JP2744544B2 - Product sales registration device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise sales registration apparatus in which a customer reads and scans a bar code of a merchandise by himself / herself and performs registration processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a product sales registration device such as a checkout system, a barcode attached to a product with a label or the like is read and scanned by a barcode scanner, and product information is input to thereby improve the efficiency of the registration process. Have improved. Input of product information using such a barcode scanner
Since the operation is extremely simple and accurate as compared with an operation input from a keyboard or the like, for example, the operation can be performed without a dedicated clerk.

[0003] Therefore, a merchandise sales registration apparatus in which a barcode reading operation and a registration processing by such a barcode scanner are performed by a customer, and only a payment processing is performed by a clerk, has been proposed by the present applicant. No. 52794 and Japanese Patent Application No. 3-166691. For example, the self-scanning system, which is a product sales registration device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-16691, arranges two soccer tables in which input operation units for customers are respectively arranged at the tips, in parallel.
Two soccer registers arranged side by side for one clerk are arranged between the end portions of these soccer tables.

More specifically, in the self-scanning system of the above-mentioned application, the input operation unit is provided with a barcode scanner, a keyboard, and the like, and the register unit is provided with a product name, unit price and weight in advance. A PLU (PriceLook Up) memory that stores product information, a keyboard, a drawer, and the like are provided. A belt conveyor or the like is provided on the soccer table that communicates with the input operation unit and the register unit, and an electronic scale is arranged below the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor.

[0005] In this self-scanning system, the merchandise information of the merchandise brought by the customer is input by the bar code scanner of the input operation section, and after the input, the merchandise is placed on the belt conveyor of the soccer table. The product is weighed by the electronic balance inside, and the weight information is output. At this time, in the register unit at the position of the clerk, since the register unit reads out the product information transmitted from the input operation unit from the PLU memory, the weight information of the read product information and the weight information measured by the electronic balance are compared. Determine whether there is a match. Then, when this match is detected, the register unit determines that the product information input by the customer through the input operation unit is appropriate, and the belt conveyor starts to be driven by automatic control based on this determination or manual operation by a clerk. Is done. Therefore,
The goods are conveyed from the position of the input operation section to the position of the register section by the belt conveyor, so that the clerk performs the payment processing of the goods in the register section.

[0006] In other words, in this self-scanning system, the customer performs input work and registration processing of product information,
Since the clerk only performs the settlement process, which is the final step of the sales work, it is possible for one clerk to be in charge of multiple work lanes, reducing the work load of the clerk and reducing the number of employees without reducing the work efficiency Reduction can be realized. In addition, the self-scanning system checks the agreement between the weight information obtained from the barcode of the product and the weight information obtained by actually measuring the product, so that a product different from the barcode read and scanned product is placed on the belt conveyor. It is also designed to prevent improper installation.

[0007] In this self-scanning system, a product having a failure in bar code reading scan or weight information coincidence detection is temporarily conveyed on a mounting table near an input operation unit without being conveyed by a belt conveyor. After the registration process of the product whose weight information matches is completed, the product is put into a shopping cart or cart again and transported to the register section. In this way, even if a product has a defect in barcode reading scanning or weight information coincidence detection, the store clerk can finally register the product by manual operation of the register section. The registration process and the settlement process are executed for all the desired products.

[0008]

In the self-scanning system described above, the customer inputs and registers the merchandise information, and the clerk only performs the settlement process, thereby reducing the workload of the clerk and reducing the number of employees. By confirming that the barcode weight information of the product matches the actually measured weight information, fraud such as replacement of the product can be prevented.

Here, in such a self-scanning system, a product having a failure in bar code reading scan or weight information coincidence detection is temporarily placed on a placing table, and for example, a shopping cart is later placed. And the cart is re-entered and transported to the register section to perform the registration process.In this case, if there are a large number of products placed on the mounting table, these products will be stored in the shopping basket or cart. The input work is complicated and sales operations are delayed. Further, for example, it is conceivable that the belt conveyor can be driven by a manual operation of a store clerk so that the products on the mounting table are also transported by the belt conveyor.In this case, too, there are many products mounted on the mounting table. The operation of transferring the product onto the belt conveyor is complicated, and there is a concern that the product may drop during the manual transfer or the transfer by the belt conveyor.

[0010]

An input operation unit for a customer provided with a bar code scanner for reading and scanning product information such as a product name and a weight given to the product by a bar code is provided. Is provided with an electronic balance that weighs the scanned product and outputs weight information. The weight information measured by the electronic balance and the weight information of the product information input and operated by the barcode scanner of the input operation unit are provided. Provided is a fraud prevention means for detecting the presence / absence of a match, and a conveyor for sequentially transporting the goods for which the fraud prevention means has detected a match in the weight information is provided. Providing a container for temporarily storing a plurality of commodities in which the occurrence has occurred and being conveyed by the conveyor, and providing a container table on which a large number of the containers are stacked near the input operation unit, Provided register for the clerk to perform settlement processing of goods carried in the conveyor.

[0011]

Since a large number of products stored in the container can be transferred onto the conveyor at once, the operation is extremely simple and can contribute to speeding up sales operations.

[0012]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, in a self-scanning system 1 which is a merchandise sales registration device, an input operation unit 2 for a customer (not shown) is arranged at a tip end as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in appearance. Two soccer tables 3 are arranged in parallel, and two register sections ECR (Electronic Cash Re) arranged side by side for one salesclerk 4 between the end portions of these soccer tables 3 are provided.
gister) 5. More specifically, the input operation unit 2 is provided with a barcode scanner 6, an operation panel 7, and the like, and the ECR 5 has a handy scanner 8, a display 9, and a keyboard as shown in FIG. 10 and a drawer 11 are provided. The soccer table 3 is provided with a carry-in conveyor 12, a carry-out conveyor 13 and a product packaging table 14 at a position continuous with the input operation unit 2, and an electronic scale 15 is provided below a carry belt of the carry-in conveyor 12. Is provided.
In the self-scanning system 1, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a lift 16 is provided on the side of the soccer table 3 in the vicinity of the input operation unit 2, and a large number of trays 18 as containers are placed on a vertically movable container table 17 of the lift 16. Is loaded.

The self-scanning system 1
As for the circuit, as illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 5, the input operation unit 2, the conveyors 12, 13, the electronic scale 15, the lift 16, and the like are connected to the ECR 5, and the ECR 5 Is a CPU (Central Processing)
Unit) 19, ROM (Read Only Memory) 20,
RAM (Random Access) with built-in PLU memory 21
Memory 22, the display 9, the keyboard 10, the drawer 11, and the like are connected by a data bus 23. In the self-scanning system 1, the operation panel 7 of the input operation unit 2 is provided with a display 24, a start switch 25, and a stop switch 26. As shown in the memory map of FIG. The PLU memory 21 in the RAM 22 stores, for each product, product information including information such as a product code, a product name, a unit price, and weight.

The self-scanning system 1
In the same manner as in the self-scanning system described above as a conventional example, the fraud prevention means for detecting whether or not the weight information of the product information read and scanned by the barcode scanner 6 matches the weight information actually measured by the electronic scale 15 is provided by the CPU 19. And the PLU memory 21 and the like, and the ECR 5 automatically registers the product information for which such fraud prevention means has detected a match in the weight information.

In such a configuration, the processing operation of the self-scanning system 1 will be described in detail below with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, the customer brings a product (not shown) desired to be purchased into the shopping cart or cart and brings it to the input operation unit 2. Here, when the start switch 25 of the operation panel 7 is operated, the standby state is input. The operation unit 2 is activated, and the operation of the product information can be input. When the start switch 25 is operated in this manner, a message such as "Please start scanning" is displayed on the display 24 of the operation panel 7 of the input operation unit 2, and such a message is visually recognized. The customer reads and scans the barcode of the product with the barcode scanner 6 of the input operation unit 2. At this time, in the ECR 5 at the position of the clerk 4, the CPU 19 searches the PLU memory 21 with the product code transmitted from the input operation unit 2, and when the presence of the product information having the matching product code is confirmed, the display 24 is displayed. A message such as "Please place the product on the conveyor" is displayed. Then, when the customer who has visually recognized such a message places the product on the carry-in conveyor 12 of the soccer table 3,
The goods are weighed by the electronic balance 15 in the carry-in conveyor 12, and the weight information is output.

At this time, in the ECR 5 at the position of the clerk 4, the merchandise information transmitted from the input operation unit 2 is read by the CPU of the ECR 5.
19 is read from the PLU memory 21, and the fraud prevention means compares the weight information of the product information with the weight information actually measured by the electronic scale 15. Therefore, if the comparison result is within a preset allowable range, the merchandise information input by the customer through the input operation unit 2 is determined to be appropriate, so that the merchandise information is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 and the carry-in conveyor 1
2 will be driven. Then, the merchandise on the carry-in conveyor 12 is conveyed to the position of the ECR 5, and the clerk 4 registers the merchandise thus sequentially conveyed by manual operation of the ECR 5.

Here, in the self-scanning system 1, if a failure occurs in the above-described reading scan of the barcode scanner 6 or coincidence detection of the fraud prevention means, C
The PU 19 displays a message such as “Please place the product on the tray” on the display 24 and sets a failure flag indicating the presence of an unregistered product in a work area of the RAM 22 or the like. In this case, the customer who visually recognizes such a message places the product on the uppermost tray 18 loaded on the lift 16 and starts reading and scanning the barcode of the next product.

Then, when the customer who has performed the above-described operation for all the commodities inputs the stop switch 26 of the operation panel 7 of the input operation unit 2, the CP of the ECR 5 is operated.
U19 stops the carry-in conveyor 12 and starts the settlement process of the merchandise information. At this time, if the defect flag is set, a message such as "Please put the tray on the conveyor" is displayed on the display 24. The message is displayed and the carry-in conveyor 12 is driven again. Then, when the customer who visually recognizes this message places the tray 18 on which the goods are placed on the carry-in conveyor 12, a failure occurs in the registration process, and the goods placed on the tray 18 are replaced with the EC.
This ECR5 is transferred to the position of R5,
Is manually operated, the products on the tray 18 are also registered. Therefore, when the registration processing of all the commodities is completed as described above, the clerk 4 executes the payment processing by manual operation of the keyboard 10 of the ECR 5, delivery of money (not shown) in the drawer 11, or the like. .

By doing so, in such a self-scanning system 1, as in the self-scanning system described above as the prior art, the weight information actually measured by the electronic balance 15 and the product information output by the input operation unit 2 are output. Since the registration processing by the customer is executed after confirming the agreement with the weight information, for example, fraud such as the customer placing a product different from the product obtained by reading and scanning the barcode on the carry-in conveyor 12 is prevented. You.

In the self-scanning system 1, a product having a defect in bar code reading scan or weight information coincidence detection is temporarily placed on a tray 18, and the tray 18 and the carry-in conveyor 12 are placed together. In ECR5
And the clerk registers the product, so that the products placed on the mounting table as in the prior art self-scanning system are re-introduced individually to shopping carts and carts and manually No need to transport. In other words, in the self-scanning system 1 of the present invention, even if a large number of products are placed on the tray 18, they are transferred at one time to the carry-in conveyor 12, so that this operation is extremely simple and contributes to speeding up sales operations. In addition, since a large number of commodities conveyed to the position of the ECR 5 by the carry-in conveyor 12 are held by the tray 18, they are also prevented from falling.

Moreover, in the self-scanning system 1 according to the present embodiment, the tray 18 loaded on the container
Are sequentially taken out, as illustrated in FIG.
6 sequentially raises the container table 17 and moves the uppermost tray 18
Is maintained substantially equal to the upper surface of the soccer table 3, so that even the tray 18 on which a large number of products are placed can be transferred onto the soccer table 3 very easily. The mechanism for keeping the height of the uppermost tray 18 constant as described above includes a mechanism for detecting the tray 18 with a photo sensor or a contact switch arranged at a predetermined height and performing feedback control of the lift 16, a container mounting table, and the like. A mechanism for driving the lift 16 by calculating the number of trays 18 from the detected weight of the scale provided on the
It can be realized by a mechanism or the like that drives the lift 16 by calculating from the content of the processing operation of No. 5. Furthermore, in the self-scanning system 1 of the present embodiment, the tray 18 is exemplified as a container for temporarily storing products, but this can also be implemented in a shopping basket or the like.

In the self-scanning system 1 according to the present embodiment, the ECR 5
Although the CPU 19 has automatically stopped and driven the carry-in conveyor 12 again, the present invention is not limited to the above structure. For example, the clerk 4 controls the drive of the carry-in conveyor 12 as described above. Manual operation is also feasible. Further, in the self-scanning system 1 of the present embodiment, the weight information of the product information is stored in the PLU memory 21.
However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described format. For example, it is possible to record all product information in a barcode without using the PLU memory 21. Is also feasible.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, an input operation unit for a customer provided with a bar code scanner for reading and scanning product information such as a product name and a weight given by a bar code to the product is provided. An electronic balance for weighing the product whose barcode is read and scanned by the unit and outputting weight information is provided, and the weight information measured by the electronic balance and the product information operated and input by the barcode scanner of the input operation unit are provided. Provided is a fraud prevention means for detecting the presence or absence of coincidence with the weight information, provided with a conveyor for sequentially transporting the goods for which the fraud prevention means has detected the coincidence of the weight information, and for reading scanning of the bar code scanner and for the fraud prevention means. A container for temporarily storing a plurality of commodities having a failure in matching detection and being conveyed by the conveyor is provided, and a container table on which a large number of the containers are stacked is provided near the input operation unit. The provision of a register unit for a sales clerk who executes the payment process for the goods conveyed by the conveyor enables a large number of goods stored in the container to be transferred onto the conveyor at once, so that the work can be performed. It is extremely simple and has effects such as being able to contribute to speeding up of sales operations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an enlarged ECR.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an enlarged main part.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the entire circuit structure.

FIG. 6 is a memory map showing a PLU memory.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a sales operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise sales registration apparatus 2 Input operation part 4 Salesclerk 5 Register part 6 Barcode scanner 12 Conveyor 15 Electronic balance 17 Container table 18 Container 19, 21 Means for preventing fraud

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input operation unit for a customer provided with a barcode scanner for reading and scanning product information such as a product name and a weight given to the product by a barcode, and a barcode is read and scanned by the input operation unit. An electronic balance that weighs the product and outputs weight information; and detects whether the weight information measured by the electronic balance matches the weight information of the product information input and operated by the barcode scanner of the input operation unit. Fraud prevention measures;
A conveyor that sequentially conveys products whose weight information is detected by the fraud prevention unit, and a plurality of products that temporarily store a plurality of products that have a failure in scanning by the barcode scanner or a coincidence detection by the fraud prevention unit. Containers transported by the conveyor, a container table on which a large number of the containers are loaded in the vicinity of the input operation unit, and a register unit for a clerk who executes a payment process for the goods transported by the conveyor. A merchandise sales registration device characterized by comprising: