JP6536396B2 - Purchased item management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a purchased item management system provided with an image forming apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Conventionally, the apparatus which has a function which manages the goods which the user purchased in stores, such as a supermarket, is known. For example, there is one in which a purchased item management function is installed in a refrigerator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  A conventional refrigerator equipped with a purchased item management function is provided with a barcode reader, a storage device, a display device, and the like. The barcode reader reads the barcode attached to the food (product). The barcode read by the barcode reader includes information such as the product name and the expiration date of the product. The storage device stores information obtained by reading by the bar code reader. The display device displays the food control information. For example, the shelf life of each food in the refrigerator is displayed as the food management information on the display device.

JP-A-11-316076

  When it is going to purchase goods, such as food, in a store, after checking a stock item at home and deciding the goods to purchase, it often goes to a store. For example, as described above, when the food management information is displayed on the display device provided in the refrigerator, the confirmation work of the stock in the refrigerator becomes easy.

  However, in some cases, after arriving at the store, the user may forget what kind of product he was trying to purchase. Or you may forget that there is a product that you were trying to purchase. In this case, forgetting to buy a product that is about to be purchased may occur.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a purchased item management system capable of suppressing the occurrence of forgetting to buy a product.

  In order to achieve the above object, a purchased item management system of the present invention is a purchased item management system in which an image forming apparatus installed in a store and an information processing apparatus are communicably connected, and the information processing apparatus is The user's purchase history at the store and the identification information of the user are stored in association with each other for each user, the image forming apparatus receives an input of identification information from the user, and the information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus When the identification information is input to the forming apparatus, the purchase history corresponding to the identification information input to the image forming apparatus is extracted as the target history, and the user selects the product satisfying the predetermined condition among the products indicated by the target history. The image forming apparatus predicts that the product is a planned product to be purchased, and prints the notification information for notifying the planned product. In addition, a user is a person who uses a store (a person who purchases at a store).

  In the configuration of the present invention, when the identification information is input to the image forming apparatus installed in the store, the user who has input the identification information to the image forming apparatus (a user corresponding to the identification information input to the image forming apparatus) An item to be purchased is predicted, and notification information for notifying the item to be purchased is printed. That is, when the user's own identification information is input to the image forming apparatus installed in the store after arriving at the store, the printed material on which the notification information is printed can be obtained at the store. In this way, if the product that the user was actually trying to purchase (a product that allows the user to assume the product that he was actually trying to purchase) may be indicated in the notification information, it is possible to prevent the product from being forgotten be able to.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of forgetting to buy a product.

Schematic of purchased goods management system according to one embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the structure of each apparatus contained in the purchased goods management system by one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the goods database memorized by POS server of the purchased goods management system by one embodiment of the present invention. A diagram for explaining a customer database stored in a POS server of a purchased item management system according to an embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing a service selection screen displayed on the MFP of the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention A flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when printing notification information in the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention Diagram for explaining the process to be performed when predicting a product to be purchased in the purchased product management system according to one embodiment of the present invention Diagram for explaining the process to be performed when predicting a product to be purchased in the purchased product management system according to one embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the alerting | reporting information paper printed out by the purchased goods management system by one Embodiment of this invention. A flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when printing a cooking recipe in the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the recipe designation screen displayed on MFP of the purchased item management system by one embodiment of the present invention Diagram for explaining the process to be performed when predicting a product to be purchased (lack of food) with the purchased product management system according to one embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing a cooking recipe sheet printed out in the purchased goods management system according to one embodiment of the present invention Flow chart for explaining the flow of processing when printing purchase history in the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing a questionnaire screen displayed on the MFP of the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing a questionnaire screen displayed on the MFP of the purchased item management system according to one embodiment of the present invention

<Overview of Purchased Item Management System>
As shown in FIG. 1, the purchased item management system 100 of the present embodiment is installed in a store 1000 such as a supermarket or a convenience store. A membership card MC such as a magnetic stripe card or an IC card is issued from the store 1000 (its operator), and the membership card MC is given to a user who uses the store 1000. For example, the membership card MC stores identification information for identifying a user. Then, the purchased item management system 100 manages, for each user, the product purchase status at the store 1000 of a plurality of member users (users who own the member card MC), and supports the product purchase for each member user. Provide the service of

  The purchased item management system 100 includes a POS register 200 and a POS server 300. The POS register 200 and the POS server 300 constitute a POS (point of sale) system. The number of installed POS registers 200 is not particularly limited, and may be one or more. For example, when the scale of the store 1000 is large, ten to several dozen POS registers 200 are installed.

  The POS server 300 may be installed in the same store as the store 1000 in which the POS register 200 is installed, but may be installed in a facility different from the store 1000. The POS server 300 corresponds to an "information processing apparatus".

  The purchased item management system 100 further includes an MFP 400. The MFP 400 is an image forming apparatus (multifunction machine) equipped with a copy function and the like. The MFP 400 functions as a user terminal that receives various instructions (operations) from member users. Then, the MFP 400 receives an instruction from the member user, and prints out information to be provided to the member user. Or, display information to be provided to member users. The number of installed MFPs 400 is not particularly limited, and may be one or more.

  The POS register 200, the POS server 300, and the MFP 400 are independent devices, and are communicably connected to other devices. The POS register 200 is communicably connected to the POS server 300, and the MEP 400 is communicably connected to the POS server 300.

<Configuration of Each Device Included in Purchased Item Management System>
As shown in FIG. 2, the POS register 200 includes a card reader 210, a barcode scanner 220, a receipt printer 230, an automatic change machine 240, and a register communication unit 250.

  The card reader 210 reads information (member identification information, etc.) stored in the membership card MC. Reading of the membership card MC by the card reader 210 is performed at the time of sales accounting of the product.

  The barcode scanner 220 reads a barcode attached to a product (a barcode obtained by converting a product code for specifying a product) at the time of sales accounting of the product. The receipt printer 230 outputs a receipt (receipt) on which information such as the product name, price, and receipt amount of the product corresponding to the product code read by the barcode scanner 220 is printed. The automatic change machine 240 accepts deposit, calculates change automatically, and dispenses change.

  The register communication unit 250 is communicably connected to the POS server 300. When the card reader 210 reads the identification information of the member user, the register communication unit 250 transmits the identification information to the POS server 300. Further, when the bar code scanner 220 reads the product code of the product, the register communication unit 250 transmits the product code to the POS server 300.

  Further, the register communication unit 250 receives, from the POS server 300, product information (information indicating a product name, a price, and the like) of a product corresponding to the product code transmitted to the POS server 300. Printout of a receipt by the receipt printer 230 is performed based on the product information.

  The POS server 300 includes a server storage unit 310, a server control unit 320, and a server communication unit 330.

  The server storage unit 310 stores various data. For example, the server storage unit 320 stores a product database 311 in which data on products sold at the store 1000 is organized. The product database 311 associates product codes with product names and prices of products. The product database 311 corresponds to "price information". An example of the product database 311 is shown in FIG.

  Further, the server storage unit 310 stores a customer database 312 in which data on products (food, daily necessities, clothing, etc.) purchased by member users is summarized. The customer database 312 associates, for each member user, identification information of the member user (identification information stored in the member card MC) with the purchase history of the member user. For example, the purchase history includes the product code of the product purchased by the member user, the product name, the purchase date, and the expiration date (in the case of food, it may be the expiration date). An example of the customer database 312 is shown in FIG.

  The server control unit 320 includes a CPU and a memory, and performs overall control of the POS server 300. For example, when receiving the product code from the POS register 200, the server control unit 320 recognizes the product corresponding to the product code as a search target. Then, the server control unit 320 searches the product database 311 for product information (information indicating a product name, a price, and the like) of a search target product, and transmits product information of the search target product to the POS register 200.

  The server control unit 320 also performs processing to update the purchase history. Specifically, when receiving the identification information of the member user from the POS register 200, the server control unit 320 recognizes the purchase history corresponding to the identification information of the member user as the update target. Thereafter, when receiving the product code from the POS register 200, the server control unit 320 adds the product name, price, purchase date, and expiration date of the product corresponding to the product code to the update history of the purchase history.

  In addition, in order to include the expiration date in the purchase history, a bar code that barcodes the expiration date of the product is separately attached to each product, and the bar code of the expiration date is also read at the time of sales accounting of the product. The expiration date obtained by may be transmitted from the POS register 200 to the POS server 300.

  The server communication unit 330 is communicably connected to the POS register 200 (register communication unit 250). The server communication unit 330 communicates with the POS register 200, and receives from the POS register 200 the product code, the expiration date, the identification information of the member user (identification information stored in the member card MC), and the like. Also, the server communication unit 330 transmits the product information of the product corresponding to the product code to the POS register 200.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 400 includes a printing unit 410, an image reading unit 420, an operation display unit 430, an input unit 440, an MFP storage unit 450, an MFP control unit 460, and an MFP communication unit 470.

  The printing unit 410 prints and outputs an image on a sheet. The image reading unit 420 reads a document and generates image data of the document. The operation display unit 430 includes a touch panel display and hard keys, displays a screen, and receives various operations from the user.

  The input unit 440 is for receiving input of identification information from a member user. For example, the input unit 440 is a card reader, and receives input of identification information of a member user by reading information (identification information of a member user, etc.) stored in the membership card MC. The input display of identification information may be performed by the operation display unit 430 (the identification information may be manually input using the operation display unit 430). In such a configuration, the input unit 440 may be omitted.

  MFP storage unit 450 stores programs and data for controlling MFP 400. The MFP storage unit 450 may store the same information as various information (such as the product database 311 and the customer database 312) stored in the POS server 300. Alternatively, a large-capacity storage unit (auxiliary storage device) may be separately installed in the MFP 400, and the same information as the various information stored in the POS server 300 may be stored.

  The MFP control unit 460 includes a CPU and a memory, and controls the printing operation of the printing unit 410 and the reading operation of the image reading unit 420 based on programs and data stored in the MFP storage unit 450. Further, MFP control unit 460 controls the display operation of operation display unit 430, and detects an operation on operation display unit 430.

  The MFP communication unit 470 is communicably connected to the POS server 300 (server communication unit 330). The MFP communication unit 470 transmits and receives various data to and from the POS server 300.

<Service to member users>
The purchased item management system 100 according to the present embodiment provides member users with various support services for supporting product purchases. A member user who can be a support service provision target is a user who has input his / her identification information to MFP 400.

  As a support service provided to member users, for example, a service for preventing member users from forgetting to buy (forget-preventing service), a service for printing cooking recipes desired by member users (dish recipe printing service) And a service (purchase history print service) for printing the purchase history of the product purchased by the member user.

  When the identification information is input to the input unit 440 of the MFP 400, the MFP control unit 460 recognizes that the identification information of the member user is input. Then, MFP control unit 460 causes operation display unit 430 to display service selection screen 510 as shown in FIG. The service selection screen 510 is a screen for receiving selection of a provided service from a member user. The service selection screen 510 is provided with a plurality of service selection keys 511 respectively corresponding to a plurality of services. When one of the plurality of service selection keys 511 is touched, the service corresponding to the touched service selection key 511 is provided.

  Note that provision of various services is performed for a member user who has input identification information into MFP 400. In the following description, a member user (a user who has input identification information to the MFP 400) to be provided with a service may be referred to as a target user. Further, the purchase history corresponding to the target user (the identification information thereof) may be referred to as a target history.

(Forgetfulness prevention service)
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the flow of processing performed when providing a member user with a forgot-buying prevention service will be described. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 6 starts when a touch operation is performed on the service selection key 511 corresponding to the forgot-preventing service on the service selection screen 510 (see FIG. 5).

  In step S 1, MFP control unit 460 transmits the identification information of the target user (identification information input to input unit 440) to POS server 300 via MFP communication unit 470. Thereby, the server communication unit 330 receives the identification information, and the server control unit 320 recognizes the identification information (target user). The server control unit 320 also recognizes the input date when the identification information is input to the MFP 400. Note that the input date when identification information is input to MFP 400 is also the date when the target user (member user who input identification information to MFP 400) visits store 1000. In the following description, an input date when identification information is input to MFP 400 may be referred to as a visit date.

  In step S2, the server control unit 320 extracts a purchase history corresponding to the identification information (target user) received by the server communication unit 330 from the customer database 312 (see FIG. 4) as a target history. Then, in step S3, the server control unit 320 determines whether or not there is a product satisfying the predetermined condition (purchase planned to be purchased by the target user) among the products indicated by the target history. Do.

  Here, in order to prevent the target user from forgetting to buy, it is effective to predict a product to be purchased which is a product to be purchased by the target user and to notify the target user of the predicted product to be purchased. is there. Therefore, predetermined conditions for determining whether or not each product indicated in the target history is a product to be purchased are determined in advance (a product satisfying the predetermined condition is determined to be a product to be purchased).

  For example, if there is a product for which the expiration date has passed and an item whose expiration date is approaching, among the products that the target user has previously purchased, there is a possibility that the target user is going to purchase the product at this visit. Is high. Alternatively, if there is a product purchased by the target user in a certain fixed cycle among the products previously purchased by the target user, and the next scheduled purchase date predicted from the purchase cycle is close to the present date of the store visit, There is a high possibility that the target user is going to purchase the product at this visit.

  Therefore, the server control unit 320 predicts that the product satisfying at least one of the following two conditions (the first condition and the second condition) is the product to be purchased. A product satisfying only one of the first condition and the second condition may be predicted to be a product to be purchased, or a product satisfying the conditions for both is predicted to be a product to be purchased. It is also good. In addition, it may be possible to select which of the first condition and the second condition is used to predict the item to be purchased.

  In the case where the prediction is performed based on the first condition, the server control unit 320 determines that the expiration date is a date within a predetermined first period starting from the present visit date among the products indicated by the target history. It is predicted that the product being purchased is a product to be purchased (judged as a product that satisfies a predetermined condition). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a period from the date of arrival to a day corresponding to the first period (for example, several days), and a period from the date of arrival to a day after the number of days equivalent to the first period. Is the first period. The number of days corresponding to the first period can be arbitrarily changed.

  When the prediction is performed based on the second condition, the server control unit 320 extracts a plurality of purchased products that are the same product and products purchased on different days multiple times from among the products indicated by the target history. The purchase cycle of a plurality of purchased products is obtained based on each purchase date of the plurality of purchased products. For example, when a product purchased a plurality of times is purchased three or more times, the number of days from the last purchase date to the last purchase date may be determined as the purchase cycle, or only a predetermined number of cycles from the last purchase date The number of days (average value) obtained by dividing the number of days up to the date of purchase retroactively by the predetermined number of cycles may be determined as the purchase cycle of the plurality of purchased products.

  After obtaining the purchase cycle of the multiple-purchased product, the server control unit 320 adds the number of days corresponding to the purchase cycle to the previous purchase date of the multiple-purchase product as the next planned purchase date of the multiple purchased product. Predict that Then, the server control unit 320 predicts a product purchased a plurality of times as a product scheduled to be purchased if the date within a predetermined second period starting from the current visit date is the scheduled date for purchase (predetermined product (predetermined value) Judge as a product that meets the requirements)

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a period from the date of arrival to a day corresponding to the second period (for example, several days), and a period from the date of arrival to a day after the number of days equivalent to the second period. Is the second period. The number of days corresponding to the second period can be arbitrarily changed, and may be the same as the first period. In the example shown in FIG. 8, if the next scheduled purchase date of the multiple-purchased product is 13 days, the product is predicted to be a planned product.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in step S3, when the server control unit 320 determines that there is a product to be purchased (a product satisfying a predetermined condition) among the products indicated by the target history, the process proceeds to step S4. Here, the number of products determined by the server control unit 320 to be purchased is not limited to one. That is, there may be only one planned product to be purchased, or there may be a plurality of planned products to be purchased.

  After shifting to step S4, the server control unit 320 determines whether there is a new product corresponding to the product that satisfies the predetermined condition. The new product is the same as the old product with the same manufacturer and product type, and is an improvement on the old product. For example, when a new product is sold at the store 1000, the product database 311 (see FIG. 3) stored in the server storage unit 310 is updated, and the product code of the old product corresponding to the new product is updated. The product code is linked (information indicating that there is a new product is added). Then, the server control unit 320 refers to the product database 311, and if the product code of the new product is linked to the product code of the product satisfying the predetermined condition, the new product corresponding to the product satisfying the predetermined condition is present. to decide. The method of determining whether or not there is a new product is not particularly limited.

  In step S4, when the server control unit 320 determines that there is a new product, the process proceeds to step S5. When the process proceeds to step S5, the server control unit 320 recognizes not a product that satisfies the predetermined condition but a new product that corresponds to the product that satisfies the predetermined condition as a product to be purchased. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6. Also, in step S4, when the server control unit 320 determines that there is no new product, the process proceeds to step S6. The processes of steps S4 and S5 may be omitted. That is, regardless of the presence or absence of a corresponding new product, a product satisfying the predetermined condition may be a product to be purchased.

  When the process proceeds to step S6, the server control unit 320 recognizes the commodity code of the planned product based on the target history extracted from the customer database 312 (see FIG. 4). Then, the server control unit 320 determines the price of the planned product based on the product database 311 (see FIG. 3). In addition, the server control part 310 calculates | requires the total amount of money of each price of a plurality of items to be purchased, when there are a plurality of items to be purchased.

  In step S7, the server control unit 320 transmits, to the MFP 400, print data necessary for printing information on the planned product via the server communication unit 330. As a result, the MFP communication unit 470 receives the print data of the product to be purchased, so that printing of information on the product to be purchased can be performed. The information on the planned product includes the product name and price of the planned product. In addition, when there are a plurality of products to be purchased, the total amount of each price of the plurality of products to be purchased is included in the information on the product to be purchased.

  In step S8, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the printing unit 410 to print the notification information 700 for notifying a product to be purchased on a sheet, and the notification information sheet P1 on which the notification information 700 is printed (see FIG. Make 9) output. As shown in FIG. 9, the product name of the product to be purchased and the price thereof are printed on the notification information sheet P1. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of products to be purchased, the product names of the plurality of products to be purchased, the prices thereof, and the total price of the prices of the products are printed.

  When the server control unit 320 determines that there is no item to be purchased among the items indicated by the target history in step S3, the present flow ends. In this case, a message may be displayed on the operation display unit 430 indicating that the corresponding product has not been found.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, when the identification information is input to the MFP 400 installed in the store 1000, the target user who is the member user who input the identification information to the MFP 400 (corresponding to the identification information input to the MFP 400) The user predicts a product to be purchased which he is going to purchase, and prints notification information 700 for reporting the product to be purchased. That is, when the user's own identification information is input to MFP 400 installed in store 1000 after arrival at store 1000, notification information sheet P1 on which notification information 700 is printed can be obtained at the store. As a result, if the product that the target user was actually trying to purchase (a product that allows the user to assume the product that he was actually trying to purchase may be assumed) is indicated in the notification information 700, a forgot to buy the product may occur. It can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, among the products indicated by the target history, it is expected that the product satisfying the predetermined condition (the first condition and the second condition) is predicted to be the product to be purchased. It is possible to suppress that a product different from the product that the target user is going to purchase is predicted to be a product to be purchased.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the notification information 700 including the price of the scheduled product is printed. In addition, when there are a plurality of products to be purchased, notification information 700 including the total amount of each commodity price of the plurality of products to be purchased is printed. This makes it possible to know in advance the amount of payment when purchasing a product to be purchased, thus improving the convenience of the target user.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, when there is a new product corresponding to a product satisfying a predetermined condition, a product which is to be purchased by printing the notification information 700 indicating the new product as a product scheduled to be purchased. The convenience of the target user is improved because it can be known in advance that there is a new product to replace.

  Here, the same information as the notification information 700 may be displayed on the operation display unit 430 when the MFP 400 prints out the notification information sheet P1. For example, before the print output of the notification information sheet P1, information similar to the notification information 700 may be displayed on the operation display unit 430, and whether to print the notification information 700 may be received from the target user.

  Further, when the notification information 700 is printed on a sheet, as shown in FIG. 9, the in-store map 800 indicating the route R from the installation position (the current position) of the MFP 400 to the display position of the product to be purchased You may print it. In this configuration, the route search program 313 and the position information 314 are stored in the server storage unit 311 of the POS server 300 (see FIG. 2). The position information 314 includes position data indicating the installation position of the MFP 400 and position data indicating the display position of each product sold in the store 1000. Then, the server control unit 320 of the POS server 300 generates map data of the in-store map 800 indicating the route R.

  When generating map data of the in-store map 800, the server control unit 320 activates the route search program 313. When the route search program 313 is activated, the server control unit 320 determines the installation position of the MFP 400 and the display position of the product to be purchased, and an in-store map showing the route R from the installation position of the MFP 400 to the display position of the product to be purchased. 800 map data are generated. Then, when transmitting the print data of the product to be purchased to the MFP 400, the server control unit 320 also transmits the map data of the in-store map 800 to the MFP 400.

  When the MFP 400 receives the map data as well as the print data of the product to be purchased, the in-store map 800 (a map based on the map data generated by the POS server 300) indicating the route R is printed on a sheet and output. For example, the in-store map 800 may be printed on a sheet different from the notification information sheet P1, or the in-store map 800 may be printed on the notification information sheet P1. FIG. 9 illustrates, as an example, the notification information sheet P1 on which the in-store map 800 is printed.

  The route search program 313 and the position information 314 may be stored in the MFP storage unit 450 of the MFP 400. Then, the MFP control unit 460 of the MFP 400 may generate map data of the in-store map 800 indicating the route R.

  In this way, by printing the in-store map 800 showing the route R to the display position of the planned product, it is possible to immediately find the planned product (there is no need to search in the store), which is convenient for the target user. improves.

(Cooking recipe printing service)
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, the flow of processing performed when providing a cooking recipe print service to member users will be described. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 starts when a touch operation is performed on the service selection key 511 corresponding to the cooking recipe print service on the service selection screen 510 (see FIG. 5).

  In step S11, the MFP control unit 460 causes the operation display unit 430 to display a recipe designation screen 520 as shown in FIG. The recipe specification screen 520 is a screen for receiving specification of a cooking recipe to be printed from a target user (a screen for receiving a recipe specification operation). The recipe selection screen 520 is provided with a plurality of recipe designation keys 521 respectively corresponding to a plurality of cooking recipes.

  Here, in order to provide a recipe printing service, recipe information 315 is stored in the server storage unit 310 of the POS server 300 (see FIG. 2). The recipe information 315 is information in which a predetermined cooking recipe is associated with a food (product) used for cooking the cooking recipe. In the recipe information 315, a plurality of cooking recipes are defined.

  Then, the operation display unit 430 displays the cooking recipe stored in the server storage unit 310 as a print candidate. That is, the operation display unit 430 displays the recipe designation screen 520. After the display of the recipe designation screen 520, if a touch operation (recipe designation operation) is performed on any of the plurality of recipe designation keys 521, the touched recipe can be designated as a print target. Hereinafter, the cooking recipe designated on the recipe designation screen 520 is referred to as a print target recipe.

  In addition, about the cooking recipe which targets predetermined dishes among the several cooking recipes defined by the recipe information 315, it classify | categorizes into the several appliance designation cooking recipe which shows the cooking procedure according to the several cooking appliance defined beforehand, respectively. Be done. For example, microwave ovens as cooking utensils have different performance depending on the manufacturer and model. Therefore, even if the target dishes are the same, the cooking procedure differs between the case of using the microwave oven of manufacturer A and the case of using the microwave oven of manufacturer B. For this reason, it is better to classify a cooking recipe which differs in cooking procedure depending on the performance of the cooking appliance into a plurality of appliance-designated cooking recipes according to the maker and model of the cooking appliance. When classified in this manner, each of the plurality of appliance-specified cooking recipes is linked to information indicating the corresponding cooking appliance.

  Further, when the cooking recipe of the predetermined dish is classified into a plurality of appliance-designated cooking recipes, MFP control unit 460 causes operation display unit 430 to accept the selection of the cooking appliance desired by the user prior to the display of recipe selection screen 520. After that, the recipe specification screen 520 is displayed on the operation display unit 430. At this time, the MFP control unit 460 sets, as a print candidate, an appliance-designated cooking recipe corresponding to the cooking utensil selected by the target user for the cooking recipe of the predetermined dish (dish recipe classified into a plurality of appliance-designated cooking recipes). It is displayed on the operation display unit 430. For example, when the appliance-designated cooking recipe is displayed as a print candidate, information indicating the type, maker, model, and the like of the corresponding cooking appliance may be added to the recipe section.

  In addition, the operation display unit 430 is made to receive an operation for selecting and registering a user-desired cooking appliance from among a plurality of cooking appliances in advance, and identification information of the member user who registered the cooking appliance and the member user You may match and memorize | store the registered cooking appliance. Then, when the recipe designation screen 520 is displayed, if there is a cooking appliance corresponding to the identification information of the target user, the appliance-designated cooking recipe corresponding to the cooking appliance may be displayed on the operation display unit 430 as a print candidate .

  Returning to FIG. 10, in step S12, the MFP control unit 460 transmits print target information indicating a print target recipe to the POS server 300 via the MFP communication unit 470. Accordingly, the server communication unit 330 receives the print target information, and the server control unit 320 recognizes the print target recipe indicated by the print target information. At this time, identification information of the target user (identification information input to the input unit 440) is also transmitted from the MFP 400 to the POS server 300, whereby the server control unit 320 recognizes the identification information of the target user. The server control unit 320 also recognizes an input date (identification date when the target user visits the store 1000) when identification information is input to the MFP 400.

  In step S13, the server control unit 320 extracts a purchase history corresponding to the identification information (target user) received by the server communication unit 330 from the customer database 312 (see FIG. 4) as a target history. Then, in step S14, based on the target history, the server control unit 320 has purchased the target user within the period from the visit date to the third period, among the food used for cooking the print target recipe. It is judged whether there is a shortage of food which is no food. A food shortage is a food which is predicted not to be in stock in the target user's house among food used for cooking of the print target recipe, and is a food necessary for cooking of the print target recipe.

  Here, among foods used for cooking the recipe to be printed, food that has not been purchased by the target user before, and even if the target user has purchased before, a long time has passed since the purchase date Regarding food, it is considered that the food is not in stock at the target user's home. However, since the food is a food necessary for cooking the recipe to be printed, it is better to recommend the target user to purchase the food as a food shortage.

  Therefore, if the food used for cooking the recipe to be printed includes food that the target user has not purchased within the period from the visit date to the third period, the server control unit 320 Predict food as food shortage. Although not particularly limited, the third period is ten to several tens of days (e.g., about 10 to 20 days). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, assuming that the day after the date of visit (12th) to the third period is 2 days, it is predicted that the server control unit 320 predicts that the food is a shortage of food. Among the food used, it is the food that the target user did not purchase between 2 and 12 days.

  In addition, among the foods indicated in the target history, it is considered that the food (purchased item) satisfying the predetermined condition (the first condition and the second condition) does not remain in the target user's house at the time of visit. Therefore, if there is a food (purchased item to be purchased) that satisfies the predetermined condition among the food used for cooking of the print target recipe, the food (purchased item) may be determined as the deficient food.

  Returning to FIG. 10, when the server control unit 320 determines that there is a shortage of food in step S14, the process proceeds to step S15. When the process proceeds to step S15, the server control unit 320 recognizes the missing food as a product to be purchased.

  In step S16, the server control unit 320 transmits, to the MFP 400, print data for printing information related to the product to be purchased (lack of food) via the server communication unit 330. As a result, the MFP communication unit 470 receives the print data of the product to be purchased, so that printing of information on the product to be purchased can be performed.

  In step S17, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the printing unit 410 to print the print target recipe on the sheet, and outputs the recipe sheet P2 (see FIG. 13) on which the print target recipe is printed. At this time, the printing unit 410 also prints notification information 700 for notifying of a product to be purchased (lack of food) on the recipe paper P2.

  For example, MFP storage unit 450 stores in advance a plurality of print data (data for printing a cooking recipe) corresponding to a plurality of cooking recipes, respectively. When the MFP control unit 460 causes the printing unit 410 to print the print target recipe, the MFP control unit 460 reads print data corresponding to the print target recipe from the MFP storage unit 450. Alternatively, print data of the cooking recipe may be stored in the POS server 300 (server storage unit 310), and print data corresponding to the print target recipe may be transmitted from the POS server 300 to the MFP 400.

  In step S14, when the server control unit 320 determines that there is no food shortage, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the server control unit 320 notifies the MFP 400 that there is no insufficient food via the server communication unit 330. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S19.

  In step S19, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the printing unit 410 to print the print target recipe on a sheet. At this time, the MFP control unit 460 does not cause the printing unit 410 to print information on the product to be purchased (lack of food). As a result, the MFP 400 outputs a recipe sheet (not shown) on which only the print target recipe is printed.

  As described above, the convenience of the target user can be improved by printing the cooking recipe (the appliance-designated cooking recipe) desired by the target user. In addition, by printing notification information 700 indicating the missing food as a product to be purchased as well as the cooking recipe desired by the target user, the missing food can be known, so it is not necessary to check the food remaining at home .

(Purchase history printing service)
The flow of processing performed when providing a purchase history print service to a member user will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 14 starts when a touch operation is performed on the service selection key 511 corresponding to the purchase history print service on the service selection screen 510 (see FIG. 5).

  In step S <b> 21, the MFP control unit 460 causes the operation display unit 430 to receive information as to whether or not to add the information of the other store receipt issued at the other store to the target history. In the other-store receipt, it is assumed that information (letters and numbers indicating the information) relating to the product name, price and purchase date of the purchased item purchased by the target user at the other store is described.

  When the operation display unit 430 receives a touch operation on the service selection key 511 corresponding to the purchase history print service on the service selection screen 510 (see FIG. 5), whether to add information of other store receipts to the target history Display a screen for acceptance and perform the acceptance. Then, when it is received from the target user that the information on the other store receipt is to be added to the target history, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the image reading unit 420 to read another store receipt. For example, when the MFP control unit 460 receives that the information on the other store receipt is added to the target history, the MFP control unit 460 causes the operation display unit 430 to display a message prompting the target user to start reading the other store receipt. As a result, the target user sets the other store receipt in the MFP 400, and a start operation (an operation of pressing the start key) for starting reading the other store receipt is performed. In response to the start operation, the MFP control unit 460 causes the image reading unit 420 to start reading the other store receipt.

  In step S23, the MFP control unit 460 recognizes information (letters and numbers) of the other store receipt obtained by the reading by the image reading unit 420. For example, recognition of information on another store receipt by the MFP control unit 460 is performed using an optical character reader (OCR) technology.

  In step S 24, MFP control unit 460 transmits the information of the other store receipt to POS server 300 via MFP communication unit 470. As a result, the server communication unit 330 receives the information of the other store receipt, and the server control unit 320 recognizes the other store receipt information. At this time, identification information of the target user (identification information input to the input unit 440) is also transmitted from the MFP 400 to the POS server 300, whereby the server control unit 320 recognizes the identification information of the target user.

  In step S25, the server control unit 320 extracts a purchase history corresponding to the identification information (target user) received by the server communication unit 330 from the customer database 312 (see FIG. 4) as a target history. Then, in step S26, the server control unit 320 adds the information of the other store receipt to the target history.

  In step S 27, the server control unit 320 transmits print data for printing the target history to the MFP 400 via the server communication unit 330. As a result, since the MFP communication unit 470 receives the print data of the target history, printing of the target history is possible.

  For example, server control unit 320 may select, from the target history, a history of dates up to a predetermined fourth period from a visit date when the target user visits store 1000 (an input date when identification information is input to MFP 400). The extracted print data of the extracted history is transmitted to MFP 400. Note that the fourth period can be arbitrarily changed, and the setting of the fourth period may be received from the target user.

  In step S28, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the printing unit 410 to perform printing based on the print data of the target history. The target history printed here includes the purchase history (product name, price and purchase date) at another store.

  In step S21, when the MFP control unit 460 determines that the information of the other store receipt has not been added to the target history, the process proceeds to step S29. In step S29, the MFP control unit 460 transmits identification information of the target user from the MFP 400 to the POS server 300.

  In step S30, the server control unit 320 extracts the product purchase history corresponding to the identification information (target user) received by the server communication unit 330 from the customer database 312 (see FIG. 4) as a target history. Then, in step S31, the server control unit 320 extracts the target history from the date of arrival of the target user to the date back to the fourth period, and transmits the print data of the extracted target history to the MFP 400.

  In step S32, the MFP control unit 460 instructs the printing unit 410 to perform printing based on the print data of the target history. The target history printed here does not include the purchase history at other stores.

  As described above, the purchase history (target history) combining the purchase history at the store 1000 and the purchase history at the other store is obtained by adding the information on the purchased item described in the other store receipt to the target history. be able to. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the target user, when the purchase history (target history) is printed and used as a household account book, there is no need to perform the work of adding the purchase history in other stores, which is convenient. Further, from the store 1000 side, there is an advantage that the target user can grasp the products purchased in other stores.

  In addition, when the information about the goods which the member user of store 1000 purchased in another store is disclosed from the other store, the coded information which encoded the purchase history in the other store of the member user is issued from the other store You may get it. In this case, if the MFP 400 of the store 1000 decodes the coded information, the purchase history of another store can be easily added to the purchase history of the member user stored in the POS server 300 of the store 1000.

  Alternatively, the POS server 300 of the store 1000 may be communicably connected to the POS system of another store. Then, the purchase history of the member user of the store 1000 at another store may be acquired from the POS system of the other store. For example, when an access key corresponding to the member user's purchase history is issued from another store and the access key is sent to the POS system of the other store, the POS system of the other store sends the access to the POS server 300 of the store 1000. A purchase history corresponding to the access key may be transmitted.

(Other services)
For example, as another service, there is a discount ticket printing service that prints and distributes discount coupons for products to member users. In order to provide a discount ticket printing service, the server storage unit 310 of the POS server 300 stores information indicating an available date on which a discount ticket of a product can be used.

  The server control unit 320 of the POS server 300 receives the identification information of the target user in the MFP 400, and when the identification information is received from the MFP 400, the input date when the identification information is input (the visit date when the target user visits the store 1000). Are recognized, and it is determined whether there is a discount ticket (first discount ticket) that can be used on the day of visit of the target user. If there is a first coupon, the server control unit 320 transmits print data for printing the first coupon to the MFP 400 via the server communication unit 330.

  When MFP communication unit 370 receives the print data of the first discounted ticket from POS server 300, MFP control unit 460 of MFP 400 instructs printing unit 410 to print the first discounted ticket. At this time, the first discount voucher may be printed on the same sheet as the notification information sheet P1 or the recipe sheet P2, or only the first discount voucher may be printed on another sheet.

  Note that some member users may input identification information to MFP 400 when leaving the store 1000. Therefore, when the identification information of the target user is input to MFP 400 and server identification information is received from MFP 400, server control unit 320 checks the history of the visit dates of the target user corresponding to the identification information (how many day intervals) To see if you are visiting Then, the server control unit 320 predicts a scheduled visit date for the target user to visit next based on the visit history of the target user. Further, the server control unit 320 determines whether or not there is a discount ticket (second discount ticket) that can be used within a predetermined period (for example, several days before or after the planned arrival date) starting from the planned arrival date. If there is a second coupon, the server control unit 320 transmits print data for printing the second coupon to the MFP 400 via the server communication unit 330.

  When MFP communication unit 370 receives the print data of the second discounted ticket from POS server 300, MFP control unit 460 of MFP 400 instructs printing unit 410 to print the second discounted ticket. At this time, the second discount voucher may be printed on the same sheet as the notification information sheet P1 or the recipe sheet P2, or only the second discount voucher may be printed on another sheet. Alternatively, when both the first discount ticket and the second discount ticket are present, both the first discount ticket and the second discount ticket may be printed on the same sheet as the notification information sheet P1 or the recipe sheet P2, or The 1 discount coupon and the second discount coupon may be printed together on a separate sheet.

  As described above, if discount coupons to be printed are extracted based on the visit date of the target user, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of inconvenience such as printing of discount coupons that can not be used (e.g., the expiration date has passed).

  In addition, services other than the above may be provided to member users. As an example, there is a bargain product notification service that reports bargain products to member users. Print data for printing bargain information on bargain products is stored in the POS server 300 in order to provide bargain product notification service. Alternatively, the print data of the bargain sale information is stored in the MFP 400. Then, MFP 400 receives the identification information of the member user and receives an instruction to provide the bargain product notification service (a predetermined operation on operation display unit 430) from the target user, and performs printing based on the print data of the bargain information. For example, the product name and price of the sale item, the route to the display position of the sale item, and the like are printed.

<Purchase / Non-Purchase Acceptance>
When identification information of a member user is input to MFP 400, MFP control unit 460 causes operation display unit 430 to display a questionnaire screen 530 as shown in FIG. In the questionnaire screen 530, soft keys 531 corresponding to the respective products notified to the target user as a product to be purchased when the identification information of the target user was input to the MFP 400 last time are distributed. Soft key 531 includes a purchase key 532 for accepting that the corresponding product has been purchased, and a non-purchase key 533 for receiving that the corresponding product has not been purchased. That is, the questionnaire screen 530 is a screen for receiving whether or not each product notified to the target user as a product to be purchased has been purchased.

  For example, when the identification information of a member user is input to MFP 400, the identification information of the target user is transmitted from MFP 400 to POS server 300. When receiving the identification information of the target user, the server control unit 320 extracts a notification history corresponding to the identification information of the target user. Note that the notification history is a history of a product notified to the target user as a product scheduled to be purchased. The notification history is stored in the server storage unit 310 for each member user (identification information).

  After extracting the notification history of the target user, the server control unit 320 determines a product (previous notification product) notified last time as a product to be purchased to the target user. Thereafter, the information on the previously notified product is transmitted from the POS server 300 to the MFP 400. Then, the MFP control unit 460 causes the operation display unit 430 to display a questionnaire screen 530 in which the previous notification product corresponding to the target user is an option.

  When touch operation is performed on non-purchase key 533 among soft keys 531 of questionnaire screen 530, MFP control unit 460 corresponds to questionnaire screen 540 (non-purchase key 533 having received touch operation) as shown in FIG. To display the questionnaire screen of the product to be The questionnaire screen 540 is a screen for receiving the reason (non-purchasing reason) of not purchasing the planned product notified to the target user last time. For example, when the touch operation is performed on the non-purchase key 533 corresponding to the product A, the questionnaire screen 540 of the product A is displayed.

  In the questionnaire screen 540, a plurality of reason selection keys 541 respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined non-purchase reasons are arranged. That is, in the questionnaire screen 540, a plurality of options indicating the non-purchase reason are shown. Then, when the operation display unit 430 receives an operation (reason selection operation) on any of the reason selection keys 542 of the questionnaire screen 540, the MFP control unit 460 recognizes the non-purchase reason selected by the reason selection operation. Then, non-purchase reason information indicating the non-purchase reason selected by the reason selection operation is transmitted from MFP 400 to POS server 300. At this time, the non-purchase reason information also includes information indicating a product corresponding to the non-purchase reason selected by the reason selection operation.

  Upon receiving the non-purchase reason information, the server control unit 320 associates the non-purchase reason indicated by the non-purchase reason information with the product (product code) included in the non-purchase reason information and stores them in the server storage unit 310. . That is, when the product notified as the planned product is not purchased, the product notified as the planned product and the non-purchase reason are stored in association with each other.

  In this way, when the product to be purchased is not purchased, the store 1000 side is stored by associating and storing the non-purchase reason selected by the reason selection operation with the product notified as the product to be purchased. It has the advantage of being able to understand the products and services required by the user.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated not by the description of the above embodiment but by the scope of claims, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

  For example, MFP 400 may perform processing (prediction of a product to be purchased, etc.) necessary for providing services to member users, instead of POS server 300.

100 Purchased Item Management System 300 POS Server (Information Processing Device)
400 MFP (Image Forming Device)

Claims (12)

A purchased item management system in which an image forming apparatus installed in a store and an information processing apparatus are communicably connected.
The information processing apparatus stores, for each user, the purchase history of the user at the store and the identification information of the user in association with each other.
The image forming apparatus receives an input of the identification information from a user,
When the identification information is input to the image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus extracts the purchase history corresponding to the identification information input to the image forming apparatus as a target history. Among the products indicated by the target history, it is predicted that the user intends to purchase a product that satisfies a predetermined condition,
The image forming apparatus prints notification information for notifying the product to be purchased .
When the identification information is input, the image forming apparatus receives whether or not to add, to the target history, information on a purchased item described in another store receipt issued by another store.
When it is accepted that information about the purchased item described in the other store receipt is added to the target history,
The image forming apparatus reads the other-store receipt and recognizes information on the purchased item described in the other-store receipt.
The purchased information management system , wherein the information processing apparatus adds information on a purchased item described in the other-store receipt to the target history . The purchase history includes information indicating the expiration date of the product purchased by the user,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus recognizes an input date on which the identification information is input, and within a first predetermined period which has the input date as a start date among commodities indicated by the target history. 2. The purchased item management system according to claim 1, wherein a product whose date of expiration is the expiration date is predicted as the item to be purchased. The purchase history includes information indicating a purchase date of a product purchased by the user,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus recognizes an input date on which the identification information is input, and among the items indicated by the target history, the items which are the same item and purchased on different days multiple times While extracting a plurality of purchased products, obtaining a purchase cycle of the plurality of purchased products based on each purchase date of the plurality of purchased products, adding the purchase cycle on the previous purchase date of the plurality of purchased products If the expected date is predicted to be the next scheduled purchase date of the plurality of purchased products, and the date within the second predetermined period determined from the input date as the starting date is the scheduled purchase date, The purchased item management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of purchased items are predicted as the items to be purchased. The information processing apparatus stores price information indicating a product price,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus determines the price of the scheduled product based on the price information.
The purchased item management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image forming apparatus prints the notification information including a price of the planned product. When there are multiple items to be purchased,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus obtains a total price of the commodity prices of the plurality of items to be purchased.
5. The purchased item management system according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus prints the notification information including the total amount. The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus, in the product represented by the object history, it is determined whether a new product that corresponds to the predetermined condition is satisfied products there,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there is a new product corresponding to a product satisfying the predetermined condition, the image forming apparatus prints the notification information indicating the new product as the product to be purchased. The purchased item management system according to any one of the items. The products indicated by the purchase history include food.
The information processing apparatus associates and stores a predetermined cooking recipe and a food used for cooking the cooking recipe.
Wherein the image forming apparatus, the pre-Symbol identification information is input, and displays the recipe stored in the information processing apparatus as a candidate print, recipe specifying operation for specifying the cooking recipe printing from the print candidate To accept
When the recipe specification operation is accepted,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus recognizes the input date when the identification information is input, and based on the target history, among the food used for cooking of the cooking recipe specified by the recipe specifying operation. It is judged whether there is a shortage of food which is a food which has not been purchased within a period from the date of input to a date which goes back a predetermined third period, and if there is the food shortage, the shortage is made Recognize food as the item to be purchased,
The image forming apparatus prints the cooking recipe specified by the recipe specifying operation, and also prints the notification information indicating the lacking food as the product to be purchased when the insufficient food is present. The purchased goods management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The information processing apparatus stores, as the cooking recipe, a plurality of appliance-designated cooking recipes indicating cooking procedures respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined cooking appliances.
The image forming apparatus, when accepting the recipe specifying operation, displays the appliance-designated cooking recipe corresponding to the cooking appliance selected by the user among the plurality of cooking appliances as the print candidate. The purchased item management system according to 7. The information processing apparatus stores an installation position of the image forming apparatus and a display position of a product.
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus determines a route from the installation position of the image forming apparatus to the display position of the product to be purchased;
The purchased product management system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the image forming apparatus prints a route to a display position of the planned product, together with the notification information. When the image forming apparatus receives whether or not the product to be purchased has been purchased, and receives that the product to be purchased is not purchased, an option indicating a non-purchase reason for not purchasing the product to be purchased is received. Display multiple messages and select the non-purchase reason, and accept the selection operation,
The information processing apparatus is characterized in that, when the product to be purchased is not purchased, the information processing apparatus stores the non-purchase reason selected by the reason selection operation in association with the product notified as the product to be purchased. The purchased goods management system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 . The information processing apparatus stores information indicating an available date on which a discount ticket of a product can be used,
The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus recognizes an input date on which the identification information is input, and determines whether there is the discount ticket usable on the input date.
11. The purchase according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the image forming apparatus prints the discount voucher that can be used on the input date when there is the discount voucher that can be used on the input date. Item management system. The information processing apparatus or the image forming apparatus predicts a scheduled visit date to which the user corresponding to the identification information will visit next based on the history of the input date when the identification information is input, and It is determined whether or not there is the discount ticket that can be used on the day within the predetermined period that is the starting date,
12. The purchased product according to claim 11 , wherein the image forming apparatus prints the discount voucher usable on the day within the predetermined period when there is the discount voucher usable on the day within the predetermined period. Management system.

Images