JP6563094B1 - Self-registration system - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-registration system capable of simplifying a scanning operation is provided. A scanning device 120 that automatically reads product information of a product is provided on a conveyance path of a belt conveyor 110. The customer can scan the product with a simple operation of placing the product on the belt conveyor 110. In addition, the control terminal 140 automatically determines a product in which a scan error has occurred or a product that requires handling an attendant. In particular, for products that require attendant support, the attendant must accurately and quickly respond to the required attendant in order to identify what kind of attendant support is required and notify the attendant terminal 300. Can do. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-registration system.

  In recent years, supermarkets and mass merchandisers are concerned with product sales by scanning products that customers want to purchase on their own in order to reduce the stress caused by waiting for the customer's cash register and to eliminate the labor shortage of employees who perform cash register operations. The introduction of a self-registration system that performs a scanning process for registering information (hereinafter collectively referred to as “product information”) in a self-checkout terminal and a settlement process for settlement of the registered product is being promoted (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-52721 A

  The merchandise information is input, for example, by causing a barcode attached to the merchandise to be read using a scanner provided in the self-checkout terminal. In the self-registration system, since a customer performs a task of reading a barcode using a scanner (that is, a scanning process), when a customer who is not used to the scanning process uses a self-register, It has been reported that it takes more than twice as long as using a manned cash register that performs payment processing, and there is a problem that the use of a self cash register is rather inefficient. In particular, the product scanning process occupies most of the self-registration usage time (70% or more according to a certain demonstration experiment), and therefore simplification of the scanning operation is urgently required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide a self-registration system capable of realizing a simplified scanning operation.

  A self-registration system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a transport device that transports a product according to a transport instruction input by a user, a scanner that is provided on a transport path and automatically reads product information of the transported product. A self-registration system comprising a settlement processing unit that performs settlement processing of the product based on the read product information, and for the purchase of the product, a group of products that require attendant support for each type of attendant support A database to be stored, and in the case where the reading of the product information has failed, a notification unit that informs the user of a response to the product that has failed to be read and informs the reading error information about the product that has failed to read; When the product information is successfully read, a plurality of types of products registered in the database A determination unit that determines whether or not the product requires attendant correspondence, and a determination unit that identifies a type of attendant correspondence if it is determined that the product requires attendant correspondence; and The present invention includes an output unit that outputs the specified type corresponding to the attendant to a monitoring terminal for the attendant.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify the scanning operation in the self-registration system.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of a self-registration system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the self-checkout terminal provided in each lane. It is the figure which illustrated the registration contents of the member database. It is the figure which illustrated the registration contents of the attendant correspondence database. It is a flowchart which shows the pre-processing of a self-checkout terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the scanning process of a self-checkout terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the scanning error and attendant handling process of a self-registration terminal. It is the figure which illustrated the screen of the monitor in an attendant terminal. It is a flowchart which shows a receipt ticketing process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

A. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a self-registration system is introduced in a large-scale mass retailer or a supermarket. However, the present embodiment can also be applied to all stores (convenience stores, specialty stores, etc.) that sell products.

(1) Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a self-registration system 1000 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the self-registration system 1000 includes a self-registration terminal 100 provided in each of four self-registration lanes (hereinafter simply referred to as “lanes”) Ls-1 to Ls-4, a checkout machine 200, An attendant terminal 300 is provided. The self-checkout terminal 100, the payment machine 200, and the attendant terminal 300 are connected via a communication network N so that they can communicate with each other. The communication network N is, for example, the Internet, a LAN, a dedicated line, a telephone line, a corporate network, a mobile communication network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), other communication lines, or a combination thereof. It does not matter whether it is wired or wireless. Note that the number of the self-checkout terminal 100, the checkout machine 200, and the attendant terminal 300 can be arbitrarily set / changed according to the design of the self-checkout system 1000 or the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the self-checkout terminal 100 provided in each lane Ls.
The self-registration terminal 100 includes a belt conveyor (conveying device) 110 for conveying products, a scanning device (scanner) 120 for automatically scanning product information of the products to be conveyed, and items that could not be scanned by the scanning device. An auxiliary scanning device 130 for scanning merchandise information manually, a control terminal 140 for centrally controlling the operation of the self-checkout terminal 100, a first display device 150, and a second display device 160 are provided. Composed.

  The upstream area Us of the belt conveyor 110 is provided with a placement area Ac on which customers place products, and the scanning device 120 is provided at the center Ms of the belt conveyor 110 (that is, on the transport path). A stack area As for collecting products that have passed through the scanning device 120 is provided in the downstream portion Ds of the conveyor. Commands for starting and ending the transport operation are input in response to a touch operation on the first display device 150 by the customer.

  The scanning device 120 is a scanner that reads product information (a bar code in the present embodiment) of a product randomly placed on the belt conveyor 110 and images the product, for example, Jade X7. (Datalogic) is used. The scanning device 120 transmits the read product information and the captured image to the control terminal 140. In addition, the scanning device 120 has a function of performing an invalidation process for invalidating the security label for products that have been successfully read product information and have a security label attached thereto ( Details will be described later).

  The auxiliary scanning device 130 is a device for the customer himself or an employee supporting the customer (hereinafter, also referred to as an “attendant”) to perform a scanning process on a product that could not be scanned by the scanning device 120. A handy scanner 131 is provided. The auxiliary scanning device 130 also includes a ticketing machine 132 for paying out a receipt for payment after scanning the product information of all the products.

  The control terminal 140 plays a role of centrally controlling the operation of each device and each terminal constituting the self-checkout terminal 100. Although details will be described later, the control terminal 140 is connected to, for example, a host computer inside or outside the store, and the product information (for example, “when”, “where”, “by”), “ ”,“ How many have been sold ”, etc.), a function for managing customer membership information using the self-registration system 1000, and a function for determining whether or not an attendant is required for a scanned product Etc.

3 and 4 are diagrams exemplifying registration contents of the member database (DB) 141 and the attendant correspondence database (DB) 142 included in the control terminal 140. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the member DB 141 purchases at each store (including affiliated stores) in addition to basic member information including member ID, password, name, gender, age, address, and telephone number for each member. Stores purchase history information representing a history, point information representing the number of member points available at the store, and the like. Note that the purchase history information includes information indicating the date and time, the product name, the quantity, the purchase location, etc. of the product purchased by the member for a certain period in the past (for example, 5 years). In addition, you may make it hold | maintain the database which memorize | stored the preference information which shows the preference of each member separately from member DB141. In this case, the preference information includes information indicating a field in which the member is interested (for example, sports, investment, interior, etc.). Of course, preference information may be included in the member DB 141.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the attendant correspondence DB 142 stores a product group that requires attendant correspondence for each type of attendant correspondence. Specifically, based on the first product group (age restriction) for which purchasers have age restrictions, based on the Pharmacy Act, only employees with sales qualifications (so-called registered sellers) will handle them. The second product group (pharmaceutical product) and the third product group (security tag) for which a security tag is set are registered in the attendant correspondence DB 142. For example, the first product group includes “alcoholic beverages”, “cigarettes”, and the like, and the second product group includes “guidelined medicines, first medicines, second medicines, third medicines” and the like. The third product group includes “antique watches” and “accessories”. It should be noted that the registration contents shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  The first display device 150 is provided in the upstream portion Us of the belt conveyor 110. The customer touches the first display device 150 to input a transfer operation start instruction or an end instruction. Various error messages and the like are displayed on the first display device 150. In addition, a bar code scanner BS for member authentication is provided in the vicinity of the first display device 150.

  The second display device 160 is provided in the downstream portion Ds of the belt conveyor 110. The customer scans the product information of all the products, and then packs the products stacked in the stack area As. Thereafter, the customer touches the second display device 160 to input an instruction for issuing a ticket for a payment receipt.

  The settlement machine (settlement processing unit) 200 is a device that reads a barcode or the like written on a receipt (product information) and performs a settlement process. The checkout machine 200 supports various payment methods. For example, payment by cash, payment by point card, payment by credit card or debit card, and payment by electronic money using a mobile terminal are supported. ing. The customer holds the receipt for settlement over the settlement machine 200 and completes the settlement process by paying (settlement) the instructed fee using cash, card, electronic money or the like.

  An attendant terminal (monitoring terminal for attendant) 300 is a terminal for the attendant to check the operation status and the like of each self-registration terminal 100. Based on information supplied from the control terminal 140 or the scanning device 120 of each self-registration terminal 100, the attendant terminal 300 is required to respond to the real-time operation status of each self-registration terminal 100 (for example, an attendant corresponding to a scan error has occurred). Are displayed on the monitor 310 in a divided manner. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the self-registration terminals 100 for four lanes are centrally managed by one attendant terminal 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. The attendant can grasp the operation status of each self-checkout terminal 100 instantaneously by confirming the display content of the monitor 310.

(2) Operation Description Next, the operation of the self-registration system 1000 according to the present embodiment will be described.
<Pretreatment>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing preprocessing of the self-checkout terminal 100.
Prior to using the self-checkout terminal 100, the customer touches the first display device 150 to instruct the start of use. When the first display device 150 receives the start of use (step S1), the first display device 150 displays an inquiry message as to whether or not the store is an existing member (step S2).

  If the customer is an existing member, the customer holds the member card over the barcode scanner BS (step S2; YES). On the other hand, if the user is not a member, the customer inputs that he / she does not have a member card by touching the first display device 150 (step S2; NO).

  When the bar code scanner BS reads the member ID (user identification information) from the member card (step S3), it sends it to the control terminal 140. Upon receiving the member ID (user information), the control terminal (authentication unit) 140 searches the member DB 141 using the received member ID as a search key to perform member authentication (step S4). When the member authentication is successful, the control terminal 140 activates the belt conveyor 110 (step S5), and displays a product scan start instruction on the first display device 150 (step S6). If member authentication fails (for example, when an expired member card is held over), an authentication error message is displayed on the first display device 150. In such a case, the customer can use the system by re-registering as a new member.

  On the other hand, when the customer inputs that he / she does not have a membership card (step S2; NO), the first display device 150 notifies the control terminal 140 that the customer is a non-member. When the control terminal 140 receives a notification that it is a non-member, the control terminal 140 activates the belt conveyor 110 (step S5), displays a product scan start instruction on the first display device 150 (step S6), and then shows the following. Perform scan processing.

<Scan processing>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the scanning process of the self-checkout terminal 100.
The customer sequentially places the products to be purchased in the placement area Ac according to the message displayed on the first display device 150.

  The belt conveyor 110 sequentially conveys the products placed in the placement area Ac toward the stack area As. The scanning device 120 automatically and sequentially scans the products that pass the scanning point Ps (step S1A), and determines whether or not the product information has been successfully acquired (that is, whether or not the scanning is successful) ( Step S2A).

  When the scanning device 120 determines that the scanning is successful (step S2A; YES), it transmits the acquired product information to the control terminal 140 (step 3A) and succeeds in the scanning using the warning light PL. Turn on the green lamp to indicate that, and output sound effects. Further, the scanning device (invalidation processing unit) 120 performs an invalidation process for invalidating the security label for products that have been successfully scanned, to which the security label is attached (step S4A). For example, when an acousto-magnetic security label is employed, the security label is invalidated by releasing the magnetization of the security label.

  When receiving the product information, the control terminal 140 stores the product information in a memory (not shown) and displays the received product information on the first display device 150 (step S5A). Thereafter, the control terminal 140 detects whether a scan completion instruction has been input in response to a touch operation of the first display device 150 by the customer (step S6A). If the control terminal 140 determines that the scan completion instruction has not been input (step S6A; NO), the control terminal 140 returns to step S1A and continues to scan the product while determining that the scan completion instruction has been input (step S5A; YES). ), The belt conveyor 110 is stopped (step S7A), and the scan error and attendant handling process shown below is executed. When the customer touches the first display device 150 and inputs a scan completion instruction, the customer moves from the placement area Ac where the product is placed to the stack area As where the product is stored.

  On the other hand, when the scanning device 120 determines that the scanning has failed (step S2A; NO), the scanning device 120 acquires a captured image of the product that has failed to be scanned, and information including the acquired captured image (hereinafter referred to as “scanning”). Error information ") is transmitted to the control terminal 140 and the attendant terminal 300 (step S8A), and a red lamp indicating that the scanning has failed using the warning light PL or the like, output of a sound effect, etc. Do. Upon receiving the scan error information, the control terminal 140 proceeds to step S6A and detects whether or not a scan completion instruction has been input in response to a touch operation of the first display device 150 by the customer. Since the subsequent operation has already been described above, further description will be omitted.

<Scan error and attendant handling>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing scan error and attendant handling processing of the self-checkout terminal 100.
When the scan for all products is completed, the control terminal 140 determines whether or not a product in which a scan error has occurred (hereinafter also referred to as “scan error product”) is included (step S1B).

  If the control terminal 140 receives the scan error information, and determines that the scan error product is included (step S1B; YES), the control terminal 140 instructs the second display device 160 to handle the scan error product. A message prompting is displayed (step S2B).

Specifically, the control terminal (notification unit) 140 displays (notifies) scan error information on the second display device 160, and corresponds to any of the following three patterns (A) to (C). A message indicating that the selected pattern should be supported is displayed.
(A) Product that failed to read product information (barcode) simply ... Rescan using handy scanner (B) Product without barcode (including unregistered product) ... Request for attendant support (C ) Non-store products (customer's personal items, etc.) ... removal

  For example, the customer can use the handy scanner 131 for a product whose barcode cannot be read by the scanning device 120 from the display content of the second display device 160, even though the product has a barcode. Use to rescan. On the other hand, for products that are not marked with a barcode (for example, fresh food such as tomatoes and cucumbers), an attendant response (such as manual input of the amount by the attendant) is requested. In addition, items that are not sold in the store (such as customer's personal eco bag) will be removed.

  When the control terminal 140 detects that the response to the scan error product has been completed by the customer (step S3B), the scanned product is also referred to as a product that requires attendant support (hereinafter referred to as “attendant compatible product”). ) Is included (step S4B). Specifically, the control terminal (determination unit) 140 compares the product information of the scanned product with the attendant correspondence DB 142 to determine whether the scanned product includes an attendant correspondence product. Then, if an attendant compatible product is included, it is specified what kind of attendant compatible is required. If the control terminal 140 determines that the scan error product is not included (step S1B; NO), the control terminal 140 proceeds to step S4B and makes the same determination.

  When the control terminal (specifying unit) 140 determines that the attendant-compatible product is included (step S4B; YES), the attendant-compatible product includes the first product group (age restriction), the second product group (pharmaceutical product), Which of the third product group (security tag) is identified is specified (step S5B). Then, the control terminal (output unit) 140 outputs information representing the specified product group together with the product name, product ID, and the like of the attendant compatible product to the attendant terminal 300 as attendant compatible information (step S6B).

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a screen of the monitor 310 in the attendant terminal 300.
In the example shown in FIG. 8, in lane Ls-1, two attendant-compatible products belonging to the first product group (age restriction) and one attendant-compatible product belonging to the second product group (Pharmaceutical Affairs Law) have occurred. On the other hand, in lane Ls-2, three attendant-compatible products belonging to the third product group (security tag) are generated, and two scan error products are generated.

Each attendant executes the necessary attendant correspondence by checking the attendant correspondence information displayed on the monitor 310.
If an attendant-compatible product belonging to the first product group (age restriction) is described as an example, the attendant first checks the age of the customer. When the attendant confirms that the customer's age is not subject to age restrictions, the attendant performs a predetermined operation and permits the sale of the product. On the other hand, when the customer's age is age-restricted (for example, a minor), the product is removed to prohibit the sale.
With respect to attendant-compatible products belonging to the second product group (Pharmaceutical Affairs Law), attendants who have sales qualifications for the products will respond to sales at dedicated cash register terminals (not shown).
For the attendant compatible products belonging to the third product group (security tag), the attendant cancels using the canceler for canceling the security tag. In addition, unlike the security label mentioned above, the security tag assumes a security device (for example, an ink tag or a hook guard) that cannot be released without human intervention, but is not limited to this.

  When each attendant executes the necessary attendant correspondence, the second display device 160 is touched to input error cancellation. When the control terminal 140 detects that there has been an error cancel input via the second display device 160 (step S7B), it executes the following receipt ticket issuing process. In addition, also when it is judged that the attendant corresponding goods are not contained (step S4B; NO), the control terminal 140 performs the receipt ticketing process shown below.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a receipt ticket issuing process.
The control terminal 140 displays an inquiry message as to whether there is a coupon applicable to the customer on the second display device 160 (step S1C). When the coupon is presented by the customer (step S1C; YES), the control terminal 140 scans the coupon (step S2C), applies a discount by the coupon, and then calculates the total price of all the products. The image is displayed on the 2 display device 160 (step S3C). If the coupon is not presented by the customer (step S1C; NO), step S2C is skipped, and the total price of all products is displayed on the second display device 160 (step S3C). Moreover, although the case where the scan (reading) of the coupon is performed by the second display device 160 is illustrated in the above description, it may be performed by the checkout machine 200. Furthermore, if the customer selects a digital coupon that can be used at the store using a dedicated application before making a payment, the digital coupon may be automatically applied only by a membership declaration. Good.

  After confirming the second display device 160, the customer packs all products. When the bagging is finished, the customer touches the second display device 160 to input that the bagging is finished. When the control terminal 140 detects that the packaging of the merchandise has been completed (step S4C), it issues a payment receipt from the ticket issuing machine 132 and ends the process.

  The customer goes to the checkout machine 200 with the receipt issued. The customer holds a receipt over the checkout machine 200, selects a predetermined payment method, and makes a payment. The customer can use various settlement methods such as cash, point cards, credit cards, and electronic money.

  As described above, according to the self-registration system 1000 according to the present embodiment, the customer can place the product on the belt conveyor 110 with a simple operation by the scanning device 120 provided in the central portion Ms of the belt conveyor 110. Can be scanned. Therefore, unlike the conventional self-registration system, it is not necessary for the customer to scan all products one by one, and the time and labor required for scanning can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, the control terminal 140 automatically determines a product in which a scan error has occurred or a product that requires handling an attendant. In particular, for products that require attendant support, the attendant must accurately and quickly respond to the attendant in order to identify what kind of attendant support is required and notify the attendant terminal 300. Can do.

B. Others The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For this reason, the said embodiment is only a mere illustration in all points, and is not interpreted limitedly. For example, the above-described processing steps can be arbitrarily changed in order as long as the processing contents do not contradict each other, or can be executed in parallel.

  In the above-described embodiment, a barcode is used as an example of product information. However, the present invention is not limited to the barcode. When no barcode is present, feature point data of an image obtained by capturing a product may be used as product information.

Further, in the present embodiment described above, the control terminal 140 compares the product information of the scanned product with the attendant correspondence DB 142 to determine whether or not the attendant correspondence product is included in the scanned product. Etc., for example, in addition to the product information of the scanned product and the attendant correspondence (multiple types of product group) DB 142, the member DB (basic information of the member user) 141 is used to include the attendant correspondence product. It may be determined whether or not.
For example, from the customer age information registered in the member DB 141, the customer's age is “50 years old”, and all age restrictions registered in the attendant correspondence DB 142 (that is, age restrictions for the first product group) are all Since it is “under 20 years old”, it can be determined that there is no product that cannot be purchased for the customer because of age restriction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1000 ... Self-registration system, 100 ... Self-registration terminal, 110 ... Conveyance device, Us ... Upstream part, Ms ... Center part, Ds ... Downstream part, 120 ... Scanning device, 130 ... Auxiliary scanning device, 131 ... Handy scanner, 132 ... Ticketing machine , 140 ... control terminal, 141 ... member database, 142 ... attendant correspondence database, 150 ... first display device, 160 ... second display device, 200 ... settlement machine, 300 ... attendant terminal, 310 ... monitor.

Claims (5)

In accordance with a conveyance instruction input by the user, a conveyance device that conveys the product,
A scanner that is provided on the transport path and automatically reads product information of the product to be transported;
A self-registration system comprising a payment processing unit that performs payment processing of the product based on the read product information,
A database that stores products that require attendant support for each type of attendant support,
A detection unit that detects whether or not the reading of the product information has been completed for all products to be conveyed;
A notification unit that informs the user of the read error information and prompts the user to respond to the product that has failed to be read for the product that has failed to read the product information after the input indicating that the reading has been completed is detected. When,
Referencing a plurality of types of product groups registered in the database for products for which the product information has been successfully read after the input indicating that the reading has been completed is detected, and attendant-compatible products that require the attendant support A determination unit for determining whether or not
For each product that is determined to be an attendant-compatible product, a specific unit that identifies an attendant-compatible type,
A self-registration system comprising, for each product determined to be an attendant compatible product, an output unit that outputs an identification ID for identifying the product and the specified type corresponding to the attendant to a monitoring terminal for the attendant.   The self-registration system according to claim 1, further comprising an invalidation processing unit that automatically invalidates the security label when a security label is attached to the product for which the product information has been successfully read. 3. The attendant-compatible product includes at least a product for reasons of age restriction, a product for reasons of being a pharmaceutical product, and a product for reasons of being attached with a security tag. Self-registration system described in 1. The product information is barcode information,
Further comprising a handy scanner for reading the bar code information manually
The read error information includes a captured image of the product,
The notice section
For the product the reading error information is notified, based on the read error information, the goods, reads the necessary items of the bar code information by the handy scanner, attendant response request is required goods or removed, The self-registration system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user selects a pattern corresponding to a necessary product and notifies the user of a message indicating that the selected product should be supported . A user database in which basic information of member users is registered;
An authentication unit that performs user authentication by comparing the input user identification information with the basic information of the member user;
The transfer device
If the user authentication is successful, start transporting the product,
5. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the product requires the attendant correspondence using basic information of the member user and the plurality of types of product groups. Self-registration system described in 1.