JPS61175893A - Electronic cash register - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is designed to count the cumulative number of times a receipt has been cut since the start of use of a printing device that prints sales data on the receipt in order to obtain a guideline for inspection/repair timing. Regarding electronic cash registers.

C. Conventional technology] In general, the durability of electronic cash registers is longer due to receipts and journals (internal recording paper) than fixed parts such as electronic parts.
It is determined by the lifespan of moving parts such as printing devices, keyboards, drawer opening/closing devices, etc.

Among these movable parts, the printing device is especially the printing unit.

There are many mechanical components such as the paper feed section and part of the cutter, which are subject to significant wear and tear due to operation. Therefore, printing devices are generally shipped from the factory with a guarantee such as [This printing device guarantees printing of at least 100 million characters] or [The average failure rate of this printing device is 5.
The lifespan of this printing device is clearly indicated by displaying a message such as "Once per million lines" or "Replace after 500,000 cuts" on some cutter blades.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as described above, in the electronic cash register in which the estimated lifespan of the printing device is compensated for by hundreds of millions of characters, tens of thousands of lines, or tens of thousands of times at the time of factory shipment, the following problems occur. There was a problem like this. In other words, if the printing device of an electronic cash register in use installed at each user's sales floor malfunctions due to some reason, the service personnel of the store or manufacturer of the electronic cash register will be required to check the daily usage frequency. Because the failure cannot be accurately determined, it was not possible to determine whether this failure was a spontaneous failure due to the end of its life, or a failure due to some other cause.

Further, among the mechanical members of the printing device and the like, the cutting performance of the blade of a part of the cutter deteriorates when receipts are cut many times, so it is necessary to periodically replace the blade.

It is desirable to inspect and repair other mechanical parts at regular intervals even if there are no failures. However, since it is not possible to obtain an estimate of how many receipts have been cut cumulatively since the start of use, there is a problem in that it is not possible to accurately determine the timing of inspection and repair, including replacement of some of the cutter blades.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to cut part of the cutter at the optimum timing by counting the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut since the printing device started using it. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic cash register that can perform blade replacement and inspection/repair, maintain cutting performance and prevent serious failures, and extend the lifespan and improve reliability of the printing device as a whole.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The electronic cash register of the present invention has a printing device that prints registration data on receipts in a storage unit backed up by a battery, and the cumulative number of times the receipt is cut from the start of use of this printing device. A cutting number counter is provided to count the number of cutting times, and when a reading command for the cumulative number of cutting times is inputted through the input means, the cumulative number of cutting times counted by the cutting number counter is printed out.

Further, in another invention, in addition to the above invention, when the cumulative number of cuttings counted by the cutting number counter reaches a specified value preset for durability, etc., it is determined that the specified value has been reached. This is automatically notified to the user of the electronic cash register.

[Function] With the electronic cash register configured in this way, the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut since the start of use of the printing device is counted in the cut count counter, so the administrator or user of this electronic cash register can If necessary, the current cumulative number of cuts can be printed out by inputting a read command using the input means.

Further, in another invention, in addition to the above-mentioned effect, when the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut since the start of use reaches a preset value for durability, etc., it is automatically announced that the specified value has been reached. Ru.

[Example code] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the electronic cash register of the embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a housing, and on the front of this housing 1 there is a keyboard 2 with keys for various sales registrations.On the top of the housing 1, the department code of the sales item, the amount 1 total amount, etc. are displayed electronically. A display section 3 for displaying information is provided, and a receipt issuing port 4 is provided at the middle and lower portions, respectively. Journal monitoring window 5. A drawer 6 is provided. Roughly speaking, a display section 7 for customers having the same configuration as the display section 3 is attached to the upper surface of the housing 1 with a support ring.

The keyboard 2 includes number keys 8 for entering the sales amount, number of items sold, etc. of the product. In addition to a department key 91 indicating the classification of products, a deposit/total key 10 for calculating the total amount, and a read key 11 for inputting a command to read the cumulative number of times the receipts have been cut in the storage section. Various function keys are provided. Furthermore, a control key 12 operated by a key is provided.

The control key 12 is a control switch for controlling the power on and off, and for instructing the central processing unit to execute various tasks such as [registration], [accounting], and [setting]. [Registration] means storing the price of sold products in the storage unit, calculating the total price, etc., and printing the results on the receipt and journal (internal recording paper) using the printing device, so that only the receipt is printed. This is a job where the cutter is used to cut a portion of the product and hand it to the customer. Further, [Settlement] is a job that prints out the sales total registered in the storage unit at the end of the day's business. Roughly speaking, [setting] is a task of presetting, for example, message characters to be printed on a receipt in the storage unit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic cash register. The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 13 has a built-in arithmetic circuit, etc., and performs various arithmetic processing based on input information from the keyboard 2, as well as the address bus 14. Data Pasco 5. Through the control line 16, a ROM 17 that stores fixed data such as programs for each business, and a battery-backed RAM 18 that stores variable data such as registration data of each product manually entered are operated.

In addition, a drawer control circuit 19 that controls opening and closing of the drawer 6
．． A control key input circuit 20 to which a command signal from the control key 12 is input. a keyboard input circuit 212 display section i into which key signals from the keyboard 2 are input;
A display control unit 22 that sends display signals to the data bus 15.7 and a printer control unit 24 of the printing device 23 that outputs printouts on receipts and journals are connected to the data bus 15.7, respectively. It is connected to the CPU 13 via a control line 16.

In the RAM (Random Access Memory) 18, the stored contents are protected by the battery even if the power to the electronic cash register is cut off or the power is cut off due to an unexpected power outage. Also, in this RAM 18, as shown in FIG. 2, the sales amount of the sales product entered manually using each sales registration key of the keyboard 2 is stored.

A sales registration file RA1 that aggregates sales data such as the number of items sold, for example, by department. In addition to the work area RA2 for performing various calculations such as calculating the total amount, a cutting number counter RA3 is formed to count the cumulative number of times CT of receipt cutting since the printing device 23 started using it.

The display control section 22 and the printer control section 24 are each composed of a one-chip microcomputer, and control the display sections 3 and 7 or the printing device 23 according to instructions from the CPU 13. Further, as shown in the figure, the printing device 23 includes a printing section 25. which actually prints registered data such as the category (or product name) of the sold product and the total amount of sales amount 2 according to a command sent from the printer control section 24. Paper feeding unit 26 that feeds receipts and journals. Stamp section 27. Stamp section 27. Stamps the store name, phone number, short messages such as "Thank you", and other fixed-form characters that do not change in color on the first part of the receipt. It consists of a cutter part 28 for cutting the printed receipt.

After the CPU 13 is installed in each sales floor of each user and started to be used, when the power is turned on using the control key 12 first thing in the morning, for example, in order to start a day's sales work, the CPU 13 operates according to the flowchart shown in FIG. configured to perform processing. That is, when the power is turned on using the control key 12, various initial processes are executed, and then the RA
The count value counted by the cutting number counter RA3 in M18, that is, the value of the cumulative cutting number CT of the receipt since the start of use in the printing device 23 is the value counted by the cutter part 28.
It is checked whether the specified number of cuts CTS has been reached, which indicates the cycle of blade replacement and inspection/repair, which is preset in consideration of the reduction in cutting performance and durability of the blade. If the predetermined number of disconnections CTS has not been reached, the main routine of normal work such as [setting] and [registration] is started without doing anything.

If the count value CT of the number of cuts counter RA3 has reached the specified number of cuts CTS mentioned above, the cumulative number of cuts CT of the receipt from the start of use of the cutter part 28 in the printing part [23] indicates that the blade should be replaced, inspected and repaired. It is determined that the specified number of cuts CTS has been reached, and this count value CT is sent to, for example, a print command to the printer control unit 24, and the message ``Cumulative number of cuts has reached the specified number for blade replacement and inspection/repair'' is printed on the receipt. Print it out with a message such as .

Furthermore, after the cumulative number of cuts CT reaches the specified number of cuts CTS and is printed out, the administrator of the electronic cash register clears the count value CT of the number of cuts counter RA3 in the RAM 18 to 0 by operating keys on the keyboard 2. Is possible.

Further, when a key signal is inputted by manual key operation from the keyboard 2 during the [registration] operation, for example, the CPL 113 executes key manual processing for the inputted key signal according to the flowchart of FIG. That is, when a key signal is input from the keyboard 2 to the keyboard input circuit 21, the type of this key signal is first checked. Then, the key signals are normal numeric key 8, department key 9. If it is a sales registration key such as deposit/cash key 10, the sales amount of the sales item 9 department code,
Since this is an input such as a total amount calculation command, normal key manual processing corresponding to that key is executed.

Further, if the input key signal is the key signal of the read key 11, it is determined that a command to read the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut has been input, and the count value CT of the number of cuts counter RA3 in the RAM 18 is read out. Then, the read count value C
For example, the printing device 23 prints out T on the receipt along with a message such as [current cumulative number of cuts]. At the same time, the readout count value CT is displayed on each of the display sections 3 and 7 via the display control section 22.

Further, when various commands are input from the CPIJ 13 via the address bus 14 and the data bus 15 during [registration] or cNN here business, the printer control section 24 operates the printing section 259 paper feeding section 26 according to the flowchart of FIG. Stamp part 2
7. The cutter portion 28 is driven and controlled. That is, C.P.L.
When a command is input from 113, the type of this command is checked. If the command input at Pl is a print command accompanied by print data equivalent to one line on the receipt, first, only the print command is sent to the print unit 25, and the print unit 25 is ready for print output. Arrange. Then, the input print data is stored in its own print output buffer. Next, the data stored in this print output buffer is printed on the receipt by the printing unit 25.
Print on line.

Next, in P2, if the command input from the CPU 13 is a receipt paper feed command, the paper feed section 26 is driven to feed the receipt by one line.

Also, if the command input from CPLI 13 at P3 is a stamp command, the store name will be placed at the beginning of the receipt.

It is determined that this is a command to print fixed-form characters such as a telephone number or a simple message on a stamp, and the stamp unit 27 is driven to print the above-mentioned fixed-form characters on a stamp.

Furthermore, if the command input from the CPLI 13 at P4 is a receipt cutting command, the cutter part 28 is driven to cut the receipt, and the cumulative number of cuts CT of the number of cuts counter RA3 formed in the RAM 18 is calculated. Increase by 1.

With an electronic cash register configured in this way, the printing device 23 prints out the department (or item name) for each customer.
, sales amount 1 Each time data such as the total amount is printed out, the printed receipt is cut with the cutter part 28, and the receipt is handed to the customer, the cumulative number of cuts is calculated in the cutting number counter RA3 formed in the RAM 18. CT is added by 1. As mentioned above, the RAM 18 is backed up by a battery, so even if the control key 1
Even if the IR source is shut off in step 2, or even if the power is suddenly cut off due to a power outage accident, the cumulative number of disconnections CT counted by the disconnection counter RA3 will not disappear.

Therefore, the administrator of the electronic cash register can print out the current cumulative number of receipt disconnections CT in the printing device on the receipt by manually operating the read key 11 of the keyboard 2, if necessary. . As a result, it is possible to know the approximate time when the blade of the cutter part 28 in the printing device 23 of this electronic cash register should be replaced and the entire printing device should be inspected and repaired, so that the electronic cash register can be managed appropriately. Able to carry out operations. In addition, by regularly replacing the blade and inspecting and repairing it every time the blade reaches the preset number of cuts CTS before it becomes completely cut, it is possible to maintain cutting performance and prevent serious breakdowns. It is possible to extend the lifespan and improve the reliability of the printing device as a whole.

Furthermore, even if a failure occurs in the cutter part 28 or other mechanical parts of the printing device 23, the cumulative number of times CT of receipts that have been cut up to now can be accurately determined. It can be determined whether the problem is due to a physical or other cause. In addition, if it is clearly due to abrasion or abrasion, collect statistical data on the cumulative number of cuts CT at which the failure occurs and use it as reference material when designing the next printing device including a part of the cutter. I can do it.

Furthermore, when the cumulative number of cuts CT reaches the specified number of cuts CTS, a warning message indicating that the number of cuts reached the specified number of cuts and the cumulative number of cuts CT at that time are automatically printed on the receipt. Managers never miss the timing for blade replacement or inspection/repair. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the printout of the warning message and the cumulative number of cuts CT may be different from the specified number of cuts CT.
Even if the TS is reached, it will not be executed during actual sales registration, but will be executed, for example, when the Asakako cash register is powered on, so it will not interfere with actual sales operations.

Note that providing the cutting number counter RA3 in the RAM 18 does not significantly increase manufacturing costs.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the cumulative number of times a receipt has been cut since the start of use of the printer is counted. Therefore, part of the cutter blade can be replaced and inspected and repaired at the optimal timing, cutting performance can be maintained and serious failures can be prevented, and the overall lifespan and reliability of the printing device can be improved.

In addition, since the machine is automatically notified when the cumulative number of cuts on the receipt reaches the specified number of cuts, the administrator never misses the time to replace the blade or inspect or repair the machine.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show an electronic cash register according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall schematic configuration, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the main memory of the storage section, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall schematic configuration. The perspective view showing the whole system and FIGS. 4 to 6 are flowcharts showing the operation. 1...Housing, 2...Keyboard, 3.7...Display section, 4...Receipt issuing port, 5...Journal monitoring window, 6...Drawer, 8...Setting number Key, 9...Department key, 10...Deposit/Cash key, 11...Read key, 12...Control key, 13...CPU, 1
7... ROM, 18... RAM, 23... Printing device, 24... Printer control section, 25... Printing section, 2
6...Paper feed section, 27...Stamp section, 28...
Cutter part, RA3... Cutting number counter. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an electronic cash register that registers sales data of sales products inputted through a registration input device in a storage unit backed up by a battery, and prints out the registered data on a receipt using a printing device, the storage a cutting number counter provided in the printing device for counting the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut since the printer started using the printing device; an input means for inputting a reading command for the cumulative cutting number; and printing means for printing out the cumulative number of cuts counted by the number of cuts counter when the number of cuts is inputted. (2) In an electronic cash register that registers sales data of sales products inputted through a registration input device in a storage section backed up by a battery, and prints out the registered data on a receipt using a printing device; a cutting number counter provided in the printing device for counting the cumulative number of times the receipt has been cut since the printer started using the printing device; an input means for inputting a reading command for the cumulative cutting number; a printing means that prints out the cumulative number of cuts counted in the number of cuts counter when the number of cuts is input; An electronic cash register characterized in that it is equipped with automatic notification means for automatically notifying that the cash register has been reached.