JPH0373094A - Check-out device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a load on an operator and to improve the efficiency of a check-out job by providing a scanner and a write means which writes a merchandise code read with the scanner on a storage medium at a shopping cart. CONSTITUTION:When a customer places merchandise in the merchandise housing part of the shopping cart 10, the merchandise code of the merchandise is read with the scanner 16, and is written on the storage medium with the write means. when the customer throws the merchandise desiring to purchase in the merchandise housing part 14 in such manner, the merchandise code of the merchandise placed in the merchandise housing part 14 is written on the storage medium sequentially. When the customer comes to an accounting processor after completing shopping, the operator of the accounting processor draws out the storage medium from the shopping cart 10, and reads the content of the storage medium with a reading means, and performs an accounting processing according to the merchandise code. In such a manner, the load on the operator can be reduced, and also, the check-out job can be efficiently performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a checkout device in which a customer makes purchases using a movable shopping cart.

For example, it is suitable for use in large stores such as supermarkets and department stores.

[Prior Art] Large stores such as supermarkets and department stores employ checkout systems that use movable shopping carts.

In a conventional checkout system, as shown in FIG. 9, a customer places shopping carts 1-2 in a shopping cart 1-2 and then tries to make purchases one after another without moving the shopping cart 2 around the sales floor. I buy an item, put it in the cart, and finally go to the checkout machine.

As shown in FIG. 10, the operator of the checkout machine takes out the items in the shopping cart 1 one by one, directs the item's barcode toward the scanner 3 [13A, and passes the item through.
Put it in the empty shopping cart 4.

However, in this type of product flow, at the checkout machine, the customer has to take out the products that have been placed in the shopping cart 1 again in order to be read by the operator or scanner 3, which saves time, labor costs, and The number of scanners increases.

Moreover, the customer cannot know what the total amount will be until all products are registered or completed at the checkout machine.

Therefore, in order to improve the convenience of our customers, we decided to
A method as seen in Publication No. 791 has been proposed. This is equipped with a barcode scanner, product data memory (memory that stores product name, unit price, etc. in correspondence with the product code), sales data memory, totalizer, display, etc. in the shopping basket itself, as well as inside the shopping basket. When a scanner reads the barcode of a product when the product is put into the machine, the sales data for that product is automatically registered and the total price up to that point is displayed on the display.

Therefore, the customer has the advantage of being able to check the total amount one by one and making purchases that suit the customer's budget.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, although the method proposed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-149791 has the advantage of allowing customers to shop while checking the total amount, The system is no different from the method shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 described above, since it is necessary to enter the product code for each product at the time of checkout.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a checkout device that can solve these conventional problems, reduce the burden on the operator, and efficiently perform checkout operations.

[Means for Solving the Problem] Therefore, the present invention includes a plurality of movable shopping carts and an accounting processing device, and each of the shopping carts has the following features:
a product storage section; a scanner for reading product codes of products placed in the product storage section; a writing device for writing data into a removable storage medium; and a product code read by the scanner and written by the writing device. The accounting processing device includes a control means for writing into a storage medium, and a reading means for reading the product code written in the storage medium of each shopping cart, and an accounting process according to the product code read by the reading means. It is characterized by a wide range of accounting methods.

Accounting is processed according to the content read by the product code, that is, the product code.

Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced and checkout operations can be performed efficiently.

[Operation] When a customer inserts a product into the product storage section of a shopping cart, the product code of the product is readable by the scanner, and the product code of the product is read by the scanner. Then, the product code is written into the storage medium by the writing means. In this way, when the customer sequentially inserts the products he/she wishes to purchase into the product storage section, the product codes of the products inserted into the product storage section are stored in the storage medium 11r times.

When the customer finishes shopping and comes to the checkout processing device, the operator of the checkout processing device pulls out the storage medium from the shopping cart and causes the reading means to read the contents of the storage medium. Then, the reading means [Embodiment] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the checkout device of this embodiment. The checkout device includes a plurality of shopping carts 10 that can be moved within the store, and a store exit fl! 11, and an accounting processing device 70 installed at 11.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of each of the shopping carts 10. In the figure, reference numeral 11 is a cart body, which has casters 12 that can be moved freely at the bottom by means of a pipe, etc., and a handle 13 at the top.
They are each shaped like a skeleton. In the middle part of the cart body 11, there is a meat basket 14 which has a product input port 14A on the top surface and serves as a product storage section which is removably attached to the cart body 11 and is inserted into the cellar 1. 1
a scale 15 for measuring the weight of products placed in the shopping cart 14; a scanner 16 for reading barcodes (product codes) of products placed in the shopping cart 14; and a scale display key 1.
．． 7A, a display section 18, and one card writer as a writing means for writing data to an IC card 20 as a storage medium.

The scanner 16 is arranged such that its reading window 1.6A is located above the product slot 14A of the shopping cart 14 and is inclined toward the top of the shopping cart 14. The display section 18 also includes a first display 1 that displays the product name and unit price of the product placed in the shopping cart 14.
．． 8A, and a second display 1.8B for displaying the total price of all products placed in the shopping cart 4.

FIG. 3 shows the circuit configuration of each of the shopping carts 10. In the figure, 31 is a CPU. The CPO 31 includes a ROM 33 that stores programs via a bus 32, and an RA.
M 34 , a scanner controller 35 to which the scanner 16 is connected, a scale controller 36 to which the front scale 15 is connected, a keyboard controller 37 to which the keyboard 17 is connected, a display controller 38 to which the display unit 18 is connected; Three card writer controllers each having one card writer connected thereto.

In the RAM 34, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a product data memory 34A that stores product name, unit price, and weight data in correspondence with the product code, and data on the total weight of the products placed in the shopping basket 14. A total weight memory 34B for storing the total price of the products put into the shopping basket 14, and a total price memory 34C for storing the total price of the products put into the shopping basket 14 are provided. Note that in this embodiment, the CPU 31 and the RO
M33 constitutes a control means that executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the circuit configuration of the accounting processing device 7o. In the figure, 71 is a CPU. The CPU 71 includes a ROM 73 and a RAM that store programs via a bus 72.
74, a keyboard controller 76, a display controller 77, a printer controller 78, and a card reader controller 75 are connected, respectively.

The keyboard controller 76 includes a match key 79A,
Seven keyboards including the mismatch key 79B and the checkout key 79C are displayed on the display controller 77.
Printers 81 are connected to each of the printer controllers 77 .

Further, a card reader 82 is connected to the card reader controller 75 as a reading means for reading the contents of the IC card 20 written in the shopping cart 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the RAM 74, in addition to a product data memory 74A that stores product names, unit prices, sales numbers, and sales amounts in correspondence with product codes, various storage areas 74B are provided. There is. In this embodiment, the CPU 71 and the ROM 73 constitute accounting means that executes the processing shown in the flowchart shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8.

A customer who comes to the store sequentially puts the products he or she wants to purchase into the shopping basket 14 without moving any shopping cart 10 inside the store. Then, the bar code (product code) of the product is read by the scanner 16.

The CPU 3 of the shopping cart 10 executes processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as ST) 11, when it is recognized that there is an input from the scanner 16, that is, when it is recognized that a product code has been input by the scanner 16, S i' 1
2, it is determined whether the weight data from the scale 15 has increased.

That is, it is determined whether the weight data from the scale 15 has increased with respect to the total weight data in the total weight memory 34B (whether the products have been definitely placed in the shopping cart 14).

Here, when it is recognized that a product has been placed in the shopping cart 14, the scanner 16 scans the product from the product data memory 34A.
After reading the product name, unit price, and single item weight data corresponding to the read product code, the process advances to 5T14, where it is fully determined whether the single item weight data matches the weight data of the input product based on the weight data of the scale 15.

That is, from the weight data of the scale 15, the total weight memory 3
The total weight data of 4B is subtracted to obtain the weight data of the product that was put in immediately before, and it is determined whether this weight data matches the read single item weight data.

Here, if the two match, that is, if the product inserted into the shopping cart 14 is read as a correct product code, the process proceeds to ST1.5A, and the data in the total weight memory 34B is transferred to the weight data in the scale 15. and update the unit price data to the total amount memory 34. After addition processing to C, the process advances to S'r'' 15B and the product code, total weight data, and total amount data are written into the IC card 20 by the card writer 19.

Next, proceed to s 'i' i 6 to display the product name and unit price data on the first display 18A of the display section 18, and then
Proceeding to S i' 17, the total amount in the total amount memory 34C is displayed on the second display 18B. Therefore, the customer
While shopping, you can check the unit price of the products you have purchased and the total amount spent so far.

If the two do not match, the process advances to s'ri s and the first display 18A of the display unit 18 displays an error message. Therefore, the customer can confirm that there is a registration error from this display.

Note that when it is recognized at 5T19 that the scale display key 17A has been pressed, the process proceeds to ST20 and the weight data of the scale 15 is displayed on the first display 18A.

In this way, the customer who has finished shopping or the shopping cart 1
When the operator of the accounting processing device 70 reaches the accounting processing device 70 while moving the 0, the operator of the accounting processing device 70 pulls out the IC card 20 from the card writer 19 of the shopping cart 10 and inserts the IC card 20 into the shopping cart 10.
After setting the C card 20 in the card reader 82, the checkout key 79C is pressed.

Then, the CPU 71 of the accounting processing device 70 executes processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, 5T
21, whether or not the accounting key 79C is operated, S 'r'' 22
In the process of determining whether or not a product code has been entered, when it is recognized that the checkout = IF-79C has been operated, ST2
Proceed to step 3 and IC card 2 set in card league 82
After reading the contents of 0 (product code, total weight data, total amount data) and storing them in the RAM 74, the process advances to 5T25 and the total weight data among the contents is displayed on the display section 80.

Here, the operator of the checkout bag ff70 presses the scale display key 17A of the shopping cart 10.

Then, at ST 20 in FIG. 7, the weight data of the scale 15, that is, the total weight data of all the products placed in the shopping cart 14, is displayed on the first display 18A. It is determined whether the total weight data displayed on the display unit 18A and the total weight data displayed on the display unit 80 match, and if they match, it is determined that there is a match 'F-79A.
If they do not match, press the mismatch key 79B.

Then, when the CPU 71 recognizes that the 7 match keys A have been pressed, the process advances to 5T27 and registers the data (product code) read from the IC card 20. Next, proceed to S 'T' 28 and display the total amount 28 U H,:, then S 'I'
Proceed to step 29 to process change.

Further, when it is recognized in ST30 that the disagreement key 79B has been pressed, the process ends. Therefore, in this case, all you have to do is take out the item in the shopping cart 14 and input it from the keyboard 79. Then, when the CPU 71 recognizes that the item code has been input in S'r22, it proceeds to 5T32 and enters the item code. Process the registration.

Therefore, according to this example, the scanner 16 and the product code read by the scanner 16 are placed in the shopping cart 10 using the IC card.
Since the accounting processing device 70 is provided with one card writer for writing to the card 20 and a card reader 82 for reading the contents of the IC card 20, the operator of the accounting processing device 70 can read the IC card 20 from the shopping cars 1 to 10. Since it is only necessary to extract the card and set it in the card reader 82, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the efficiency of the checker 1 to work can also be improved.

Further, when the product code is read by the scanner 16, the product name, unit price, and unit weight data corresponding to the product code are successively read from the product data memory 34A, and the product name and unit price data are displayed on the first display of the display section 18. Since the total amount is displayed on the display device 18A and the total amount is displayed on the second display device 18B, the user (customer) can
This is convenient because it is possible to check the price of the purchased item based on the item name and unit price data displayed in 8A and 18B, as well as the total amount purchased so far.

Further, each shopping cart IO is provided with a scale 15 for measuring the weight of the product placed in the shopping cart 14, and the weight data of the product measured by the scale 15 corresponds to the product code read from the product data memory 34A. The individual item weight data is compared, and if the two do not match, a message to that effect is displayed on the display section 18 of the shopping cart IO, so that the user can also be informed of the registration error. This has the advantage of preventing fraud.

In addition, in the accounting processing device 70, the total weight data read from the IC card 20 is displayed on the display unit 80, and when the scale display key 17A of the shopping cart 10 is pressed, the weight data measured by the scale 15 is displayed. Since the information is displayed on the display 18A, the operator can know from both displays that there has been a mistake in registration.

In addition, the scanner 16 of each shopping cart 10 is connected to the shopping cart 1.
4, and is arranged in an inclined manner toward the top of the shopping cart 14, so that the user (customer) can simply put the product taken from the product display shelf into the shopping cart 14. It is possible to read the barcode of the product, and also to prevent double reading of the product placed in the shopping cart 14.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a shopping cart is provided with a scanner and a writing means for writing the product code read by the scanner into a storage medium, and an accounting processing device is provided with the contents of the storage medium. Since a reading means is provided to read the information, the operator of the accounting processing device only needs to use the reading means to read the contents of the storage medium of the shopping cart, which reduces the burden on the operator and also reduces the checkout process. Efficiency can also be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows the overall configuration, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the shopping cart, Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the shopping cart, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the RAM in Figure 3. , 5th
The figure is a block diagram showing the circuitry of the accounting processing device.
5 is a diagram showing the contents of the RAM in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the shopping cart, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the accounting processing device. 9 and 10 show the prior art. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the shopping cart 1 to 1, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the scanner. 10...Cart for leisure items, 14...Shopping basket (product storage section), I6...Scanner, 1...Card writer (8 included means), 20...IC
Card (storage medium), 31.33...CPU and R0M (control means), 70...Accounting processing device, 71.73...CPU and ROM (accounting means), 82...Card reader (reading) means). 1st Fig. 10 Purchasing cart 14 Shopping cart (product collection section) 16 Scanner 19 Card writer (writing means) 20-1c card (2 self-storage medium) 3133...CPU and ROM (control means) 70 Accounting ! ! Embedded device 71. 73-CPU;; and ROM (accounting means) 82 - Card reader (reading means) Fig. 7 113 Fig. 8 Fig. 0 Fig. 0

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Consisting of a plurality of movable shopping carts and an accounting processing device, each shopping cart includes a product storage section, a scanner that reads the product code of the product placed in the product storage section,
The accounting processing device includes a writing means for writing data into a removable storage medium, and a control means for writing the product code read by the scanner into the storage medium by the writing means, 1. A checkout device comprising: a reading means for reading a product code written in a storage medium; and an accounting means for performing accounting processing according to the product code read by the reading means.