JPH09120484A - System, method, and device for automatic article adjustment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the practical system, method, etc., for article automatic adjustment which speedily enables adjustment without interrupting adjustment processing even if article information can not be read. SOLUTION: The article automatic adjustment system is equipped with plural (3-5) automatic adjustment devices 1 which automatically read out article information including the prices of articles that a customer 100 has thrown in to purchase while moving the articles 20 on a conveyor 7, a computer 32 constituting a central processing part which calculates the amount of money by retrieving the prices of the articles 20 according to the read information, and an auxiliary input device 40 which is connected to the automatic adjustment device 1 and computer 32 and is operated by an operator 101. Then the automatic adjustment device 1 is equipped with a adjustment device 11 including an input device that the customer operates for the adjustment of the calculated amount of memory, and this adjustment device 11 of this automatic adjustment device 1 is connected in a bidirectionally communicable state so that an operator of the remotely arranged auxiliary input operation part 40 inputs the corresponding article information when the article information can not be read.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product automatic payment system used in mass-market stores of products such as supermarkets, and more particularly to a self-service type product automatic payment system and product automatic payment method,
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an automatic settlement device therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic product settlement system used in mass-market stores such as supermarkets, an operator inputs the price of each product by a cash register called a cash register, and automatically Is being added to. By the way, in recent years, in order to automate the input of the product price, a bar code is attached to the surface of the product, and the bar code reader operated by the operator reads the bar code to display the product price and necessary product information. It is widely used to input automatically. Furthermore, in recent years, by adopting a so-called self-service type automatic settlement device in which the customer himself operates the automatic settlement of goods, it becomes possible to perform settlement processing for many customers with fewer store staff. As a result, efforts have been made to save labor in stores.

On the other hand, in such a self-service type automatic settlement apparatus, as described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-271987, a commodity placed on a conveyor belt of the apparatus is moved on the commodity. Many methods of reading the described barcodes have been proposed.

[0004]

By the way, in such a conventional self-service type automatic settlement apparatus, when the bar code of the product is unsuccessfully read, the product is always returned to the product insertion section of the device, and then again. It was necessary to read by the device, which was a cause for bothering the customer. Further, as another conventional self-service type automatic settlement apparatus, a system has been proposed in which the customer himself / herself operates a handy bar code reader to perform self-checkout. Due to annoyance, it is currently practiced only at some membership stores.

In order to solve this problem, the above-mentioned conventional technique
Although technologies and methods to improve the reading rate of product data such as barcodes are being studied, there is little consideration about an automatic product settlement system that replaces the conventional self-service type automatic settlement device and an automatic settlement device therefor. It wasn't done. That is, even in the self-service type automatic settlement device known from the above-mentioned patent publication, as an improvement point, emphasis is placed on increasing the bar code reading rate of the product,
With this configuration, since the reading area of the device is widened, the mechanism for moving the bar code reader and the like becomes complicated, the device price increases, and there is no prospect of practical application.

On the other hand, it is practically difficult to set the bar code reading rate of the product to 100%, and the product information such as the bar code is not described in some stores. There are products that cannot be dealt with merely by improving the bar code reading rate, such as products and fresh food products that are discounted at closing times.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned prior art, the object of the present invention is to be able to be configured by a relatively inexpensive device, and to reduce the waiting time at the time of settlement and improve customer service. Another object of the present invention is to provide a new self-service type product automatic payment system and product automatic payment method, and an automatic payment device used for that purpose.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the price entered on the product is transferred while moving the product which the customer desires to purchase and put into another place. It is possible to automatically take in the product information including 1
Connected to the automatic settlement device and the central processing unit, which is connected to the automatic settlement device and more than one unit, is connected to the automatic settlement device, retrieves the price of the product from the imported product information and calculates the amount of money And an auxiliary input operation unit operated by an operator, wherein the automatic settlement device includes a settlement device including an input device operated by a customer, and the settlement device of the automatic settlement device. Proposes an automatic product settlement system which is connected to the auxiliary input operation unit so as to be able to communicate in both directions.

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, the customer puts into the automatic settlement device the product he / she desires to purchase, and the price entered on the product is included while moving the product. In the product automatic settlement method in which the product information is automatically fetched, the price of the product is searched from the fetched product information, the amount of money is calculated and displayed to the customer, and the customer pays based on the calculated and displayed amount, When the product information of the inserted product cannot be read, a warning is issued to the operator via an auxiliary input operation unit arranged separately from the automatic settlement device, and accordingly, the operator can read the product information. An automatic product settlement method for inputting product information of impossible products is proposed.

Further, according to the present invention, as an automatic settlement apparatus used for the above-mentioned automatic article settlement system,
The customer automatically captures the product information including the price entered on the product that the customer desires to purchase, searches the product price from the imported product information, calculates the amount, and displays it to the customer.
An automatic settlement device for a product automatic settlement system that prompts the customer to make a settlement based on the calculated and displayed amount, and product information including the price entered on the product while moving the product put in the device. And a display means for displaying to the customer the amount of money retrieved and calculated from the imported product information, and a settlement means for the customer to settle the displayed amount of money. further,
When it is impossible to read the product information of the inserted product, a product automatic settlement system provided with means for enabling two-way communication with the operator via an auxiliary input operation unit arranged separately from the device. An automatic settlement device for is proposed.

According to the above-described automatic commodity settlement system and commodity automatic settlement method of the present invention, and further, the automatic settlement apparatus used for that purpose, it is usually necessary to purchase a commodity from a customer. Product information is automatically fetched and totaled / added to perform settlement.Especially, when a reading failure that cannot automatically fetch product information occurs, the operator who is warned of such reading failure is By performing bi-directional communication, the product information of the product can be entered quickly and accurately, and even if a read failure occurs, the waiting time at the time of payment is reduced and customer service is improved. You can do it.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention described in detail below, the image inputting means is arranged in the vicinity of the product information reading means of the automatic settlement apparatus so that the image inputting can be performed even if a reading failure occurs. Since the image information captured by the means is displayed to the operator by the image display means of the auxiliary input operation unit which is arranged in an isolated manner, the operator confirms the display screen of this product to promptly display the product of the product. It is possible to enter product information. Further, according to the commodity automatic settlement system of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the facility cost by the relatively simple apparatus configuration and at the same time operate a larger number of automatic settlement apparatuses with less personnel. It enables low cost operation.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an automatic commodity settlement system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, for example, an operator 101 operates an automatic settlement device 1 which is arranged near an exit in a store and automatically reads and setstles product information including a price from a product that a customer desires to purchase. A plurality of units (three units in this example) are connected to one auxiliary input operation unit 40 through the line 31. Note that this line may be wired or wireless, and the number of automatic settlement devices 1 connected to one auxiliary input operation unit 40 operated by one operator 101, that is, one The number of automatic settlement devices 1 to which the operator 101 corresponds is three per person in the above example, but the effect of labor saving is diminished.
There is no problem as a stand. The optimum operation number of the automatic settlement device 1 per operator 101 varies depending on the customer's familiarity with the operation of the automatic settlement device 1 or factors such as the bar code description rate of the products in the store, but labor saving From the viewpoint of customer service, 3 to 5 units are preferable. Also,
Reference numeral 100 in the drawing indicates a customer.

Here, the detailed structure of the automatic settlement apparatus 1 constituting the above-mentioned automatic commodity settlement system will be described with reference to FIG. The automatic settlement apparatus 1 is a customer detection unit 9 for detecting the approach of a customer to the apparatus by using ultrasonic waves or infrared rays, a product basket holder 3, and a product injection in which the customer himself / herself inputs a product desired by the customer. Part 2, a conveyor belt 7 for conveying the inserted goods, a commodity information reading unit 4 for reading commodity information such as a barcode of the commodity on the conveyor belt 7, a commodity stocker 5 for accumulating the commodity after the commodity information is read, before settlement Gate 8 for restricting the passage of the customer to the product stocker 5, the settlement device 6 for performing the settlement processing by the customer based on the read product information, and the passage detection means 10 for detecting the passage of the customer who moves to the commodity stocker 5 after the settlement. , A second gate 81 that prevents a third person from approaching the product stocker 5 and prevents fraud such as taking away the product, an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor, etc. People detecting means 82 for detecting the presence in the vicinity of a person mosquito 5 and product stocker 5
It also has a product detection unit 120 that detects the presence or absence of a product in the product and also uses ultrasonic waves or infrared rays.

In this example, the product information described on the product is described as a bar code, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a two-dimensional code.
It is also possible to use a so-called wireless tag that exchanges data wirelessly. Further, as is clear from the figure, the settlement device 6 is a speaker for displaying the price of the product obtained from the read product information and an instruction from the operator when the customer is confused about the operation. A built-in display 11, an instruction to end product insertion, manual input of product information when reading of product information fails, and further input means 12 for exchanging information with an operator, and for settlement Card input unit 13 for inserting a credit card or prepaid card
And Although not shown in this figure,
The settlement device 6 may be provided with a cash input unit and an automatic change dispenser for enabling cash settlement instead of a credit card or a prepaid card. Although not shown, the settlement device 6, as will be described later, uses, for example, a customer image capturing unit for capturing an image of the customer 100 in order to perform good communication between the customer 100 and the operator 101. A CCD camera or the like can be built in and provided.

Next, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the automatic settlement apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 2, particularly the reading section 4 thereof. In this figure, the product 20 that the customer has inserted into the product insertion unit 2 moves on the conveyor belt 7 in the direction of the arrow a in the drawing to reach the reading area. In addition,
The reading unit 4 includes a product height detection unit that detects the product height, and a plurality (three) of bar code readers 23, 23.
, And image input means 24. That is, as is clear from the figure, the product height detecting means is
A plurality of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes, which are arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt 7, are linearly arranged in the height direction, and a plurality of light receiving elements such as a phototransistor are similarly arranged. A light receiving unit 22 arranged in a straight line in the height direction is arranged at a position facing each other with the conveyor belt 7 interposed therebetween, and a product moving on the conveyor belt 7 is a light receiving unit from the light emitting unit 21. By blocking the light going to 22, the height of the product can be detected by the height to the blocked portion. In this example, the product height detection means also serves as the product insertion detection means for detecting the insertion of the product. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the product height detection means and the product insertion detection means may be separately arranged.

As described above, when the product height detecting means including the light emitting portion 21 and the light receiving portion 22 and also functioning as the product insertion detecting means detects the insertion of the product 20, the detection timing and the conveyance belt 7 are conveyed. From the speed, the calculation means (not shown) looks at the timing, the bar code readers 23, 23 ...
The barcode 25 attached on the product 20 is read. As is clear from the figure, the bar code readers 23, 23, ... Are arranged so that the bar code 25 attached on the product 20 can be read from above or from the left and right sides. It is arranged in one direction, that is, above and on the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 7. Further, the image input means 24 composed of, for example, a CCD camera is arranged above the reading area so that the entire reading area can be viewed.

In the reading unit 4 having such a configuration, the product 20
If the above bar code 25 could not be read, or
When it is considered that so-called bar code reading was not performed normally, such as when the product height of the product information obtained from the read barcode 25 is significantly different from the product height detected by the product height detecting means. To stop, the conveyor belt 7 is stopped. Then, the image of the product 20 is captured by the image input means 24, and the image is presented to the waiting operator 101 via the auxiliary input operation unit 40 of FIG. 1, whereby the operator 101 confirms the product 20 and sells the product 20. Allows you to enter information.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the image input means 24
Is arranged in only one place of the reading unit 4, but it is also possible to arrange a plurality of these in different positions. According to such a configuration, images from a plurality of directions of the product 20 can be displayed. It will be clear that, by obtaining, it will be easier and more reliable to confirm the product by the image of the operator.

Here, returning to FIG. 1 again, reference numeral 32 in this figure indicates a computer forming a so-called central processing unit. That is, the computer 32 is connected to the plurality of automatic settlement devices 1 and provides the automatic settlement device 1 with product information such as a price according to the barcode read by each of the automatic settlement devices 1. , In addition, this calculator 32
Provides the product information to a combination with another operator 101 or another automatic settlement device 1 not shown. In addition, the auxiliary input operation unit 40 is
As is clear from the figure, operator image input means 41 for inputting an image of the operator 101, such as a CCD camera, voice input means 45 made up of a microphone, and product information for inputting data such as product price. Keyboard 46 as input means, for example C
It is composed of a display device 47 composed of RT, and an audio output means 48 composed of a speaker, for example. Further, in FIG. 1, an image 44 of a product taken in by the image input means 24 of one of the connected automatic settlement devices 1 is displayed on the display screen 42 of the display device 47, and further, , Customer 1
Customer 1 to communicate well with 00
A split screen 43 that is split into windows to display the 00 image at the same time is shown. Further, on the display screen 42 of the display device 47 of the auxiliary input operation unit 40, the image of the product taken in by the image input means 24 of the plurality (three) of automatic settlement devices 1, 1 ... Connected thereto. It is also possible to display 44 by dividing the display screen.

According to the auxiliary input operation unit 40 having such a configuration, when a reading failure occurs in the automatic settlement device 1, the auxiliary input operation unit 40 issues an alarm and calls the operator 101's attention. In addition, the display screen 4 on the display device 47
2 displays the reading area image of the automatic settlement device 1 in which the barcode 25 of the product 20 could not be read. Therefore, the operator 101 looks at the image 44 of the product displayed on the screen and inputs the product information including the price of the product from the product information input means 46. If the product 20 cannot be judged from the image 44, the operator 1
Reference numeral 01 gives an instruction to the customer 100 via the display 11 with the speaker built in the adjusting device 6 of the automatic adjusting device 1 by the operator image inputting means 41 or the voice inputting means 45, and the barcode 25 can be read. Request an operation such as changing the direction of the product 20 to the position. Alternatively, the operator 101 can request another store clerk to move to the problematic automatic settlement apparatus 1 and directly input the product information from the input means 12 of the settlement apparatus 6.

On the other hand, the customer 100 inputs a voice from a voice input means such as a microphone (not shown) arranged on the settlement device 6 of the automatic settlement device 1, and the voice output means 48 of the auxiliary input operation section 40. It is possible to ask a necessary question to the operator 101 via the. At this time, in order to communicate favorably with the customer 100, the customer 100 who has captured the information is displayed on the display screen 42.
As described above, it is possible to display the image on the split screen 43. Further, as described above, a plurality of (3) connected automatic settlement devices 1,
The image 44 of the product taken in by the image input means 24 of No. 1 is displayed on the display screen 42 in a divided manner. If the reading area of the automatic settlement machine 1 is enlarged and displayed on one screen, it is possible to quickly deal with the reading failure. Further, regardless of the presence or absence of such divisional display, the product in which the reading failure occurs is highlighted by blinking, edge highlighting, or the like, so that the operator's response can be made easier.

In the case where one automatic settlement device 1 has a plurality of image input means 24, the display screen 42 of the auxiliary input operation section 40 is divided into a plurality of parts, and the image input means 24 of each image input means 24 is divided. By displaying the captured images individually so that the product 20 can be confirmed from a plurality of directions, the recognition rate of the product by the operator 101 can be increased.

Next, details of the operation of the automatic commodity settlement system whose configuration has been described in detail above, in particular, the automatic settlement apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the power of the system is turned on and the operation starts (step S101). And customer 1
When 00 stands in front of the automatic settlement device 1 for settlement of the product to be purchased, the customer detection means 9 detects the presence of the customer (step S102) and opens the two gates 8 and 81 of the passage. Close (step S103). This allows
The customer 100 prevents fraud such as taking out unpaid products.

Next, the conveyor belt is operated (step S1
04) When ready to receive the product to be settled, the customer 100 is instructed to insert the product by voice or the like (step S105), whereby the customer 100 inserts the product into the product insertion unit of the automatic settlement machine 1. Add to 2. Then, the product height detecting means including the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 detects the insertion of the product 20 (step S106). Here, it is possible that the customer 100 cancels the settlement of the product 20 and leaves the automatic settlement apparatus 1 and so on. Therefore, a timeout of an appropriately set time is determined (step S1).
07), if there is no loading during that time, the conveyor belt 7 is stopped (step S108), and the apparatus is returned to the initial state (that is, the process returns to step S102 again).

The above-mentioned product height detecting means also detects the height of the inserted product 20 (step S109).
Further, the bar code reader 23 is operated by determining the timing based on the transport speed and the product loading time detected by the product height detecting means. Then, it is determined whether or not the barcode 25 on the product 20 has been read normally (step S110). As a result, when it is determined that the barcode is read, the product information in the computer 32 is searched (step S111), the price of the product 20 is obtained, and the price information is displayed on the display device 11 of the automatic settlement machine 1. (Step S112). Then, it is confirmed whether or not the customer understands the displayed price, in other words, whether or not the customer has a complaint (step S113).

As a result, if the customer understands, that is,
If there is no complaint from the customer, it is confirmed that the product price retrieved above matches the product information again (step S114), and it is added by the computer in the automatic settlement device 1 (step S115) to obtain the current amount. Is displayed on the display device 11 (step S116).

After the merchandise data is read as described above and it is detected that the merchandise 20 has passed through the reading section 4 (step S117), it is confirmed whether or not there is an end instruction from the customer 100 (step S118). As a result, if there is no end instruction, the next product 20 is instructed, and thereafter, the same operation is performed (that is, the above step (step S
Return to 105). On the other hand, if there is an end instruction, the conveyor belt is stopped (step S119), and the customer 100 is instructed by voice or image to perform the settlement process, and in response thereto,
The customer 100 makes a payment using cash, a cash card, a prepaid card, or the like (step S12).
0).

When it is confirmed that the settlement process has been completed, the gate 8 opens (step S121), and the customer 100 receives the product 2
In order to collect 0, the product stocker 5 of the automatic settlement machine 1 above
It becomes possible to move to the side. At the same time, the second gate 81 is also opened so that, for example, the partner of the customer 100 can approach the product stocker 5 and assist in receiving the product 20. Furthermore, it is confirmed whether or not there are products in the product stocker 5 (step S122), and all the products 20
Is confirmed, and the passage detecting means 10 confirms passage of the customer 100 (step 123).
If it is determined in step S122 that the product has not been taken out, the time until the product 20 is taken out is determined (step S124), and if the product has not been taken out for a certain period of time or more, , It is considered that there is an abnormal situation such as misplacement of goods, leaving the customer, and so on, and gives a warning to the operator 101 (step S12).
5) The processing instruction is given to the store clerk (step S126). If it is determined in step 123 that the customer 100 has not passed after the product is taken out in step S122, the time until the customer 100 passes is determined, and the passage is not confirmed for a certain time or longer. Also in the case of (step S127), some abnormality may be considered, and therefore, a warning is given to the operator 101 (step S128), and a processing instruction is given to the clerk (step S129). After that, it returns to the state of accepting the products of the next customer. That is, the above step S
Return to 102.

On the other hand, in the above step S110,
If the bar code cannot be read, the above step S
When the height of the product 20 obtained from the product information retrieved from the bar code 25 read at 114 and the height of the product 20 detected by the height detecting means including the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 are significantly different from each other. Alternatively, in the above step S113, when it is determined that the bar code cannot be normally read, such as when the customer 100 has doubts about the displayed fee and does not understand,
The conveyor belt is stopped (step S130), and the operator 101 is alerted (step S131).
As a result, the display screen of the display device 11 can be immediately watched, and the processing can be performed quickly.

Next, on the display screen 42 of the product display device 47 of the auxiliary input operation unit 40 corresponding to the operator 101, an image of the product for which normal bar code reading could not be performed, that is, the automatic conveyance device when the belt is stopped. The image 44 of the product in the reading area 2 of No. 1 is displayed (step S132). The operator 101 confirms the product 20 in the display screen 42 (step S133), and if the product can be determined, the product information of the product 20 is input (step S134). On the other hand, if the product 20 cannot be determined from the displayed product image 44, the operator 101
Selects a store clerk or a customer, gives an instruction (step S135), and causes one of them to perform a process. When the store clerk performs the process, the store clerk heads to the automatic settlement apparatus 1 to perform the process (step S136), whereby the store clerk inputs the product information of the product 20 from the input means 12 or the like. (Step S137). On the other hand, when the customer wants to perform processing, the conveyor belt 7
And the product 20 is returned to the loading section 2 (step S1
38), with the display device 11 of the automatic settlement device 1 or its voice output or the like, give an instruction to the customer 100 to re-insert the product, or have the product 20 be moved in the reading area 7, and the operator 101 is assisted in the product determination (step S139), the process returns to step S102 again to input the product information, and the settlement work is advanced or finished (step S140).

In addition, unlike the ordinary cash register system, the automatic checkout apparatus 1 does not always monitor the clerk, so that the customer can bring the product out of the product stocker 5 before the checkout process is completed, or another customer can buy the product. It is conceivable that there will be fraud, such as having someone with you. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in the above process flow, in particular, from the input of the product (step S106 ′) to the settlement process (step S120).
The person detecting means 82 of the automatic settlement apparatus 1 constantly monitors the approach of another person to the vicinity of the product stocker 5 until the end of (step S141), and
When an intruder is approaching another person, it is possible to give a warning to the operator (step S142) and give a clerk an instruction to deal with the customer's fraud (step S143).

FIG. 6 shows another example of the automatic settlement apparatus shown in FIG. 2. The difference from the configuration of FIG. 2 is that instead of the person detecting means 82 of FIG. The point is that it is possible to detect the unauthorized removal of the product from the time when the product is put in to the time when the settlement process is completed. Here, the merchandise take-out detection means 83 is, for example,
The product stocker 5 is composed of a pair of light emitting elements and light receiving elements arranged on opposite side surfaces. Then, when the light is blocked, the taking out of the product is detected.

The fraudulent activity detection by the product removal detection means 83 is performed in the same manner as the intruder detection by the person detection means 82 shown in FIG. That is, during the period from the product insertion to the settlement, the product removal is monitored, and the product removal is detected by the detection means 83 (step S14).
1), give a warning to the operator (step S142),
The processing of the clerk is instructed (step S143).

In the case of the automatic settlement apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the second gate 81 restricts a person from entering the vicinity of the product stocker 5 to prevent fraud. A certain distance was required between the product stocker 5 and the second gate 81 in order to prevent the product from being taken out by stretching it. However, since the automatic settlement device of FIG. 6 detects the taking-out of the product directly on the product stocker 5, the above-mentioned interval and the second gate are unnecessary, and the automatic settlement device can be downsized and simplified. Become.

According to the automatic settlement system of the embodiment of the present invention, even if the barcode reading of the product fails, the operator can promptly re-enter the product information to reduce the waiting time of the customer. It is possible to improve customer service, and when requesting the assistance of the customer as described above, it is possible to promptly re-enter the product information by giving an instruction by the operator, and as a result, The burden on the customer will be reduced. Further, according to the above system, it is possible to reduce the device cost by a simple device configuration and to operate a large number of automatic settlement systems with a smaller number of personnel, thus enabling a store to operate at low cost.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above detailed description, a relatively inexpensive device is obtained by using the automatic commodity settlement system and the commodity automatic settlement method according to the present invention, and further, the automatic settlement apparatus therefor. Even when the product information is not properly read, which cannot be dealt with only by improving the reading rate, which can be configured by
It is possible to further reduce the waiting time for settlement and improve customer service, and it is possible to practically realize a self-service type automatic settlement system for products that enables labor saving in stores. That is, according to the product automatic settlement system and the product automatic settlement method of the present invention, and further, according to the automatic settlement device therefor, even when the product information reading of the automatic settlement device could not be automatically read, It enables quick input, speeds up the checkout process, reduces the time for each customer's checkout, improves the customer's satisfaction with the store, and allows the customer to operate more and more staff with fewer staff. It has an extremely excellent effect of enabling the settlement processing of the customer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of an automatic commodity settlement system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an automatic settlement apparatus that constitutes the above-described commodity automatic settlement system.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a reading unit in the automatic settlement device.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of an automatic settlement device for explaining an automatic settlement method in the above-described automatic item settlement system.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart showing a partially modified example of the operation flowchart of the automatic settlement device.

FIG. 6 is an external view showing an external configuration of an automatic settlement apparatus which is another modification of the above-described automatic commodity settlement system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic settlement device 2 Product insertion slot 3 Product basket placement 4 Product information reading section 5 Product stocker 6 Settling means 7 Conveying belt 8 Gate means 9 Customer detection means 10 Passage detection means 11 Display device 12 Input means 13 Card insertion slot 20 Input products 21 product height detecting means light emitting part 22 product height detecting means light receiving part 23 bar code reader 24 image input means 31 line 32 calculator 40 settlement assisting device 42 display screen 43 split screen 44 product displayed on screen 41 operator image input means 45 Voice Input Means 81 Second Gate 82 Person Detection Means 83 Product Removal Detection Means 100 Customers 101 Operators

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Junichi Oizumi 502 Jinritsucho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Machinery Research Institute, Hiritsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryoko Sato, 502 Kintate-cho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Machinery Research Institute, Hiritsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. Automatic settlement of at least one unit capable of automatically taking in product information including a price entered on the product while moving a product which a customer desires to purchase and moves to another place. A device, a central processing unit that is connected to the automatic settlement device, searches the price of a product from the imported product information and calculates the amount of money, and is connected to the automatic settlement device and the central processing unit, and is operated by an operator. And an auxiliary input operation unit, wherein the automatic settlement device includes a settlement device including an input device operated by a customer, and the settlement device of the automatic settlement device is the auxiliary input device. An automatic product settlement system, which is connected to the operation unit so that it can communicate in both directions. 2. The commodity automatic settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic settlement apparatus is connected to each auxiliary input operation unit by three to five units. A product automatic payment system. 3. The commodity automatic settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the input device of the automatic settlement device and an auxiliary input operation unit operated by the operator are bidirectionally communicated with each other. Is configured to be performed via at least one of an image and a sound. 4. The automatic commodity settlement system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic settlement apparatus further inputs the image of the commodity when the commodity information of the commodity is impossible to be read. An automatic product settlement system comprising means for transmitting to an operation unit. 5. The automatic product settlement system according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary input unit displays an image of a product for which the product information cannot be read when the image is transmitted. An automatic product settlement system characterized by highlighting. 6. The product automatic payment system according to claim 4, wherein the automatic payment device further gives an instruction to a customer when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read. A product automatic payment system characterized by being equipped with. 7. The customer puts in the product he / she wishes to purchase into an automatic settlement device, while automatically moving the product, the product information including the price entered on the product is automatically fetched, and from the fetched product information. When it is not possible to read the product information of the inserted product in the product automatic settlement method in which the price of the product is searched, the amount is calculated and displayed to the customer, and the customer pays based on the calculated and displayed amount. , A warning is issued to the operator via an auxiliary input operation unit arranged separately from the automatic settlement device, and thus the operator is allowed to input the product information of the product whose product information cannot be read. A featured product automatic payment method. 8. The product automatic settlement method according to claim 7, wherein when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read, the product information cannot be read together with a warning to the operator. An automatic product settlement method comprising transmitting a video screen of a product to the auxiliary input operation unit. 9. The commodity automatic settlement method according to claim 8, wherein the operator confirms the commodity through a video screen of the commodity, in which the transmitted commodity information is unreadable. An automatic product settlement method characterized by entering a price. 10. The automatic product settlement method according to claim 7, wherein the operator can issue an instruction to the customer when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read. An automatic product settlement method, which is characterized in that 11. The product information including the price entered on the product that the customer desires to purchase is automatically fetched, the price of the product is searched from the fetched product information, the price is calculated and displayed to the customer. , An automatic settlement device for a product automatic settlement system that prompts the customer to make a settlement based on the calculated and displayed amount, including the price entered on the product while moving the product put in the device Equipped with a product information fetching means for automatically fetching information, a display means for displaying the amount of money retrieved and calculated from the fetched merchandise information to the customer, and a settlement means for the customer to settle the displayed amount of money. Further, when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read, a means for enabling two-way communication with the operator is provided through an auxiliary input operation unit arranged separately from the device. An automatic checkout device characterized by the fact that it has been removed. 12. The automatic checkout apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a product image input means for obtaining an image of the inserted product. 13. The automatic settlement apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the communication means is configured to perform bidirectional communication via at least one of voice and image. Automatic settlement device. 14. The automatic checkout apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a product stocker section for temporarily holding a product in which the product information is taken in, and a third party other than the customer An automatic settlement apparatus, which is equipped with a gate that can be automatically opened and closed to prevent it from approaching a stocker unit. 15. The automatic checkout apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means for detecting that a third party other than the customer has approached the product stocker section and issuing a warning. Characteristic automatic settlement device. 16. The automatic checkout apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a product stocker section for temporarily holding a product in which the product information has been taken in, and the payment is performed by the payment means. An automatic settlement apparatus comprising means for detecting and warning that a product has been taken out from the product stocker section when there is no product. 17. The automatic settlement apparatus according to claim 12, wherein when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read, the product information acquisition means stops the movement of the inserted product. Therefore, the automatic settlement apparatus is configured to obtain an image of the product by the product image input means. 18. The automatic settlement apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: an input unit for inputting product information of the product by a clerk when the product information of the inserted product cannot be read. An automatic settlement device characterized by being provided with.