JPS6228869A - Processing system for pos system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to execute the system processing of commodity transaction even if the system is turned to the off-line state by blanking a commodity display part to execute a transaction processing at the time of off-line. CONSTITUTION:In a normal operation, inquire information is transmitted from a POS terminal 4 to a controller 1 on the basis of an input through keying operation and a retrieved result is turned to a POS terminal 4. When the system is turned to the off-line state and the commodity No. and price are keyed in, its answer is not returned for a fixed period, so that a commodity name display omitting command is outputted to a printer and data are printed out while leaving the commodity column blank. Thereby, the operation of the POS terminal is not halted even if the system is turned to the off-line state.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] There is a processing method based on the central PLU method in the QP OS system.
In a POS system that adopts the U method, if the line between the POSM terminal and the center PLU controller becomes defective, data cannot be exchanged between the two departments, and as a result, products at sales floors such as department stores or supermarkets cannot be exchanged. Sales work may be delayed. This is because in the above-mentioned POS system, sales data is printed out only after receiving a response from the central PLU controller based on the timing information from the POS terminal to the central PLU controller. This is because when the line goes offline, printing cannot be done, which hinders sales operations. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, the present invention provides a central PLU on the POS terminal side.
Provides a function to determine whether there is a response from the controller,
By using this function, the aim is to omit some printout items and only perform sales operations.

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a POS system processing method, and particularly to a POS system processing method that can smoothly transition from automatic reading operation to manual operation when the POS system is offline. It is something.

[Conventional technology] In large-scale retail stores such as department stores and supermarkets, the product numbers, product names, unit prices, etc. of the products handled are centrally managed at a central location.
A so-called central PLLJ (Pr
There is a POS system that adopts the ice 1-ook lJp-price matching) method, and the basic configuration of such a method is shown in FIG. Central PL shown here
A POS system using the U method is assembled by a PLU controller 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a controller) connected to a host computer and a plurality of PO8 terminals (1, 2,...N) 4 connected to this controller 1. It is being An external storage medium such as a floppy disk that stores data such as unit price and product name is set in the controller 1, and various signals and data are transmitted between the controller 1 and the PO8 terminal 4. They are connected by line 3. In addition, the controller 1 normally has a PLLJllfi function section 1a, that is, a section that receives product price inquiries from the POS terminal 4, and a section that receives inquiries about product prices from the POS terminal 4.
The UII function section 1b, that is, the product name from the PO3 terminal 4, is attached [with a built-in part etc.
The answer will be sent back to. The PO8 terminal 4 has keys for data input and a barcode scanner, and is also equipped with a printer for creating a receipt based on the response data from the controller 1. When a product is sold by inputting a scan code, the operator 1 instructs the barcode scanner to read the barcode attached to the product, and as shown by Sl in FIG. through the controller] - the timing information is sent to roller 1. In the controller 1, in response to the above-mentioned timing, the PLU function unit 1a checks the product price, sends back the price information S2, and then sends back the price information S2.
Check HLullLull Noh mask 1b and product name information S3
send back. The PO3 terminal 4 prints out the product name and price as shown in Figure 6 on the recording paper of the cash register 1 etc. based on the answers from these controllers 1 to roller 1, and also totals and subtracts the sales proceeds. Perform work, etc. In addition, when selling products by department input, when the operator inputs the product number and price assigned to each product by key operation, the price information is immediately processed within the PO8 terminal 4 and transmitted to the attached printer, while As shown by S4 in Fig. 5,
Product name availability information is sent from the PO8 terminal 4 to the controller 1 through the line 3. In the controller 1, in response to the above-mentioned timing, the HLU function unit 1b checks the product name and sends back the product name information $5. Based on the response from the controller 1, the PO8 terminal 4 prints out the product name and price as shown in FIG. 6 on a recording sheet, as in the case described above, and also performs tasks such as tabulating sales proceeds.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional POS system, when the line 3 between the controller 1 and the POS terminal 4 is disconnected, that is, goes offline, the line 3 is disconnected from the POS terminal 4 to the controller 1. The timing information will not be sent to the PO8 terminal 4, and furthermore, no response will be returned from the controller '1 to the PO8 terminal 4. Then, in the PO8 terminal, if a certain period of time has passed due to no response from the controller 1, the POS terminal itself will display an error message, and the PO8 terminal 4 itself will stop operating, making it impossible to sell products. I end up.

This situation is a very serious problem for department stores and supermarkets that serve a large number of customers, and there is a possibility that a POS system failure will cause great damage.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and while a POS system based on the central PLU method can normally be used to quickly respond to customers, once the POS system
When the OS system goes offline, the minimum necessary information can be recorded by operating only the PO8 terminal, and product sales can continue in almost the same state as when the POS system is operating normally. The object of the present invention is to provide a processing method capable of solving the above-mentioned conventional problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a central P.L.
In a POS system that adopts the U method, the POS terminal is equipped with a determination unit that determines whether there is a response from the PLLLJ controller, which is the central control unit, and when this determination unit detects a line error, the PO3 terminal situation is determined. The main point is that the POS terminal has been changed so that it can operate independently, and the minimum necessary information for the sale of a product can be recorded on recording paper, thereby making it possible to carry out product sales operations. That is. Generally, in the central PLU method, the product price and product name are stored on the controller side, so if the POS system goes offline, these product names and prices are not sent from the controller to the POS terminal, but the operator can use the POS terminal key By inputting the price and product number by operation, the price information can be printed directly to the printer at the POS terminal, and the product name is left blank if it cannot be queried with the controller.

[Function 1] During normal operation, the operator inputs a scan code or department, that is, inputs by key operation, and based on this input, timing information is transmitted from the POS terminal to the center control unit. The center control unit searches for product names and prices based on the availability information from the POS terminal, and sends the search results to P.

Return transmission to S terminal. On the other hand, when the POS system goes off-line, the operator switches to a department input method in which all input is performed by key operations, and inputs the item number and price of the product using the key operations. Then, the price data is transmitted to the printer inside the POS terminal where the relevant key was operated and is printed out, while the product number is also sent from the POS terminal to the central control unit in time. This is sent as timing information over the line, but since the line is offline, no response is sent from the center control unit. Under these circumstances, when there is no response from the center control unit for a certain period of time, the POS terminal determines that there is no response and issues a command to the printer to omit displaying the product name.

Therefore, the printer only prints out the previous price and prints out a recording sheet with the product name column blank, and the operator uses this recording sheet as a receipt or as a document for calculating the daily total results of the POS terminal. In this way, even if the POS system goes offline, the POS terminal will not stop operating due to the offline state, and the POS system can be operated almost in the same way as usual with a slight change in operation by the operator.

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a POS terminal for executing the processing method of the POS system of the present invention.

In this figure, numeral 6 is a barcode scanner that reads the barcode display attached to the product, 8 is a key operation unit for the operator to enter the department, which is a different method from reading with a barcode scanner, and 7 is a keypad. This is a display that displays input data from key operations and data from the center control unit when an operation is performed. Also, 9
is a printer that prints out sales data, etc. when buying and selling products. These barcode scanner 6, display 7, key operation section 8, and printer 9 are connected to the I10 control section 11 of the POS terminal.

The I10 control unit 11 includes a buffer 12 that temporarily stores input data from the barcode scanner 6, and an input/output unit 17 that stores input data from the key operation unit 8 and also stores data output to the display 7. , a printer control unit 18 that processes data transmitted to the printer 9 and controls operations such as starting and stopping the printer 9; and a controller that edits input data from the barcode scanner 6 or the key operation unit 8 (); It has a message editing section 13 that creates transmission data to the controller 1, and a line control section 16 that controls the data sent from the message editing section 13 to the controller 1 so that it can be transferred to the communication line. Also, 1
10 The control unit 11 includes a determination unit 14 that detects whether data (response data) sent from the controller 1 to the POS terminal 4 has been input to the POS terminal 4;
a space generation unit 15 that changes part of the print data to be printed by the printer 9 based on the determination result in the controller 1 to the POS terminal 4;
a display buffer 19 that converts the answer data sent to the POS terminal 4 into a data structure that can be displayed on the display 7; and a buffer 20. The normal operation of the POS terminal 4 having such a configuration will be explained.

First, in the case of scanning input, when the operator uses the barcode scanner 6 to read the barcode section attached to the product, the data read by the barcode scanner 6 is temporarily stored in the buffer 12, and then , data is sent from this buffer 12 to the message editing section 13.

Then, the message editing section 13 edits the data to suit the controller 1, and the line control section 16 sends the edited transmission data to the line 3 after undergoing processing such as parallel-to-serial conversion. This make-time data enters the controller 1, and the controller 11 searches for the product name and price of a specific product, and reads out this information from the memory in the controller.

Generally, the product information read by the barcode scanner 6 is based on a product number or a code number assigned to each product. The controller 1, which has retrieved the product name and price, sends the product name and price from the output section onto the line 3, passes through the line part 16 of the POS terminal 4, and inputs them into the control section 110 as the next process. 1101
The answer data taken into the 11t11 section is first input to the determination section 14. In this determination unit 14, first, response data from the controller 1 to the timing information is P.
It is determined whether the data has been sent back to the OS terminal 4. or,
This determining unit 14 outputs the print buffer 2 from the determining unit 14 to the print buffer 2.
0 and a signal line S that outputs data to the display buffer 19
6 and a signal line S7 that outputs data to the print buffer 7 through the space generation section 15, and a signal line S8 that outputs data to the display 7 through the input/output section 17. The switching operation is performed depending on the presence or absence of a response from the user.

Then, as described above, if the controller correctly sends back a response to the timing from the POS terminal 4 side, the determination unit 14 selects S6 as the output signal line, and the response data is transmitted from this signal. The data is taken into one display buffer and print buffer 20 through line $6. The answer data taken into the display buffer 19 is output from this display buffer 19 to the input/output section 17, and
7, the answer is transmitted to the display and the answer is displayed. Further, the response data taken into the print buffer 20 is outputted from the print buffer 20 to the printer control section 18, and is transmitted from the printer control section 18 to the printer 9, thereby being printed out on a sheet. An example of the state printed out in this manner is shown in FIG. That is, the product name, for example, "apple" is displayed as the product name, and the price, for example, "150 yen" is displayed in the column for displaying the price. A similar type of display is also performed on the display 7.

Also, department input using the key operation unit 8 is performed using substantially the same procedure and operation as the above-mentioned skin input by barcode reading. That is,
When the operator looks at the product and enters the product number and price using the key operation unit 8, these entered data are transmitted to the message editing unit 13 through the input/output unit 17, where the delivery information is After being edited, it is output onto the line through the line control section 16. On the other hand, upon receiving this timing information, the controller 1 searches the memory for the product name based on the product number, reads out the corresponding product name, and sends it onto the line 3. The response data sent out on line 3 is then po
The data is taken into the line control unit 16 of the s@terminal 4, where it undergoes serial/parallel conversion, and then taken into the judgment unit 14, where a predetermined judgment process is performed. In this case as well, the determining unit 14 determines that the filled response data has been sent from the controller 1, outputs the response data onto the signal line S6, and this response data is transferred to the display buffer 19 and print buffer 20. are incorporated into each of the The data taken into one display buffer is sent to the display 7 through the input/output section 17 and displayed there, while the answer data taken into the print buffer 20 is outputted to the printer control section 18 and displayed here. The data is sent to the printer 9 together with data for the printer 9υJtll, and printed out as sales data as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, processing operations in the case where some kind of failure occurs in the line 3 connecting the POS terminal 4 and the controller 1 (indicated by reference numeral 25 in FIG. 1) and the POS system goes offline will be described.

First, when scanning input is performed using the barcode scanner 6 in such an offline state, the information sent from the barcode scanner 6 to the line control unit 16 through the buffer 12 and the message editing unit 13 is The timing information is sent to controller 1 for offline 25 of line 3.
cannot reach. For this reason, the determination unit 14 determines the state in which no response data is sent from the controller 1 to the POS terminal 4 by, for example, time counting, and when no response data is returned from the controller 1 for a certain period of time, it is offline. Then, a signal indicating the offline state is sent to the display 7 through the input/output section 17 to display an error message. Then, the operator recognizes that the POS system is in an offline state, switches the POS system processing from a scan code input operation to a department input operation, and uses the key operation unit 8 to input the product number and price. The product number data inputted by this key operation is sent to the message editing section 13 through the input/output section 17, where it is created as timing information regarding the product name, and then sent to the line control section 16.
is sent out on line 113 through line 3.
Since the controller 1 is offline, the timing information is not transmitted to the controller 1, and furthermore, the controller 1 does not send response data. In such a case, the determining unit 14 determines that there is no response data from the controller 1 by counting for a certain period of time, as in the case above, selects the output signal lines S7 and 88 by operating the selector, and displays the display. 7 indicates that the line is offline, and also displays the space generation unit 15 through the signal line S7.
“Start on.

The space generation section creates print data for blanking out the column for entering the product name in the sales data printed out by the printer 9, and the blank data generated by the space generation section 15 is taken into the print buffer 20. .

The blank data taken into the print buffer 20 is then sent to the printer control unit 18 and further output to the printer 9. As shown in FIG. Print out the recording paper, ie, the sales receipt, with the product name column blank. Even if the line 3 is in the offline state 25, the POS terminal 4 determines that there is no response from the controller through the operation of the determination unit 14, performs operation processing according to the situation, and sells and sells products. Therefore, all POS terminals 4 will not stop working due to the POS system going down, and customers will not be inconvenienced.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, in a POS system that inquires the price or product name of a product to the center control unit via a line based on a predetermined input operation, the center control unit We have installed a judgment unit that determines whether or not there is a response from the POS system, and when offline when the above response cannot be obtained, the product display section is left blank and the buying and selling process is executed, so there is no risk of a failure in the POS system line. System processing for product sales can be continued even if the system goes offline, eliminating the need for customers to be left on hold for a long time until the line is restored, or the sales processing being extremely delayed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a system diagram that executes the processing method of the POS system of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display obtained by executing the processing method of the present invention while offline, and Fig. 3 The figure shows the schematic configuration of a central PLU type POS system, and Figure 4 shows the POS system shown in Figure 3.
A diagram schematically showing the state of price and product name adjustment operations and response operations for these adjustments when a scan code is input in the system. Figure 5 is not shown in Figure 3, but the department input is performed in the POS system. Fig. 6 shows the printing of a processing sheet based on the answer data from the center control unit when the input is made in the POS system shown in Fig. 3. It is a figure which shows an example of being out. 1... Controller (center control unit) 2... Floppy disk 3... Line 4... PO8 terminal 6...
Barcode scanner 7...Display 8...Key operation section 9...
・Printer 11...I10 control unit 12...
Buffer 13... Message editing section 14... Judgment section 15... Space generation section ゛=, -゛-

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A POS system that inquires price and product name from a control unit via a line based on scan code input and department input, and a determination unit that determines whether there is a response from the control unit, The processing method of the POS system is characterized in that when the above-mentioned answer is not sent back to the POS terminal, the product display part of the recording paper created at the POS terminal is blanked out and processed.