JPH04241700A - Fuzzy controller for guiding waiting time of electronic cash register - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the occurrence of such a problem that only a specific electronic cash register is crowded with customers by informing the customers of accurate waiting time in corresponding to the number of waiting customers by using a waiting time output means. CONSTITUTION:A CPU21 outputs accurate waiting time to a waiting time display device 14 through a fuzzying inference engine(FIE) 23 in accordance with detecting signals inputted from a TV camera 16 and electronic cash register 11 and the program of a ROM 22. The FIE 23 sets a fuzzy rule which uses the currently detected elements found from the detecting signals of the camera 16 which detects the number of currently waiting customers and a cash drawer 26 which is opened and closed at every customer and the inputting speed of a keyboard 25 as antecedent sections X1-X3 and the amount of waiting time output of the customer at the end of a customer row as a consequent section Y1. Then the FIE 23 outputs waiting time Z1 and controls the display 14 in a fuzzy inference state.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to electronic cash registers that are installed in parallel in large stores such as supermarkets, and more specifically, the present invention relates to waiting time information for electronic cash registers that can notify waiting times in advance. Related to fuzzy control device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a plurality of electronic cash registers of this type are installed in parallel near the exit of a store to sequentially process payments for products purchased by customers.

[0003] However, when multiple electronic cash registers are installed in parallel, during times when shoppers are concentrated,
Because customers do not know which electronic cash register machine they should line up at for faster processing, customers may concentrate on a particular electronic cash register machine and become crowded, or customers may become dissatisfied with waiting customers due to disparities in the processing speed of electronic cash register machines. There was a demand for an information service that would inform customers of waiting times in advance.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention provides accurate waiting time information to customers based on the current usage status of electronic cash registers, promotes smooth transactions with high usage efficiency, and improves service to customers. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a waiting time guidance fuzzy control device for an electronic cash register with improved performance.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a waiting time output means for outputting information on the transaction waiting time of an electronic cash register, a waiting number detection means for detecting the number of people waiting in line at the electronic cash register, and an electronic cash register. an input speed detection means for an operator to input transaction data into a cash register, an average transaction time detection means for detecting an average transaction time per person of the electronic cash register, and an electronic cash register detected by the above detection means. The number of people waiting in line, the input speed of the clerk inputting transaction data into the electronic cash register, and the average transaction time per person at the electronic cash register, the number of people waiting, the input speed of the clerk, and the average transaction time. Waiting time of an electronic cash register comprising fuzzy inference control means for controlling the waiting time output means by fuzzy inference by outputting the most appropriate waiting time output amount from a fuzzy rule containing an appropriate waiting time output amount. It is characterized by being a guided fuzzy control device.

[0006]

[Operation] According to the present invention, when a customer uses an electronic cash register, the detection means detects the number of people waiting in line at the electronic cash register and the input speed at which an attendant inputs transaction data into the electronic cash register. , the average processing time per person of electronic cash registers, and using these detected elements as the antecedent part, the fuzzy inference control means calculates the most reasonable customer based on fuzzy rules to find the optimal consequent part. The waiting time is output, and the waiting time output means is controlled by fuzzy inference using this output.

[0007]

[Effects of the Invention] As a result, even if there are a number of people waiting at the electronic cash register, the exact waiting time corresponding to the number of people waiting can be displayed to the customer using a waiting time output means such as a display guidance device or an audio guidance device. By knowing this waiting time, customers can know in advance which electronic cash register machine they should line up at for faster processing. It is possible to carry out transactions without having to use a specific electronic cash register, and it is possible to promote smooth transactions with high usage efficiency by eliminating the concentration of customers on a specific electronic cash register.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a checkout lane installed near the exit of a store, in which a large number of L-shaped tables 13 equipped with electronic cash registers 11 and barcode readers 12 are installed in parallel at regular intervals. Here, the products purchased by the customer are processed in order.

The electronic cash register 11 has a keyboard on the front for inputting transaction data, a front display for displaying transaction data to an attendant, a receipt issuing section for discharging transaction slips, and a cash drawer for depositing and withdrawing cash. Equipped with the transaction mechanism necessary for electronic cash registration functions such as

[0011] The barcode reader 12 is installed on the customer aisle side and has a barcode reading function, and also has a turret display on the top surface that is connected to the electronic cash register 11 and displays the transaction amount etc. to the customer. is erected facing the customer aisle.

Furthermore, in order to improve service information for customers, a waiting time display 14 is provided on the top surface of the electronic cash register 11 to display and guide the waiting time of the customers, facing toward the side where the customers are lined up. In addition, above the checkout lane,
Television camera 16 for monitoring the number of waiting customers 15...
is installed.

In this case, in order to obtain the waiting time of different customers for each electronic cash register 11..., a detection signal of the number of people waiting in line for each electronic cash register 11 is detected by using the television camera 16, and , based on the detection signal of the clerk's input speed at which the clerk inputs transaction data into the electronic cash register 11 via the keyboard, and the detection signal of the average transaction time per person of the electronic cash register 11, the current last Fuzzy control is performed by a waiting time guidance fuzzy control device, which will be described later, to determine the transaction waiting time from the queue.

FIG. 2 shows a fuzzy inference control circuit block diagram of a waiting time guidance fuzzy control device for an electronic cash register. According to the program stored in the ROM 22, an accurate waiting time is displayed on the waiting time display 14 via a fuzzy inference engine (hereinafter referred to as FIE) 23, and necessary control data at this time is stored in the RAM 24.

The FIE 23 described above is a current detection element determined by detection signals from a television camera 16 that detects the current number of people waiting, the input speed on the keyboard 25, and a cash drawer 26 that is opened and closed by each transaction customer. A fuzzy rule is set in which the antecedent parts X1 to X3 (antecedent part) are set, and the output amount of the waiting time of the last customer in the last row, which is set corresponding to this current detection element, is the consequent part Y1 (conclusion part). , outputs the most appropriate waiting time Z1 from the above-mentioned detection elements based on fuzzy rules, and uses this output Z1 to display and guide each waiting time display to the waiting customer. 14 is controlled by fuzzy inference.

The above-mentioned fuzzy rules are set according to a predetermined fuzzy rule table 27, and are based on the number of people waiting X1 and the staff input speed X2.
By predetermining an appropriate value corresponding to the average transaction time per person (antecedent part) and a membership function using fuzzy variables as shown in FIG. 6 (consequent part).

In this membership function, each label (fuzzy value) indicating the fuzzy set degree (grade)
, the direction display group of {positive direction P, reference Z}, and the direction display group of {large L,
The membership function that is set to display in combination with the degree display group of ``Medium M / Small S'' and indicates the degree of the number of people waiting X1 in Figure 3 is as follows: Z: No customers waiting PS: PM with a few customers waiting in line: PL: There is a long line of customers waiting: This indicates that there is a long line of customers waiting.

The membership function showing the degree of the staff input speed X2 in FIG. 4 is as follows: Z: No input PS: Fast input speed PM: Normal input speed PL: Slow input speed.

The membership function showing the degree of average trading time X3 per person in Figure 5 is as follows: Z: No trading time at all PS: Some trading time takes PM: Some trading time takes PL: A considerable amount of trading time takes represents.

The membership functions showing the degree of output of the average waiting time in FIG. 6 are as follows: Z: No waiting time PS: Some waiting time PM: Some waiting time PL: Considerable waiting time .

Furthermore, the aforementioned fuzzy rule table 2
As an example of setting 7, as shown in Figure 2, {Rule 1
}If there are no people waiting at the electronic cash register 11 (X
1 = Z), the staff input speed is normal (X2 = PM),
It takes a certain amount of average trading time per person (X3 =
PM), there is almost no need to wait, so in that case, the FIE 23 displays and outputs "There is currently no waiting time" on the waiting time display 14 (Y1 = Z).

[0022] if X1 =Z X2 =PM
X3 = PMthen Y1 = Z {Rule 2} If there are no people waiting at the electronic cash register 11 (X1 = Z), the clerk input speed will be faster (X2 =
PS), even if the average transaction time per person is considerable due to the large amount of products purchased (X3 = PL),
Since there are no customers waiting, there is no need to wait, and at that time FIE2
3 displays and outputs "There is currently no waiting time" on the waiting time display 14 (Y1 = Z).

[0023] if X1 =Z X2 =PS
X3 = PLthen Y1 = Z {Rule 3} If there are a few people waiting (X1
= PS), the staff input speed is normal (X2 = PM), and the average transaction time per person is a certain amount (X3 = P
M), it will take some waiting time, so in that case the FIE 23 will display the waiting time display 14.
For example, "The current waiting time is 1 minute" is displayed and output (Y1 = PS).

[0024] if X1 =PS X2 =PM
X3 = PMthen Y1 = PS {Rule 4} Even if the number of people waiting X1 is small (
X1 = PS), the staff is inexperienced and the staff input speed is slow (
X2 = PL), the average transaction time per person takes a considerable amount of time due to the large amount of products purchased (X3 = PL), a certain amount of waiting time is required, and in that case, FIE23 is used as a waiting time indicator. 14, display and output, for example, “The current waiting time is 2 minutes” (Y1=PM)
.

[0025] if X1 =PS
2 = PL X3 = PL then
Y1 = PM {Rule 5} Even if the number of people waiting X1 is quite large (
X1 = PL), the staff is skilled and the staff input speed is fast (X
2 = PS), and if each person purchases a small amount of products and the average transaction time per person is short (X3 = PS), it can be handled with a certain amount of waiting time.
At that time, the FIE 23 displays the waiting time display 14, for example, “
The current waiting time is 2 minutes” is displayed and output (Y1 = P
M).

[0026] if X1 = PL
2 =PS X3 =PS then
Y1 = PM In this way, as shown in {Rules 1 to 5}..., for the input of the antecedent part of if..., under the condition that the waiting time is accurate for each electronic cash register 11, then ...The rules are set by matching the consequent parts.

The control operation of the waiting time guidance fuzzy control device for the electronic cash register constructed as described above will be explained next.

Now, when a customer processes payment at the electronic cash register 11, the television camera 16 detects in advance the number of people waiting in front of each electronic cash register 11, In order to obtain the number of people waiting X1, and to obtain the processing capacity of each electronic cash register 11 up to that point, the CPU 21 calculates the input processing speed X2 of the staff based on the number of touch inputs on the keyboard 25 and the opening/closing frequency of the cash drawer 26. Find the average trading time per person X3, and based on these detection elements X1 to X3,
Fuzzy inferred waiting time Z1 so that E23 guides and informs the customer of the customer's exact waiting time from the current time.
is displayed in advance on the waiting time display 14 of each electronic cash register 11... to always notify the customer of the current waiting time.

[0029] Therefore, by knowing the waiting time, customers can know in advance which electronic cash register machine 11 they should line up at to get the process processed faster, and this information service will prevent customers from becoming dissatisfied. It is possible to carry out unprecedented transactions, and it is possible to promote smooth transactions with high utilization efficiency by eliminating the concentration of customers on a specific electronic cash register.

In the correspondence between this invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the waiting time output means of the present invention corresponds to the waiting time display 14 of the embodiment, and similarly, the waiting number of people detection means is The input speed detection means corresponds to the TV camera 16, the input speed detection means corresponds to the CPU 21 via the keyboard, and the average transaction time detection means corresponds to the input speed detection means via the cash drawer.
Although the fuzzy inference control means corresponds to the PU 21 and the fuzzy inference engine 23, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the electronic cash register of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a fuzzy control circuit block diagram when outputting a waiting time of the electronic cash register of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a membership function diagram showing the degree of the number of people waiting in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a membership function diagram showing the degree of attendant input speed of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a membership function diagram showing the degree of average trading time per person according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a membership function diagram showing the degree of output of average waiting time according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11...Electronic cash register 14...Waiting time indicator 15...Waiting customer 16...TV camera 21...CPU 23...Fuzzy inference engine 27...Fuzzy rule table X1…Number of people waiting X2...Staff input speed X3...Average trading time per person Z1...Waiting time

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: Waiting time output means for outputting information on transaction waiting time of an electronic cash register; waiting number detection means for detecting the number of people waiting in line at the electronic cash register; an input speed detection means for inputting the
An average transaction time detection means for detecting the average transaction time per person of the electronic cash register, the number of people waiting in line at the electronic cash register detected by the detection means, and an operation by an attendant to input transaction data into the electronic cash register. Based on the input of the clerk input speed and average transaction time per person of the electronic cash register, the most reasonable waiting time is calculated using fuzzy rules that include the number of people waiting, the clerk input speed, and the appropriate waiting time output amount of the average transaction time. A waiting time guidance fuzzy control device for an electronic cash register, comprising fuzzy inference control means for outputting an output amount and controlling the waiting time output means by fuzzy inference.