JPH07234971A - Commodity sale register data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the erroneous registration of data by comparing the extracted data on the external appearance of commodities with the set data on the external appearance of commodities which are read out of a commodity file and registering the sale of commodities only when both the data coincide. CONSTITUTION:The bar code of a sold commodity is read at a scanner part 11, and an entire image of the commodity is photographed on its side where the bar code is printed or pasted. This image data is processed so that the contour graphic and the color tone are acquired by a commodity contour extracting part 24 and an intra-counter color tone detecting part 25 respectively on the side of the commodity where the bar code is printed or pasted. These graphic and color tone are compared with the contour code data and the color tone data on the relevant commodity set previously in a commodity file 39. Then the sale of the commodity is registered only when the coincidence is secured from the comparison. If no coincidence is secured, a message is displayed to show that the sale registration of the commodity is impossible due to the non-coincidence confirmed between the commodity and its code. Thus a cashier can know this fact and the erroneous registration is prevented for the sale of commodities.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise sales registration data processing device used for accounting in a store.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, bar codes and OCR have been added to products for sale
A product sales registration data processing device that performs sales registration processing of sales data of the sales product by optically reading a product code attached with characters for (optical character reading device) by the product code reading device, It is widely used in shops such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

A conventional product sales registration data processing device of this type is provided with a product file in which setting data relating to product sales such as unit price and product name is stored in advance corresponding to the product code assigned to each product. It was When the product code of the sold product is read by the product code reading device, the product file is searched to determine the presence or absence of this product code. If yes, the setting data such as the unit price and product name corresponding to the product code is displayed. It is configured to read out and display on the display unit, acquire product sales data based on the unit price, and perform sales registration processing on the product sales data.

By the way, in a store that employs such a product sales registration data processing device, it is necessary to attach a product code to each product. Therefore, except for products whose product codes are pre-printed at the manufacturing stage, the store creates a product code label with the product code, product name, unit price, etc. printed for each product and attaches this product code label to the product. It was handled by attaching it and selling it.

For this reason, there is a case in which a clerk mistakenly attaches the product code label or an improper operation such as reattaching the product code label between different products, and the products and the product codes do not correspond to each other.

[0006]

However, in the conventional product sales registration data processing device of this type, if the product code read by the product code reading device is present in the product file, the product code is changed to the product code. Since the sales registration processing of the sold product is performed based on the corresponding unit price data, it is not possible to prevent the above-mentioned erroneous registration due to the wrong labeling of the product code label or the incorrect replacement.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the product code attached to the product is a different product, the operator can be notified of the inconsistency without performing the sales registration processing of the product sales data. An object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise sales registration data processing device capable of preventing erroneous registration due to erroneous pasting or unauthorized replacement.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a product file in which setting data relating to product sales such as unit price corresponding to the product code assigned to each product and setting data concerning the appearance of the product are stored in advance, Product code reading means for reading the product code printed or affixed to the sale product, image pickup means for picking up the appearance of the sale item, and appearance data for extracting data relating to the appearance of the sale item from the image data picked up by the image pickup means. Extraction means,
Product data reading means for reading from the product file setting data relating to product sales and setting data relating to the appearance of the product corresponding to the product code read by the product code reading means; and setting data relating to the appearance of the product read by the reading means. Data judging means for judging whether or not there is a match by comparing with the data on the appearance of the sold product extracted by the appearance data extracting means, and product data reading means if the judging means judges that the data match. The sales registration processing means that performs sales registration processing of sales data of the sales product based on the setting data relating to the sales of the product that is read by the product, and if the data is determined to be inconsistent, it is notified that the product cannot be registered due to the inconsistency between the product and the product code. It is provided with means for notifying registration.

[0009]

In the product sales registration data processing device having such a configuration, the product file has the product code of the corresponding product together with the setting data related to the product sales such as the unit price corresponding to the product code assigned to each product. Setting data relating to appearances such as contour figures and color tones of the surface printed or pasted with are stored in advance.

In this state, when the product code of the sold product is read by the product code reading means, the setting data relating to the product sales and the setting data relating to the appearance of the product corresponding to the product code are read from the product file. Further, the appearance of the sold product is imaged by the imaging means. Then, from the image data picked up by the image pickup means, data relating to the appearance of the sold product such as the contour figure and the color tone is extracted.

Then, the extracted data relating to the appearance and the setting data relating to the appearance read from the merchandise file are compared with each other to determine whether or not they match. As a result, if they match, the sales data of the sales product is registered for sales based on the setting data relating to the sales of the product. On the other hand, if they do not match, the registration is not possible due to the mismatch between the product and the product code.

Therefore, when the product code of the product to which the product code of another product is attached is read due to an incorrect attachment of the product code label or improper replacement, etc., the setting data relating to the appearance of the product corresponding to the product code is read. Then, since the data regarding the appearance of the product captured by the image capturing device does not match, registration becomes impossible, and the operator can know that the product and the product code do not correspond.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a commodity sales registration data processing device in this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outline of the case where the device of the embodiment is applied to a checkout lane in a supermarket or the like. is there.

The product sales registration data processing device includes a scanner device 1 including a product code reading device, an image input device 2 including an image pickup device and an appearance data extracting device, a product file, a product data reading device, a data judging device, The POS terminal 3 includes a sales registration processing means and a registration impossible notification means.

The scanner device 1 as a product code reading means irradiates a product moving on the bar code reading window 11a with a laser beam or the like and reads the bar code printed or affixed to the product from the reflected light. Part 11
Have.

The scanner device 1 also inputs a numeric key for counting the number of items sold, a product code of a product on which a barcode is not printed or affixed, or a product whose barcode cannot be read. The scanner-side keyboard 12 is provided with product code keys and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bar code reading window 11a in the scanner section 11 is provided above the front of a column 5 standing upright in the approximate center of the checkout counter 4. Further, the scanner side keyboard 12 is attached to the top of the column 5.

The check-out counter 4 is an accounting table installed between a shopper who moves in the check-out lane and a so-called cashier who handles the accounting work of the products purchased by each shopper. The cashier performs the accounting work on the front side 4a of the out counter 4, and the shopper moves on the rear side 4b in the direction of arrow P in the figure.

The image input device 2 serves as an image pickup means.
It has an image pickup camera 21 for picking up an entire image of a surface including a barcode of a sale product, and a camera controller 22 for controlling an image pickup operation by the image pickup camera 21. The camera control unit 22 receives the image pickup command signal from the POS terminal 3 and causes the image pickup camera 21 to take an image.

Further, the image input device 2 serves as appearance data extraction means, receives a video signal from the image pickup camera 21 and performs signal processing such as noise removal, and a signal processing by the video signal processing section 23. The contour extracted by the commodity contour extracting section 24 from the picture signal subjected to the signal processing by the commodity contour extracting section 24 and the picture signal processing section 23 for extracting the contour figure of the surface including the barcode of the sale commodity from the picture signal passing through It has an in-contour color tone detection unit 25 that cuts out an image of a portion corresponding to a figure and detects the color tone of the image.

Further, the image input device 2 is composed of the contour code data obtained by the pattern matching processing of the contour figure extracted by the commodity contour extracting section 24 and the color tone data detected by the in-contour color tone detecting section 25. It has a product characteristic data creating section 26 for creating characteristic data and an interface section 27 for transmitting the product characteristic data created by the product characteristic data creating section 26 to the POS terminal 3.

Here, the contour code data is various contour patterns ("square", "rectangle", "circle", and "circle") showing the contour figure of the surface on which the barcode of each product is printed or attached.
“Oval”, “triangle”, “pentagon”, etc.), which is code data for categorizing
A table in which code data is set corresponding to each contour pattern is provided.

Each contour pattern is subdivided according to its surface area, and code data is uniquely assigned to each contour pattern.

On the other hand, the color tone data is data obtained by quantizing the color tone of the surface on which the barcode of each product is printed or pasted into multi-level density data of several bits.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image pickup camera 21 has a lens fixed near a bar code reading window 11a formed on the front surface of the support column 5, and a product for sale directed to the bar code reading window 11a. It is possible to capture the entire image of the surface including the barcode.

The POS terminal 1 is a POS terminal dedicated keyboard 31 provided with various keys such as a numeral key, a subtotal key, a current total key, a discount key, and a clear key, a product name of a product registered for sale, It has a display 32 for displaying the price and the total purchase of one shopper, a printer 33 for printing data on receipt paper and journal paper, and a drawer 34 for accommodating cash and the like.

The display 32 is a cashier display 3.
2a and a customer display device 33a are mounted. Further, the receipt paper printed by the printer 33 is discharged from the receipt discharge port 33a, and the journal paper is wound inside.

Further, the POS terminal 3 takes in key data from the keyboard 12 of the scanner device 1 and a communication control unit 35 which controls data transmission performed via a communication line with a host device as a high-order model. A keyboard interface 36, a scanner interface 37 that captures bar code data from the scanner unit 11 of the scanner device 1, and product characteristic data from the image input device 2 are stored in the camera control unit 22 of the image input device 2. Image input device interface 3 for sending an imaging command signal
Have eight.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the POS terminal 3 stores the product name and unit price data as the setting data relating to the product sale corresponding to the product code assigned to each product, and also A product in which the contour code data corresponding to the contour pattern of the surface on which the barcode of the relevant product is printed or pasted as the setting data relating to the appearance and the color tone data indicating the color tone of the surface with multi-value density data of several bits are stored in advance It has a file 39.

The product file 39 is also formed with a total sales amount area and a total sales amount area for each product code, so that the sales number and sales amount of each product registered for sale are summed up for each product. Has become. By the way,
This product file 39 is RAM (random access
It is formed on a readable / writable memory such as a memory) or an external storage medium such as a hard disk.

The POS terminal 3 includes a processor,
The POS control unit 30 formed of a memory or the like controls the above-mentioned units according to a preset program to execute the single item registration operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. ，
Each of the sales registration processing means and the registration prohibition notification means is configured.

That is, the POS control unit 30 waits for the bar code data to be input from the scanner unit 11 as ST (step) 1. Then, when the bar code data is input through the scanner interface 37, S
As T2, it is determined whether the barcode data corresponds to the product code.

As a result, when it is confirmed that it corresponds to the product code, a signal for giving an image pickup command is sent to the camera control unit 22 of the image input device 2 in ST3, and
At ST4, the product file 39 is searched using the product code as a search key. When a product code matching the search key is detected from the product file 39 in ST5, product setting data of the product name, unit price, contour code and color tone corresponding to the corresponding product code is read in in ST6 (read product data). means).

Next, in ST7, the product characteristic data created by the image input device 38 is read in through the image input device interface 38.

Thereafter, in ST8, the image input device 38
The contour code data in the product characteristic data read from the product is compared with the contour code data in the product setting data read from the product file 39. Then, when both contour code data match, the image input device 3 is selected in ST9.
The color tone data in the product characteristic data read from No. 8 is compared with the color tone data in the product setting data read from the product file 39 (data judging means).

If the two color tone data are substantially the same and the products are identical, the sales registration process of the sold product is performed based on the unit price data in the product setting data read from the product file 39 in ST10. Is executed (sales registration processing means).

Specifically, the unit price data is multiplied by the number of sales points (the number of sales points is registered by the number key on the scanner-side keyboard 12; the number is "1" when the number of sales points is not registered). Then, the sales amount is calculated and the sales amount and the sales points are added and registered in the sales amount cumulative area and the sales points cumulative area corresponding to the corresponding product code in the product file 39. Further, the product name, unit price, number of items sold, amount of sale, etc. are displayed on the cashier and customer displays 32a and 32b, and the printer 33 prints them on receipt paper and journal paper.

On the other hand, if the contour code data does not match in ST8 or the color tone data does not match in ST9, the registration cannot be performed in ST11 due to the mismatch between the product and the product code. A message indicating that there is such a message (for example, "The barcode does not match the product.") Is displayed on each of the cashier display 3 and the customer display 3
2a and 32b are displayed and output to notify that registration is impossible (registration impossible notification means).

With the above, the single item registration operation for one sale item is completed.

In the apparatus of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, the DLL from the host device is executed before the opening of the store.
By the (down-line loading) process, the product name is displayed in the product file 39 in correspondence with the product code of each product.
The setting data relating to the appearance of the corresponding product such as the contour code data and the color tone data is registered together with the setting data relating to the product sale such as the unit price. In this state, it becomes possible for the customer to perform a single item registration operation for the product purchased by the customer.

On the other hand, the cashier stands on the front side 4a of the checkout counter 4 and waits for the shopper to come to check out the purchased commodities. And if the shopper comes to checkout,
First, check the purchased items on the columns 5 of the checkout counter 4.
Put upstream. Then, the cashier holds one of the purchased commodities in his hand, and turns the surface on which the barcode is printed or attached to the barcode reading window 11a.

As a result, the bar code corresponding to the product code of the purchased product is read by the scanner unit 11 and an image pickup command signal is sent from the POS terminal 3 to the camera control unit 22 of the image input device 2.
The entire image of the surface including the barcode is captured by the image capturing camera 21.

The video signal of the image picked up by the image pickup camera 21 is subjected to signal processing such as noise removal by the video signal processing unit 23, and then the contour of the surface including the bar code of the relevant commodity by the commodity contour extracting unit 24. The figure is extracted.
Further, the in-contour color tone detecting section 25 detects the color tone of the image of the portion corresponding to the contour figure extracted by the product contour extracting section 24.

By the action of the product characteristic data creating unit 26, the contour code data of the pattern matching the contour graphic extracted by the product contour extracting unit 24 and the color tone detected by the in-contour color tone detecting unit 25 are obtained. Product characteristic data is created from the data.

The bar code data corresponding to the product code read by the scanner section 11 is input to the scanner interface 37 of the POS terminal 3. As a result, the POS terminal 3 searches for the product file 39,
The setting data related to the product appearance such as the contour code data and the color tone data is read out together with the setting data related to the sold product such as the product name and unit price corresponding to the corresponding product code. In addition, the product feature data creation unit 26 in the image input device 2
The merchandise characteristic data created in 1 is read into the POS terminal 3 via the image input device interface 38.

Then, first, the contour code data in the product characteristic data is compared with the contour code data in the setting data. If the two data match, then the color tone data in the product feature data and the color tone data in the setting data are compared. Then, when it is confirmed that both data match each other, the sales registration process of the corresponding product is executed based on the unit price data read from the product file 39.

At this time, since the item name, price, etc. of the corresponding product are displayed on the cashier display device 32a and the customer display device 32b, if the cashier confirms that the sales registration process of the corresponding product is completed, This product is placed on the downstream side of the column 5 of the checkout counter 4.

On the other hand, if the contour code data does not match or the color tone data does not match, it cannot be registered due to the mismatch between the product and the product code on the cashier display 32a and the customer display 32b. Is displayed.

At this time, the cashier key-in the product code of the corresponding product by using the product code key provided on the scanner side keyboard 12 to continue the registration operation.

As described above, the apparatus according to the present embodiment captures the entire image of the surface of the commodity on which the barcode is read by the scanner unit 11, on which the barcode is printed or attached,
This image data is processed to obtain the contour figure and color tone of the surface on which the barcode of the sale product is printed or pasted, and compared with the contour code data and color tone data of the corresponding product preset in the product file 39. , Only when it is confirmed that they match, the sales registration process of the relevant product is executed, and when a mismatch is confirmed, a message indicating that registration is not possible due to a mismatch between the product and the product code is displayed to notify the cashier. Is configured as follows.

Therefore, when a clerk mistakenly attaches a bar code label, or when an illegal act such as re-attaching the bar code label between different products is made and the bar code attached to the product is a different product, Since the sales registration processing of the corresponding product is not performed, this kind of erroneous registration can be prevented.

At this time, a message indicating that the product cannot be registered due to a mismatch between the product and the product code is displayed, so that the cashier can immediately recognize that the product and the barcode do not match. In this case, the cashier can deal with this by operating the product code key provided on the scanner side keyboard 12 to key in the product code of the product.

Although the product code is printed or attached to each product in the form of a bar and the bar code is read by the scanner unit 11 in the above embodiment, the product code is OC.
It goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a product sales registration data processing device in which the R character is printed or attached to each product and the OCR character is read by the scanner unit 11. .

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the bar code reading window 11a is provided on the column 5 which is erected on the checkout counter 4.
Although the present invention is applied to a commodity sales registration data processing device using a vertical scanner provided with a scanner, even if a scanner using a scanner having a bar code reading window on the table surface of the checkout counter 4 is used, It can be applied by mounting the lens of the image pickup camera at a position where the entire image of the product facing the code reading window can be picked up.

In the above embodiment, the identity of the product and the product code is determined from the contour of the bar code surface and the color tone of the surface. For example, a rental shop renting out a video tape, a compact disc or the like can be used. If there is no great difference in the shape of each product, the identity of the product and the product code may be determined only by the color tone. In this case, the contour code data as the setting data relating to the product appearance is unnecessary. Further, the determination process of ST8 of the single item registration work shown in FIG. 4 is also unnecessary.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the message indicating that the registration is not possible due to the mismatch between the product and the product code is notified, but the registration failure may be notified by voice output. Further, the audio output and the display output may be combined. When the shopper is busy, the cashier may not confirm the display even if the cashier performs single item registration.In such a case, if the voice output function is provided, it is possible to reliably notify that registration is not possible. Is good.

In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0059]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when the product code attached to the product is a different product, the operator does not agree with the sales registration processing of the product sales data and the operator does not have a discrepancy. It is possible to provide a product sales registration data processing device that can notify the user and prevent erroneous registration due to incorrect attachment of product code labels or illegal replacement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outline of a checkout lane to which the device of the embodiment is applied.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a product file in the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of a single item registration operation executed by the POS control unit of the POS terminal in the apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Scanner device 2 ... Image input device 3 ... POS terminal 11 ... Scanner part (product code reading means) 21 ... Imaging camera (imaging means) 24 ... Product contour extraction part (appearance data extraction means) 25 ... In-contour color tone detection part (Appearance data extraction means) 30 ... POS control section (commodity data reading means, data judgment means, sales registration processing means, unregisterable notification means) 32 ... Display (unregisterable notification means) 39 ... Product file

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G06T 7/00 G06K 7/00 U 9069-5L 9061-5L G06F 15/70 455 A

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A product file in which setting data relating to product sales such as a unit price corresponding to a product code assigned to each product is stored together with setting data related to the appearance of the product, and a product file printed or pasted on the sold product. A product code reading means for reading the product code; an imaging means for imaging the appearance of the sale product; an appearance data extraction means for extracting data relating to the appearance of the sale product from the image data imaged by the imaging means; Merchandise data reading means for reading from the merchandise file setting data relating to merchandise sales and setting data relating to the appearance of the merchandise corresponding to the merchandise code read by the merchandise code reading means, and setting data relating to the outer appearance of the merchandise read by the reading means. And the sale product extracted by the appearance data extraction means Data judging means for judging whether or not there is a match by comparing with the data regarding the appearance, and when the matching data is confirmed by the judging means, the setting data relating to the product sale read by the product data reading means is used. A sales registration processing means for performing sales registration processing of sales data of the sold product based on the above, and a non-registration notifying means for notifying registration failure due to a mismatch between the product and the product code when the determination means confirms the data mismatch. And a product sales registration data processing device.