JPH0916857A - Pos system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a POS system which can quickly recover its fault if occurred. SOLUTION: A POS system includes the POS registers 1 which are installed at the stores A and B, an operation management device 24 which is installed at a maintenance company C and connected to the registers 1 via a circuit, and a transaction file which is contained in each register 1 and records the error line No, the business work contents and the error state if an error occurs while a program is carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a POS system in which a POS cash register installed in a plurality of stores and an operation management device provided in a maintenance company are connected by a public line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a POS system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-250802 filed by the applicant. That is, conventionally, in the POS system, the POS
The settlement data held by the terminal device adopts a center-initiated collection method, that is, a batch process, which is transmitted to a higher-level processing device when a transmission request is received from a higher-level processing device located at the center.

Further, as a device for transmitting data from the electronic register to the data collecting device, there is, for example, one shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-79573, and in such a device, normal data is transmitted. Telephone line (public line)
It is performed using. On the other hand, regarding the POS terminal device, when a program error or the like occurs, for example, a method in which the user (operator) contacts the maintenance company to deal with it,
In some cases, the S terminal device issues an alarm to the maintenance company.

[0004]

Among the above-mentioned methods, when the operator contacts the maintenance company in case of failure,
Since the operator can only contact the situation of occurrence, the person of the maintenance company must investigate the broken POS terminal device on site. Here, if it is a software failure by judging whether it is a hardware failure or a software failure, it is necessary to contact the maker, create a repair program, and visit the site again to install the repair program. Therefore, it takes a long time to repair.

Further, even when the POS terminal device issues a warning to the maintenance company, the maintenance company person must conduct an on-site investigation because the maintenance company only reports the situation. Therefore, similar to the above, if it is a software failure, it is judged here whether it is a hardware failure or a software failure.
You have to contact the manufacturer, create a repair program, and then go to the site again and install the repair program. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time to repair.

The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a POS system capable of promptly repairing a failure.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a POS cash register installed in a store, an operation management device connected to the POS cash register by a line and installed in a maintenance company, and the POS cash register. If an error occurs while the program is being executed, the error line number, work content,
A POS system having a file for recording the status of an error is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 provides the POS system according to claim 1, wherein the operation management device collects the files of the POS cash register through the line. According to the invention of claim 3, after file collection, the program is restored and the P
A POS system according to claim 2, which is distributed to an OS register. Further, the invention of claim 4 provides the POS system according to claim 3 for maintaining the distributed program in a store.

[0009]

According to the POS system of claim 1, a POS cash register installed in a store, an operation management device connected to the POS cash register by a line and installed in a maintenance company, and the PO
If an error occurs during program execution, which is provided in the S cash register, the error line number, the work content, and the transaction file that records the status of the error cause the error to occur in any situation. However, it is possible to accumulate what kind of error occurred before that in a file (log file), and to take prompt action when repairing.

Further, according to the POS system of claim 2, in the POS system of claim 1, the operation management device collects a POS cash register file (a file in which an error situation and the like are recorded) via a line. Therefore, the maintenance company person can know the error occurrence situation before going to the site and can judge whether it is a hardware failure or a software failure, so that quick repair support is possible. Become.

Further, according to the POS system of claim 3, in the POS system of claim 2, after the files are collected, the program is restored and the program is delivered to the POS cash register by the line, so that the person of the maintenance company is on-site. It is possible to carry out repairs without having to go to the factory, which enables quick repair work. Further, according to the POS system of claim 4, in the POS system of claim 3, since the distributed program is maintained at the store, it can be repaired without a maintenance company person going to the site. Therefore, quick repair work becomes possible.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a POS cash register equipped with the present invention, FIG.
Is a block diagram of the POS system of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the POS register, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a program error history file, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing data and programs stored in RAM, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for a distribution request, FIG. 7 is a flowchart for a distribution request, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart for updating a program.

Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a POS cash register main body, 2 is a keyboard having keys for various products, 3 is an operation display for displaying a product name, a product price, a total price, etc. in response to a key operation, Reference numeral 4 is an insertion slot for inserting the RAM card 13, 5 is a job selection mode key used when changing jobs, 6 is a receipt journal printer, and 7 is a cash drawer. In addition, on the back of the operation display, a customer display 8 for displaying a product price, a total price, and the like to the customer is provided.

The above-mentioned POS register 1 has a structure as shown in FIG. 2, and has a CPU (central processing unit) 9 and a ROM 10.
A readable / writable RAM 11, a FONT ROM 12 for the printer 6, a keyboard input circuit 14 connected to the keyboard 2, and the printer 6
A printer control circuit 15 connected to the printer, an operation display control circuit 16 connected to the operation display 3, a customer display control circuit 17 connected to the customer display 8, and a customer display. VIDEO RA that stores the data of the container 8
M18, a mode key control circuit 19 connected to the mode key 5, a clock 20, and a modem 22 by using a telephone line (public line), an operation management computer 24 of a maintenance company (maker) C and a head office D. An online communication control circuit 21 for communicating with the host computer 25 and an in-line communication control circuit 2 for communicating with another POS cash register 1 in the same store A, B by an in-line cable 26.
3 and 3. These are connected by a data bus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the POS system of the present invention. The POS system is installed in the head office D, is connected to a public line by a modem 22D, and is installed in a subordinate POS cash register 1 (store A, store B, etc.). Computer 25 that collects the information of the POS cash register) and the modem 2 installed in the maintenance company C.
Operation management computer 2 connected to the public line at 2C
4, a master POS cash register 1A installed in the store A and connected to a public line by a modem 22A, and one or a plurality of satellite POS cash registers 1a connected to the master POS cash register 1A by an in-line cable 26A.
And the master POS cash register 1B installed in the store B and connected to the public line by the modem 22B, and this master P
The OS register 1B is composed of one or a plurality of satellite POS registers 1b connected by an in-line cable 26B.

With the above configuration, the host computer 25
It collects the sales and sales information of each subordinate POS cash register 1A, 1B, and also distributes the sales management information such as the change information to each POS cash register 1A, 1B when the sales price is changed or a new product is sold. is there. In addition, the operation management computer 24 collects failure alarms and failure statuses from the respective POS cash registers 1A and 1B, and in the case of software failure,
It also distributes repair programs so that repairs can be done without going directly to the office. In addition to software failure, it is possible to deal with software version upgrades.

A program error history file (transaction file) which is a log file at that time will be described below with reference to FIG. The program error history file has items of an error occurrence date, an error occurrence time, a registration number indicating which POS register 1 occurred, an error occurrence mode, an error line number, and an error code. Here, 0 is the master P for the cashier No.
OS cash register 1A, 1B, numbers 1 and above are satellite PO
The S register 1a and 1b are shown. In addition, 1 is sales registration, 2 is inspection, 3 is settlement, 4 is period, and 5 is error mode.
Indicates setting, and 6 indicates practice mode. Further, regarding the error code, although not shown, a message such as "subscript is out of range" when it is 9 and a message such as "overflow" when it corresponds to 6 correspond.

The above-mentioned program error history file is stored in the RAM 11 as shown in FIG. 5, and in addition, a master file, a summary file, a headquarters transmission file, a headquarters reception file, a program, a sales transaction file. , A program execution area, a buffer for transmission / reception, etc. are stored.
Here, the master file is a change request from the headquarters D,
That is, the file is changed when the selling price is changed, a new product is sold, or the like. The program error history file is a log file for sequentially storing the program errors, and the program is delivered to the maintenance company C, and the maintenance company receives the program error history file and repairs the program. is there.

Now, the normal operation of the POS register 1 will be described. With the task selection mode key 5 shown in FIG. 1,
It has modes such as sales registration, inspection, settlement, period, setting, practice, etc. The program corresponding to the designated mode among the programs modularized and stored in the RAM 11 is copied to the execution area and operated. doing.

In the sales registration mode, when the product key arranged on the keyboard 2 of the POS cash register 1 is pressed,
Information such as a product name, unit price, department code, and cost is searched from the key master stored in the RAM 11 based on the corresponding product code, and expanded to the sales transaction file. At the same time, the operation display unit 3 operates to display the product name and price of the input product, and when all the products purchased by the customer have been registered, the subtotal key on the keyboard 2 is pressed and the consumption tax Calculations and purchase prices are calculated. After that, when money is received from the customer, the deposit is input and the deposit / cash total key is pressed, the change calculation is displayed, the receipt is issued, and the change and the receipt are handed to the customer. At this time, the sales information is expanded from the sales transaction file to various summary files such as a summary by accounting transaction, a summary by product, a summary by department, a summary by time zone, and a summary by product time zone.

The operations of collecting, distributing and changing programs will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for a collection request from the outside (the head office D, the maintenance company C). It is judged whether or not there is a collection request (step S1), and if there is no collection request, other processing (delivery etc.) is performed. (Step S2). If there is a collection request in step S1 (yes), it is judged whether or not the target of the collection request is a program error history file (step S3). A process of transmitting a credit file (settlement data) (to the headquarters D) is performed (step S4). When the request is for the program error history file in step S3 (Yes), the program error history file is transmitted to the maintenance company C (step S5).

FIG. 7 shows the outside (head office D, maintenance company C).
In the flowchart for the distribution request from step S6, it is determined whether or not there is a distribution request (step S6). If it is not a distribution request (NO), other processing (concentration, etc.) is performed (step S7). If the distribution request is made in step S6 (Yes),
It is determined whether or not it is a program distribution request (step S8), and if it is not a program (no), distribution processing of various master files is performed (step S9). If it is a program distribution request in step S8 (yes), the program receiving process is performed (step S10), and it is determined whether or not the program has ended normally (step S11). When delivered,
When an error due to noise or the like occurs (No), error processing is performed (step S12). When the process ends normally in step S11 (Yes), the store clerk (operator) of the stores A and B performs the program update process (step S1)
3).

FIG. 8 shows the operation during the program updating process in step S13. First, the operation mode key 5 is used to enter the setting mode (setting program) (step S14). Next, it is determined whether or not the execution key has been input (step S15), and if the execution key has not been input (no), other processing or error processing is performed (step S16). When the execute key is input (Yes), the setting menu is displayed (Step S17), and it is determined whether the program update is selected (Step S1).
8). If the program update is not selected (No), other processing such as master setting is performed (step S1.
9) and returns to step S17.

If the program update is selected in step S18 (Yes), the presence / absence confirmation of program distribution is displayed (step S20), and it is determined whether or not the execution key is input (step S21). When the execution key is not input (No), the process returns to step S17, and when the execution key is input (Yes), the execution confirmation screen is displayed (step S22) and it is determined whether the execution is OK (step S2).
3). If not executable (No), step S17
If the execution is OK (Yes), the program is copied from the maintenance file to the program area (step S24), and the process returns to step S17.

That is, according to the POS system of claim 1 of the present invention, the POS cash register 1 installed in the stores A and B and the operation installed in the maintenance company C connected to the POS cash register 1 by a line. In relation to the management device 24 and the transaction file which is provided in the POS cash register 1 and records an error line number, job content, and error status accompanying the error when an error occurs during program execution, In such a situation, an error occurs, and what kind of error occurred before that is stored in a file (log file), and it is possible to take prompt action when repairing.

According to the POS system of claim 2, in the POS system of claim 1, the operation management device 24 collects files of the POS cash register 1 (files in which error statuses are recorded) via the line. Therefore, the maintenance company C person can know the error occurrence situation before going to the site, and can judge whether it is a hardware failure or a software failure, so that quick repair can be taken. Is possible.

Further, according to the POS system of claim 3, in the POS system of claim 2, after the files are collected, the program is repaired and distributed to the POS cash register 1 through the line, so that the person of the maintenance company C is required. Can be repaired without having to go to the site, and quick repair work is possible. Further, according to the POS system of claim 4, in the POS system of claim 3, since the distributed program is maintained at the stores A and B, the repair company C can be repaired without going to the site. It becomes possible to carry out quick repair work.

As described above, the use of the present invention makes it possible to provide a POS system capable of promptly repairing a failure. The program distribution and update processing of the present invention can be used not only for program defects but also for version upgrades. Further, in this embodiment, a maintenance file (program)
Is provided in the RAM 11 of the POS cash register 1, but may be a RAM card, a floppy disk or the like as an external storage medium.

[0029]

According to the invention of claim 1, a POS cash register installed in a store, an operation management device connected to the POS cash register by a line and installed in a maintenance company, and the POS cash register.
If an error occurs during execution of the program, which is provided at the cash register, the error line number, the work content, and the transaction file that records the error status associated with the error cause the error to occur under any circumstances. The effect of being able to accumulate the kind of error that occurred before that in a file (log file) and to respond promptly at the time of repair, and the time required for repair can be greatly shortened Is played.

According to the invention of claim 2, claim 1
In the POS system of the
Since the OS cash register files (files that record error conditions, etc.) are collected, the maintenance company personnel can know the error occurrence conditions before going to the site, and whether a hardware failure or software Since it is possible to determine whether or not a failure has occurred, it is possible to quickly deal with the repair, and it is possible to significantly shorten the time required for the repair.

According to the invention of claim 3, claim 2
In the POS system described, after collecting files, the program is restored and distributed to the POS cash register on the line.
Even if the maintenance company person does not go to the site, the repair work can be performed, the quick repair work can be performed, and the time required for the repair can be significantly shortened.

According to the invention of claim 4, claim 3
In the POS system described above, because the distributed program is maintained at the store, it is possible for the maintenance company person to repair it without having to go to the site, enabling quick repair work, and reducing the time required for repair. The effect is that it can be significantly shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a POS cash register including the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a POS system configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a POS cash register.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a program error history file.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing data and programs stored in a RAM.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for a collection request.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for a distribution request.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for updating a program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A store B store C Maintenance company 1 POS cash register 11 RAM 24 Operation management device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A POS cash register installed in a store and this P
When an error occurs during program execution, which is connected to the OS cash register by a line and is installed in the operation management device installed in the maintenance company and the POS cash register, the error line number, work content, and error associated with the error occur. A POS system comprising a file for recording a situation. 2. The P according to claim 1, wherein the operation management device collects files of the POS cash register through a line.
OS system. 3. A program is restored after file collection,
3. The POS system according to claim 2, wherein the POS system delivers the POS cash register via a line. 4. The POS system according to claim 3, wherein the distributed program is maintained at a store.