JPS6065376A - Pos system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the waiting time at the terminal side and to improve the operation efficiency of the registering business work, by reducing the information exchanging frequency between a terminal and a terminal control part in a commodity registering time. CONSTITUTION:A reception buffer 9 is provided within a terminal control part to store temporarily the inquiry replacement information including the article codes and the number of sold commodities which are sent from a terminal. The register data in a totalization file is replaced according to the commodity code and the number of sold commodities stored in the buffer 9. At the same time, the commodity data corresponding to the commodity code is read out of the totalization file and sent to the terminal in the form of the answer information. Then the time elapsed is measured between transmission of the answer information and the input of a reception confirming signal sent from the terminal. When this measured time value exceeds an allowance range, the answer information is transmitted again. Then the storage contents of the buffer 9 are stored to a pending buffer when the retransmitting frequency of the answer information exceeds an allowance range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a POS system, and more particularly to a POS system that reduces the number of times information is exchanged between each terminal and a terminal control unit.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] In department stores, supermarkets, etc. that handle a large number of products, POS (Point of Sale) is used to manage sales, inventory, and purchasing using product codes assigned to each product.
Sales) system is beginning to be adopted.

In such a POS system, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a number of terminals 1 such as electronic cash registers installed in a sales floor are connected to one terminal control unit 3 via a transmission line 2. . Connected to each of the above terminals 1 is a keyboard for keying in the sales amount, number of sales items, etc. of sales products, as well as a barcode scanner 4 that directly reads product codes from barcodes attached to products. There is. In addition, the terminal control unit 3 stores the above-mentioned product code set for each product, the product name of the product with this product code, product data such as printing, and registered data such as the number of sales items and sales amount of the product. A PLU (Price Look up) file is provided for each code.

The sold products are then registered in the PLU file. In this case, information is exchanged between each terminal 1 and the terminal control section 3 via the transmission line 2 as shown in FIG.

That is, when the barcode scanner 4 connected to the terminal 1 reads the product code of the product, the terminal 1 transmits a timing signal a containing the read product code to the terminal control unit 3. The terminal control unit 3 that has received the inquiry signal a returns a reception confirmation signal b1 to the terminal 1, and reads out the product name and unit price corresponding to the product code in the make-order signal a from the PLU file and sends it to the terminal 1 as a response signal e. Send. The terminal 1 that has received the response signal c returns a reception confirmation signal b2 to the terminal control unit 3, and performs sales registration work based on the product name, unit price, etc. in the response signal C. That is, the product name, unit price, etc. are displayed on the display section and registered in the terminal's own sales registration file, and the necessary items such as the product name, unit price, etc. are printed out on the receipt and internal recording paper. When the terminal's own sales registration work is completed, the terminal 1 transmits an update signal d containing the product code of the sold product, the number of sales items, the sales amount, etc. to the terminal control unit 3. The terminal control unit 3 that has received the update signal d returns a reception confirmation signal b3 to the terminal, updates the registered data of the PLU file based on the product code, number of sales items, and sales amount in the update signal d, and completes the process. The registration process for one product in the PLU file is completed.

However, the POS system configured in this manner has the following problems. That is, in order to register one product in the PLU file of the terminal control unit 3, as shown in FIG.
, b3, a total of six signals (information) must be exchanged between the terminal and the terminal control unit.

Therefore, the time required to search for PLU files and exchange information increases.
When you enter the product code of a product for sale, the unit price of the product corresponding to this product code will be displayed.

There is a problem in that the waiting time until product data such as product name is transmitted from the terminal control section is long, and the efficiency of sales registration work is reduced.

Also, for example, at the end of the day, the sales registration file of each terminal 1 can be cleared and the PL of the terminal control unit 3 can be cleared.
When the U file is corrected, there may be a difference between the total settlement data of all terminals and the settlement data of the PLU file. This phenomenon is caused by the fact that information exchange between the terminal and the terminal control section is not carried out smoothly, but if only the PLU file of the terminal control section is cleared, the error and percentage included in the settlement data can be determined. There were some problems that I couldn't do.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce the waiting time on the terminal side by reducing the number of times information is exchanged between the terminal and the terminal control unit during product registration. It is an object of the present invention to provide a POS system that can shorten the time and improve the work efficiency of sales registration work, and that can easily detect errors caused by information exchange abnormalities at the time of settlement by providing an unsettled file.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides a reception buffer in the terminal control unit that temporarily stores the update information including the product code and sales number sent from the terminal, and collects information based on the product code and sales number stored in this reception buffer. In addition to updating the registered data in the tears file, product data such as the unit price of the product corresponding to the above-mentioned product code is read out from the above-mentioned total file and sent to the above-mentioned terminal as response information.

Furthermore, in another invention, the elapsed time from when the response information is transmitted to when the reception confirmation signal is input from the terminal is set to an open side, and when this measured value exceeds the allowable time, the response information is retransmitted. do. When the number of retransmissions of this response information exceeds the permissible number of times, the contents of the reception buffer are stored in the pending buffer.

[Embodiments of the invention]

- A POS system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

That is, as shown in block 47 of FIG.
n terminals 11 such as electronic gear registers are connected to one terminal control section 13 via a transmission line 12, and each terminal 11 is connected to a barcode scanner 14, respectively. The terminal control section 1
CPU with built-in arithmetic circuit, command register, etc.
15 (central processing unit) is provided, and this CPU1
5 is a ROM 18 that performs various arithmetic processing based on the input information from each terminal 11 that is input via the input/output unit 16 and the data bus 17, and also stores fixed data such as programs via the data bus 17. , a RAM 19 that stores product data, dowel data, etc., a timer 20, and the like.

In the RAM 19, as shown in FIG.
N sequence number areas RA2 for storing the sequence number Nc representing the number of inquiry update information (INQ) transmitted from N; N reception buffers RA3 for temporarily storing the received timing update information (INQ); flags (
FLAG) area RA4, pending buffer RA for storing product codes and registration data for which information was not exchanged normally
5. Transmission buffer RA6 that temporarily stores response information (RESP) to be transmitted to terminal 11;
A retransmission counter RA7 is formed to count the number of retransmissions RSC of ESP). In addition, PLU file RA1 contains the product code, the product name of the product with this product code,
Product data consisting of the unit price and registration data consisting of the number of sales and sales amount of the above-mentioned products are aggregated for each of the above-mentioned product codes.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing each terminal 11. As shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 21 performs various arithmetic processing based on input information input from the input circuit 23 of the keyboard 22 and the input circuit 24 of the barcode scanner 14 via the data bus 25, and also performs various calculation processes based on the input information input via the data bus 25. ROM 26, RAM 27, and timer 28 are controlled. Further, the CPU 21 connects the terminal control unit 13 via the data bus 25, the input/output circuit 29, and the transmission line 12.
exchange information with

As shown in FIG. 6, the RAM 27 stores the terminal's own sales registration file RA8 and the received response information (
RESP), a reception buffer RA9 that temporarily stores the inquiry update information (INQ) transmitted to the terminal control unit 13, a sequence number counter RA10 that counts the sequence number Nt representing the number of inquiry update information (INQ), and a terminal number area RA11 that stores the own terminal number. , a retransmission number counter RA12 that counts the number of retransmissions RST of the same timing update information (INQ).

In such a POS system, the barcode scanner 14 of any terminal 11 is operated to input the product code from the barcode attached to the sold product to the circuit 2.
4, the CPU2 of this terminal 11
1 is configured to carry out sales registration work according to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, when a product code is input from the barcode scanner 14, the RAM is
The sequence number Nt of the sequence number counter RA10 of No. 27 is read out. Then, as shown in FIG. 9(a), the terminal number in the terminal number area RA11, the sequence number Nt, the data type, the input product code, and the number of sales items constitute the timing update information (INQ). Inquiry update information (INQ) is sent to the terminal control unit 13 via the input/output circuit 29 and the transmission line 12 as shown in FIG.
Send to. Note that when the data type is set to 1, the inquiry update information is for inquiring product data and updating the PLU file RA1, and the data type is set to 2 as shown in FIG. 9(c). In this case, only the PLU file RA1 is updated. Also,
Unless a special key operation is performed, the number of sales points is fixed at 1, and if cancelled, it is set to a (-) value. At the same time as transmitting the inquiry update information (INQ), the timer 28 is started to start measuring time T1. Next, at P2,
If it is confirmed that the reception confirmation signal ACK1 from the terminal control unit 13 has been received within the allowable time TM1, P3
, confirm that the data type of the sent inquiry update information (INQ) is "1".

Next, at P4, the terminal control unit 13 sends the message shown in FIG.
b) The response information (RESP) shown in the permissible time TM1
If it is confirmed that the response information (RESP) has been received within the specified time, as shown in FIG. 8, a reception confirmation signal ACK2 indicating that the response information (RESP) has been received is sent to the terminal control section 13. At P5, the sequence number of the received response information (RESP) is equal to the value Nt of the sequence number counter RA10.
Check that it is equal to . That is, response information (RES
P) sequence number and the previously sent inquiry update information (
Make sure that the sequence numbers of INQ) are equal.

Then, the response information (RESP) is stored in the reception buffer RA9. At P6, sequence number counter RA1O
1 is added to the value of , and the time T1 and the retransmission count RST of the retransmission count counter RA12 are reset to "0". After that, the sales registration file R in the RAM 27 is stored based on the product data such as the product code, product name, unit price, etc. included in the response information (RESP) stored in the reception buffer RA9.
At the same time as updating the A8, the number of sales items, amount, etc. are displayed on the display section, and printed out on the receipt and internal recording paper.

In addition, if the data type of the inquiry update information (INQ) is "2" at P3 as shown in FIG. It is determined that the product data is included in the response information (RESP), and no inquiry is made regarding the product data. Therefore, the process moves to P6, where the sequence number is updated and T1 and RST are reset.

Furthermore, at P2 or P4, an interval update tV report (INQ
) before the time T1 exceeds the allowable time TMI, the response information (RES
If P) is not injured, or if the sequence numbers of response information (IsP) and inquiry update information (INQ) do not match in P5, an abnormality may have occurred during the information exchange process. occurs, it is judged as k, and the process moves to Pl. Pl
, the number of retransmissions RST of the number of retransmissions counter RA12
It is confirmed that the number of retransmissions does not exceed the allowable number of retransmissions RSTM, 1 is added to the number of retransmissions RST, and the same inquiry update information (INQ) is transmitted back to Pl.

At P7, if the number of retransmissions R8T exceeds the permissible number of times R8TM, the reception of the response information RESP is abandoned and T1
, performs error handling including resetting RST, and ends the business.

Meanwhile, inquiry update information (INQ) from terminal 11
The CPU 15 of the terminal control unit 13 that received the first
It is configured to carry out update operations for the PLU file RA1 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In other words, Fig. 9 (
When the inquiry update information (INQ) shown in a) or (e) is input through the input/output device 16, a reception confirmation signal ACK1 is transmitted to the terminal 11 in Q1 as shown in FIG. Next, in Q2, the received inquiry update information (I
The sequence number of NQ) is the sequence number Nc of the sequence number area RA2 of the corresponding terminal in RAM19.
Determine whether it matches. 7 cases of mismatch, determined to be new inquiry update information (INQ) and flag area RA
4 is set to "1", and if they match, it is judged as inquiry update information (INQ) for re-reception, and the above FLAG is set to "1".
G-interface is set to “0”. Then, the received inquiry update information (INQ) is temporarily stored in the injury buffer RA'3 of the corresponding terminal, and the sequence number area RA', ? of the corresponding terminal is stored once. The sequence number ♀ is updated to the received sequence number Nt.

Next, the PLU file RA1 is created using the product code of the inquiry update information (INQ) stored in the reception buffer RA3.
is searched, and product data including the product name and unit price of the product corresponding to this product code are read out and stored in the transmission buffer RAG. In Q3, the value of the corresponding FLAG in the flag area RA4 is determined, and if it is "1", the sales number and sales number of the PLU file RA1 are updated based on the product data and registration data in the reception buffer RAJ. On the other hand, if it is "0", this sequence number makeshift update information (INQ
) in the PLU file RA1 is judged to have been processed, and the PLU file is not updated. Next, in Q4, it is confirmed that the data type of the inquiry update information (INQ) is "1", and the process proceeds to Q5. Note that if the data type is “2”, this inquiry update information (INQ
), there is no need to send response information (RESP) back, so the task ends at this point.

In Q5, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the terminal number of the inquiry update information (INQ) stored in the reception buffer RA3, the sequence number Nc of the sequence number area RA2, and "3" indicating that it is response information. ”, the product code of the receiving buffer A3, and the product name and unit price of the sending buffer RA6 constitute response information (RESP). Then, this response information (RESP) is transmitted to the corresponding terminal 11 via the input/output device 16 and the transmission line 12 as shown in FIG.

While transmitting response information (RESP), the timer 20
is started to start measuring time T2.

When Q6 receives the reception confirmation signal ACK2 from the terminal 11, the above time T2 and response information (RESP) are received.
The number of retransmissions RSC is reset to "0" and the service is ended.

Note that if new inquiry update information (INQ) is received before the time T2 passes the allowable time TM2 and before receiving the reception confirmation signal ACK2, the reception buffer RA6
The product code, number of sales items, etc. are stored in the pending buffer RA5, and the time T2 is reset to "0". Then, the process returns to Q1 and starts the process of queuing the newly received inquiry update information (INQ). When time T2 passes the allowable time TM2, in Q7, it is confirmed that the number of retransmissions RSC of the retransmission number counter RA7 does not exceed the allowable number of times RSCM, 1 is added to this number of retransmissions RSC, and the process returns to Q5 and the same response is issued. Send information (RESP). In Q7,
When the number of retransmissions RSC exceeds the allowable number RSCM, the reception of the reception confirmation signal ACK2 is abandoned, the contents of the reception buffer RA6 are stored in the pending buffer RA5, and T2, RSC
is reset to "0" and the task is terminated.

In a POS system with such a configuration, when registering a new product, when the product code is read by the barcode scanner 14, the data type is set to "1" from the terminal 11 to the terminal control unit 13, as shown in FIG. The set inquiry update information (INQ) is transmitted. Then,
The terminal control unit 13 receives the received inquiry update information (T
The registration data of the PLU file RA1 is updated based on the information (NQ), and response information (RESP) including product data of the product is sent back to the terminal 11. The terminal 11 coordinates its own sales registration business based on the product data of the received response information (RESP). In addition, when registering products with the same product code continuously, when inquiry update information (INQ) with data type "2" is sent together with the product code, the terminal control unit 13 registers the PLU file RA1.
The update will only be carried out. The terminal 11 receives the previous response information (R) stored in its own reception buffer RA9.
Carry out sales registration work based on product data of ESP. In addition, on the terminal control unit 13 side, if the reception acknowledgment signal ACK2 for the transmitted response information (RESP) is not obtained within the allowable time TM2, the contents of the received and revisited inquiry update information (INQ) are Cumulatively stored in pending file RA5.

Therefore, in such a POS system, one product is stored in the PLU file R on the terminal side 41 section 13.
As shown in FIG. 8, the number of times information is changed for registration in A1 is four times in total for a new product, and two times for consecutive registrations of the same product. Therefore, compared to the conventional POS system in which information must be exchanged six times, the time required for searching for PLU files and exchanging information is reduced, so the efficiency of sales registration work can be improved.

Furthermore, response information (RESP) sent from the terminal control unit 13 for which the terminal control unit 13 could not confirm that the response information (RESP) was definitely received by the terminal 11
Inquiry update information (INQ) regarding RESP) is finally accumulated and stored in pending buffer RA5. therefore,
By comparing the respective settlement data with PLU file RA1 and pending file RA5 at the time of settlement, PLU
It is possible to grasp the approximate value of the amount and proportion of errors included in the settlement data of file RA1.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. In the embodiment, the pending file RA5 is provided only in the terminal control unit 13, but each terminal 11 also receives response information (RESP) even though it has sent inquiry update information (INQ) of data type "1". A pending buffer may be provided to cumulatively store the query update information (TNQ) when the query update information (TNQ) is not executed. Furthermore, even without providing the pending file RA5 of the terminal control unit 13, half of the original purpose can be achieved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the number of times information is exchanged between each terminal and the terminal control unit is reduced, so the waiting time on the terminal side can be shortened, and the work efficiency of recording sales can be improved. can be achieved. Furthermore, since an unresolved file is provided on the terminal control unit side, it is possible to easily correct errors caused by information exchange abnormalities at the time of glazing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show a conventional POS system, FIG. 1 is a block diagram, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of information exchange, and FIGS. 3 to 10 are one embodiment of the present invention. This shows a POS system as an example. Figures 3 and 5 are block configuration diagrams, Figures 4 and 6 are main memory configuration diagrams in RAM, and Figures 7 and 10 are operational diagrams. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of information exchange, Figure 9 (a), (b) (
c) is a diagram showing information content. 11... Terminal, 13... Terminal control section,
14...Parcode scanner, 15,21...C
PU, 19, 27...RAM, 20, 23...Timer, RA1...PLU file (total file),
RA2...Sequence number area, RA3, RA9...
・Reception buffer, RA5...pending file, RA7,
RA12...Retransmission count counter, RA8...Sales registration file, RA10...Sequence number counter. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A terminal control unit provided with an east side file that stores multiple product data for each product code, including product data including at least a product code and unit price unique to each product, and registration data including at least the number of sales items and sales amount; A system including a plurality of terminals that register the sale of the product based on the product data transmitted from the terminal control unit, and the terminal controls the registration data of the product each time the product is registered for sale from each of these terminals. In a POS system that updates registered data in the tally file for each product code, a receiving buffer temporarily stores a cut-off IW report including the product code and the number of sales items sent from each terminal. and updating the registered data in the tally file based on the product code and sales number stored in the reception buffer of and, and updating the registration data of the product corresponding to the product code stored in the reception buffer. A POS system characterized in that the terminal control unit includes means for reading product data from the total file and transmitting the product data to the terminal as response information. (2) A terminal control unit provided with a totalization file for aggregating multiple product data for each product code, including product data including at least the product code and unit price unique to each product, and at least the number of sales items and sales amount, and this terminal. It consists of a plurality of terminals that perform sales dowels of the products based on the product data transmitted from the control unit, and each of these terminals transmits the registration data of the product to the terminal control unit for each product sales registration, A POS system that updates event record data in the tally file for each item code, including a receiving buffer that temporarily stores timing update information including the product code and the number of sales items transmitted from the arbitrary terminal; updating means for updating the registered data in the tally file based on the product code and the number of sales items stored in the receiving buffer; a timer for measuring the elapsed time from the time the response information is transmitted until the reception confirmation signal from the terminal is input, and the measured value of this timer is predetermined. means for retransmitting the response information to the terminal when a predetermined allowable time has been exceeded; and when the number of times the response information has been retransmitted exceeds a predetermined allowable number of times, storing the stored contents of the receiving buffer; A POS system comprising: a pending buffer within the terminal control unit.