result, the wireless tag reader 20 radiates radio waves from the upper and lower RFID tag reading antennas 6A and 6B and starts reading the wireless tag of the product (step ST3). The wireless tag reader 20 transmits the product information (product ID) read from the wireless tag to the settlement processing unit 37 until the reading of the wireless tag is completed.

  Note that the reading of the wireless tag may be started before the shopping cart 5 is stopped without the pressing operation of the reading start button 7a. In this case, the waiting time of the customer can be shortened, and it is possible to prevent reading omission due to the wireless tag being placed at the null point by the product moving as the shopping cart 5 moves. . Therefore, it is preferable that the reading of the wireless tag is started when the cart detection sensor 46 and the lower product detection sensor 55 detect the shopping cart 5.

  When the settlement processing unit 37 receives the product information, for example, the screen display is updated as shown in FIG. 8 (step ST4). When reading of all the wireless tags in the carts 5a and 5b of the shopping cart 5 is completed, the customer presses the reading completion button 7b, and if not completed, the customer presses the product re-reading button 7c (step ST5). ). When the reading completion button 7b is pressed, the settlement processing unit 37 performs a payment intention confirmation display on the display 7 with a touch panel as shown in FIG. 9 (step ST6). Note that the completion of the reading of the wireless tag may be determined, for example, based on the absence of a response from the wireless tag to the inventory operation from the wireless tag reading device toward the wireless tag. Good.

  Looking at the payment intention confirmation display screen in step ST6, the customer determines whether or not to pay (step ST7). When it is determined that the payment is to be made, the payment button 7d is pressed by the customer, and when it is determined that the payment is not to be made, the stop button 7e is pressed. When the payment button 7d is pressed, a settlement process is performed (step ST8), and when the cancel button 7e is pressed, a screen for canceling payment is displayed on the display 7 with a touch panel as shown in FIG. Step ST10).

  When payment processing is performed, payment completion as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed (step ST10), and a series of processing is completed.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the upper cart 6a pushed to the settlement position 1A (1B, 1C) is moved from the lower side to the upper side by the upper antenna 6A. The radio wave 36a is emitted toward the lower side of the car 5b, and the lower antenna 6B emits the radio wave 36b from the upper side toward the lower side to read the wireless tag of the product. , The radio waves radiated from the antennas 6A and 6B are not directed to the shopping cart at the adjacent settlement position and are not directed to the subsequent shopping cart. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent reading of the wireless tag of unnecessary products, and it is possible to make an accurate settlement.

  Further, since side plates 51b as radio wave shields are arranged on both sides of the holding body 53 on which the upper and lower antennas 6A and 6B are arranged, the radio waves radiated from the antennas 6A and 6B are located at adjacent settlement positions. It is possible to more reliably prevent heading to the shopping cart.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment mentioned above. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

  1A (1B, 1C): Settlement position, 5: Shopping cart (moving body), 5a, 5b: Basket (housing body), 6A: Upper antenna (first antenna), 6B: Lower antenna (first antenna) 2), 20... RFID tag reading device (reading means), 29... Lower product placement section, 37... Settlement processing section (settlement means), 46 .. cart detection sensor (moving body detection sensor), 51. , 51b ... side plates (radio wave shields), 55 ... lower product detection sensor.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-120438

Claims (6)

A storage body for storing a product with a wireless tag is mounted on the upper side, and a mobile body having a product placement portion at a lower portion of the storage body portion is moved to a settlement position, and the wireless tag data of the product is wirelessly transmitted. It is read by communication,
A holding body that is provided at the settlement position and is positioned between the storage body and the product placement section when the movable body is moved to the settlement position;
A first antenna is provided on the upper surface side of the holding body, a second antenna is provided on the lower surface side, and radio waves are radiated from the lower side to the upper side from the first antenna to the storage body of the moving body, Reading means for reading the data of the wireless tag by radiating a radio wave from the upper side to the lower side from the second antenna to the product placing part of the moving body;
Payment means for paying the product based on the data of the wireless tag read by the reading means;
A wireless tag reading and processing apparatus comprising: A moving body detection sensor for detecting the moving body moved to the settlement position;
2. The reading unit radiates a radio wave from the first antenna based on detection of the moving body by the moving body detection sensor and starts reading data of a wireless tag. Wireless tag reading processing apparatus. A product detection sensor for detecting a product on a product placement unit of the mobile body moved to the settlement position;
2. The wireless tag reading processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit radiates radio waves from the second antenna and reads data of the wireless tag based on the commodity detection sensor detecting the commodity.   3. The wireless tag reading processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the moving body detection sensor is provided on the upstream side in the moving direction of the moving body with respect to the first and second antennas. Equipped with a housing for housing the product marked with radio tag on the upper side, when the mobile body having a product placement portion in the lower portion of the housing body is moved to the reading position, the wireless tag of the commodity Data is read by wireless communication,
Provided in the reading position, when the movable body is moved to the reading position, a holding member located between the product placement portion and the housing body,
Bei example an antenna under surface side of the holding member, a reading unit above from the upper side with respect to product placement portion of the moving body from the antenna radiates radio waves toward the lower side reading data of the wireless tag ,
A wireless tag reading and processing apparatus comprising: Comprising a product detection sensor for detecting the products on the product mounting portion of the movable body is moved to the reading position,
It said reading means the product detection sensor is a wireless tag reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reading data of the wireless tag by emitting a radio wave from the front Kia antenna based to detect product.

Images