JP5454955B2 - counter - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a counter.

  A cash register, a POS (point-of-sale) terminal device, and the like provided with a display device for presenting information to a customer who is going to pay at a store are known.

JP 2000-149140 A

  The display by the display device can be easily viewed by an unspecified number of people around.

  Under such circumstances, it has been desired that information specialized for a specific customer can be presented to the corresponding customer.

The counter of the embodiment includes a counter body , a display device , a detector, setting means, and control means . The counter body includes a top plate having a placement surface on which an article can be placed and having a recess recessed along the placement surface or a hole penetrating in a direction intersecting the placement surface. The display device is held by the counter body in a state where at least a part of the display surface is located below the recess or the hole and the display surface is inclined with respect to the placement surface. The detector detects a human body located in a detection area defined in the vicinity of the display device. The setting means selectively sets the first and second modes according to an instruction from the user. The control means performs the first display control on the display device when the detector detects the human body, and displays when the detector does not detect the human body and the first mode is set. When the display by the device is stopped and the detector does not detect the human body and the second mode is set, second display control different from the first display control is performed for the display device.

The top view showing the appearance of the register counter concerning one embodiment. The front view which shows the external appearance of the cash register counter which concerns on one Embodiment. F3-F3 arrow sectional drawing in FIG. The block diagram of the electric equipment with which the cash register counter which concerns on one Embodiment is provided. The flowchart of the controller in FIG.

  An example of the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a face-to-face registration counter will be described as an example of the counter.

  1 to 3 are views showing the appearance of a cashier counter 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a top view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow F3-F3 in FIG. . FIG. 4 is a block diagram of electrical equipment provided in the cashier counter 100. 1 to 4, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The register counter 100 includes a main body 10, two liquid crystal displays (LCD) 21, two detectors 22, two interfaces (I / F) 23, a memory 24, and a controller 25.

  The main body 10 further includes a top plate 11 and a support base 12.

  The top plate 11 has a flat surface that serves as a placement surface for placing an article such as the POS terminal 200 or a product. The top plate 11 has two recesses 11a that are recessed along the mounting surface. The support table 12 supports the top plate 11 so that the mounting surface of the top plate 11 is substantially horizontal. Each of the two recesses 11a reaches one side of the placement surface. Hereinafter, the side on which the recess 11a is formed is referred to as the customer side, and the opposite side is referred to as the store clerk side.

  Although the shape of the support base 12 may match arbitrarily, typically it is the box shape which opened one surface or two surfaces. When the support base 12 has a box shape with two surfaces opened, the opened surface is covered with the top plate 11. The support base 12 has two openings 12a penetrating substantially along the mounting surface below the two concave portions 11a.

  The two LCDs 21 each display an arbitrary image under the control of the controller 25. The two LCDs 21 are positioned inside and below the two recesses 11a in such a posture that their display surfaces 21a are lowered from the store clerk side toward the customer side. Each of the two LCDs 21 is supported by the main body 10. Specifically, for example, the LCD 21 is attached to an inclined surface 12 b formed on the support base 12. Although a part of the display surface 21a may protrude from the inside of the recess 11a and the lower side thereof, in the present embodiment, all of the display surface 21a is located inside and below the recess 11a. The width W1 of the recess 11a and the width W2 of the display surface 21a in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the display surface 21a is inclined are substantially equal to each other.

  The two detectors 22 face the two openings 12 a and are located inside the support base 12. Each of the two detectors 22 detects whether a person (customer) is present in front of the opening 12a through the opening 12a. As the detector 22, for example, a known human sensor using an infrared sensor or the like can be used.

  The two LCDs 21, the two detectors 22, the two interfaces 23, the memory 24 and the controller 25 are each connected to a bus 26.

  Two POS terminals are connected to the two interfaces 23, respectively. The interface 23 mediates exchange of information between the POS terminal 200 and the controller 25.

  The memory 24 stores data representing a display screen on the LCD 21.

  The controller 25 controls the LCD 21. The controller 25 is, for example, a general-purpose microcomputer, and executes a program describing processing to be described later.

  Next, a usage example and an operation example of the register counter 100 configured as described above will be described.

  The cashier counter 100 is installed at a cashier corner of a store, and one or two POS terminals 200 are placed on the placement surface. The POS terminal 200 is directed to the clerk side and is operated by a clerk located on the clerk side as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the customer who is going to check out is located facing the store clerk across the cashier counter 100 on the customer side of the cashier counter 100. In some cases, a table 300 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is installed on the customer side of the cashier counter 100. The cradle 300 is used to temporarily place a product that the customer intends to purchase or a customer's property.

  The controller 25 repeatedly executes the process shown in FIG. 5 when activated. The controller 25 may execute the process shown in FIG. 5 at regular time intervals, may start the process shown in FIG. 5 immediately after the process shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 5 may be started from a point in time when a predetermined time has elapsed after the process is temporarily ended. The controller 25 executes the processing shown in FIG. 5 in parallel for each of the two LCDs 21.

  In step Sa <b> 1, the controller 25 confirms whether or not there is a customer in front of the LCD 21 to be controlled based on the detection result of the detector 22 positioned below the LCD 21 to be controlled. If it is determined that there is a customer, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa1 to step Sa2.

  In step Sa2, the controller 25 checks whether or not the presence flag is off. Note that the presence flag is stored in, for example, an internal memory of the controller 25 and is realized as data that selectively represents two states of ON or OFF. The presence flag is reset to OFF at the time of initial setting after the controller 25 is activated. If it is determined that the presence flag is off, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa2 to step Sa3. That is, the controller 25 proceeds to step Sa3 when the customer is detected by the detector 22 with the presence flag being off.

  In step Sa3, the controller 25 turns on the customer presence flag. Thus, the presence flag is turned on in response to the customer being detected by the detector 22, and indicates whether or not the customer exists.

  In step Sa4, the controller 25 checks whether or not the operation mode is set to the first mode. As the operation mode, the first mode and the second mode can be selectively set. The controller 25 sets an operation mode according to an instruction from the user. The operation mode may be set individually for each of the two LCDs, or may be set commonly for the two LCDs. An instruction from the user regarding the operation mode may be received at the POS terminal 200, for example, or may be received at a POS system management terminal (not shown) including the POS terminal 200. Alternatively, an input device for receiving an instruction from the user regarding the operation mode may be provided in the register counter 100. If it is determined that the operation mode is set to the first mode, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa4 to step Sa5.

  In step Sa5, the controller 25 activates the LCD 21 to be controlled.

  If the LCD 21 has been activated in step Sa5, the controller 25 proceeds to step Sa6. If it is determined in step Sa4 that the operation mode is the second operation mode, the controller 25 proceeds to step Sa6 without performing step Sa5.

  In step Sa6, the controller 25 starts the first display control. The controller 25 executes the first display control as a task process different from the process shown in FIG. The first display control is a process for representing information specialized for the customer who is going to settle the display screen on the LCD 21 to be controlled. Specifically, for example, the controller 25 acquires, for example, data representing an image representing a purchased item from the POS terminal 200, and controls the LCD 21 to be controlled based on this data to display an image. And the controller 25 complete | finishes the process shown in FIG. 5 with this. If the second display control to be described later is being executed, the controller 25 ends the second display control prior to starting the first display control.

  If it is determined in step Sa1 that there is no customer, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa1 to step Sa7.

  In step Sa7, the controller 25 confirms whether the presence flag is on. If it is determined that the presence flag is on, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa7 to step Sa8. That is, the controller 25 proceeds to step Sa8 when the customer is no longer detected by the detector 22 with the presence flag being on.

  In step Sa8, the controller 25 turns off the presence flag.

  In step Sa9, the controller 25 checks whether or not the operation mode is set to the first mode. If it is determined that the operation mode is set to the first mode, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa9 to step Sa10.

  In step Sa10, the controller 25 stops the operation of the LCD 21 to be controlled.

  In step Sa11, the controller 25 ends the first display control. And the controller 25 complete | finishes the process shown in FIG. 5 with this.

  If it is determined that the operation mode is set to the second mode, the controller 25 proceeds from step Sa9 to step Sa12.

  In step Sa12, the controller 25 starts the second display control. The controller 25 executes the second display control as a task process different from the process shown in FIG. The second display control is a process for making the display screen on the LCD 21 to be controlled represent information for an unspecified customer. Specifically, for example, the controller 25 becomes a control target so that, for example, image data representing general advertisement information is acquired in advance and stored in the memory 24, and an image is displayed based on this data. The LCD 21 is controlled. And the controller 25 complete | finishes the process shown in FIG. 5 with this. If the first display control is being executed, the controller 25 ends the first display control prior to starting the second display control.

  By the way, if it is determined in step Sa2 that the customer flag is on, or if it is determined in step Sa7 that the customer flag is off, the controller 25 ends the processing of FIG. That is, if the customer presence state does not change when the process shown in FIG. 5 is executed last time, the controller 25 does not change the display control state of the LCD 21.

  As described above, according to the register counter 100, the LCD 21 is arranged with the display surface 21a being embedded in the main body 10 with the display surface 21a facing the customer. The display screen can be easily viewed. If the customer is standing in front of the LCD 21, the customer's body is obstructed and the other customers in the surrounding area cannot easily see the LCD 21. Thereby, even if information specialized for the customer who is going to pay is displayed on the LCD 21, there is a low possibility that the information will be seen by other nearby customers. That is, it is possible to present to the corresponding customer information specialized for the customer who is going to pay.

  Further, according to the cashier counter 100, since all of the display surface 21a is located inside and below the concave portion 11a, the top plate 11 allows the customer standing in front of the LCD 21 to see the display surface 21a with the top plate 11 for settlement. In the case where another customer wants to look into the LCD 21 from the side of the customer standing in front of the LCD 21 for settlement, at least a part of the display surface 21a of the LCD 21 is not covered. 11 is obstructed. In particular, in the register counter 100, the width W1 of the recess 11a and the width W2 of the display surface 21a are substantially equal to each other, and thus the above-described effects can be achieved efficiently.

  Further, according to the cashier counter 100, only when the customer standing in front of the LCD 21 is detected by the detector 22, information specialized for the customer who is going to pay is displayed on the LCD 21. Therefore, even if the customer who is going to pay is temporarily away from the front of the LCD 21, it is possible to prevent such information from being seen by another customer.

  Further, according to the cashier counter 100, when the customer standing in front of the LCD 21 is not detected by the detector 22, the operation of the LCD 21 is stopped and no display is performed, or information for an unspecified customer is displayed. Whether to display on the LCD 21 can be switched according to the user's request.

  This embodiment can be variously modified as follows.

  The LCD 21 may be only one or three or more. The detectors 22 and the interfaces 23 are usually provided in the same number as the LCD 21.

  In general, the customer who is going to check out stays at the same position in front of the cashier counter 100 while the processing for payment is being performed. Therefore, if information specific to the customer who is going to pay is displayed during the period when the processing for payment is performed at the POS terminal 200, the detection according to the detection state of the customer by the detector 22 is performed. Display control may be omitted.

  When the customer is not detected by the detector 22, only one of the operations in the first and second modes may be performed.

  The POS terminal 200 may not be placed on the cashier counter 100 but may be placed on a stand different from the cashier counter 100 and arranged in the vicinity of the cashier counter 100. Further, the cashier counter 100 may be arranged in the vicinity of a different kind of merchandise sales data processing apparatus such as a cash register. In addition, in the counter used in places other than the cash register corner of the store, if the customer stands in substantially the same position with respect to the counter, the effect of presenting information specialized for the customer to the corresponding customer is effective. Can be achieved.

  The top plate 11 may have a hole penetrating in the direction intersecting the placement surface instead of the recess 11a.

  The top plate 11 may be integrated with the support base 12.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.
The invention described in the scope of the original claims of the present application will be added below.
[1] A counter body including the top plate having a placement surface on which an article can be placed and having a recess recessed along the placement surface or a hole penetrating in a direction intersecting the placement surface; ,
And a display device that is held by the counter body in a state in which at least a part of the display surface is positioned below the recess or the hole, and the display surface is inclined with respect to the mounting surface.
[2] The counter according to [1], wherein all of the display surface is located inside and below the recess or the hole.
[3] The counter according to [1] or [2], wherein a width of the recess or the hole and a width of the display surface in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the display surface is inclined are substantially equal to each other.
[4] The display device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the display device displays an image related to an operation of a merchandise sales data processing apparatus installed in the vicinity of the counter or on the article placement surface. counter.
[5] a detector for detecting a human body located in a detection region defined in the vicinity of the display device;
The counter according to any one of [1] to [4], further comprising control means for controlling the display device so as not to display an image when the detector does not detect the human body.
[6] A detector that detects a human body located in a detection region defined in the vicinity of the display device;
[1] to [4], further comprising control means for controlling the display device to display different images depending on whether or not the detector detects the human body. The listed counter.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Register counter, 10 ... Main body, 11 ... Top plate, 11a ... Recessed part, 12 ... Supporting base, 12a ... Opening, 12b ... Inclined surface, 21 ... Liquid crystal display (LCD), 21a ... Display surface, 22 ... Detector , 23 ... interface, 24 ... memory, 25 ... controller, 26 ... bus, 200 ... POS terminal.

Claims (6)

A counter body including a top plate that have a hole penetrating in a direction crossing the recess or the mounting surface recessed along the mounting surface and having a can be placed mounting surface article,
A display device held by the counter body in a state in which at least a part of the display surface is positioned below the recess or the hole and the display surface is inclined with respect to the placement surface ;
A detector for detecting a human body located within a detection region defined in the vicinity of the display device;
Setting means for selectively setting the first and second modes in response to an instruction from the user;
When the detector detects the human body, the display device performs first display control, and the detector does not detect the human body and the first mode is set. Stops the display by the display device, and when the detector does not detect the human body and the second mode is set, the display device is different from the first display control. A counter comprising control means for performing second display control . Counter according to claim 1 in which all of the display surface is located inside and below the recess or the hole.   The counter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a width of the recess or the hole and a width of the display surface in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the display surface is inclined are substantially equal to each other.   The counter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first display control causes the display device to display an image representing information specialized for a customer who is going to pay. Images, according to claim 4 is an image related to the operation of the commodity sales data processing apparatus installed near or the placement surface of the counter indicating the information specifically for customers who are attempting the settlement counter. The second display control counter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 images representing information unspecified for customers is intended to be displayed on the display device.

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