KR20150142702A

KR20150142702A - Offline shopping system, product transferring apparatus for offline shopping system, and offline shopping method

Info

Publication number: KR20150142702A
Application number: KR1020140070057A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 최진호
Original assignee: 최진호
Priority date: 2014-06-10
Filing date: 2014-06-10
Publication date: 2015-12-23
Also published as: WO2015190638A1

Abstract

An offline shopping system, an article transfer device used in an offline shopping system, and an offline shopping method are disclosed.
The offline shopping system according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in a merchandise display place, detects an identifier attached to an individual merchandise, acquires a customer identification code from the identifier, and matches the merchandise to the acquired customer identification code A first scanner that scans the image; The merchandise being displayed on the merchandise display place to the settlement place, the merchandise being matched to the customer identification code when the specific customer identification code is selected at the settlement place, To an object transporting device; And a settlement device installed at the settlement place to perform settlement of the goods, to receive the goods matched to the selected customer identification code from the article transfer device, and to deliver the goods to the customer when the settlement of the goods is completed can do.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an offline shopping system, an article transfer apparatus used in an offline shopping system, and an offline shopping method. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an offline shopping system,

The present invention relates to an offline shopping system, an article transfer apparatus used in an offline shopping system, and an offline shopping method.

The contents described in this section merely provide background information on the embodiment of the present invention and do not constitute the prior art.

With the development of the Internet, an Internet purchasing system for purchasing goods online has been developed and commercialized, so that even if the user does not go to an offline shopping space, the user can purchase the goods. However, in the Internet shopping mall, in addition to frequent delivery accidents of goods, the reliability of the purchased goods is often problematic due to the nature of online. In addition, when purchasing an item online, it is impossible to purchase a specific item of the same item among the articles of the same item. As a result, the number of customers who feel the need to use offline shopping has increased, and in order to secure such customers, an offline shopping space such as a large-scale shopping mall is being expanded.

In general, offline shopping uses a cart prepared at a store to store items that customers want to purchase while browsing the store. However, the cart takes a lot of space and lowers the space utilization of the store. When there are many customers, the cart obstructs the movement of customers shopping, which is inconvenient.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0063896

The embodiments of the present invention are intended to provide an offline shopping system that enables offline shopping without using a cart, an article transfer apparatus used in an offline shopping system, and an offline shopping method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first scanner installed in a merchandise display place, for detecting an identifier attached to an individual merchandise, obtaining a customer identification code from the identifier, and matching the merchandise to the acquired customer identification code, ; The merchandise being displayed on the merchandise display place to the settlement place, the merchandise being matched to the customer identification code when the specific customer identification code is selected at the settlement place, To an object transporting device; And a settlement device installed at the settlement place to perform settlement of the goods, to receive the goods matched to the selected customer identification code from the article transfer device, and to deliver the goods to the customer when the settlement of the goods is completed An offline shopping system can be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article transfer apparatus for use in an offline shopping system, the article transfer apparatus being provided to connect a goods display place and a main transfer device, An auxiliary conveying device for conveying to the main conveying device; The main transfer device transferring the product from the auxiliary transfer device to the first sorter; A first sorter for transferring the product from the main transfer device to the temporary storage device, and transferring the product to a designated area of the temporary storage device according to a customer identification code of the identifier attached to the product; The merchandise is received and stored from the first sorter, and when a specific customer identification code is selected at the settlement place, the merchandise matched to the customer identification code is stored in the first sorter, The temporary storage device for transferring to the second sorter; And a second sorter for receiving the goods matched to the selected customer identification code from the temporary storage device and transferring the goods to the settlement place and transferring the selected goods to a position where the customer identification code is selected from the settlement place A device may be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a product, comprising: inputting an item with an identifier including a customer identification code into an inlet of an article transfer apparatus; Detecting a customer identification code of the inserted commodity and matching the commodity with the detected customer identification code; When a specific customer identification code is selected at a settlement place, the goods matched to the customer identification code are transferred to the settlement place through the article transfer apparatus; And an offline shopping method including a step of performing settlement of goods matched with the selected customer identification code at the settlement place, and delivering the goods to the customer.

The embodiments of the present invention can implement an offline shopping system in which customers can shop without using a cart in a large-scale mart operation.

1 is a schematic view of an offline shopping system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a view schematically showing a part of an identifier, a first scanner and an article transport apparatus of the offline shopping system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing the operation of the first sorter and the temporary storage device included in the article transfer apparatus of the offline shopping system of Fig. 1;
4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an offline shopping system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a screen displayed on the customer wireless terminal, the employee's wired / wireless terminal, or the status check terminal of FIG. 4 when the customer wants to check the transfer status of the goods.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an offline shopping method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an article transport apparatus 200 used in an offline shopping system 1 and an offline shopping system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing an off-line shopping system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing an identifier 20, a first scanner 100 and an article transporting apparatus 200 A part of which is schematically shown. FIG. 3 schematically shows the operation of the first sorter 230 and the temporary storage device 240 included in the article transfer apparatus 200 of FIG.

1 to 3, an offline shopping system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a first scanner 100, an article transfer apparatus 200, and a settlement apparatus 300.

The first scanner 100 is installed in the merchandise display place A and detects the identifier 20 attached to each merchandise so as to obtain the customer identification code 21 from the identifier 20, And can be matched to the obtained customer identification code 21. Specifically, the first scanner 100 senses the identifier 20 attached to the product, reads the customer identification code 21 included in the identifier 20, Can be matched. Here, the merchandise display place A may be located next to the display shelves A-1, A-2, ..., A-n on which the merchandise is displayed.

In addition, the first scanner 100 may detect the product code 30 attached to the product and transmit the information matched with the customer identification code 21 to the central management server 400 (see FIG. 4) . The product code 30 and the central management server 400 will be described later in detail.

The identifier 20 may be an object attached to each product, and may include one customer identification code 21. At this time, each customer identification code 21 can be assigned to a different customer, and the customer identification code 21 can function as a kind of one-time or permanent identification (ID) capable of distinguishing a customer. At this time, one customer may be assigned a single customer identification code 21, or a plurality of customer identification codes 21 may be assigned. It is a principle that one customer identification code 21 is allocated to only one customer, but it does not exclude the case where one customer identification code 21 is allocated to a plurality of customers.

As described later, the customer can call the goods matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21 at the settlement place C by selecting the customer identification code 21 assigned to him / her. The goods matched to the customer identification code 21 of the customer by the customer's call can be transferred to the settlement place C through the goods transfer apparatus 200 and the settlement apparatus 300 The customer can check the details of the products and pay for the products and receive the products. If the customer's intention to purchase a specific product is changed before payment of the goods, the customer can immediately exclude the product.

Referring to FIG. 2, a customer can attach an identifier (hereinafter, his / her identifier) including a customer identification code 21 assigned to him / her to a product 10 he / she wants to purchase. That is, the customer can select the product 10 by attaching an identifier 20 including the customer identification code 21 assigned to the product 10 to which the customer wants to purchase. The article 10 to which the identifier 20 is attached may then be placed in the first scanner 100. Specifically, as described later, the article 10 can be placed in the inlet 2012 of the article transfer apparatus 200 in which the first scanner 100 is installed.

Here, the individual merchandise to which the identifier 20 is attached may not be one of the merchandise corresponding to the same item, but may be a particular merchandise the seller desires to purchase, among the merchandise of the same merchandise. For example, if there are a plurality of bundles of banana wrapped in a sales unit on a banana shelf, the customer looks at the bundles of the banana, attaches his or her own identifier (20) to a particular bundle of bananas that he / You can choose.

According to one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the identifier 20 may be a sticker on which the customer identification code 21 is printed. The customer identification code 21 may be printed as a character, or may be printed as a bar code. In this case, when the customer enters the store, a sticker booklet including a plurality of stickers printed with the same customer identification code 21 may be provided to each customer. The customer who receives the sticker book can attach his or her own identifier (20), i.e., a sticker, to each product that he or she wants to purchase while moving through the store. A product having a specific sticker may be placed on an inlet 2012 of the article transfer apparatus 200 in which the first scanner 100 is installed and the first scanner 100 may transfer the product to a customer identification code (21).

As described above, the sticker book is provided to the customer, so that the customer identification code 21 can be assigned to the customer. The same customer identification code 21 may be printed on the sticker book itself and only one customer identification code 21 may be included in one sticker book. Different customers are provided with different sticker books so that different customer identification codes 21 can be assigned to each customer. In addition, a plurality of customer identification codes 21 may be assigned to one customer by providing two or more sticker books to one customer.

When the identifier 20 is in the form of a sticker as in the present embodiment, the first scanner 100 may be a laser scanner or a barcode reader including the laser scanner.

According to another embodiment, the identifier may be a reusable RFID tag. In this case, the customer identification code 21 can be stored as data in the RFID tag, and the surface of the RFID tag can be adhered to other objects. In this embodiment, when the customer enters the store, a plurality of RFID tags storing the same customer identification code 21 can be provided to each customer, and the customer can attach the RFID tag to each product he / she intends to purchase .

In the present embodiment, the first scanner 100 may be an RFID reader. Alternatively, the first scanner 100 may be a combination of an RFID reader and a barcode reader. When a product having a specific RFID tag is placed on the first scanner 100, the first scanner 100 can read the RFID tag to acquire customer identification information stored in the RFID tag. Then, the merchandise can be matched to the acquired customer identification code 21.

Meanwhile, the first scanner 100 may further detect the product code 30 of each product to obtain product information and price information of the product. The product code 30 may be printed as a barcode on the package of the goods. The product code 30 may be stored in the database together with the product information and the price information corresponding thereto. For example, the product code 30 may be a Universal Product Code (UPC). Alternatively, the product code 30 may be an international article number (EAN). When the first scanner 100 reads the product code 30 of a specific commodity, the first scanner 100 can acquire the product code 30 by searching for the product information and the price information corresponding to the product code 30 in the database. Here, the product information may include a name, a quantity, a weight, and dimensions of the product, and the price information may include a unit price of the product.

In the present embodiment, the first scanner 100 reads an identifier 20 attached to each product, matches the corresponding product to a specific customer identification code 21, and the first scanner 100 reads the identifier Reads the product code 30 to obtain product information and price information of the product and transmits the customer identification code 21, the product information and the price information to the payment device 300 or the central management server 400 (see FIG. 4) . The settlement apparatus 300 transmits a customer identification code (hereinafter referred to as " customer identification code ") assigned to a corresponding customer among information received from the first scanner 100 or the central management server 400, The settlement can be carried out by calling up the product information and the price information of the goods matched to the goods information 21.

However, the present invention is not limited to the operation in which the first scanner 100 detects the product code 30 of each product and acquires the product information and the price information of the corresponding product. According to another embodiment, the product code 30 of an individual commodity may be sensed by the settlement apparatus 300 installed in the settlement place C. The settlement apparatus 300 can obtain the product information and the price information of the product by sensing the product code 30 of each product. In this case, as in the conventional method, the product code 30 can be detected by scanning the product code 30 of each product using the settlement apparatus 300 by the cashiers.

Meanwhile, the first scanner 100 may be installed on the transport path of the product transport apparatus 200 as shown in FIG. In this case, the article to which the identifier 20 is attached may be placed on the first scanner 100 until it is loaded on the article transfer apparatus 200. Accordingly, when the article is loaded on the article transfer apparatus 200, the transfer of the article can be started when the identifier 20 is detected by the first scanner 100.

The article transfer apparatus 200 is installed to connect the merchandise display place A and the settlement place C to transfer the goods from the merchandise display place A to the settlement place C, (C) when the customer (21) is selected as the merchandise that matches the customer identification code (21). Specifically, when the first scanner 100 senses the identifier 20, the article transfer apparatus 200 starts transferring the article to which the identifier 20 is attached and transfers the article to the temporary storage location B The goods can be transferred from the temporary storage place B to the settlement place C when the customer identification code 21 included in the identifier 20 is selected. Here, the temporary storage place (B) is a space separately provided in the store so as to temporarily store the products selected by the customer and started to be transported. The settlement place (C) is a place where the customer can pay for the products It may be a place to pay. The settlement apparatus 300 may be installed in the settlement place C.

3, the product transport apparatus 200 includes an auxiliary transport apparatus 210, a main transport apparatus 220, a first sorter 230, a temporary storage apparatus 240, And a two-sorter 250 (sorter). In this case, the first sorter 230 may include a second scanner 232, and the second sorter 250 may include a third scanner 252.

The auxiliary transfer device 210 is installed to connect the merchandise display place A and the main transfer device 220. The auxiliary transfer device 210 receives a product to which the identifier 20 is attached in the merchandise display place A, To the device (220). In order to receive the goods, the auxiliary transfer device 210 may include an inlet 2012 into which goods can be input. The inlet 2012 may have a size larger than a predetermined size so that products of various sizes can be inserted. However, it is not excluded that a common belt or roller conveyor of an open type having no separate barrier wall is used as the auxiliary conveying device 210. The customer can insert his or her own identifier 20 into the product to be purchased and then input the product attached with the identifier 20 to the auxiliary transfer device 210 through the inlet 2012. [

According to one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the first scanner 100 may be installed at an inlet 2012 of the auxiliary transfer device 210. In this case, the first scanner 100 senses the identifier 20 attached to the product when the product is inserted into the inlet 2012, acquires the customer identification code 21 of the identifier 20 And match the product to the acquired customer identification code 21. Here, the auxiliary transfer device 210 may start transferring the goods inserted into the inlet 2012 when the first scanner 100 senses the identifier 20 at the inlet 2012. If the first scanner 100 does not detect the identifier 20 even though the product is inserted into the inlet 2012, the auxiliary transfer device 210 may be kept in the standby state without starting the transfer . In the embodiment in which the first scanner 100 is further configured to detect the product code 30 of the product, if the first scanner 100 does not detect any of the identifier 20 and the product code 30 , The auxiliary transfer device 210 can maintain the standby state.

The case where the identifier 20 or the product code 30 is not detected despite the entry of the commodity into the inlet 2012 may include a case where the commodity is placed in the wrong orientation, There may be a case where the printed customer identification code 21 is damaged, a product code 30 displayed on the package of the product is damaged or an identifier 20 is superimposed on the product code 30, or the like. In this case, since the auxiliary transfer device 210 does not start the transfer, a jam may occur. In order to prevent this, if the first scanner 100 can not detect any one of the identifier 20 and the product code 30 even though the product is inserted into the inlet 2012, The alarm may sound. The customer who has received the alarm can take appropriate measures such as changing the direction of the goods at the inlet 2012 or reattaching the identifier 20 so that both the identifier 20 and the product code 30 are detected have. Alternatively, an employee who is always waiting near the inlet 2012 of the auxiliary transfer device 210 may be disposed, and the employee may transfer the auxiliary transfer device 210 to the auxiliary transfer device 210 when the auxiliary transfer device 210 is transferred It is possible to take appropriate measures such as changing the direction of the goods so that both the identifier 20 and the product code 30 are detected. In addition, the staff member can carry a portable barcode printer for quick action. By using the portable barcode printer, the employee can instantly reproduce a damaged barcode and newly print the barcode, and attach the newly printed barcode to the article.

Meanwhile, the auxiliary transfer device 210 may be provided in plurality. Specifically, the auxiliary transfer device 210 may be installed such that the inlet 2012 is located in the merchandise display area A. A plurality of the merchandise display areas A are present in the store, The auxiliary transport device 210 may be installed in the merchandise display area A of the display device. Alternatively, the space of the store may be divided into a plurality of spaces, and the auxiliary transport device 210 may be installed in one of the plurality of merchandise display places A included in each of the divided spaces. All the products inserted into the plurality of auxiliary transport apparatuses 210 may be transported to the main transport apparatus 220.

According to one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary transport device 210 may be a vertically installed elevator. In this case, the inlet 2012 may be formed at a lower portion of the elevator, and the main transfer device 220 may be provided at an upper portion of a burial space, for example, a ceiling portion. When the product to which the identifier 20 is attached is inserted into the elevator through the inlet 2012 and the identifier 20 attached to the goods is detected by the first scanner 100 installed at the inlet 2012 , The moving part of the elevator starts to ascend and the corresponding goods can be transferred to the main transfer device 220. The auxiliary transfer device 210 may be installed at a height that allows the inlet 2012 to be easily accessible when a person is standing.

According to another embodiment, the auxiliary transport device 210 may be a horizontal conveyor. In this case, the main transport device 220 may be provided along the outline of the store space at a height similar to that of the auxiliary transport device 210. However, the shape of the auxiliary transfer device 210 is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

The main transfer device 220 is installed to connect the auxiliary transfer device 210 and the first sorter 230 and receives the product to which the identifier 20 is attached from the auxiliary transfer device 210, Can be transferred to the sorter (230). For example, the main transfer device 220 may be a belt or a roller conveyor. In addition, the main transport device 220 may be installed on the upper part of the store space such as the ceiling, or may be installed along the outline of the store space at the eye level of a person, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The main transport device 220 may be operated at all times or may operate only when goods are transported while being kept in a standby state. In the latter case, when the identifier 20 is detected by the first scanner 100 at the inlet 2012 of the auxiliary transfer device 210, the main transfer device 220 may start to operate. Then, if no identifier 20 is detected by the first scanner 100 for a predetermined time, the operation of the main transfer device 220 may be stopped. Alternatively, the operation of the main transport device 220 may be stopped when it is confirmed that all the products detected by the first scanner 100 are detected by the second scanner 232, which will be described later.

The first sorter 230 is installed to connect the main transport apparatus 220 and the temporary storage apparatus 240 and receives the goods to which the identifier 20 is attached from the main transport apparatus 220 And transferred to the designated area of the temporary storage device 240 according to the customer identification code 21 of the identifier 20. To this end, the first sorter 230 may include a second scanner 232 for scanning the identifier 20 to obtain the customer identification code 21. The first sorter 230 includes a collecting unit 231 for collecting the products transferred from the main transferring unit 220 into one transfer path and a transfer unit for transferring the products to various areas of the temporary storage unit 240 And the second scanner 232 may be installed between the collecting unit 231 and the sorting unit 233. The sorting unit 233 may include a sorting unit 233,

For example, the second scanner 232 may be a laser scanner or a barcode reader including the laser scanner. Alternatively, the second scanner 232 may be an RFID reader or a combination of an RFID reader and a barcode reader.

Specifically, when a product transferred from the main transfer device 220 passes through the collecting unit 231 and passes through the second scanner 232, an identifier (for example, The customer identification code 21 of the customer 20 can be obtained. Then, the first sorter 230 temporarily assigns the obtained customer identification code 21 to a plurality of areas included in the temporary storage device 240, It is possible to designate a specific area of the storage device 240 and to control the sorting section 233 to transfer the goods to the designated area. At this time, the first sorter 23 can allocate an appropriate customer identification code 21 to each of a plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240 by real-time communication with the central management server 400.

The plurality of transport paths branched from the sorting section 233 extend in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240, and the goods are transported along the transport path connected to the designated area in the sorting section 233 And can be transferred to the designated area by being transferred.

A different customer identification code 21 may be assigned to each of a plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240, or the same customer identification code 21 may be assigned to two or more areas. This will be described later.

The first sorter 230 may be a belt conveyor type. For example, the first sorter 230 may be a cross belt sorter. Alternatively, the first sorter 230 may be a conveying system other than a belt conveyor system such as a slide shoe sorter or a tilt tray sorter.

According to one embodiment, the first sorter 230 may transfer the goods to a designated area according to the product code 30 of the goods. That is, in each area of the temporary storage device 240, not only the customer identification code 21 but also the product code 30 can be designated. In this case, both the customer identification code 21 corresponding to the customer ID code and the corresponding product code 30 can be designated in one area of the temporary storage device 240, To an area that matches both the customer identification code 21 and the product code 30 designated. At this time, the product information of the product can be obtained by further sensing the product code 30 of the product by the second scanner 232.

1 and 3, the temporary storage device 240 is installed to connect the first sorter 230 and the second sorter 250, and the identifier 20 is provided from the first sorter 230 When the specific customer identification code 21 is selected in the payment apparatus 300, the goods matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21 can be transferred to the second sorter 250 . Here, the temporary storage device 240 may be installed in the temporary storage location B. As described above, the temporary storage location B may refer to a space separately provided in the store so that the products selected by the customer and temporarily stored in the storage can be temporarily stored. The temporary storage device 240 may be configured such that when the customer identification code 21 is selected, the settlement apparatus 300 is set so that goods matched to the customer identification code 21 can be quickly transferred to the settlement apparatus 300 via the second sorter 250 It is preferable to be located adjacent to the settlement place C to be installed.

The temporary storage device 240 may include a plurality of distinct areas, and each of the plurality of areas may be assigned a customer identification code 21. According to one embodiment, the plurality of distinct areas may be a plurality of belts or roller conveyors arranged in parallel with each other, and a specific customer identification code 21 may be assigned to each belt or roller conveyor. Referring to FIG. 3, a customer identification code 1 may be assigned to the conveyor 2401a, and a customer identification code 2 may be assigned to the conveyor 2401b.

As described above, the first sorter 230 can transfer the goods to the designated area of the temporary storage device 240 according to the customer identification code 21 of the identifier 20 attached to the goods. Thereby, products matched to the same customer identification code 21, i.e., products selected by the same customer, can be transferred to the same area of the temporary storage device 240. [ For example, in Fig. 3, goods attached with the identifier 20 including the customer identification code 1 may be transferred to the conveyor 2401a to which the customer identification code 1 is assigned.

As described above, the goods transferred to one area of the temporary storage device 240 can be stored in the corresponding area until the customer identification code 21 designated in the area is selected by the settlement device 300. Then, when the customer desires to settle the selected products, the customer's customer identification code 21 may be selected in the payment apparatus 300. When the specific customer identification code 21 is selected, the area in which the corresponding customer identification code 21 of the temporary storage device 240 starts to be transferred starts to transfer the products stored in the area, The goods matched to the first sorter 21 may be transferred to the second sorter 250. At this time, the area of the temporary storage device 240 where the other customer identification code 21 is designated can be kept in the storage state without starting the transfer. For example, in Fig. 3, when the customer identification code 1 is selected in the payment apparatus 300, only the conveyor 2401a designated with the customer identification code 1 starts to be conveyed, and the conveyor 2401b designated with the customer identification code 2 maintains the stationary state . Thus, only goods matched to the selected customer identification code 21 can be transferred to the settlement apparatus 300 through the second sorter 250.

Meanwhile, the customer identification code 21 assigned to each area of the temporary storage device 240 can be changed in real time according to the settlement status in the settlement apparatus 300. Specifically, when the specific customer identification code 21 is selected in the settlement apparatus 300, all the products in the area designated by the corresponding customer identification code 21 are transferred to the second sorter 250, and the corresponding area is emptied . Since the customer having the customer identification code 21 assigned to the area ends the shopping by paying for the goods, the customer identification code 21 is no longer used. Accordingly, when settlement of goods matched to the selected customer identification code 21 is completed in the settlement apparatus 300, a new customer identification code 21 is designated in the area where the selected customer identification code 21 is designated . When a new customer identification code 21 is designated, the first sorter 230 can transfer the goods matched to the new customer identification code 21 to the corresponding area.

Also, the customer identification code 21 assigned to each area can be changed in real time according to the size of goods delivered from the first sorter 230. Specifically, one region can be designated first for one customer identification code 21. [ However, as shown in FIG. 3, when there are many goods matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21, the space of one designated area may be insufficient to store all the goods. In this case, another area among the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240 may be additionally designated to the corresponding customer identification code 21. [ The additional designated area may be an area where payment has been completed for the customer identification code 21 already assigned to the area or an empty area without the designated customer identification code 21. [ 3, the first sorter 230 can transfer the goods matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21 to the newly designated area, as shown in FIG. 3 have. Also, when the corresponding customer identification code 21 is selected in the settlement apparatus 300, the products in the already designated region and the products in the newly designated region can all be transferred to the second sorter 250.

According to the embodiment, the additional area is further specified for one customer identification code 21 as described above, and the additional area is specified for the one customer identification code 21, as described above, based on the product code 30 of the products matched to the customer identification code 21 And may be based on the plane size of each item. To this end, as described above, a database in which the product code 30 of each product and the corresponding product information are stored can be used. The product information stored in the database may include at least one of weight and size dimensions of the product.

Specifically, the second scanner 232 of the first sorter 230 may further detect the product code 30 of the commodity together with the customer identification code 21 of the commodity. Each time the customer identification code 21 and the product code 30 are acquired, the first sorter 230 transmits the obtained customer identification code 21 and the product code 30 to the temporary storage device 240 ). The temporary storage device 240 confirms at least one of the product weight and size information corresponding to the received product code 30 using the database, and calculates a plane size of the product based on the product weight or the size information Can be calculated. For example, if the size information identified in the database is 100 mm in width, 200 mm in height, and 300 mm in height, the plane size of the product can be calculated using the largest value as the reference (200 X 300). The temporary storage device 240 may accumulate the plane size of each product calculated as described above for the products (products 10-1 to 10-6) having the same customer identification code 21. If the accumulated plan size exceeds the size of one area of the temporary storage device 240, the additional area 2401c (see FIG. 3) may be further specified in the customer identification code 21. [ Further, the goods (goods 10-7) transferred thereafter can be transferred to the newly designated area 2401c.

Meanwhile, the product code 30 may be further specified in each area of the temporary storage device 240. Specifically, in one area, one customer identification code 21 and one or more product codes 30 can be designated. In this case, the second scanner 232 of the first sorter 230 may further detect the product code 30 of the commodity together with the customer identification code 21 of the commodity. The first sorter 230 can transfer a specific product to a designated area of the temporary storage device 240 considering the product code 30 as well as the customer identification code 21 of the product. Specifically, the goods can be transferred to a specific area designated according to its customer identification code 21, among a plurality of areas designated according to its product code 30.

According to one embodiment, the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240 may be divided into a general group, a refrigerated group, and a frozen group according to the product code 30. [ For example, referring to FIG. 3, a plurality of conveyors are divided into a first group 240-1 corresponding to a general group, a second group 240-2 corresponding to a refrigerating group, and a third group 240-2 corresponding to a refrigerating group, (240-3). Product codes (30) of products that can be stored in a room-temperature environment are designated in a plurality of areas included in the general group, and product codes (30) of products to be stored in a refrigeration environment are respectively stored in a plurality of areas (30) can be specified. Product codes 30 of products to be stored in the freezing environment can be designated in a plurality of areas included in the refrigeration group. In this embodiment, the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240 may be further classified into a thermal insulation group (not shown). In this case, the product codes of the products recommended to be stored in the thermal insulation environment are designated .

In the above embodiment, the regions of the general group are installed in a room temperature environment, the regions of the refrigeration group are installed in a refrigeration environment, and the regions of the refrigeration group may be installed in a refrigeration environment. The zones of the warming group can be installed in a warming environment. For example, the areas of the refrigeration group may be installed in the refrigerator to keep the products stored in the corresponding area in a refrigerated state, and the areas of the refrigeration group may be installed in the freezer to store the products stored in the corresponding area in a freezing state And the regions of the warming group can be installed inside the heat insulating device where heat exchange is blocked to maintain the temperature of the product stored in the corresponding region. Accordingly, the products that are required to be refrigerated, frozen, or kept warm, among the products transferred to the temporary storage device 240, can be stored fresh until the customer who desires to purchase the products wants to settle the product.

If a plurality of areas of the temporary storage device 240 are divided into a plurality of groups such as a general group, a refrigeration group, a refrigeration group, and a thermal insulation group, a customer identification code 21 may be assigned to each area. At this time, the same customer identification code 21 can be assigned to different areas of the group. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, one of the general groups 240-1, one of the refrigerating groups 240-2, one of the refrigerating groups 240-3, the conveyors 2401a, 2402a, and 2403a, The customer identification code 1 can all be designated the same. On the other hand, the product codes 1 to 10 (product codes of products storable at room temperature) are assigned to the conveyor 2401a belonging to the general group, and the product codes 11 to 12 (product codes of products to be stored in refrigeration) are assigned to the conveyor 2402a belonging to the refrigeration group And the product codes 13 to 14 (product codes of products to be frozen and stored) may be designated on the conveyor 2403a belonging to the frozen group. In this case, the first sorter 230 acquires the customer identification code 21 and the product code 30 of the goods through the second scanner 232 and transmits the goods matched to the customer identification code 1 to the conveyors 2401a- (Goods 10-1 to 10-6) having the product codes 1 to 10 are transported to the conveyor 2401a, and products (product 10-8) having the product codes 11 and 12 are transported to one of the conveyors 2402a (Goods 10-9) having product codes 13 and 14 can be transferred to the conveyor 2403a.

In this embodiment, in order to efficiently utilize the space of the refrigeration group regions and the regions of the refrigeration group, the second scanner 232 is stored in the refrigeration group and the refrigeration group in the refrigerator or freezer The customer identification code 21 of the product having the detected product code 30 can be designated when the product code 30 of the product is detected. Specifically, when a refrigerated or frozen storage product is detected by the second scanner (232) of the first sorter, the customer identification code (21) is not previously specified in the regions corresponding to the refrigeration group and the refrigeration group The customer identification code 21 of the product can be designated. In this case, even though the customer has not selected a commodity to be refrigerated or a commodity to be refrigerated, the customer's customer identification code 21 is designated in a region corresponding to the refrigeration group or the refrigeration group, It is possible to prevent the case where the area of the group is unused.

According to another embodiment, the plurality of distinct areas of the temporary storage device 240 may be a predetermined space arranged to overlap with each other. The space may have a uniform volume and may include a cart or box having a similar volume. A specific customer identification code 21 may be assigned to each space, and items transferred to each space by the first sorter 230 may be contained in the cart or box. The merchandise may be stored in the temporary storage device 240 while being contained in the cart or box and when the specific customer identification code 21 is selected in the payment device 300, A cart or box in the designated space can be transferred to the second sorter 250. In the settlement apparatus 300, when a cart or a box containing goods is transferred, the customers can receive the goods in the cart or box. In this case, customers may shorten their time to put items in carts or boxes to move them.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment, the temporary storage device 240 may return the goods to the main transfer device 220. Specifically, the temporary storage device 240 can transfer the products in the area where the products are stored for a predetermined time or longer to the main transfer device 220. For example, when the goods are not further matched with respect to the specific customer identification code 21, the goods already matched to the customer identification code 21 are stored in the temporary storage device 240 for three hours or more The temporary storage device 240 can return the products stored in the corresponding area to the main transfer device 220. [

The products returned to the main transport device 220 may be transported to places in the store through the main transport device 220 and may be displayed again on the display shelves originally displayed on the shelves. To this end, when each area of the temporary storage device 240 is made up of a belt or a roller conveyor, each conveyor may be operable to transport the goods in opposite directions (opposite directions of FIG. 1).

According to another embodiment, at least one of the first sorter 230 and the second sorter 250 described below may be operable to deliver the goods to the merchandise collection location. At this time, the operations of the first sorter 230 and the second sorter 250 can be controlled by the central management server 400, which will be described later. In the present embodiment, the main transfer device 220 can be designed not to operate in the opposite direction, unlike the above-described embodiment. The goods collection place may be a place for collecting goods to be returned, and in the present invention, one or more goods collection places may be provided in the store. The products collected at the merchandise collection place can be displayed again on the display shelves originally displayed on the shelves with the help of the staff. Alternatively, a separate transfer device (not shown) may be additionally provided for connecting the product return location and the main transfer device 220, and the products collected at the product return location may be forwarded through the separate transfer device It may be transported to the main transport device 220 which operates and then transported to the places of the store through the main transport device 220 and may be displayed on the shelves again.

One of the plurality of transport paths branched from the sorting unit 233 of the first sorter 230 may be extended to the merchandise collecting place and the first sorter 230 may be connected to the central management server 400, The merchandise can be transferred to the merchandise collection place under the control of the control unit. Also, one of the plurality of conveyance paths branched from the sorting unit 253 of the second sorter 250 may be extended to the goods collection place, and the second sorter 250 may be extended to the control of the central management server 400 The merchandise can be transferred to the merchandise collection place. The product recovery place where the first sorter 230 is connected and the product recovery place where the second sorter 250 is connected may be provided at different positions or may be provided at the same position.

According to an embodiment, only one item collection place may be provided in the store, and only the first sorter 230 may be connected to the goods collection place. At this time, the product recovery place may be provided on the entire transport path upstream of the second sorter 250. In this case, as described later, a product that has already been transferred to the second sorter 250 through the reverse transfer device 260, which transfers the product from the second sorter 250 to the first sorter 230, 1 to the sorter 230. When the first sorter 230 receives the goods from the second sorter 250, the first sorter 230 can transfer the returned goods to the goods collecting place.

According to the present embodiment, when the customer's products are stored in the temporary storage device 240 for a certain period of time or longer in a state where no additional shopping activity of the customer is detected, the customer abandons payment of the products during shopping or remorse It is possible to display the products already selected by the customer on the display shelf, assuming that the customer has left the store. In this way, the products can be provided for other customers, thus enhancing the efficiency of the store operation.

The second sorter 250 is installed to connect the temporary storage device 240 and the settlement device 300 and stores the goods matched to the selected customer identification code 21 from the temporary storage device 240 And can be transferred to the settlement apparatus 300. To this end, the second sorter 250 may include a third scanner 252 that scans the identifier 20 to obtain the customer identification code 21. Here, the third scanner 252 may further detect the product code 30 of the product. The second sorter 250 may further include a collecting unit 251 for collecting the products transferred from the temporary storage unit 240 into one conveyance path and a plurality of product delivering units 300a, ..., and 300n. The sorting unit 253 divides one conveying path into a plurality of conveying paths. The third scanner 252 may be installed between the collecting unit 251 and the sorting unit 253.

For example, the third scanner 252 may be a laser scanner or a barcode reader including the laser scanner. Alternatively, the third scanner 252 may be an RFID reader or a combination of an RFID reader and a barcode reader.

Specifically, when a specific customer identification code 21 is selected in the settlement apparatus 300, the region designated by the selected customer identification code 21 in the temporary storage device 240 starts to be transferred, Items matched to the identification code 21 may be transmitted to the second sorter 250. The customer identification code 21 and the product code 30 of the goods can be obtained by the third scanner 252 when the goods pass through the collecting section and pass through the third scanner 252. [ Then, the second sorter 250 confirms the acquired customer identification code 21 and selects a corresponding customer identification (ID) among the plurality of product delivery units 300a, 300b, ..., 300n of the settlement apparatus 300 The goods can be transferred to the article delivery unit where the code 21 is selected. At the same time, the second sorter 250 transmits the obtained product code 30 to the settlement apparatus 300, and the settlement apparatus 300 transmits the acquired product code 30 to the settlement apparatus 300 having the selected customer identification code 21 And the product information and the price information corresponding to the product code 30 can be outputted from the installed display unit.

At this time, the second sorter 250 responds to the plurality of customer identification codes 21 at the same time and transmits the respective customer identification codes 21 if the customer identification codes 21 selected by the payment apparatus 300 are plural, Can be transferred to the corresponding article delivery unit. For example, when the identification code 1 is selected in the article delivering unit 300a of the settlement apparatus 300 and the identification code 2 is selected in the article delivering unit 300b, the second sorter 250 stores the customer identification code 21 and the product code 30, the products matched to the identification code 1 are transferred to the product delivery unit 300a, and the products matched to the identification code 2 can be transferred to the product delivery unit 300b.

The second sorter 250 may be a belt conveyor type. For example, the second sorter 250 may be a cross belt sorter. Alternatively, the second sorter 250 may be a conveying system other than a belt conveyor system such as a slide shoe sorter or a tilt tray sorter.

According to one embodiment, the article transport apparatus 200 may further include a reverse transport apparatus 260. The reverse feeder 260 may be installed to connect the second sorter 250 and the first sorter 230 and may reverse the product from the second sorter 250 to the first sorter 230 . The reverse conveying device 260 may be a belt or a roller conveyor.

The reverse feeder 260 may extend from one of the plurality of feed paths branched from the sorting unit 253 of the second sorter 250 and may be connected to the first sorter 230. The second sorter 250 may be operable to transfer specific goods to the reverse transport device 260 under the control of the central management server 400, which will be described later. The goods transferred to the reverse transfer device 260 are returned to the first sorter 230 and transferred again to the specific area of the temporary storage device 240 by the first sorter 230, Place. The products transferred to the reverse transfer device 260 may be products to be returned to the shelf or if the customer wishes to change the settlement place C, they may be products matched to the customer's customer identification code 21 have. In the latter case, the merchandise is transferred to the settlement apparatus 300 (300) installed in the changed settlement place (C) by the operation of at least one of the first sorter 230, the temporary storage apparatus 240 and the second sorter 250 Lt; / RTI >

The settlement apparatus 300 is installed in the settlement place C and receives the merchandise matched to the customer identification code 21 selected by the customer from the merchandise transfer apparatus 200. When payment of the merchandise is completed The product can be delivered to the customer. Specifically, the settlement apparatus 300 receives the goods through the second sorter 250 of the goods transfer apparatus 200, and the customer confirms the goods selected by the settlement apparatus 300, Can be paid for. When the settlement of the goods is completed, the customer can receive the goods.

According to one embodiment, the settlement apparatus 300 may include a plurality of display units and a plurality of article delivering units 300a, 300b, ..., 300n. The goods delivering unit may deliver the goods delivered from the second sorter 250 and deliver the goods to the customer. For example, the article delivery unit may be a belt or a roller conveyor. Each article delivering unit may be provided with a display unit corresponding thereto. The display unit can display and display product information and price information of products delivered to the customer at each article delivering unit. The customer can check whether the products selected by the customer are completely transferred by comparing the product information and the price information displayed on the display unit with the products delivered from the product delivery unit. At this time, the settlement apparatus 300 receives the product code 30 acquired by the third scanner 252 of the second sorter 250, and outputs the product information and the price information corresponding thereto to the display unit . That is, the product code 30 of goods can be sensed by the third scanner 252 while being transferred to the settlement apparatus 300 by leaving the temporary storage apparatus 240 by a customer's call, As a result, the settlement apparatus 300 may not separately scan the product code 30 of each product.

In the settlement apparatus 300, the customer can select a specific customer identification code 21 by inputting the customer identification code 21 of the identifier 20 used by the customer into one of the plurality of product delivery units. When the specific customer identification code 21 is selected as described above, the goods matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21 can be called from the temporary storage device 240. The goods matched to the selected customer identification code 21 are transferred to the second sorter 250 and the second sorter 250 transfers the goods to the goods delivery unit, Can be transported. For example, each article delivery unit may include a scanner, and the customer may scan his / her customer identification code 21 printed on the sticker book provided when the scanner enters the store, You can enter it in the delivery department.

According to one embodiment, the article delivery unit may be a cashier counter. In this case, there may be a cashier in each article delivering section, the goods to be delivered to the article delivering section together with the customer may be checked, and the goods may be delivered to the customer after receiving payment of the goods from the customer.

According to another embodiment, the article delivery portion may be an unmanned counter. In this case, the automatic payment apparatus 300 may be installed in place of the cashier in each article delivering unit. The customer can check the goods to be delivered to the article delivering unit and pay for the goods using the automatic payment apparatus 300, and then receive the goods. In this embodiment, a door for blocking access to the products transferred to the article delivering unit may be provided. The door can be opened only when the payment of the goods is completed in the automatic settlement apparatus 300 so that the customer can take the goods.

According to another embodiment, the settlement place C where the settlement apparatus 300 is installed may be a parking lot rather than a store. In this case, the customer can pay for the goods and receive the goods from the parking lot where he parked his car. The customer can take the goods from the parking lot and move directly to his / her own vehicle, so that the convenience of the customer can be increased.

In the present embodiment, the temporary storage device 240 may be installed for each parking lot. In this case, since the temporary storage device 240 is installed near the settlement device 300 of each parking lot, when the customer selects his or her own customer identification number from the payment device 300, Can be quickly transferred to the settlement apparatus 300. When a customer identification code 21 is detected in the second scanner 232 of the first sorter 230, the customer ID code 21 may be included in the corresponding customer identification code 21, The parking lot inherent code included in the customer identification code 21 can be obtained together. Accordingly, the product can be transferred to the temporary storage device 240 installed in the parking lot corresponding to the obtained parking lot unique code.

According to one embodiment, the sticker book on which the customer identification code 21 including the parking lot specific code is printed may be provided to the customer around the settlement place C installed in each parking lot, not the store entrance. That is, the customer can purchase his or her selected goods directly to the parking lot by shopping using the sticker book provided in the parking lot where the car is parked.

According to another embodiment, the settlement apparatus 300 can be provided at the parking lot exit, and the customer can pay for the goods while delivering the goods while leaving the parking lot by car. In this embodiment, as in the case of a conventional drive through system, the customer can complete settlement of goods while being in the car and can receive the products, thereby improving the convenience of the customer.

According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, a customer does not have to carry goods directly after selecting a product to be purchased at a store. That is, when a customer selects a product, attaches its own identifier to the product, and puts the product attached with the identifier into a nearby auxiliary transfer device, the product is automatically transferred to the settlement place, It is not necessary to carry the goods directly to the settlement place. Since the customer does not have to carry items at the store, they do not need a cart at the store. As a result, according to embodiments of the present invention, a cart-free offline shopping system can be implemented. As the need for a cart that requires a lot of space in the store is eliminated, the space efficiency of the store can be improved. In addition, the time it takes for the customer to shop is reduced, and the sales increase through the improvement of the customer turnover rate in the store can be expected. In addition, since the customer has improved comfort during shopping and does not need to move the products after picking them, it is necessary to select food items to be purchased and then store food codes in store So that customer satisfaction can be greatly improved.

In addition, according to the embodiments described above, the product information and the price information of the products can be acquired while the products selected by the customer are transferred to the settlement place. Accordingly, it is not necessary to acquire the product information and the price information while scanning the product code of the products at the settlement place, and only after confirming the obtained product information and the price information at the settlement place, do. Therefore, the time consumed by one customer at the settlement place can be shortened, and the waiting time at the settlement place can be shortened.

Further, according to the above-described embodiments, the settlement place can be operated separately from the store. For example, by installing the settlement apparatus in each parking lot, the settlement place can be separated from the store. Thus, congestion of the escalator and the elevator can be reduced because the customers do not need to drag the cart and carry out the interlayer movement.

In addition, according to the above-described embodiments, since the customer does not directly move to the settlement place with the commodity, when the customer decides not to purchase the commodity already selected, the purchase intention for the commodity is withdrawn at the settlement place. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the case where the product is not refilled at the place where the product was originally displayed, by leaving the product which the customer has decided not to purchase while moving with the products anywhere. In the above-described embodiments, the customer can indicate to the employee that he / she does not purchase a specific commodity at the settlement place, in which case the employee can directly retrieve the commodity and repopulate the originally displayed place.

In the above-described embodiments, the goods selected by the customer are automatically transferred to the settlement place, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the offline shopping system of the present invention, the above-described automatic transfer system can be used together with the conventional shopping method. That is, some customers can drag their carts to carry their own selected items, while others can shop without a cart using the above-described automatic transfer system. Alternatively, even a customer using the above-described automatic transfer system can transfer large and heavy items, such as desks and chairs, which are difficult to be transferred through the automatic transfer system, to a settlement site directly using the cart.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an offline shopping system 1a according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the customer wireless terminal 510, A wireless terminal 530 of the employee, or a status display terminal 520. [0064] As shown in FIG. The terminals 510, 520, and 530 described below comprehensively include devices including a display unit capable of displaying a screen for informing the transfer status of goods, and are not limited to wireless terminals.

4, the offline shopping system 1a according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention further includes a central management server 400, and includes a customer wireless terminal 510, an employee wired / wireless terminal 530, And a terminal 520. [0031]

The central management server 400 stores and manages a database including a product code, and can control the first scanner 100, the article transport apparatus 200, and the settlement apparatus 300. Specifically, the central management server 100, together with the first scanner 100 and the settlement apparatus 300, controls the first sorter 230, the second scanner 230, The first sorter 232, the second sorter 250, and the third scanner 252. Here, the database including the product code may be a database in which the product code of the product and corresponding product information and price information are stored, as described above. The central management server 400 receives data and signals from the first scanner 100, the article transport apparatus 200 and the settlement apparatus 300 and can transmit data and signals to the apparatuses have. The central management server 400 may control the operation of the devices by transmitting data and signals to the first scanner 100, the article transport apparatus 200, and the settlement apparatus 300. Accordingly, the central management server 400 may replace various operations and controls performed by the first scanner 100, the article transport apparatus 200, and the settlement apparatus 300 in the above-described embodiment.

Meanwhile, the offline shopping system of the present invention may further include various sensors as needed. In this case, the central management server 400 can receive, manage, and utilize the information collected from the additional installed sensors. To this end, the central management server 400 may receive data and signals from the further installed sensors, and may transmit data and signals to the sensors.

The customer wireless terminal 510 is a terminal owned by the customer and receives information on the transfer status of the goods matched to the specific customer identification code by wireless connection with the central management server 400 and stores information on the transfer status Can be displayed. For example, customer wireless terminal 510 may be a customer's smartphone.

Specifically, the customer wireless terminal 510 can receive a customer's customer identification code, and communicates with the central management server 400 to receive information on the transportation status of goods matched with the input customer identification code can do. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the status of each product can be displayed in real time. The operation of receiving the customer identification code and receiving and displaying the information on the transportation status of the products may be performed through a separate application program installed in the customer wireless terminal 510. [

Here, the transfer status of the goods matched to the specific customer recognition code can be determined by checking the scanner in which the product code of each product among the plurality of scanners included in the product transfer apparatus 200 is most recently detected. For example, according to the embodiment described above, the article transport apparatus 200 may include three scanners. The first is the first scanner 100, the second is the second scanner 232 included in the first sorter 230 and the third is the third scanner 252 included in the second sorter 250. When the customer wireless terminal 510 requests the central management server 400 for information related to the transportation status of goods matched to a specific customer recognition code, the central management server 400 transmits a product corresponding to the customer identification code You can check the code and see what product code each scanner was most recently detected. For example, if the product code of a product is most recently detected at the first scanner, the transfer status of the product may be "moving to temporary storage ". Alternatively, if the product code of a product has been most recently detected by the third scanner, the transfer status of the product may be "transferred to the counter and waiting."

5, an image of each product may be displayed on the customer wireless terminal 510, unlike the case where only characters are included on the screen of the customer wireless terminal 510. [ The image of each product may include a photograph of each product and a picture symbolizing each product. In this case, the product information of each product and its feeding state can be displayed on the customer wireless terminal 510 through the image of each product. The product information and the transfer status of a product can be displayed not only by a character but also through an image, but can also be applied to the status check terminal 520 and the employee wired / wireless terminal 530 described later.

The state checking terminal 520 is installed in a store, receives a customer identification code, receives information on the transportation status of the goods matched with the inputted customer identification code from the central management server 400, Can be displayed. Specifically, the status check terminal 520 may include a scanner for receiving a customer identification code. When the customer reads his or her customer identification code into the scanner, The transfer status can be displayed. The state checking terminal 520 is installed in various places in the store and can confirm the transfer status of a product selected by the customer to the customer and the details of the product that the customer has already selected. We can offer convenience to customers.

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the customer can use the terminal 51 owned by him or the status confirmation terminal 520 installed in the store to transmit the transfer status of his / her selected product and the details of his / Can be confirmed. As a result, the customer can feel the sensibility and the satisfaction of shopping while putting the product of his choice in the cart as if it is a conventional offline shopping method. That is, in the offline shopping system according to the present embodiment, the customer can feel sensibility and satisfaction as when shopping using a cart, while shopping without using a cart.

Meanwhile, the employee wired / wireless terminal 530 is a terminal owned by an employee and can be wirelessly connected to the central management server 400 to receive notification of an abnormality symptom of the article transfer apparatus 200. An abnormal symptom of the product transport apparatus 200 may be a case where the product code of a specific product is detected by the scanner of the previous stage but not detected by the scanner of the next stage. In this case, the central management server 400 may determine that an abnormality has occurred in the article transport apparatus 200, and may send a notification to the employee wire / wireless terminal 530 to inform it. The notification may include a customer identification code matched to a product that is not detected by the scanner, and information on a position where the product was last detected.

An employee who has been notified of the abnormality of the article transfer apparatus 200 through the employee wired / wireless terminal 530 may go to a place where the abnormality is suspected and solve the problem. Thus, the operational reliability of the automatic transport system 1a of the present offline shopping system 1a can be improved.

According to one embodiment, the settlement location C may be provided at a plurality of locations, and accordingly, the settlement device 300 may be installed at a plurality of locations. At this time, at least one of the customer terminal 510, the employee welfare / wireless terminal 530, and the status confirmation terminal 520 is provided with a settlement place C of goods matched with a specific customer identification code 21 The central management server 400 transmits the merchandise matched to the corresponding customer identification code 21 to the first sorter 230 and the temporary storage device 240) and the second sorter (250). At this time, if necessary, the products that have already been transferred to the second sorter 250 can be transferred to the first sorter 230 by using the above-described reverse transfer device 260, The re-transferred goods can be transferred to the settlement place C changed by the first sorter 230, the temporary storage device 240 and the second sorter 250. [

For example, if a customer with a customer identification code (21) that contains a unique code for a second floor car park wants to pick up and pay for the items he chooses in the underground parking lot on the ground floor, A command for changing the settlement place can be inputted by using the owned wireless terminal 510 or the state confirmation terminal 520 installed in the store. Alternatively, the customer may ask a nearby employee to change the settlement place, and the employee can input a command to change the settlement place using the wired / wireless terminal 530 owned by the customer. When the command is input, the central management server 400 transmits the goods matched to the customer's customer identification code 21 to the first sorters 230, At least one of the temporary storage device 240 and the second sorter 250 may be controlled. Hereinafter, an offline shopping method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an offline shopping method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a product to which an identifier is attached may be inserted into an auxiliary transport device (S1). Specifically, the customer can insert the product into the inlet of the auxiliary transfer device after attaching the own identifier to the product that the customer intends to purchase. When a product with an identifier is inserted into the auxiliary transport device, the customer identification code displayed in the identifier of the product and the product code displayed in the package of the product may be detected by the first scanner installed at the inlet of the auxiliary transport device S2). Here, if either the customer identification code or the product code is not detected, an additional action may be taken by the customer or the employee (S3) such that the direction of the product inserted into the auxiliary transfer device is rearranged.

If both the customer identification code and the product code are detected in the first scanner, the goods can be transferred to the first sorter by the auxiliary transfer device and the main transfer device (S4). Then, in the first sorter, the customer identification code and the product code of the goods can be sensed by the second scanner (S5). Based on the customer identification code and the product code obtained from the second scanner, the goods can be transferred by the first sorter to the area of the temporary storage device designated according to the customer identification code and the product code (S6). The goods transferred to the temporary storage device may be stored in the temporary storage device (S7).

During the storage of the goods in the temporary storage device, the goods matching with the specific customer identification code can be called by selecting the specific customer identification code in the payment device (S8). If the customer identification code is selected in the settlement apparatus, the goods stored in the selected sorter can be transferred to the second sorter (S9).

In the second sorter, the customer identification code and product code of the goods matched to the selected customer identification code by the third scanner can be sensed once again (S10). And, based on the customer identification code obtained from the third scanner, the goods can be transferred to one of several article delivering units of the settlement apparatus. At this time, the article delivery unit to which the goods are transferred may be a place where a customer has selected a specific customer identification code by inputting his or her own customer identification code (S11). In addition, the product information and the price information of the goods can be output on the display unit provided in the article delivering unit based on the product code acquired by the third scanner (S12).

The second sorter transfers the goods to the goods delivering unit, and if the product information and the price information of the goods are also displayed on the display unit, it can be confirmed whether all the goods to be purchased have arrived at the goods delivering unit (S13). The confirmation operation can be performed by a customer or a cache word, and can be confirmed by comparing the product transferred to the article delivery unit and the product information output to the display unit. When all of the goods have arrived, the customer can pay for the goods (S14).

On the other hand, if none of the products have arrived, the customer can determine whether he wants to recall the unreceived product and purchase (S15). If the customer desires to recall the unexpired merchandise, the customer can re-enter the customer identification code to recall the selected merchandise (S16). If the user does not wish to purchase the unexpired merchandise, the user can proceed with the settlement as it is. In this case, the re-calculated product information and the price information may be displayed on the display unit of the settlement apparatus except for the items that have not arrived (S17). Then, the payment based on the re-calculated product information and the price information can be paid by the customer (S15).

While the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments of the offline shopping system, the article transporting apparatus used in the offline shopping system, and the offline shopping method according to the embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. And should be interpreted as having the broadest range according to the basic idea disclosed in the specification. Skilled artisans may implement a pattern of features that are not described in a combinatorial and / or permutational manner with the disclosed embodiments, but this is not to depart from the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be readily made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1, 1a: Local shopping system 10: Commodity
20: identifier 21: customer identification code
30: Product code 100: First scanner
200: article transporting device 210: auxiliary transporting device
220: main transport device 230: first sorter
240: Drafting device 250: Second sorter
300: Payment device 400: Central management server
510: customer wireless terminal 520: status check terminal
530: employee wired / wireless terminal

Claims

A first scanner installed in a merchandise display place, for detecting an identifier attached to each merchandise, acquiring a customer identification code from the identifier, and matching the merchandise to the acquired customer identification code;
The merchandise being displayed on the merchandise display place to the settlement place, the merchandise being matched to the customer identification code when the specific customer identification code is selected at the settlement place, To an object transporting device; And
And a settlement device installed at the settlement place to perform settlement of the goods, to receive the goods matched to the selected customer identification code from the article transfer device, and to deliver the goods to the customer upon completion of settlement of the goods Offline shopping system.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the identifier is an object attached to the individual merchandise and comprises a customer identification code,
Wherein the customer identification code is assigned to a customer to distinguish the customer.

3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the identifier is a sticker on which the customer identification code is printed on the surface,
Wherein the customer identification code is assigned to the customer by providing a sticker book including a plurality of stickers on which the same customer identification code is printed.

The method according to claim 1,
The article transport apparatus includes:
An auxiliary conveying device installed to connect the merchandise display place and the main conveying device and receiving the merchandise from the merchandise display place through an inlet port and delivering the merchandise to the main conveying device;
The main transfer device transferring the product from the auxiliary transfer device to the first sorter;
A first sorter for transferring the product from the main transfer device to the temporary storage device, and transferring the product to a designated area of the temporary storage device according to a customer identification code of the identifier attached to the product;
Wherein the merchandise is received and stored from the first sorter, and when the specific customer identification code is selected by the payment apparatus, the merchandise matched to the corresponding customer identification code To the second sorter; And
A second sorter for transferring the merchandise matched to the selected customer identification code from the temporary storage device to the settlement apparatus and transferring the selected merchandise from the plurality of article deliverers of the settlement apparatus to the selected article delivery unit, And an offline shopping system.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first sorter and the second sorter each comprise a second scanner and a third scanner for scanning the identifier to obtain the customer identification code.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first sorter and the second sorter are cross belt sorters.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the plurality of distinct areas of the temporary storage device are a plurality of belts or roller conveyors disposed in parallel,
Wherein each belt or roller conveyor is assigned one customer identification code.

5. The method of claim 4,
The temporary storage device comprises:
Calculating a plane size of the product based on a product code displayed on a package of each product for a plurality of products to which an identifier having the same customer identification code is attached, Is greater than the specified area, an additional area is assigned to the corresponding customer identification code.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein each of the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device is further assigned one or more product codes,
Wherein the first sorter transfers the goods to a designated area of the temporary storage device according to a product code displayed on a package of the product.

10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device are divided into a plurality of groups according to the designated product code,
Wherein the plurality of groups includes a refrigeration group,
And an area belonging to the refrigeration group is installed in a refrigeration environment.

10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device are divided into a plurality of groups according to the designated product code,
Wherein the plurality of groups comprises a refrigeration group,
And an area belonging to the refrigeration group is installed in a freezing environment.

10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the plurality of areas of the temporary storage device are divided into a plurality of groups according to the designated product code,
Wherein the plurality of groups include a thermal insulation group,
And an area belonging to the warming group is installed in an insulating environment.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the settlement apparatus further comprises a plurality of display units respectively provided to the plurality of article delivering units,
Wherein the display unit automatically outputs product information and price information of the goods when the goods are delivered to a corresponding article delivery unit.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the settlement place is provided at a plurality of locations, the settlement device is installed at each settlement place,
Wherein the article transporting device further comprises a reverse transporting device installed to connect the second sorter and the first sorter and transferring the goods from the second sorter to the first sorter,
Wherein the reverse transfer device receives the goods matched to the customer identification code of the customer requesting the change of the settlement place from the second sorter and returns the goods to the first sorter.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the settlement place is a parking lot.

16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the settlement device is installed at the parking lot exit to provide a drive through settlement service.

The method according to claim 1,
A central management server that stores and manages a database including a product code, and controls the first scanner, the article transfer apparatus, and the payment apparatus; And
A terminal owned by a customer, comprising: a customer wireless terminal connected wirelessly with the central management server to receive information on a transfer status of a product matched to a specific customer identification code and display information on the transfer status; Shopping system.

18. The method of claim 17,
A status check terminal installed in the store for receiving the customer identification code, receiving information on the transport status of the goods matched with the inputted customer identification code from the central management server, and displaying the information on the transport status Include an offline shopping system.

18. The method of claim 17,
And a staff wired / wireless terminal connected to the central management server by wire or wireless,
The employee wired / wireless terminal,
Receiving an abnormality indication of the article transporting device from the central management server,
Or the information on the transport status of the goods matched to the specific customer identification code from the central management server, and displays the information on the transport status.

18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the settlement place is provided at a plurality of locations, the settlement device is installed at each settlement place,
When a command to change the settlement place of the goods matched to the specific customer identification code is input to the customer wireless terminal, the central management server transmits the goods matching the customer identification code to the changed settlement place, Of-line shopping system.

19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the settlement place is provided at a plurality of locations, the settlement device is installed at each settlement place,
When a command for changing the settlement place of the goods matched with the specific customer identification code is inputted to the state confirmation terminal, the central management server transmits the goods matching the customer identification code to the changed settlement place, Of-line shopping system.

20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the settlement place is provided at a plurality of locations, the settlement device is installed at each settlement place,
When a command for changing the settlement place of the goods matched to the specific customer identification code is inputted to the employee welfare / wireless terminal, the central management server transmits the goods matching the customer identification code to the settlement place An offline shopping system that controls the transfer device.

An article transporting apparatus used in an offline shopping system,
An auxiliary conveying device installed to connect the merchandise display place and the main conveying device and receiving the product with the identifier on the merchandise display place through the inlet and transferring the product to the main conveying device;
The main transfer device transferring the product from the auxiliary transfer device to the first sorter;
A first sorter for transferring the product from the main transfer device to the temporary storage device, and transferring the product to a designated area of the temporary storage device according to a customer identification code of the identifier attached to the product;
The merchandise is received and stored from the first sorter, and when a specific customer identification code is selected at the settlement place, the merchandise matched to the customer identification code is stored in the first sorter, The temporary storage device for transferring to the second sorter; And
And a second sorter for receiving the goods matched to the selected customer identification code from the temporary storage device and transferring the goods to the settlement place, .

A step of inserting a product attached with an identifier including a customer identification code into an inlet of an article transfer apparatus;
Detecting a customer identification code of the inserted commodity and matching the commodity with the detected customer identification code;
When a specific customer identification code is selected at a settlement place, the goods matched to the customer identification code are transferred to the settlement place through the article transfer apparatus; And
Wherein the settlement of goods matched with the selected customer identification code is performed at the settlement place, and the goods are delivered to the customer.