KR100328635B1 - System for managing trade information of customer and method for it - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a magnetic card reader and a printer are integrally formed and connected to an external device and connected to a computer equipped with an application program for writing a customer's transaction information through a serial data transmission / reception unit. The customer's information is transmitted to the computer through the serial data transmission and reception unit, and the transaction information of the customer created on the computer is transmitted to the printer through the same serial data transmission and reception unit.

As a result, the configuration of a system for managing customer transaction information is simplified, and since the magnetic card reader and the printer are integrally formed, the price is reduced, and the program for controlling the transaction is simplified.

Description

System for managing trade information of customer and method for it}

The present invention relates to a customer's transaction information management system, and more particularly, a magnetic card reader for reading the credit card information of a customer and a printer for printing the customer's transaction information are integrally formed and communicated with an external device. The present invention relates to a system for managing customer transaction information more simply by sending and receiving customer information through a serial port and a computer in which an application program for creating customer transaction information is built.

A general credit card inquiry system includes a communication unit including a magnetic card reader (MCR) to read card information, a wired / wireless modem to send the read card information to a card company or a van (VAN) for approval. A key input unit having a plurality of keys for inputting the transaction information of the customer, a display unit for displaying data from the communication unit or the key input unit, a printing unit for printing the transaction information of the customer, and a control unit for controlling each component unit; Equipped.

Such a credit card inquiry machine is often used in connection with a point of sale (POS) system, a terminal for automatically collecting and recording the sales status of goods in a department store or a large store, or a system for managing stores and customers. This happens frequently, which requires a separate serial port, a serial data transmitter / receiver connecting the credit card checker and the system.

On the other hand, in recent years, a system for managing POS systems, stores, and customers is often constituted by personal computers, and in general, computers are equipped with superior performance and speed than modems equipped with credit card checkers.

Therefore, in such a system, when a customer makes a transaction with a credit card (debit and cash card), a separate magnetic card reader and a printer are often used rather than using the above-described credit card inquiry machine.

However, when a separate magnetic card reader and a printer are installed in a computer system, wiring is complicated because the serial communication port and the printer port of the computer are used, respectively, and the program for controlling each port in the computer is complicated. In addition, since the nematic card reader and the printer must be purchased separately, a problem arises in that the price increases.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve such a problem, an object of the present invention is to form a magnetic card reader for inputting the card information of the customer and a printer for printing the transaction information of the customer integrally.

Another object of the present invention is to connect a magnetic printer in which a magnetic card reader and a printer are integrally connected to one serial port of a system composed of a computer.

Still other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

1 is a view showing a customer transaction information management system according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the customer's transaction information management system according to the present invention.

3 is an operation flowchart showing an operation in the mag printer of the customer transaction information management system.

4 is an operation flowchart showing an operation in a system server of a customer transaction information management system.

5 is a view showing credit card transaction information of a customer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing transaction information of a visiting customer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention communicates with an external device, and connects to the system server using a system server in which an application program for writing transaction information of a customer is embedded, and one serial data transceiver. Input the information of the customer to the system server, or print and output the transaction information of the customer created by the application program, and print the transaction information of the customer and a card reader for reading the credit card information of the customer. A mag printer including a printing unit is included.

In addition, the present invention is the step of initializing by connecting the mag printer to the system server, and when the application program for creating the customer's transaction information is executed in the system server, the mag printer to read the credit card information of the customer to transmit to the system server And generating transaction information corresponding to the credit card information of the customer at the system server, transmitting the created transaction information of the customer to the mag printer, and printing and outputting the transaction information of the customer at the mag printer. .

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a customer transaction information management system according to the present invention includes a system server 10 consisting of a computer, a magnetic printer 20 in which a magnetic card reader and a printer are integrally formed, and the system server 10. The mag printer 20 is connected to one serial port, which is a serial data transmission / reception means, to transmit and receive data with each other.

Looking at the internal configuration of the above-described customer transaction information management system with reference to Figure 2, first, the control unit 11 of the system server 10 controls the overall operation of the system, in particular will be described later in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention Overall control of each component to transmit the customer's transaction information according to the customer's credit card information received from the mag printer 20 or the customer information input from the input unit 15 of the system server 10 to the mag printer 20 do.

The memory 12 stores data generated according to an operation program of the controller 11, a general control program, and a program execution. In particular, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the transaction information of the customer is stored.

The application program 13 is a program that can create various transaction information of customers. For example, in the case of a system used in a department store or a large store, it is possible to input transaction information of a customer who has purchased goods, and in the case of a system used in a parking lot, it is a program that can input transaction information of a visiting customer.

The display unit 14 displays an execution screen of the application program 13 for inputting the transaction information of the customer.

The input unit 15 includes a plurality of keys for inputting the transaction information of the customer on the execution screen of the application program 13 displayed on the display unit 14.

The communication unit 16 transmits the transaction information of the customer input from the input unit 15 or received by the mag printer 20 to an external device, and receives a search result of the transaction customer information from the external device. Here, the external device may be a card company or a bansa when the system is used in a department store or a large store, and may be a host server that manages each system when the system is used in a parking lot.

The serial data transmission / reception unit 17 is a part in charge of the interface with the mag printer 20, and transmits the transaction information of the customer created by the application program 13 to the mag printer 20 under the control of the control unit 11 or to the mag printer 20. Receive credit card information, which is customer information, from the printer 20.

On the other hand, looking at the mag printer 20 connected to the system server 10, the card reader 21, if a card in which the customer's transaction information (for example, card number, card expiration date, etc.) recorded on the magnetic tape is inserted , Read the information recorded on the card.

The serial data transmission / reception unit 22 is a portion which is connected to the serial data transmission / reception unit 17 of the system server 10 by a communication cable to transmit / receive data, and credit card information which is information of a customer read by the card reader 21. To the system server 10 or receives the customer's transaction information from the system server 10.

The printer driver 23 controls the operation of the printer 24 to print the transaction information of the customer received from the system server 10 through the serial data transceiver 22, and the printer 24 is a printer driver ( According to the control of 23), the customer's transaction information is printed and printed on the paper.

The key input unit 25 is provided with a plurality of keys for the operator to select the operation of the mag printer 20. For example, it may include an online key for selecting an on / off state of the mag printer 20, and a forward key and a reverse key for selecting a moving direction of a sheet on which customer transaction information is printed.

The LED (Light Emitting Diode) 26 is emitted according to the on / off or operation of the mag printer 20 to allow an operator to identify the state of the mag printer 20.

The control unit 27 controls the mag printer 20 as a whole, and transmits the credit card information, which is the information of the customer read by the card reader 21, to the system server 10, and is transmitted from the system server 10. Each component is controlled to print the transaction information of the customer in the printing unit 24.

Here, the customer's transaction information management system can be used in any system equipped with a computer, the customer's transaction information is paid by the customer for the goods purchased in the department store or the store as shown in FIG. It may be a detail or information of a customer who visited the parking lot (for example, time of arrival, time of departure, amount of parking, etc.).

In the present invention having such a configuration, the operation of the system for managing customer transaction information will be described by dividing the system server 10 and the mag printer 20.

First, the system operator connects the serial data transmission / reception unit 17 of the system server 10 and the serial data transmission / reception unit 22 of the mag printer 20 using a communication cable to manage the transaction information of the customer. A power cable is connected to a power supply unit (not shown) of the printer 20 to supply power, and the power switch (not shown) of the mag printer 20 is turned on.

<How to Manage Customer Transaction Information in Mag Printer>

As shown in FIG. 3, after the mag printer 20 is initialized through the above process (S301), the control unit 27 of the mag printer has a paper for printing the transaction information of the customer (S302). Under the control of the control unit 27, the printer driver 23 automatically feeds paper and supplies it to the printing unit 24 (S303).

Thereafter, the control unit 27 of the mag printer checks whether a predetermined key is selected through the key input unit 25 (S304), and if the predetermined key is selected, the selected key selects an on / off state of the mag printer 20. Check whether the on-line key is (S305).

If the key selected by the key input unit 25 is an online key, the control unit 27 of the mag printer stores the on / off state of the mag printer 20 (S306). Here, the control unit 27 of the mag printer toggles the state of the mag printer 20 on or off each time an online key is selected, and turns on or off the LED 26 according to the on / off state. You can.

In addition, the control unit 27 of the mag printer checks whether the key selected by the key input unit 25 is a forward key for feeding paper when the key is not an online key (S307), and when the selected key is a forward key, the printer driver 23 By controlling, the paper is conveyed in the printing progress direction (S308).

In addition, the control unit 27 of the mag printer checks whether the key selected by the key input unit 25 is the backward key for back feeding the paper if the key is not the forward key (S309), and if the selected key is the reverse key, the printer driver 23 ) To convey the paper in the reverse direction of the printing progress direction (S310).

On the other hand, if there is no key input as a result of the check in step S304 (S304) of confirming whether a predetermined key is selected through the key input unit 25, the control unit 27 of the mag printer via the card reader 21 The card information recorded on the magnetic tape of the credit card is read (S311). In this case, the card reader 21 may use a debit or a cash card for payment by a transaction customer who purchases an item at a department store or a store, or a card or bonus card for a customer who uses the parking lot to confirm his / her identity. Used when used. At this time, the operator of the system inserts the credit card of the transaction customer into the card reader 21 of the mag printer 20, and the card reader 21 is a card information (for example, of the credit card) recorded on the magnetic tape of the card. Number, expiration date of credit card, etc.).

The control unit 27 of the mag printer checks whether the card information of the customer recorded on the magnetic tape of the credit card is read correctly by the card reader 21 (S312). Information is transmitted to the system server 10 through the serial data transmission and reception unit 22 (S313). Here, the control unit 27 of the mag printer may blink the LED 26 while transmitting the card information of the customer read by the card reading unit 21 to the system server 10.

Further, if the card information of the customer recorded on the magnetic tape of the credit card is not read correctly in the card reader 21 in step 312 (S312), for example, the operator sends the card reader 21 to the card reader 21 of the transaction customer. If the credit card is incorrectly inserted, the control unit 27 of the mag printer notifies the operator that an error has occurred because the card information of the customer cannot be read (S314). Here, the control unit 27 of the mag printer can notify the operator of the error of reading the credit card information by blinking the LED 26 a predetermined number of times.

On the other hand, the credit card of the transaction customer is inserted into the card reader 21 in the confirmation result in step 311 (S311) of confirming that the card information recorded on the magnetic tape of the customer's credit card is read through the card reader 21. If not, the control unit 27 of the mag printer checks whether the transaction information of the customer is received from the system server 10 through the serial data transmission / reception unit 22 (S315).

As a result of the check, when the transaction information of the customer is received through the serial data transmission / reception unit 22, the control unit 27 of the mag printer controls the printer driver 23 controlling the driving of the printing unit 24 to display the transaction information of the customer. The paper is printed and output on the fed paper (S316). Here, the paper fed to the printing unit 24 is selectively set to a paper on which a basic form for printing a credit card usage specification or a parking lot usage history, which are customer transaction information, is printed.

<How to Manage Customer Transaction Information on the System Server>

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 11 of the system server 10 checks whether the application 13 is selected (S401), and executes the application 13 to display an execution screen on the display unit 14. (S402). Here, the application program may be various programs for managing transaction information, such as payment history of the customer or visit history of the customer, and displays an execution screen for creating the transaction information of the customer on the display unit 14.

When the execution screen of the application program 13 is displayed on the display unit 14, the control unit 11 of the system server checks whether the card information of the customer is received from the mag printer 20 through the serial data transmission / reception unit 17 ( S403). Here, the card information of the customer received from the mag printer 20 is the information of the customer's credit card read by the card reader 21 of the mag printer 20. The credit card information of the customer may include a card number or a card expiration date, etc. The credit card may be a debit or cash card that pays for the purchase of goods or a visit card or a bonus card that confirms a visitor. Of course, the customer's credit card is changed in correspondence with the application program 13 on which the execution screen is displayed on the display unit 14.

As a result of the check, when the card information of the customer is received from the mag printer 20 through the serial data transmission / reception unit 17, the control unit 11 of the system server displays the credit card information, which is the information of the received customer, on the display unit 14. In operation S404, the transaction information of the customer input through the input unit 15 is then displayed on the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14 (S405). Here, the transaction information of the customer input from the input unit 15 is customer information input in addition to the customer card information received from the mag printer 20, the price of the purchased goods of the customer or whether the installment or visit of the customer Information such as offices may be included.

That is, when managing the customer's credit card transaction information in a system provided in a department store or a store, as shown in Figure 5, the card number and expiration date of the customer is read by the card reader 21 of the mag printer 20 And the purchase price, the installment period, and the like, are information input by the operator in the input unit 15 provided in the system server 10.

In addition, when managing the transaction information of the parking customer in the system provided in the parking lot, as shown in Figure 6, the card number, expiration date and membership number of the customer is read by the card reader 21 of the mag printer 20 And the parking amount, the entering time, the leaving time, etc. are the information input after being settled by the system server 10.

On the other hand, if the card information of the customer is not received from the mag printer 20 through the serial data transmission and reception unit 17, the control unit 11 of the system server checks whether the transaction information of the customer is input from the input unit 15 (S406), the process branches to step 405 (S405) of displaying the transaction information of the customer input from the input unit 15 on the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14. This is the case when the customer who purchased the goods does not use the credit card or the customer who visits the parking lot does not use the card. In this case, the operator inputs the transaction information of the customer at the input unit 15 of the system server 10. Enter it directly.

When the card information of the customer received from the card reader 21 of the mag printer 20 or the transaction information of the customer input from the input unit 15 are displayed on the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14 as described above, the system The control unit 11 of the server checks whether a predetermined key for receiving card approval is input (S407). In this case, the key for the card approval is preferably provided separately from the input unit 15, or formed on the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14.

As a result of the check, when a key for receiving the card approval is input, the control unit 11 of the system server collectively manages the credit card through the communication unit 16 with the transaction information of the customer inputted in steps 404 (S404) and 405 (S405). Requests for approval of the customer's transaction by transmitting to the managing card company or bansa or host server (S408).

The control unit 11 of the system server receives a reply to the card approval request of the transaction customer from the card company, bansa or host server through the communication unit 16 (S409), and displays the result on the display unit 14 To display on (S410).

Thereafter, the control unit 11 of the system server checks whether the print key is input through the input unit 15 (S411), and when the print key is input, the serial data transceiving unit 17 receives the transaction information of the customer displayed on the display unit 14. ) Is transmitted to the mag printer 20 (S412).

On the other hand, if all the transaction information of the customer is entered in the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14, the check result in step 407 (S407) of checking whether the card approval key is input, if the card approval key is not input, the control unit of the system server (11), branching to step 411 (S411) and confirming whether a print key for printing transaction information of the execution screen displayed on the display unit 14 has been input.

Therefore, since the mag printer transmits the card information of the customer or receives and prints the transaction information of the customer through one serial data transmission / reception unit of the system server, the management of the system is simplified.

As described above, the present invention integrally forms a magnetic card reader and a printer, and is connected to a computer capable of communicating with an external device through a serial data transceiver.

Then, in the system that manages the transaction information of the customer by using a computer, the transaction information of the customer is transmitted to the printer through the serial data transceiver and printed, and the customer information read by the magnetic card reader is received through the same serial data transceiver. By managing, the customer's transaction information management system is simplified.

In addition, since the magnetic card reader and the printer are integrally formed, the price is reduced, and the program for controlling the same is simplified.

Claims (5)

A system server that communicates with an external device and has an application program for writing transaction information of a customer; Connected to the system server using a serial data transmission and reception unit, and inputs the customer's information to the system server, or print and output the customer's transaction information created in the application program, and the credit card information of the customer And a mag printer including a card reader for reading and a printing unit for printing the transaction information of the customer. delete delete The method of claim 1, And the serial data transceiver transmits and receives the customer information read from the card reader and the transaction information of the customer created by the application program. It is connected to a system server having a built-in application for communicating with an external device and writing transaction information of a customer, using a serial data transmission / reception unit with the system server, and reading the customer's credit card information or A method of managing customer transaction information in a system having a mag printer for printing transaction information: Initializing the mag printer by connecting to the system server; When the application program is executed in the system server, confirming that the credit card information of the customer is read in the mag printer; When the credit card information of the customer is read, transmitting the read credit card information to the system server through the serial data transceiver; If the credit card information of the customer is not read, confirming whether the transaction information of the customer is received from the system server through the serial data transceiver; And if the transaction information of the customer is received, printing the received transaction information of the customer.