JP5437330B2 - Reader - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a reading apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a self-checkout terminal is known that is installed in a retail store such as a supermarket, receives a user's operation, images and reads a product code, and performs an accounting process using the read product code.

  Such a self-checkout terminal is required to improve convenience.

The reading device according to the embodiment includes a base, a bag placing unit, a bag holding unit, a take-out unit, and a support unit . The base includes an imaging unit having an imaging window provided in a front portion and having an imaging area in front of the imaging window. The bag placing unit is provided on a side of the base, and a bag containing a product before being imaged by the imaging unit is placed thereon. The bag holding part has a pair of side plates, is arranged on the side of the base part and above the bag placing part, and can hold the bag. The take-out part is provided in the bag holding part at a position above the lower end of the imaging window, and defines the take-out position of the bag from the bag holding part. The support portion supported the bag holding portion. The support portion includes a bottom plate placed on the floor, a pair of column members standing on both ends in the width direction of the bottom plate and connected to rear end portions of the pair of side plates, and the pair of column members And a first connecting member that connects intermediate portions in the vertical direction of each other, and is fixed to the base through the saddle placement portion.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a self-checkout terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the self-checkout terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the self-checkout terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the self-checkout terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the self-checkout terminal according to the embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a state where the bag is mounted on the bag mounting unit. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the bag holding unit and the tape holder according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a bag holding unit according to a modified example of the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an example in which the reading device is applied to a self-checkout terminal 101. In each figure, the front of the self-checkout terminal 101 in the front-rear direction is the X direction, the width direction of the self-checkout terminal 101 is the Y direction, and the upper direction of the self-checkout terminal 101 is the Z direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a self-checkout terminal 101 according to the present embodiment includes a payment terminal 201 as a base, a basket mounting device 301 disposed on one side of the payment terminal 201, and a payment terminal 201. And a scale device 401 arranged on the other side.

  The settlement terminal 201 includes a base unit 202 installed on the floor as an installation unit, and an input / output unit 203 erected on the top surface of the base unit 202.

  The base unit 202 includes a first housing 210, a deposit / withdrawal device 211 provided in the first housing 210, and an information processing device (not shown) built in the first housing 210. I have. The first housing 210 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The front part 210a of the first housing 210 is provided with a coin deposit port 213, a coin deposit port 214, a banknote deposit port 215, and a banknote dispense port 216 of the deposit / withdrawal device 211. The mechanical part of the deposit / withdrawal device 211 is built in the first housing 210. The deposit / withdrawal device 211 stores the coins deposited from the coin deposit slot 213 and the banknotes deposited from the banknote deposit slot 215 by denomination by the operation of the mechanism unit, and receives a command from the information processing apparatus to receive the coins The change is paid out from the cash outlet 214 or the banknote outlet 216 by the operation of the mechanism. The information processing apparatus is a control unit that controls each unit of the self-checkout terminal 101.

  On the back surface of the base 202, a display pole 217 for displaying the current state (normal state, error occurrence state, etc.) of the self-checkout terminal 101 is erected. The display pole 217 has a light emitting portion 218 that selectively emits blue and red light at the tip.

  The input / output unit 203 includes a second housing 220, a first imaging unit 221 provided in the second housing 220, a receipt printer 222 provided in the second housing 220, and a second And a display 223 provided at an upper end portion of the housing 220.

  The second housing 220 forms a structure 224 together with the first imaging unit 221 and the receipt printer 222. The structural body 224 is provided on the upper surface 210b (the upper surface of the base portion 202) of the first housing 210. The structural body 224 is disposed at the center in the width direction (Y direction) of the upper surface 210b of the first housing 210. The first imaging window 221a of the first imaging unit 221 and the receipt issuing port 222a of the receipt printer 222 are arranged in the vertical direction on the front part 224a of the structure 224 (the front wall of the second housing 220). Is provided. The receipt issuing port 222a is provided below the first imaging window 221a. As described above, the structure body 224 is provided to extend upward from the upper surface 210b of the first housing 210, the first imaging window 221a is provided, and the display 223 is provided at the upper end.

  The first imaging unit 221 is a stationary (fixed) scanner that optically reads a product code attached to a product in the form of a barcode. The first imaging unit 221 is configured to include a part (upper part) of the second casing 220, and the first imaging window 221 a is a front part 224 a of the structure 224 (of the second casing 220. On the front wall). That is, the front portion 224 a of the structure 224 constitutes the front portion of the first imaging unit 221. The first imaging unit 221 has an area imaging element (not shown) such as a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) camera built in the second housing 220, and an imaging area in front of the first imaging window 221a. E. The first imaging unit 221 captures an image of a code symbol such as a barcode attached to a product using an area image sensor, decodes the captured image, and obtains code symbol code information (product code or the like). The first imaging unit 221 outputs the acquired code information to the information processing apparatus.

  The receipt printer 222 is configured to include a part (lower part) of the second casing 220, and the receipt issuing port 222a is provided in the front portion 224a of the structure 224 (the front wall of the second casing 220). It has been. The receipt printer 222 has a printing mechanism (not shown) built in the second housing 220. The receipt printer 222 is controlled by the information processing apparatus and issues a receipt printed by the printing mechanism from the receipt issuing port 222a.

  The display 223 is a liquid crystal display, for example, and is controlled by the information processing apparatus to display various information. A touch panel 229 as an input unit for inputting information is attached to the display surface 223a of the display 223. The display device 223 includes an overhang portion 223 b that projects to the side of the structure body 224.

  On one side of the structure 224, a portable second imaging unit 225 and a tray 226 for the second imaging unit 225 are provided. On the other hand, a card reader / writer 227 for reading / writing information from / to a magnetic card (information recording medium) such as a point card or a credit card is provided on the other side of the structure 224.

  The second imaging unit 225 is a movable handy scanner that optically reads a product code attached to a product in the form of a barcode. The second imaging unit 225 has a third housing 225b in which a second imaging window (not shown) is provided at the tip (one end). The third housing 225b has a bent shape. The second imaging unit 225 has an area imaging element (not shown) such as a CCD camera built in the third housing 225b, and uses the outside of the second imaging window as an imaging area. The second imaging unit 225 captures an image of a code symbol such as a barcode attached to a product with an area image sensor, decodes the captured image, and obtains code symbol code information (product code or the like). The second imaging unit 225 outputs the acquired code information to the information processing apparatus. A curl cord 228 is connected as a cord (electric wire) to the proximal end (other end) of the second imaging unit 225, and the second imaging unit 225 processes information via the curl cord 228. Output to the device. In the drawing, a part of the curl cord 228 is omitted.

  The saddle placement device 301 includes a saddle placement unit 302, a bag holding unit 303, and a tape holder 304.

  The bag placing unit 302 is provided on one side of the settlement terminal 201, and the bag 305 (FIG. 5) storing the products before being imaged by the first imaging unit 221 is placed thereon. The eaves mounting portion 302 is formed in a plate shape, and the eaves 305 are mounted on the upper surface 302a thereof. A fence member 306 is provided at a part of the peripheral edge of the upper surface 302a. The saddle placement portion 302 is fixed to one side surface 210 c of the first casing 210 in the base portion 202 via a pair of front and rear connecting members 307. The connecting member 307 is fixed to the lower surface of the saddle placement unit 302 and is fixed to one side surface 210 c of the first housing 210.

  The bag holding unit 303 can hold the bag 308. The bag 308 is a plastic bag as an example, and is also called a water bag. Specifically, the bag holding unit 303 can hold a roll body 309 including a plurality of bags 308. The roll body 309 is formed by winding a sheet formed by connecting a plurality of bags 308 in a line, and is called a poly roll type. A perforation (scheduled cutting portion) is formed at a connection portion between the bags 308, and the bags 308 can be separated (cut) by the perforations.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the bag holding portion 303 has a pair of side plates 310 and a support shaft 311 spanned between the pair of side plates 310. The support shaft 311 is inserted through an insertion hole provided in the center of the roll body 309, and supports the roll body 309 in a rotatable manner. The support shaft 311 is detachably connected to the pair of side plates 310. In addition, a rod-shaped member 312 is suspended in front of the support shaft 311 in the pair of side plates 310. A cutting portion 313 as an extraction portion is integrally provided at the center portion of the rod-shaped member 312. The cutting part 313 is located in front of the roll body 309 supported by the support shaft 311. The cutting part 313 is provided in the bag holding part 303 at a position above the lower end 221b of the first imaging window 221a. The cutting part 313 protrudes forward from the front edge part of the rod-shaped member 312. The cutting part 313 is formed by bending a rod-shaped material. The cutting part 313 has a convex part 313a that is convex upward and formed in an inverted V shape. When the bag 308 is pulled downward in a state where the perforation of the connecting portion between the bags 308 drawn out from the roll body 309 is in contact with the top portion 313b of the convex portion 313a, the bags 308 are separated from each other by the cutting portion 313. Cut (separated) with eyes. As described above, the cutting unit 313 allows the bag 308 held by the bag holding unit 303 to be taken out (detached) from the bag holding unit 303 one by one, and defines the take-out position of the bag 308 from the bag holding unit 303. doing. That is, the top part 313b of the cutting part 313 is the take-out position (detachment position) of the bag 308 from the bag holding part 303.

  The bag holding part 303 is supported by the support part 320. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the support portion 320 includes a bottom plate 321 placed on the floor, a pair of column members 322 erected at both ends in the width direction of the bottom plate 321, and a pair of column members. And a connecting plate (connecting member) 323 that connects intermediate portions in the vertical direction of 322. The pair of column members 322 are connected to the rear end portions of the pair of side plates 310 of the bag holding portion 303. The support unit 320 is fixed to the base unit 202 of the payment terminal 201 via the basket mounting unit 302. Specifically, the connecting plate 323 is connected to the rear end portion of the saddle placement portion 302 via the connecting member 324. The connecting member 324 is fixed to the front surface of the connecting plate 323 and the bottom surface of the saddle placement unit 302. In addition, the lower part of the column member 322 on the side of the pedestal 202 among the pair of column members 322 is fixed to the one side surface 210 c of the first casing 210 of the pedestal 202 through a connecting member 325.

  The bag holding unit 303 supported by the support unit 320 is disposed on the side of the structure 224 of the settlement terminal 201 and above the basket mounting unit 302. The cutting part 313 is disposed at a position behind the first imaging window 221a. In addition, the cutting unit 313 is disposed immediately above the saddle placement unit 302. Further, the bag holding portion 303 extends forward from the support portion 320, and at least a part of the bag holding portion 303 is located immediately above the bag placing portion 302. The bag holding part 303 is preferably entirely or partially located directly above the heel placing part 302, but in the present embodiment, a part is located directly above the heel placing part 302. . A space S (FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the bag 305 placed on the bag mounting unit 302 can be placed is formed between the bag holding unit 303 and the bag mounting unit 302. The bag holding part 303 is arranged at a height position that does not interfere with the one bottle even when a relatively high one bottle is stored in the bottle 305 placed on the bottle placing part 302. In this embodiment, the bag holding part 303 is fixed to the support part 320. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bag holding part 303 may be attached to the support part 320 in a variable vertical position. Good. In the present embodiment, the support unit 320 is fixed to the payment terminal 201. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the support unit 320 is a self-supporting type that is not fixed to the payment terminal 201. May be.

  The tape holder 304 is provided in the bag holding unit 303. The tape holder 304 holds the adhesive tape 330 wound in a roll shape so that it can be pulled out. The tape holder 304 has a blade 331 that cuts the drawn adhesive tape 330.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a weighing pan 403 is provided on the upper portion of the weighing housing 402 of the weighing apparatus 401. The weighing pan 403 is provided with a bag holder 404 and a temporary table 406 on the upper surface thereof. The bag holder 404 supports the shopping bag (second bag) in an open state. The temporary placement table 406 is a table that is used for temporarily placing the product after the barcode is read by the first imaging unit 221 or the second imaging unit 225. The scale housing 402 contains a load cell unit (not shown) that converts the load of the product placed on the scale pan 403 into an electric signal. An output signal from the load cell unit is output to the information processing apparatus of the payment terminal 201.

  A method of using the self-checkout terminal 101 having the above configuration will be described. The customer places the basket 305 containing the pre-accounting goods on the basket mounting unit 302. Then, the customer stands in front of the settlement terminal 201 and touches the start button displayed on the display 223. Then, the customer takes out the merchandise in the bag 305, and takes the taken out merchandise into the first imaging unit 221. The product code attached to the product is read by the first imaging unit 221 in the vicinity of the first imaging window 221a (imaging operation, scan operation). Here, for a relatively large product or a heavy product, the customer takes out the second imaging unit 225 from the tray 226 and brings the second imaging window of the second imaging unit 225 close to the product. Then, the product code attached to the product may be read by the second imaging unit 225 (imaging operation, scan operation). At this time, the information processing apparatus performs a product registration process for registering (storing) a product using the read product code.

  Next, the customer packs the merchandise from which the merchandise code has been read into a plastic bag supported by the bag holder 404 in an open state. At this time, the information processing apparatus performs a known weight check process using the weight of the product measured by the scale device 401.

  The customer can take out the bag 308 from the bag holding unit 303 and pack the product in the bag 308 as desired, for example, before causing the first imaging unit 221 to read the product code. For example, a customer can store a marine product such as fish and fruit in the bag 308. Further, the customer can stop the mouth of the bag 308 filled with products with the cut adhesive tape 330. In addition, after the customer has read the product code, the customer can place easily crushed products such as bread on the temporary table 406.

  When the customer finishes packing the products into the shopping bag, the customer touches the end button displayed on the display 223 to deposit, for example, cash into the deposit / withdrawal device 211 and pay the price. Thereafter, the customer removes the shopping bag from the bag holder 404.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the self-checkout terminal 101 includes the bag holding unit 303 that can hold the bag 308. Therefore, since the customer can use the bag 308, the convenience of the self-checkout terminal 101 can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the bag holding unit 303 is arranged on the upstream side of the first imaging unit 221 in the product transport direction in the imaging operation (scanning operation) with respect to the first imaging unit 221. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the bag holding unit 303 from interfering with the imaging operation (scanning operation) for the first imaging unit 221. In addition, the customer can easily see the bag 308. In addition, the bag 308 can be used before the imaging operation, and the product after the imaging operation can be immediately put in the plastic bag.

  In the present embodiment, the cutting part 313 of the bag holding part 303 is provided in the bag holding part 303 at a position above the lower end 221b of the first imaging window 221a. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the cutting unit 313 from interfering with the imaging operation (scanning operation) for the first imaging unit 221.

  Here, for example, when the bag holding unit 303 is provided on the scale device 401 located on the downstream side of the first imaging unit 221 in the product conveyance direction in the imaging operation (scanning operation) with respect to the first imaging unit 221. When taking out the bag 308 from the bag holding unit 303, an excessive load is applied to the scale device 401, and it takes time for the measured value of the scale device 401 to stabilize. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the bag holding unit 303 is arranged on the upstream side of the first imaging unit 221 in the conveyance direction of the product in the imaging operation (scanning operation) with respect to the first imaging unit 221, and the weighing is performed. The load of the bag holding part 303 does not act on the device 401. Therefore, it can suppress that it takes time for the measurement value of the scale apparatus 401 to stabilize.

  In the present embodiment, the cutting part 313 is disposed at a position behind the first imaging window 221a. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the cutting unit 313 from interfering with the imaging operation (scanning operation) for the first imaging unit 221. Moreover, the visibility of the product at the time of taking out the product in the bag 305 is improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the cutting part 313 is disposed immediately above the saddle placement part 302. Therefore, the self-checkout terminal 101 can be made relatively small.

  In the present embodiment, a space S in which the bag 305 mounted on the bag mounting unit 302 can be disposed is formed between the bag holding unit 303 and the bag mounting unit 302. Therefore, the self-checkout terminal 101 can be made relatively small.

  In the present embodiment, the support unit 320 is fixed to the settlement terminal 201. Therefore, the support part 320 and the payment terminal 201 can be positioned favorably. At this time, since the support part 320 is being fixed to the payment terminal 201 via the bag mounting part 302, the bag mounting part 302 functions also as a connection member.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the spindle 311 of the bag holding | maintenance part 303 is connected with a pair of side plate 310 so that attachment or detachment is possible, replenishment of the roll body 309 is easy.

  Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the bag holding portion 303 </ b> A of this modification has a box shape with an upper opening, and a front outlet 350 is provided with an outlet 350 a as an outlet. In this modification, the so-called polytissue type bag 308 is employed. The plurality of bags 308 are stored in the storage box 351 by being engaged with each other in a stacked state, and the storage box 351 is stored in the bag holding portion 303A. The bag 308 can be taken out in a single unit through the slit 351a provided in the storage box 351 and the outlet 350a of the bag holding portion 303A, and the outlet 350a can be removed from the bag holding portion 303A. The extraction position of 308 is defined. That is, the take-out port 350a is the take-out position (detachment position) of the bag 308 from the bag holding portion 303A. The arrangement of the outlet 350a is the same as that of the cutting part 313 described above.

  Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, the embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

101 ... Self-checkout terminal (reading device)
201: Payment terminal (base)
210c ... One side (side)
221: First imaging unit 221a: First imaging window (imaging window)
224a ... Front wall (front)
302... Saddle placement part 303... Bag holding part
310 ... side plate 313 ... cutting part (extraction part)
320 ... support part
321 ... Bottom plate
322 ... Column member
323 ... Connecting plate (first connecting member)
324 ... Connecting member (second connecting member)
325 ... Connecting member (third connecting member)
350a ... Exit (extraction part)
E ... Imaging area S ... Space

JP 2007-226498 A

Claims (5)

A base having an imaging window provided in the front part and having an imaging area in front of the imaging window;
A scissors mounting part provided on the side of the base part, on which a scissors storing products before imaging by the imaging part is placed,
A bag holding portion that has a pair of side plates, is disposed on the side of the base and above the bag placing portion, and can hold a bag;
An extraction portion provided in the bag holding portion at a position above the lower end of the imaging window, and defining a position for taking out the bag from the bag holding portion;
A support part supporting the bag holding part;
Equipped with a,
The support portion includes a bottom plate placed on the floor, a pair of column members standing on both ends in the width direction of the bottom plate and connected to rear end portions of the pair of side plates, and the pair of column members A first connecting member that connects intermediate portions in the vertical direction of each other, and is fixed to the base portion via the collar mounting portion . A second connecting member fixed to a front surface of the first connecting member and a bottom surface of the saddle placement portion, and connecting the first connecting member to a rear end portion of the saddle placement portion;
A third connecting member that fixes a lower part of the column member on the base side of the pair of column members to a side surface of the base unit;
The reading apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: The take-out unit, the reading of claim 1 or 2 is arranged behind the position than the imaging window device. The reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the take-out unit is disposed immediately above the basket mounting unit. Before SL bag holder is extended forward from the support portion, at least a part of the bag holder located directly above the basket mounting portion,
The reading according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a space in which the bag placed on the bag mounting unit can be placed is formed between the bag holding unit and the bag mounting unit. apparatus.

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