JPS6177996A - Electronic type cash register system - Google Patents

Abstract

This electronic cash register system includes a means for storing a master file having reference data for the entirety of a set of items of goods, a transfer means, and a plurality of electronic cash registers. Each of the registers includes a means for storing a sub file having reference data for a subset of the set of items of goods, and a means for consulting the sub file for reference data for a particular item of goods which is to be dealt with and for, if and only if the sub file does not hold the reference data, obtaining the reference data from the master file via the transfer means. The system further includes a means for, according to data of goods dealt with, determining a subset of the set of items of goods the members of which are often dealt with, and a means for updating the sub files kept at the electronic cash registers according to the thus determined subset. Thereby the dealing with items of goods can mostly be accomplished locally. Accordingly, this sytem can increase the speed of transaction processing, and the capacity of each local sub file storage means can be much smaller than the capacity of the master file storing means. If the master file has become inoperative, effective transaction processing can still be provided for most transactions. And, since the sub files are updated by the updating means, the data therein may be kept current.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of invention) The present invention relates to an electronic cash register system.

<Prior art and its problems> As is well known, ECR is a system in which several electronic cash registers (hereinafter referred to as ECR) are connected to a common transmission line.
In the system, a master file that stores product data such as prices and types of all products is installed in the master ECR or host computer, and each ECR references the master file via a transmission system to supply necessary product data including price data. A so-called PLtJ (Price Look Up) processing method is adopted.

This is because the memory @ face that stores data for all products has a large capacity, so each E C+ <Idlli? In order to make 8 less expensive, we decided to centrally manage the product data for the entire system using one master file.

However, in such conventional ECR systems,
Each ECR accesses the master file via the transmission system each time it makes a transaction, and receives predetermined price data etc. via the transmission system! I! It is difficult to increase the processing speed.

Especially if the master file becomes unusable.
It has been pointed out that in each ECR, staff members have to manually handle all of the product data, leading to significant slowdowns in processing speeds and transaction congestion.

(Object of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to improve the transaction processing speed in each ECR, and to enable certain transaction processing to be performed efficiently without any hindrance even if the master file becomes unusable.

(Structure and Effects of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides PLtJ51
one master file storage device equipped with a master file that stores reference price data used in 8111 for all products; It is equipped with a subfile that can store a certain number of products, and by referring to the price data of the subfile, Pt-
A plurality of electronic cash registers capable of individually executing the Ll ffi process: Determine which product groups are unsold in each electronic cash register based on the sales product data obtained from each electronic cash register. Then, the corresponding price data group is transferred from the 1Ii7 master file to the 8N slave cash register so that the price data group stored in the sub-file is the same as the price data group related to the determined unselling product group. According to this configuration, since each ECR is provided with a subfile and its contents are updated, the PLU in each ECR is Most of the processing can be performed by referring to the own subfile without going through the transmission system, and the transaction processing speed is greatly improved.

At this time, the subfile stores only a certain number of unsold products in each ECR, so its size does not become as large as the master file, which increases the cost of each ECR. can be kept to a minimum.

In addition, even if the master file becomes unusable, each EC
By referring to its own subfiles, R can efficiently perform most transaction processing without any problems.

(Description of Actual M Example) FIG. 1 shows an ECR system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

What is this ECR system? ! Several ECRs (#1゜a2
．． #3. ..., #n) are connected via the transmission line L, and ECR #1 also has the function of controlling the entire system as a master.

In other words, ECR#1 is connected to other ECRs (a2.a3...
In addition to performing normal transaction processing as in #n), you can also centrally manage sales product data for the entire system! ll
'1.

9. In this type of ECR system, a host computer may be installed, but in this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a system consisting of only a plurality of ECRs will be considered.

As shown in FIG. 2, each ECR is mainly configured with a microcomputer 1, and a keyboard 2 as an input means.
, a display device as an output means 3. It is equipped with a transmission device 5 for communicating via a blink 4 and a transmission line, and also has an R in which product data is stored in a file.
AM6 is installed.

The keyboard 2 is provided on the operation panel of each ECR, and, as shown in FIG. 3, is provided with a numeric keypad 31, a department key 32, a function key 33, and a key switch 34 for mode switching. .

As can be inferred from the group of various keys provided on this keyboard 2, in each ECR, the P of the function key 33 is
LLI key operation and the predetermined D number in the department key 32
When the P key operation and the product code input operation using the numeric keypad 31 are completed, the own RAM 6 is referred to, the price is displayed on the display 3, and the printer 4
A so-called PLL, I process is performed in which a predetermined receipt is issued.

Next, Figure 4 shows the files provided in RAM 6, and since ECRttl is the master, its RAM 6
The master file 41 as shown in the same figure (A) is
, and each ECR (#1. E2゜#3.
In the RAM 6, sub-files 42 as shown in FIG. 4B are provided.

In the master file 41 and the subfile 42, the product data 1lllla and the totals 1f11b+, b2 are numbered Ω, respectively.

In the product data column a, the product code History Unit III etc. are restored by department (DP>), and the summary columns b+, b2
is provided with an amount total field and an Fjffi total word.

Total 1fl in master file 41! tb+ stores long-term aggregation results, for example, monthly or seasonal aggregation results.

The channel EI 11bz in the subfile 42 stores short-term tally results, for example, one day's tally results.

Note that in this example, in order to simplify the explanation, each E
The contents of the CR subfiles 42 are the same, and the collection gta+b1 in the master file 41 is not provided for each ECR, but is aggregated for each product at once.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the entire system, and the following description will be made according to the same diagram.

In the figure, steps (501) and (502) are ECR#
1 as a master machine, a master file 41 is formed in the RAM 6 (step 501), and a certain number of items, for example, 2000, are assumed to be the best-selling product groups in the sales floor where each ECR is installed.
This is extracted from the master file and stored in a predetermined area of RAM 6 as subfile data (step 502).

This system initial processing is performed, for example, when the system is started up.

In each ECR, the data for the subfile is stored in steps (50
3) ECR#1 is sent to RAM6 of each ECR via the transmission system.
Since it is transferred from step (504) to step <
508> are performed as daily transaction processing.

In other words, when a key input from the keyboard 2 is accepted in step (504), the subfile 42 of the user is referred to, and the input product code is entered in the rib file 4 of the user.
2 is prepared (step 505).
).

If there is a product code in its own subfile, refer to it; if there is no corresponding product code, refer to the mask file 41 via the transmission system (Step 507), and display the IJi1dlil'11 total price of the corresponding product on the display 3. At the same time, the printer 4 issues a predetermined receipt, and the collection J [processing of step < 506) is performed (j Now the collection 5a JINJ of step (506) is prepared in advance in its own subfile 42. In the case of products, add the amount and @ quantity to the summary column b2, and also add the amount in the master file 4.
For the product data obtained by referring to 1, a new file for that product is created.

When the business hours of the day end, the total data compiled in the routine of step (506) is transferred all at once to ECR #1 (step 508).

In ECR #1, the total data transferred daily from each ECR is stored in the total column b1 of the master file 41! 1
! When you enter the product and get the aggregated data for one month, for example (
Step 509>, products that are not selling well are determined by determining, for example, the ranking of sales amount or the ranking of growth rate using a statistical method (Step 510).

Next, in step (511), a group of, for example, 2000 products from the top selling products is extracted from the master file 41 as subfile data, and this subfile data and the contents of the subfile 42 of each ECR are extracted. The products are compared, and the product data that does not match is determined and transferred to 8ECR (step 503).

Thereafter, steps (503) to (511) are repeated, and each ECR subfile 42 is updated monthly or seasonally.

In this way, most of the PLU processing performed in daily transaction processing in each ECR can be performed by referring to its own subfile, and references to the master file 41 via the transmission system are minimized. Since the accuracy of the sales of the product groups stored in the file 42 is gradually improved, the transactions in each ECR can be carried out efficiently.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, subfile data for each ECR is created in advance, for example, when the system is started up, so that processing speed can be improved from the beginning of system operation.

In addition, in the above-mentioned real IV14, subfile data was created in advance as a system initial process, but
This invention is not limited to this (j, but data for subfiles that can be opened at the initial stage of system start-up is stored in each E
It is also possible to obtain a predetermined number of product groups by referring to the master file each time a transaction is made in CR, use this as subfile data, and then update the subfile based on a sales determination.

Furthermore, although the master ECR is used to determine which products are unsold, the determination may be made in each ECR.

Furthermore, in an ECR system equipped with a host computer, the master file is provided on the host computer side,
Of course, the host computer may determine which products are not selling and create the subfile data.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an ECR system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of each ECR, FIG. 3 is a key arrangement diagram of a keyboard provided in each ECR, and FIG. The figure shows the files provided in the RAM 6, (A) is the master file provided in the master ECR, (8) is the subfile provided in each ECR, and Fig. 5 shows the entire system of the above embodiment. This is a general flow chart showing typical movements. 1... Microcomputer 2... Keyboard 3... Display 4... Printer 5... Transmission device 6... RAM 41...Master file 42...Sub file ECR...Electronic cash register

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) One master file storage device equipped with a master file that stores reference price data used in PLU processing for all products, and each reference price used in PLU processing in the electronic cash register. A plurality of electronic cash registers each having a subfile capable of storing data for a certain number of products and capable of individually executing PLU processing by referring to the price data of the subfile; and each of the electronic cash registers. The top-selling product group is determined for each electronic cash register based on the sales product data obtained from the above, and the Blythe data group stored in the sub-file is the same as the price data group related to the determined top-selling product group. An electronic cash register system comprising: subfile updating means for transferring the corresponding price data group from the subfile to each electronic cash register.