KR102290397B1 - System and Method for Managing Retail Store using RFID - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for managing a retail store by using an RFID tag generated based on a barcode attached to a product sold at a retail store. The system for managing a retail store using an RFID according to the present invention comprises: an RFID tag generation unit that recognizes a barcode attached to a product and writes product information to an RFID tag on the basis of product information of the recognized barcode; a server that stores product information corresponding to a barcode attached to a product and the RFID tag, and provides product information corresponding to the RFID tag recognized by an RFID tag generator; and a POS terminal that recognizes the RFID tag, receives corresponding product information on the basis of the recognized RFID tag from the server, processes product sales, and inputs records to manage at least one among inventory management and delivery quantity. According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent barcode recognition errors.

Description

System and Method for Managing Retail Store using RFID

The present invention relates to a system and method for managing a retail store, and more particularly, to a system and method for managing a retail store using an RFID tag generated based on a barcode attached to a product sold at the retail store.

In general, a checkout counter is a place where you pay for products purchased at the counter at the exit of a retail store, such as a mart, convenience store, bookstore, or cosmetics. Such checkout counters may be roughly divided into manned checkout machines and unmanned checkout machines depending on the presence or absence of a cashier.

Manned checkout counters have a conveyor belt that moves products to the cashier side, a scanner that recognizes (scans) barcodes on products held by the cashier, and a cash register that displays the scanned information and records details of each product and calculates the total amount and an electronic payment terminal that allows the shopper to calculate the price of the purchased product with a credit card or the like. These manned checkout counters allow the cashier to classify products one by one and recognize (scan) the barcode of the product with a scanner, thereby preventing barcode recognition errors for products, but it cannot protect customer privacy and causes the cashier's labor costs. There is a problem.

On the other hand, the unmanned checkout counter has substantially the same technical configuration as the above-described manned checkout counter except that there is no cashier and the scanner is fixed near the conveyor belt, but customer privacy can be protected and the cashier's labor cost can be saved. However, the unmanned checkout counter has a problem in that the scanner cannot recognize the barcode of the product when the products overlap or pass through the scanner's blind spot.

As such, the currently used barcodes cause various problems as there is a problem that can only be recognized when the barcode of the product is recognized with a scanner by dividing each product one by one.

Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0030989 (published on July 7, 2008) Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0118839 (published on October 21, 2019)

Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for managing a retail store using an RFID tag generated based on a barcode attached to a product sold at a retail store. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a retail store management system and method using RFID that effectively prevents barcode recognition errors for products in an unmanned retail store that is automatically operated without a clerk.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a retail store management system and method using RFID, which enables consumers to receive more convenient and efficient services than existing retail stores and at the same time solve the labor costs of existing retail store owners.

An object of the present invention is to provide a retail store management system and method using RFID that maximizes the code recognition rate for each product passing through a scanner.

An object of the present invention is to provide a retail store management system and method using RFID for easily producing an RFID tag newly attached to a product based on a barcode attached to the product.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned may be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. Moreover, it will be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

The feature of the retail store management system using RFID according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to recognize a barcode attached to a product, and write the product information to an RFID tag based on the recognized product information of the barcode. a server for storing product information corresponding to a barcode attached to the product and the RFID tag, and providing product information corresponding to the RFID tag recognized by the RFID tag generation unit; may include a POS terminal for recognizing , processing product sales by receiving corresponding product information based on the recognized RFID tag from the server, and inputting the records to manage at least one of inventory management and delivery quantity have.

Preferably, the RFID tag generation unit includes a barcode recognition unit that scans a barcode attached to a product to recognize a barcode, and transmits the barcode information recognized by the barcode recognition unit to a server located at a remote location through a wired or wireless network, and the barcode information A data transceiver for receiving product information stored in advance in the server in response to the data transmission/reception unit, and a format conversion unit for converting product information corresponding to the barcode information received from the data transmission and reception unit to a format so as to be able to write to the RFID tag and an RFID writing unit that writes the product information format-converted by the format conversion unit to the RFID tag.

Preferably, the format conversion unit performs a tag design work to ensure the recognition and writing of the RFID tag, and includes the RFID encryption key with the product information to convert it into a frequency band used by the reader so that it can be recognized only by the reader. can

Preferably, the POS terminal includes an RFID tag reader unit that recognizes an RFID tag attached to a product, and receives product information corresponding to the recognized RFID tag from the server based on the RFID tag recognized by the RFID tag reader unit. A processing unit that processes product sales and inputs the records to process at least one of inventory management and delivery quantity, and product information and product information through information transmission/reception with the server based on the RFID tag information recognized by the RFID tag reader unit Together, store information such as inventory quantity, customer management, and financial management inside the store is transmitted to the POS terminal, the information processed in the processing unit is transmitted to an external payment processing company (VAN) that handles payment, and the approved or rejected information is sent back It may include a communication unit that performs a receiving function.

The characteristics of the retail store management method using RFID according to the present invention for achieving the above object are (A) recognizing a barcode attached to a product using the barcode recognition unit 110, and (B) a data transmitting and receiving unit. transmitting the recognized barcode information to a server located at a remote location through a wired or wireless network using the Formatting the product information corresponding to the received barcode information so that it can be written to the RFID tag; (D) using the RFID writing unit to write the format-converted product information to the RFID tag so that the barcode is attached attaching to the product, and (E) when the RFID tag attached to the product is recognized using the POS terminal, receiving product information corresponding to the recognized RFID tag based on the recognized RFID tag and processing product sales can

The retail store management system and method using RFID according to the present invention as described above has the following effects.

First, by using RFID tags generated based on barcodes attached to products sold at retail stores, consumers can receive more convenient and efficient services than existing retail stores, and at the same time solve the labor costs of existing retail store owners.

Second, by using RFID that maximizes the code recognition rate for each product that passes through the scanner, barcode recognition errors can be effectively prevented for products in unmanned retail stores that are automatically operated without a clerk.

Third, it is possible to easily produce an RFID tag newly attached to a product based on the barcode attached to the product.

In addition to the above-described effects, the specific effects of the present invention will be described together while describing specific details for carrying out the invention below.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a retail store management system using RFID according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the RFID tag generator in FIG. 1 in detail.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a retail store management method using RFID according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms used in the present invention have been selected as currently widely used general terms as possible while considering the functions in the present invention, but these may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a person skilled in the art, the emergence of new technology, and the like. In addition, in a specific case, there is a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present invention, rather than the name of a simple term.

A preferred embodiment of a retail store management system and method using RFID according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only this embodiment allows the disclosure of the present invention to be complete and the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art completely It is provided to inform you. Therefore, the configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in the present specification is only one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and does not represent all the technical spirit of the present invention, so various equivalents that can replace them at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be water and variations.

In the following, when it is described that a component is "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, the components may be directly connected or connected to each other, but other components are "connected" between each component. It should be understood that each component may be “interposed” or “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” through another component.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a retail store management system using RFID according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the retail store management system using RFID of the present invention recognizes the barcode 11 attached to the product 10 , and based on the product information of the recognized barcode 11 , the RFID tag 300 ), the RFID tag generating unit 100 for writing the product information, the barcode 11 attached to the product 10 and the product information corresponding to the RFID tag 300 are stored, and the RFID tag A server 200 that provides product information corresponding to the RFID tag 300 recognized by the generator 100, and the RFID tag 300 that recognizes the RFID tag 300 and recognizes the RFID tag 300 from the server 200 The POS terminal 400 may include a POS terminal 400 that receives product information corresponding to the .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the RFID tag generator in FIG. 1 in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the RFID tag generating unit 100 includes a barcode recognition unit 110 , a data transmitting/receiving unit 120 , a format converting unit 130 , and an RFID writing unit 140 . can do. The RFID tag generating unit 100 shown in FIG. 2 is according to an embodiment, and its components are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , and some components may be added, changed, or deleted as necessary. can

The barcode recognition unit 110 scans the barcode 11 formed (attached) on the product 10 to recognize the barcode. To this end, the barcode recognition unit 110 may include an infrared diode of the light emitting unit that scans infrared and a light receiving transistor of the light receiving unit that receives the scanned infrared signal.

That is, the barcode recognition unit 110 emits infrared rays from the light emitting unit to the barcode 11 formed on the product 10 , and the infrared signal scanned by the barcode 11 of the product 10 is the barcode 11 . Depending on the area of the line and the number of lines, the barcode can be recognized by being reflected by the light receiving unit.

The data transceiver 120 transmits the barcode information recognized by the barcode recognition unit 110 to the server 200 located at a remote location through a wired/wireless network, and transmits the barcode information to the server 200 in response to the barcode information in advance. Stored product information can be received. In this case, the product information may include at least one of a country of manufacture, a manufacturer, a seller, a product name, a selling price, an inventory amount, and an expiration date.

The format conversion unit 130 may convert the format of product information corresponding to the barcode information received from the data transceiver 120 to be able to write to the RFID tag. That is, the format conversion unit 130 performs a tag design work for securing recognition and writing of the RFID tag 300, and includes the RFID encryption key with the product information so that it can be recognized only by the reader. It can be converted to the frequency band to be used.

The RFID writing unit 140 may write the format-converted product information in the format converting unit 130 to the RFID tag 300 . The RFID tag 300 on which the product information is written in this way may be attached to the product 10 to which the barcode recognized by the barcode recognition unit 110 is attached.

The server 200 stores store information such as the quantity of inventory in the store, customer management, and financial management along with product information based on the barcode 11 and the RFID tag 300 requested for the product. In this case, the server 200 may store the RFID tag information on which the product information is written by the RFID tag generating unit 100 into a database with a corresponding barcode.

In addition, the server 200 may detect product information based on the RFID tag 300 information recognized by the POS terminal 400 and transmit it to the POS terminal 400 .

Meanwhile, the server 200 may be located in a retail store, but is not limited thereto and may be located outside the retail store. In this case, the retail store may include a mart or convenience store, a bookstore, a cosmetics and clothing store, a jewelry and accessory store, and the like.

The POS terminal 400 is configured in the form of a general PC, and a touch screen is mainly applied as an input device, and at least one monitor may be installed. A management program is formed in the main body of the POS terminal 400 , and a store management program suitable for each type of store may be provided.

In addition, the POS terminal 400 may be an unmanned POS terminal used at an unmanned checkout counter without a cashier.

The POS terminal 400 may include an RFID tag reader unit 410 , a processing unit 420 , and a communication unit 430 .

The RFID tag reader unit 410 may recognize the RFID tag 300 attached to the product. In this case, the RFID tag 300 attached to the product may write product information of the barcode 11 attached to the product 10 through the RFID tag generating unit 100 . The RFID tag reader unit 410 may be provided as an external reader, but is not limited thereto, and may be fixed to one side of the POS terminal 400 .

For example, the RFID tag reader unit 410 may include an antenna and an electronic circuit unit that transmits and receives radio waves toward the RFID tag 300 . The electronic circuit unit may change the signal coming from the RFID tag 300 or store it in a memory, which is a storage device, while verifying the signal of the data, and may transmit it as needed. In addition, the antenna may be included in the case together with the electronic circuit unit capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves or may be separated alone. The RFID tag 300 may have a built-in capacitor for tuning the antenna with the radio wave.

The processing unit 420 processes product sales by receiving product information corresponding to the RFID tag 300 recognized from the server 200 based on the RFID tag 300 recognized by the RFID tag reader unit 410 . And by inputting the records, inventory management, delivery quantity, etc. can be processed. In this case, the processing unit 420 may receive product information corresponding to the RFID tag 300 from the server 200 and process product sales, but is not limited thereto. It can also be used to handle product sales. However, the processing unit 420 may transmit product sales records to the server 200 to process inventory management, delivery quantity, and the like.

For example, the processing unit 420 determines whether the input RFID tag 300 information and payment results are correct, analyzes whether the payment information is correct, and whether the read information is error or unreadable information, and notifies the user. In addition, the processing unit 420 may display product information of the RFID tag 300 recognized by the RFID tag reader unit 410 , record details of each product 10 and calculate the total amount. Also, the processing unit 420 may transmit to a credit company or a bank for payment processing, and perform approval and rejection processing.

The communication unit 430 transmits and receives information to and from the server 200 based on the RFID tag 300 information recognized by the RFID tag reader unit 410, along with product information, inventory quantity, customer management, and finance in the store. Store information such as management may be transmitted to the POS terminal 400 . In addition, the communication unit 430 transmits the information processed by the processing unit 420 to a credit company, a bank, or an external payment processing company (VAN) that processes the payment and receives the approved or rejected information again. can be done

The operation of the retail store management system using RFID according to the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 refer to the same members performing the same functions.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a retail store management method using RFID according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , first, the barcode 11 attached to the product 10 may be recognized using the barcode recognition unit 110 ( S10 ). That is, infrared rays are scanned from the light emitting unit to the barcode 11 formed on the product 10 through the barcode recognition unit 110 , and the infrared signal scanned by the barcode 11 attached to the product 10 is transmitted to the barcode ( According to the area and number of lines in 11), the barcode can be recognized by being reflected by the light receiving unit.

Subsequently, the recognized barcode information is transmitted to the server 200 located at a remote location through a wired or wireless network using the data transceiver 120 , and product information stored in advance in the server 200 in response to the barcode information can be received (S20). In this case, the product information may include at least one of a country of manufacture, a manufacturer, a seller, a product name, a selling price, an inventory amount, and an expiration date.

In addition, the format conversion unit 130 may be used to convert product information corresponding to the received barcode information to be able to write to the RFID tag (S30). In the format conversion, a tag design operation is performed to ensure recognition and writing of the RFID tag 300, and an RFID encryption key is included with the product information, so that the frequency used so that it can be recognized only by the RFID tag reader unit 410. It may include conversion to band.

Then, the format-converted product information can be written to the RFID tag 300 using the RFID writing unit 140 (S40). In this case, the written RFID tag 300 may be transferred to the server 200 and stored in a database with a corresponding barcode. In addition, the RFID tag 300 may be attached to the product 10 to which the barcode recognized by the barcode recognition unit 110 is attached.

Thereafter, the RFID tag 300 attached to the product 10 is recognized using the POS terminal 400 , and corresponding product information is received based on the recognized RFID tag 300 from the server 200 to receive the product. The sale may be processed (S50). In addition, the POS terminal 400 may additionally manage inventory management, delivery quantity, etc. by inputting product sales records. In this case, the product sale may process product sales by receiving product information corresponding to the RFID tag 300 from the server 200 , but is not limited thereto. It can also handle product sales.

Meanwhile, in the process of product sales, input RFID tag 300 information and payment results are determined, and whether payment information is correct or read information is error or unreadable information can be analyzed to inform the user. In addition, product information of the recognized RFID tag 300 is displayed on the POS terminal 400 , and details of each product 10 can be recorded and the total amount can be calculated. In addition, the product 10 may be transmitted to a credit company or a bank for payment processing, and approval and rejection processing may be performed.

On the other hand, the device according to the disclosed embodiment includes a processor, a memory for storing and executing program data, a permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with an external device, a touch panel, a key, a button, etc. It may include the same user interface device and the like. Methods implemented as software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable codes or program instructions executable on the processor. Here, the computer-readable recording medium includes a magnetic storage medium (eg, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optically readable medium (eg, CD-ROM). ), and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)). The computer-readable recording medium is distributed among computer systems connected through a network, so that the computer-readable code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be readable by a computer, stored in a memory, and executed on a processor.

All documents, including publications, patent applications, patents, etc., cited in the disclosed embodiments are the same as in the disclosed embodiment as if each cited document was individually and specifically expressed in combination or as a whole in the published embodiment. can be merged

In order to understand the disclosed embodiments, reference numerals have been given in the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, and specific terms are used to describe the disclosed embodiments, but the disclosed embodiments are not limited by the specific terms, and the disclosed embodiments are not limited thereto. They may include all components commonly conceivable by those skilled in the art.

The disclosed embodiment may be represented in functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented in any number of hardware and/or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the disclosed embodiment is an integrated circuit configuration, such as memory, processing, logic, look-up table, etc., capable of executing various functions by means of the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. can be hired Similar to how components of a disclosed embodiment may be implemented in software programming or as software elements, a disclosed embodiment may include various algorithms implemented in data structures, processes, routines, or combinations of other programming constructs, including C, C++ , Java, assembler, etc. may be implemented in a programming or scripting language. Functional aspects may be implemented in an algorithm running on one or more processors. In addition, disclosed embodiments may employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and/or data processing, and the like. Terms such as “mechanism”, “element”, “means” and “configuration” may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The term may include the meaning of a series of routines of software in association with a processor or the like.

The specific implementations described in the disclosed embodiments are only examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosed embodiments in any way. For brevity of the specification, descriptions of conventional electronic components, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of the systems may be omitted. In addition, the connection or connection members of the lines between the components shown in the drawings exemplarily represent functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections, and in an actual device, various functional connections, physical connections that are replaceable or additional may be referred to as connections, or circuit connections. In addition, unless there is a specific indication such as "essential" or "importantly", it may not be a necessary component for the application of the disclosed embodiment. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the technical field of the present invention will understand that various embodiments are possible within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

10: Product 11: Barcode
100: RFID tag generator 110; barcode recognition unit
120: data transceiver 130: format conversion unit
140: RFID writing unit 200: server
300: RFID tag 400: POS terminal
410: RFID tag reader unit 420: processing unit
430: communication unit

Claims (3)

An RFID tag generating unit that recognizes a barcode attached to a product and writes the product information to the RFID tag based on the product information of the recognized barcode;
a server that stores product information corresponding to a barcode attached to the product and the RFID tag, and provides product information corresponding to the RFID tag recognized by the RFID tag generator;
A POS terminal that recognizes the RFID tag, receives corresponding product information based on the recognized RFID tag from the server, processes product sales, and inputs the records to manage at least one of inventory management and delivery quantity. including,
The RFID tag generation unit
A barcode recognition unit that scans the barcode attached to the product to recognize the barcode;
a data transceiver for transmitting barcode information recognized by the barcode recognition unit to a server located at a remote location through a wired or wireless network, and receiving product information stored in advance in the server in response to the barcode information;
To enable writing of product information corresponding to the barcode information received from the data transceiver on the RFID tag, a tag design operation is performed to recognize and write an RFID tag, and an RFID encryption key is generated together with the product information. a format conversion unit that converts the format to the frequency band used by the reader so that it can be recognized only by the reader;
and an RFID writing unit for writing the product information format-converted by the format conversion unit to the RFID tag,
The POS terminal is
An RFID tag reader unit for recognizing an RFID tag attached to a product, including an electronic circuit unit and an antenna that send and receive radio waves toward the RFID tag;
a processing unit for receiving product information corresponding to the RFID tag recognized from the server based on the RFID tag recognized by the RFID tag reader unit, processing product sales, and inputting the records to manage inventory and process delivery quantity;
Based on the RFID tag information recognized by the RFID tag reader unit, a communication unit that transmits, to the POS terminal, store information including product information, inventory quantity in the store, customer management, and financial management through information transmission and reception with the server A retail store management system using RFID.
delete (A) recognizing a barcode attached to a product using a barcode recognition unit;
(B) transmitting the recognized barcode information to a server located at a remote location through a wired/wireless network using a data transmission/reception unit, and receiving product information stored in advance in the server in response to the barcode information;
(C) performing a tag design work to ensure the recognition and writing of the RFID tag so that the product information corresponding to the received barcode information can be written to the RFID tag using the format conversion unit, and together with the product information Format conversion to the frequency band used by the reader so that it can be recognized only by the reader including the RFID encryption key;
(D) writing the format-converted product information to an RFID tag using an RFID writing unit and attaching the product information to the barcode-attached product;
(E) when the RFID tag attached to the product is recognized using the POS terminal, receiving product information corresponding to the recognized RFID tag and processing the product sale,
The step (E) is
A step of recognizing an RFID tag attached to a product including an electronic circuit unit and an antenna that send and receive radio waves toward the RFID tag using the RFID tag reader unit;
receiving product information corresponding to the recognized RFID tag from the server based on the recognized RFID tag using a processing unit, processing product sales, and inputting the records to process inventory management and delivery quantity;
Using a communication unit to transmit and receive information with the server based on the recognized RFID tag information, along with product information, and store information including inventory quantity, customer management, and financial management in the store to the POS terminal. How to manage a retail store using RFID.

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