JP7790708B2 - Purchase possibility determination device, settlement device, product storage device, product sales outlet, purchase possibility determination method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a purchase eligibility determination device, a payment device, a product storage device, a product sales outlet, a purchase eligibility determination method, a program, and a recording medium.

Self-checkout systems are known in retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores, where customers can process payments themselves when they visit the store (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-153224

In retail stores, there are restrictions on the purchase and sale of some products, such as alcohol and tobacco. However, the sale of such products through self-checkouts is restricted by law, which means that customers cannot purchase these products through self-checkouts, which is inconvenient.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a purchase eligibility determination device that easily determines whether or not a product with purchase restrictions can be purchased.

In order to achieve the above object, the purchase eligibility determination device of the present invention comprises:
An authentication standard information acquisition unit, an identification information acquisition unit, an authentication unit, and a purchase eligibility determination unit,
the authentication standard information acquisition unit acquires authentication standard information;
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition unit acquires identification information of the person to be authenticated;
the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
If the authentication is successful, the purchase permission determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product.

The payment device of the present invention comprises:
The system includes a purchase availability determination unit, a purchase target product information acquisition unit, a purchase restriction product detection unit, and a payment unit,
the purchase eligibility determination unit is the purchase eligibility determination device of the present invention,
the purchase candidate information acquisition unit acquires purchase candidate information,
the purchase restriction product detection unit detects whether the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, the payment unit makes a payment for the purchase-scheduled product.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination unit determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased;
If the purchase permission determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product, the payment unit performs payment for the products to be purchased, including the purchase-restricted product.

The product storage device of the present invention comprises:
A purchase possibility determination unit and an unlock control unit are included,
the purchase eligibility determination unit is the purchase eligibility determination device of the present invention,
The unlocking control unit unlocks the product storage cabinet when the purchase permission determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is permitted to purchase the purchase-restricted product.

The product sales outlet of the present invention includes at least one device selected from the group consisting of the purchase eligibility determination device of the present invention, the payment device of the present invention, and the product storage device of the present invention.

The method for determining whether or not a purchase is possible according to the present invention includes the steps of:
It includes an authentication standard information acquisition step, an identification information acquisition step, an authentication step, and a purchase eligibility determination step.
The certification standard information acquisition step acquires certification standard information,
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition step acquires identification information of the person to be authenticated,
the authentication step authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
In the purchase permission determining step, if the authentication is successful, it is determined that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product.

The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a method for determining whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased, the method including a procedure for obtaining authentication reference information, a procedure for obtaining identification information, a procedure for authentication, and a procedure for determining whether or not a product can be purchased,
The authentication standard information acquisition step acquires authentication standard information,
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition step acquires identification information of a person to be authenticated;
the authentication step includes authenticating the person to be authenticated by matching identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase permission determination procedure is a program that determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the restricted product if the authentication is successful.

This invention makes it easy to determine whether or not a restricted item can be purchased.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a purchase eligibility determination device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the purchase eligibility determination device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the process of the purchase eligibility determination device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a settlement device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the settlement device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the settlement device. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a product storage device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a product storage device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the product storage device.

In the present invention, a "purchase-restricted product" is, for example, a product that can only be purchased by people who meet a specific attribute. The specific attribute is not particularly limited and may include, for example, age, gender, or occupation. Specific examples of purchase-restricted products include age-restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco, medicines or medical devices that can only be purchased by medical professionals, and prescription drugs. The purchase-restricted product may be, for example, a product whose purchase or sale is restricted by law or regulation, or a product that is subject to self-regulation by an industry association or the like. The prescription or instruction is, for example, a pharmaceutical product that is supplied for use by a physician or dentist, or for use pursuant to a prescription or instruction from such a physician or dentist. In the present invention, the prescription or instruction may be a prescription or instruction issued in a face-to-face consultation, or an online consultation.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In each of the following drawings, identical parts are designated by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the descriptions of each embodiment can be used interchangeably, and the configurations of each embodiment can be combined unless otherwise specified.

[Embodiment 1]
The purchase eligibility determination device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a purchase eligibility determination device 10 of this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the purchase eligibility determination device 10 (hereinafter also referred to as “the device 10”) includes an authentication reference information acquisition unit 11, an identification information acquisition unit 12, an authentication unit 13, and a purchase eligibility determination unit 14. Although not illustrated, the device 10 may also include, for example, a memory unit. Although not illustrated, the purchase eligibility determination device 10 may be connectable to an external database via a communication network. Furthermore, although not illustrated, the purchase eligibility determination device 10 may also be connectable to, for example, an external terminal of a system administrator via a communication network, and the system administrator may manage the purchase eligibility determination device 10 from the external terminal. Preferably, the purchase eligibility determination device 10 is, for example, a device incorporated into a payment device described later in embodiment 2 or a device capable of communicating with the payment device.

The device 10 may be, for example, a single device including each of the above-mentioned components, or a device in which each of the above-mentioned components can be connected via a communication network. The device 10 can also be connected to external devices (described later) via a communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited, and any known network can be used, and may be wired or wireless. Examples of communication networks include the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), telephone lines, LANs (Local Area Networks), SANs (Storage Area Networks), DTNs (Delay Tolerant Networking), LPWAs (Low Power Wide Area Networks), and L5Gs (Local 5G). Examples of wireless communication include Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), local 5G, and LPWA. The wireless communication may be in the form of direct communication between devices (ad hoc communication), infrastructure communication, or indirect communication via an access point. The device 10 may be incorporated into a server as a system. The device 10 may also be, for example, a personal computer (PC, e.g., desktop or laptop) on which the program of the present invention is installed, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. Furthermore, the device 10 may be in the form of cloud computing or edge computing, in which at least one of the components is located on a server and the other components are located on a terminal.

Figure 2 shows an example block diagram of the hardware configuration of the device 10. The device 10 includes, for example, a CPU 101, memory 102, a bus 103, a storage device 104, an input device 106, an output device 107, and a communication device 108. Each part of the device 10 is connected to each other via the bus 103 and their respective interfaces (I/F).

The CPU 101 operates in conjunction with other components, for example, via a controller (system controller, I/O controller, etc.), and is responsible for overall control of the device 10. In the device 10, the CPU 101 executes, for example, the program 105 of the present invention and other programs, and also reads and writes various types of information. Specifically, the CPU 101 functions, for example, as an authentication standard information acquisition unit 11, an identification information acquisition unit 12, an authentication unit 13, and a purchase eligibility determination unit 14. The device 10 includes a CPU as a computing device, but may also include other computing devices such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), or may include a combination of the CPU and these.

The bus 103 can also be connected to, for example, external devices. Examples of such external devices include a payment device, a product storage device, an external storage device (such as an external database), a printer, an external input device, an external display device, and an external imaging device. The device 10 can be connected to an external network (the communication line network) via, for example, a communication device 108 connected to the bus 103, and can also be connected to other devices via the external network.

The memory 102 may be, for example, a main memory (primary storage device). When the CPU 101 performs processing, the memory 102 reads various operating programs 105, such as the program of the present invention, stored in the storage device 104 described below, and the CPU 101 receives data from the memory 102 and executes the program. The main memory may be, for example, a RAM (random access memory). The memory 102 may also be, for example, a ROM (read only memory).

The storage device 104 is also referred to as an auxiliary storage device, in contrast to the main memory (primary storage device). As mentioned above, the storage device 104 stores an operating program 105 including the program of the present invention. The storage device 104 may be, for example, a combination of a recording medium and a drive that reads and writes from and to the recording medium. The recording medium is not particularly limited and may be internal or external, and examples include HD (hard disk), CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, MO, DVD, flash memory, and memory card. The storage device 104 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) that integrates a recording medium and a drive. If the device 10 includes, for example, the storage unit, the storage device 104 functions as the storage unit. If the device 10 includes the storage unit, for example, the storage unit may store various pieces of information acquired or generated by the device.

In the device 10, the memory 102 and storage device 104 can also store various information such as log information, information obtained from an external database (not shown) or external device, information generated by the device 10, and information used by the device 10 when executing processing. Note that at least some of the information may be stored, for example, on an external server other than the memory 102 and storage device 104, or may be stored in a distributed manner across multiple terminals using blockchain technology, etc.

The device 10 further includes, for example, an input device 106 and an output device 107. Examples of the input device 106 include pointing devices such as a touch panel, track pad, or mouse; a keyboard; imaging means such as a camera or scanner; card readers such as IC card readers or magnetic card readers; and audio input means such as a microphone. Examples of the output device 107 include display devices such as LED displays or liquid crystal displays; audio output devices such as speakers; and a printer. In this embodiment 1, the input device 106 and the output device 107 are configured separately, but the input device 106 and the output device 107 may also be configured as an integrated device, such as a touch panel display.

Next, an example of the purchase eligibility determination method of this embodiment will be described based on the flowchart in Figure 3. The purchase eligibility determination method of this embodiment is implemented as follows, for example, using the purchase eligibility determination device 10 shown in Figure 1 or 2. Note that the purchase eligibility determination method of this embodiment is not limited to use with the purchase eligibility determination device 10 shown in Figure 1 or 2.

First, prior to processing by the device 10, for example, the user's personal identification information is linked to attribute information regarding the purchase eligibility of a purchase-restricted product as authentication reference information. The personal identification information is information that can uniquely identify the individual user, and may be, for example, biometric information or non-biometric information. The biometric information is not particularly limited, and various types of information used in known biometric authentication can be used. Specific examples include facial information such as facial features; iris information; ocular vascular information; audio information such as voiceprints; fingerprint information; palm print information; vein information such as finger veins; ear acoustic information; auricle information; genetic information; behavioral biometric information such as handwriting, keyboard keystrokes, blinking, and gait. The non-biometric information is not particularly limited, and examples include identification numbers such as email addresses, telephone numbers, My Numbers, IDs, passwords, and device-specific information of the user's device (device serial numbers, device identification numbers such as International Mobile Equipment Identifiers). The attribute information regarding whether or not the purchase-restricted product can be purchased can be set appropriately depending on the type of purchase-restricted product, and may include, for example, the user's age, gender, occupation, disease status, and prescription information from a doctor or dentist (for example, electronically entered information from a paper prescription, or electronic prescription information). The authentication criteria information may be stored, for example, in the storage device 104 of the device 10, in a database or server external to the device, or recorded on an authentication medium described below; however, from the perspective of privacy protection, it is preferable that it be recorded on an authentication medium.

Examples of the authentication medium include cards or terminals that display an identification symbol such as a one-dimensional code or two-dimensional code; and information recording media that use contactless communication technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication) (e.g., NFC tags, FeliCa (registered trademark) tags, etc.). The two-dimensional code is not particularly limited and may be, for example, a stack type or a matrix type. Specific examples of the identification symbol include one-dimensional codes such as barcodes; and two-dimensional codes such as QR Code (registered trademark), CP Code, Data Matrix, MaxiCode, VeriCode, Semacode, AztecCode, PDF417 (registered trademark), UCC/EAN Composite, and Chameleon Code (registered trademark), with QR Code (registered trademark) being preferred. If the authentication standard information is recorded on the authentication medium, for example, an authentication medium containing the authentication standard information can be created by generating an authentication medium (for example, a card with a QR code (registered trademark) printed on it or an NFC tag) on which the personal identification information and attribute information related to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased are recorded.

The authentication criteria information may be linked to other information, for example. Examples of such other information include user ID, address, name, date of birth, etc.

The authentication reference information acquisition unit 11 of the device 10 acquires the authentication reference information (S1, authentication reference information acquisition step). The authentication reference information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the authentication reference information from a database or server that stores the authentication reference information, for example, via a communication network. Alternatively, the authentication reference information acquisition unit 11 may acquire the authentication reference information by acquiring read information obtained by reading an authentication medium containing the authentication reference information and extracting the authentication reference information from the read information. In the latter case, the read information can be acquired by, for example, reading the authentication medium using an authentication medium reader connected to the bus 103 of the device 10. The reader is not particularly limited, and a reader appropriate for the type of authentication medium can be used. Specific examples of the reader include a QR Code (registered trademark) reader and an NFC reader. The authentication reference information acquisition unit 11 can acquire the authentication reference information by, for example, acquiring read information obtained by reading the authentication medium using the reader and extracting the authentication reference information from the read information.

Next, the identification information acquisition unit 12 acquires the identification information of the person to be authenticated (S2, identification information acquisition step). The identification information is, for example, information that can uniquely identify an individual, and any information corresponding to the personal identification information can be acquired. The identification information acquisition unit 12 acquires the identification information of the person to be authenticated, for example, by acquiring various information using an appropriate input means depending on the type of identification information. As a specific example, if the identification information is facial information, it can be acquired using an imaging means such as a camera. If the identification information is audio information, it can be acquired using an audio input means such as a microphone. If the identification information is the phone number of the person to be authenticated's terminal, it can be acquired, for example, by having the person to be authenticated's terminal make a call to an authentication phone number specified by the device 10. The identification information acquisition unit 12 may acquire information, for example, from the various input means, or from a storage device in which information acquired by the various input means is recorded. The identification information may be acquired directly or indirectly, for example. An example of the direct acquisition is when the purchase eligibility determination device 10 directly acquires the identification information of the person to be authenticated using an input device 106 (e.g., an imaging device such as a camera, an audio input device such as a microphone, etc.) connected to the bus 103. An example of the indirect acquisition is when the identification information of the person to be authenticated is indirectly acquired via an agent of the person to be authenticated.

The authentication unit 13 authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the identification information of the person to be authenticated with the personal identification information included in the authentication reference information (S3, authentication process). The authentication unit 13 can, for example, authenticate the person to be authenticated using an appropriate authentication method depending on the personal identification information and the identification information of the person to be authenticated. The authentication method may be, for example, biometric authentication or non-biometric authentication. Examples of biometric authentication include face authentication; iris authentication; eyeball vascular authentication; voice authentication; fingerprint authentication; palm print authentication; vein authentication; ear acoustic authentication; ear authentication; genetic authentication; behavioral biometric authentication; etc. Examples of non-biometric authentication include incoming call authentication using a telephone number. The authentication unit 13, for example, performs a one-to-one comparison of the identification information of the person to be authenticated with the personal identification information included in the authentication reference information to determine whether the person to be authenticated and the person identified by the personal identification information in the authentication reference information are the same person. If the identification information of the person to be authenticated matches the personal identification information (S3, Yes), the authentication unit 13 certifies that the person to be authenticated and the person identified by the personal identification information in the authentication reference information are the same person, i.e., that the person to be authenticated is the person identified by the personal identification information included in the authentication reference information. For example, if the device 10 authenticates that the person to be authenticated is the person identified by the personal identification information included in the authentication reference information, it proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the identification information of the person to be authenticated does not match the personal identification information (S3, No), the authentication unit 13 determines that the person to be authenticated and the person identified by the personal identification information in the authentication reference information are not the same person, i.e., does not authenticate the person to be authenticated. Information on the authentication result by the authentication unit 13 is also referred to, for example, as an authentication log.

The authentication unit 13 may further perform biometrics determination, for example. The biometrics determination is, for example, a step of determining whether the identification information of the person to be authenticated acquired in S2 is information based on a living organism, and known biometrics determination methods may be used as appropriate depending on the type of identification information acquired. Specific examples include, if the identification information is facial information, methods such as blink detection, tilting the face in a specified order, or changing facial expressions.

If the authentication is successful (S3, YES), the purchase eligibility determination unit 14 determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product (S4, purchase eligibility determination step), and ends the process (END). For example, if the authentication fails (S3, No), the purchase eligibility determination unit 14 ends the process (END). Note that the present invention is not limited to this; for example, if the authentication fails (S3, No), the process may return to one of steps S1 to S3 and repeat the process.

In the purchase eligibility determination method of this embodiment, steps S1 to S4 are executed sequentially, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, in the present invention, steps S1 and S2 may be executed upstream of step S3, and steps S1 and S2 may be executed simultaneously or separately. In the latter case, the order of execution is not particularly limited and is arbitrary.

The purchase eligibility determination device of this embodiment can easily determine whether the person to be authenticated can purchase a purchase-restricted item, i.e., whether the person to be authenticated is eligible to purchase a purchase-restricted item. Furthermore, the purchase eligibility determination device of this embodiment authenticates the person to be authenticated by using an authentication unit to match the identification information of the person to be authenticated with the personal identification information contained in the authentication standard information. This can prevent, for example, fraudulent purchases by persons who are not eligible to purchase purchase-restricted items (e.g., minors in the sale of alcoholic beverages, non-medical professionals in the sale of controlled medical devices, persons without prescriptions in the prescription and sale of medical drugs, etc.).

[Embodiment 2]
The second embodiment is an example of a payment device of the present invention.

The payment device of this embodiment will be described using FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the payment device of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4(A), the payment device 20 of this embodiment includes, for example, a purchase eligibility determination unit 10, a purchase-scheduled product information acquisition unit 21, a purchase-restricted product detection unit 22, and a payment unit 23. The purchase eligibility determination unit 10 is, for example, similar to the purchase eligibility determination device 10 of embodiment 1, and the description therefor can be used. In the following description, the term "purchase eligibility determination unit" can be read as, for example, "purchase eligibility determination device." Furthermore, although not shown, the payment device 20 may include, for example, a memory unit.

The payment device 20 may be, for example, a single device including the above-mentioned components, or a device in which the components can be connected via a communication network. The payment device 20 may also be connectable to an external device (described later) via the communication network. The communication network may be, for example, as described above. The payment device 20 may also be incorporated into a server as a system. It is preferable that the payment device 20 is, for example, a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, particularly a POS device at an unmanned sales outlet. The payment device 20 may also be, for example, a personal computer (PC, e.g., desktop or laptop) on which the program of the present invention is installed, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. Furthermore, the payment device 20 may be, for example, a form of cloud computing or edge computing in which at least one of the components is located on a server and the other components are located on a terminal. As a specific example, as shown in FIG. 4(B), a payment system 100 may be configured in which a POS device 20 including a purchase restricted product detection unit 21, a purchase restricted product detection unit 22, and a payment unit 23 is connected to the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 of the first embodiment via a communication network 30.

In the payment device of embodiment 2, for example, the intended purchase product information acquisition unit 21 acquires intended purchase product information, the purchase-restricted product detection unit 22 detects whether the intended purchase product information includes a purchase-restricted product, and the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 determines whether the intended purchase product is eligible to be purchased if the intended purchase product information includes a purchase-restricted product.

Figure 5 shows an example block diagram of the hardware configuration of the payment device 20. As shown in Figure 5, the payment device 20 includes, for example, a CPU 201, memory 202, bus 203, storage device 204, input device 206, output device 207, and communication device 208. The explanation of each component of the payment device 20 can be made using the explanation of each component of the purchase eligibility determination device 10. Each component of the payment device 20 is connected via the bus 203 and its respective interface (I/F). In the payment device 20, the CPU 201 functions as a purchase candidate product information acquisition unit 21, a purchase restriction product detection unit 22, and a payment unit 23. In the payment device 20 shown in Figure 5, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 (purchase eligibility determination device 10) is connected to the bus 203, for example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the payment device 20, for example, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 may be connected via the communication network 30 by the communication device 208, or a program for executing each process of the purchase eligibility determination method of the first embodiment may be stored in the storage device 204 or memory 202, and the CPU 201 may read and execute the program, causing the CPU 201 to function as the purchase eligibility determination unit 10.

Next, an example of the payment method of this embodiment will be described based on the flowchart in Figure 6. The purchase eligibility determination method of this embodiment is implemented as follows, for example, using the payment device 20 of Figures 4 and 5. Note that the payment method of this embodiment is not limited to use of the payment device 20 of Figures 4 and 5.

First, the intended purchase product information acquisition unit 21 of the payment device 20 acquires intended purchase product information (S21, intended purchase product information acquisition process). Specifically, for example, the intended purchase product information acquisition unit 21 can read the intended purchase product identification information using a reader connected to the payment device 20 and acquire the intended purchase product information based on the intended purchase product identification information. Examples of the intended purchase product identification information include product identification codes such as JAN codes, EAN codes, UPC codes, ITF (Interleaved Two of Five), CODE 39, Code 128, and NW-7; image information on the product packaging; etc. The appropriate reader can be selected, for example, depending on the intended purchase product identification information. In the payment device 20, the reader may read the product information, for example, by the user themselves or by an administrator of the payment device 20 (e.g., a store clerk). However, a self-checkout system in which the user can perform the process themselves is preferred. There are no particular limitations on how the purchase candidate information acquisition unit 21 acquires the purchase candidate information, and various methods used in publicly known payment devices can be used, for example.

Next, the purchase-restricted product detection unit 22 of the payment device 20 detects whether the intended purchase product information includes a purchase-restricted product (S22, purchase-restricted product detection step). Specifically, the purchase-restricted product detection unit 22 identifies each product included in the intended purchase product information, for example, based on the product identification information attached to each product included in the intended purchase product information, and determines whether the identified product is linked to purchase restriction information as product attribute information. The purchase-restricted product detection unit 22 can then detect whether a purchase-restricted product is included by extracting products whose attribute information is linked to purchase restriction information. The product attribute information includes, for example, product name, price, purchase restriction information, etc. The link between the product identification information and the product attribute information may be stored, for example, as a product master file in the storage device 204 or memory 202 of the payment device 20, or may be stored in a database external to the device.

If the intended purchase product information does not include a purchase-restricted product (S22, No), the payment unit 23 performs payment for the intended purchase products (S23). Specifically, the payment unit 23 can, for example, obtain price information for the intended purchase products based on the product attribute information of the intended purchase products identified based on the product identification information, and perform payment by settling the price for each product. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the payment unit 23 can obtain price information for the intended purchase products based on the product attribute information of the intended purchase products identified based on the product identification information, transmit the price information for the intended purchase products to a payment server external to the device via communication network 30, and obtain a payment result from the payment server, thereby performing payment for the intended purchase products. Note that the payment process is not particularly limited, and various methods used in well-known payment devices can be used, for example.

If the purchase-restricted product information is included in the purchase-requested product information (S22, Yes), the purchase permission determination unit 10 performs steps S1 to S4 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. At this time, the payment device 20 may also output guidance information. The guidance information may be, for example, information to prompt the authentication target person to perform authentication, and specifically, information to inform the authentication target person of the location of a reading device for the authentication reference information. The guidance information may be output, for example, to the output device 207 of the payment device 20, or may be output from a reading device such as a QR Code (registered trademark) reader connected to the payment device 20. The output of the guidance information is not particularly limited and may be, for example, audio output, information display, or a combination of both. Specifically, when the guidance information is displayed on the output device 207, text information such as "Age verification is required. Please hold your card over the QR code reader for facial authentication" may be output to the output device 207 of the payment device 20. At this time, for example, audio information may also be output from the output device 207. The audio information is not particularly limited and may be, for example, information in which the text information is read aloud, or a notification sound indicating that the guidance information has been output. Specific examples of outputting the guidance information from the reading device include illuminating a light-emitting unit provided in the reading device or emitting a sound from a speaker. Note that the output of the guidance information may be a combination of multiple methods. Then, if it is determined in S4 that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the restricted purchase item, the payment unit 23 makes payment for the intended purchase item (S23). Also, as shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, if the person to be authenticated cannot be authenticated in S3 (S3, No), for example, the process may return to S21 and repeat the process from S21.

If the purchase-restricted product information includes a purchase-restricted product (S22, Yes), the payment device 20 may, for example, wait for a predetermined time after S22 to input information. In this case, for example, if at least one of the authentication standard information and the identification information of the person to be authenticated cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (i.e., if a timeout occurs), the payment device 20 may return to process S21 and repeat the process from S21. The predetermined time is not particularly limited and can be set arbitrarily, but specific examples include 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, and 5 minutes. Furthermore, if process S21 is returned to in this way, information such as "Age verification failed. Please start over from the beginning" may be output to the output device 207 of the payment device 20.

In the payment method of this embodiment, an example has been described in which S21, S22, S1 to S4, and S23 are executed sequentially, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, in the present invention, S1 and S2 may be executed upstream of S3, and S1 and S2 may be executed simultaneously with S21 and S22, for example, or separately. In the latter case, the order of execution is not particularly limited and is arbitrary.

Furthermore, in the payment method of this embodiment, the identification information of the person to be authenticated is obtained after the user has scanned the product with the payment device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if an imaging device such as a camera is installed at the entrance of a sales outlet (store) where the payment device of the present invention is installed, a facial image of the person to be authenticated may be captured when the person to be authenticated enters the store, and the facial image may be used as the identification information of the person to be authenticated.

According to the payment device of this embodiment, when a purchase-restricted item is included in the items to be purchased, it is possible to easily determine whether the person to be authenticated is eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted item. Furthermore, the payment device of this embodiment authenticates the person to be authenticated by using an authentication unit to compare the identification information of the person to be authenticated with the personal identification information included in the authentication standard information. This can prevent, for example, impersonation purchases by persons who are not eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted item (e.g., minors in the case of alcoholic beverages). Therefore, the payment device of this embodiment can be suitably used, for example, when selling purchase-restricted items such as alcoholic beverages at unmanned vending machines.
[Embodiment 3]
The third embodiment is an example of use of the payment device 20 of the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which, for example, at an unmanned vending machine where the payment device 20 of the present invention is installed, a user (store patron) holds a card (hereinafter also referred to as a "license") on which a QR code (registered trademark) recording the authentication standard information is printed as the authentication medium, and purchases alcoholic beverages, which are age-restricted products, as the purchase-restricted product. As mentioned above, in the payment method of the present invention, the authentication medium is not limited to printed matter on which a QR code (registered trademark) is printed, and the purchase-restricted product is not limited to alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, in the following examples, the payment device 20 of the present invention is described as a POS terminal connected to a barcode reader, and the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 is described as a tablet terminal equipped with a camera connected to a QR code (registered trademark), but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

First, before visiting the unmanned vending machine, the user goes to a license issuing venue operated by the unmanned vending machine's management organization, for example, and presents identification such as a driver's license to the management organization to prove that they are 20 years of age or older, i.e., are eligible to purchase alcohol. The management organization then checks the user's face and the photo on the license to verify their identity and confirm that they are 20 years of age or older. Once the user's identity and age have been verified, the management organization captures a facial image of the user, analyzes the facial image to obtain the user's facial features (identification information), generates a QR code (registered trademark) recording the facial features and the user's age, and issues a card (license) with the QR code (registered trademark) printed on it. Note that a QR code (registered trademark) recording user identification information (e.g., a user ID) linked to the user's age information or date of birth information may also be generated instead of the user's age.

Next, at an unmanned vending machine equipped with a payment device 20 of the present invention, the user scans the barcode of a product containing alcoholic beverages using a barcode reader connected to the payment device 20. The payment device 20 acquires the user's intended purchase product information based on the barcode scanned by the user using the intended purchase product information acquisition unit 21, and detects alcoholic beverages from the intended purchase product information using the purchase-restricted product detection unit 22. The payment device 20 then displays a message on its output device 207 as the guidance information, prompting the user to perform authentication, and causes the light-emitting unit of the QR code (registered trademark) reader connected to the payment device 20 to emit light. Examples of such messages include, "There are products that require age verification. Please hold your permit over the QR code reader for facial authentication."

When prompted to authenticate, the user scans the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit using the QR code (registered trademark) reader and captures an image of their face using the camera on the tablet device (purchase eligibility determination unit 10).

The QR code (registered trademark) reader generates read information by reading the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit and transmits the read information to the payment device 20. The purchase eligibility determination unit 10 then authenticates the user by comparing the authentication standard information extracted from the read information with the facial image and determines whether the user can purchase the purchase-restricted item. If the user is successfully authenticated, the payment device 20 determines that the user is eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted item and performs payment processing. In this way, the payment device 20 of the present invention can determine whether a user is eligible to purchase a purchase-restricted item, i.e., whether the user can purchase the purchase-restricted item.

[Modification 1]
In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which a user (store patron) possesses a card (hereinafter also referred to as a "license") on which a QR code (registered trademark) recording the authentication reference information is printed as the authentication medium at an unmanned vending machine equipped with the payment device 20 of the present invention, and purchases an age-restricted alcoholic beverage as the purchase-restricted product. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may also be configured such that an agent of the user possesses the license instead of the user himself/herself, whose identification information is recorded on the license, and the agent purchases the purchase-restricted product on behalf of the user. As a modified example, a specific example will be described below in which an agent possessing a card (license) on which a QR code (registered trademark) recording the user's identification number (telephone number) linked to the user's age, instead of the facial features, is printed, and purchases the purchase-restricted product on behalf of the user.

First, at the permit issuing venue, the user is issued a card (permit) on which a QR code (registered trademark) is printed, which records the user's identification number (telephone number) linked to the user's age, instead of the facial features, as the user's identification information. The user then lends the permit to the user's proxy. At an unmanned vending machine where the payment device 20 of the present invention is installed, the proxy scans barcodes of products including alcoholic beverages using a barcode reader connected to the payment device 20. The payment device 20 acquires the proxy's intended purchase information based on the barcode scanned by the proxy using the intended purchase information acquisition unit 21, detects alcoholic beverages from the intended purchase information using the purchase restriction product detection unit 22, and outputs the prompting information in the same manner as described above to prompt the proxy to authenticate.

When prompted to authenticate, the agent scans the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit using the QR code (registered trademark) reader. The QR code (registered trademark) reader generates read information by reading the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit and transmits the read information to the payment device 20.

The authentication standard information acquisition unit 11 of the purchase eligibility determination unit (purchase eligibility determination device) 10 of the payment device 20 extracts the identification number (telephone number) information from the read information as the authentication standard information. When the identification number (telephone number) is extracted, the identification information acquisition unit 12 of the purchase eligibility determination device 10 outputs identification information acquisition information to, for example, its output device 107. The identification information acquisition information is, for example, telephone number information to be used for incoming call authentication. At this time, the payment device 20 may also display, for example, information such as "Age verification is required. Please call the telephone number displayed on the tablet terminal to perform incoming call authentication" on the output device 207 as the guidance information.

For example, the agent contacts the user to be authenticated with the phone number in the identification information acquisition information, and the user to be authenticated calls the phone number specified in the identification information acquisition information from a terminal having the phone number recorded on the permit. The identification information acquisition unit 12 then acquires, for example, the phone number received at the phone number specified in the identification information acquisition information as the identification information of the person to be authenticated. The authentication unit 13 then authenticates the user by comparing the authentication standard information (phone number) extracted from the read information with the phone number and determines whether the user can purchase the purchase-restricted item. If the user is authenticated, the payment device 20 performs payment processing, assuming that the agent is an agent of a user who is eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted item.

In this way, the payment device 20 of the present invention can easily determine whether the person to be authenticated can purchase a purchase-restricted item, even if the purchase is made by a proxy. Therefore, even if the person to be authenticated does not visit the store in person, the payment device 20 of the present invention authenticates the person to be authenticated by matching the identification information of the person to be authenticated with the personal identification information contained in the authentication standard information. This can prevent, for example, impersonation purchases by persons who are not eligible to purchase purchase-restricted items (e.g., minors in the sale of alcoholic beverages, non-medical professionals in the sale of controlled medical devices, persons without prescriptions in the prescription and sale of medical drugs, etc.).

[Embodiment 4]
The fourth embodiment is an example of a product storage device of the present invention.

The product storage device of this embodiment will be described using Figure 7. Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product storage device of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the product storage device 40 of this embodiment includes, for example, a purchase eligibility determination unit 10 and an unlocking control unit 41. The purchase eligibility determination unit 10 is similar to, for example, the purchase eligibility determination device 10 of embodiment 1, and the description thereof can be used. Therefore, in the following description, the term "purchase eligibility determination unit" can be read as, for example, a "purchase eligibility determination device." Furthermore, although not shown, the product storage device 40 may include, for example, a memory unit.

The product storage device 40 may be, for example, a single device including each of the above-mentioned units, or a device in which each of the above-mentioned units can be connected via a communication network. Furthermore, the product storage device 40 may be connectable to an external device, for example, via the communication network 30. An example of the external device is a product storage cabinet 42. The unlock control unit 41 of the product storage device 40 may, for example, control the locking state of the product storage cabinet 42. The product storage device 40 may, for example, be incorporated into a server as a system. For example, the product storage device 40 may be connected to the bus of the control device of the product storage cabinet 42 and configured as the control device of the product storage cabinet 42. Furthermore, the product storage device 40 may, for example, be a personal computer (PC, for example, a desktop or laptop) on which the program of the present invention is installed, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc. Furthermore, the product storage device 40 may, for example, be in the form of cloud computing or edge computing, in which at least one of the above-mentioned units is located on a server and the other units are located on a terminal.

Product storage cabinet 42 is, for example, a storage cabinet for storing purchase-restricted products, and there are no particular restrictions on its other configuration as long as it is a product storage cabinet whose locking state can be controlled. As a specific example, product storage cabinet 42 may include, for example, an exterior unit, a lockable door unit, a product display unit, a temperature adjustment unit, a humidity adjustment unit, and a control unit capable of controlling each of these units.

Figure 8 shows an example block diagram of the hardware configuration of the product storage device 40. As shown in Figure 8, the product storage device 40 includes, for example, a CPU 401, memory 402, bus 403, storage device 404, input device 406, output device 407, and communication device 408. The explanation of each component of the product storage device 40 can be made using the explanation of each component of the purchase eligibility determination device 10. Each component of the product storage device 40 is connected via the bus 403 through its respective interface (I/F). In the product storage device 40, the CPU 401 functions as the unlock control unit 41. In the product storage device 40 shown in Figure 8, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 (purchase eligibility determination device 10) is shown connected to the bus 403, for example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the product storage device 40, for example, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 may be connected via the communication network 30 by, for example, a communication device 408, or a program for executing each process of the purchase eligibility determination method of embodiment 1 may be stored in the storage device 404 or memory 402, and the CPU 401 may read and execute the program, causing the CPU 401 to function as the purchase eligibility determination unit 10.

Next, an example of a product storage method of this embodiment will be described based on the flowchart in Figure 9. The product storage method of this embodiment is implemented, for example, as follows using the product storage device 40 of Figures 7 and 8. Note that the product storage method of this embodiment is not limited to use of the product storage device 40 of Figures 7 and 8. In the following explanation, an example will be given in which alcohol, an age-restricted product, is stored in a product storage cabinet 42 incorporating the product storage device 40, and a user whose age has been authenticated by the product storage device 40 removes the alcohol, but the present invention is in no way limited to the following example.

First, prior to processing by the product storage device 40, the purchase-restricted product is stored (displayed) in a lockable product storage cabinet 42, and the door is locked. The door of the product storage cabinet 42 may be provided with, for example, a biometric information acquisition unit and a code reader. Examples of the biometric information acquisition unit include an imaging device such as a camera capable of capturing facial images, iris images, etc., and sensors such as a fingerprint sensor and palm print sensor. Examples of the code reader include a QR Code (registered trademark) reader capable of reading the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit.

Next, steps S1 to S4 are carried out in the same manner as steps S1 to S4 in embodiment 1 (purchase eligibility determination process). Specifically, for example, first, the user has a QR code (registered trademark) reader installed near the door of the product storage cabinet 42 read the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit. The QR code (registered trademark) reader generates read information by reading the QR code (registered trademark) on the permit and transmits the read information to the product storage device 40. Next, the user captures a facial image or other image using the biometric information acquisition unit installed on the door of the product storage cabinet 42 and transmits it to the product storage device 40. The product storage device 40 authenticates the user by comparing the authentication standard information extracted from the read information with the biometric information and determines whether the user can purchase the restricted purchase item.

The unlocking control unit 41 then unlocks the product storage cabinet when, for example, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 determines that the authenticated person is eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted product (S41, unlocking control process). According to the product storage device 40 of this embodiment, for example, the locked state of the product storage cabinet 42 in which the purchase-restricted product is stored can be unlocked depending on whether the user is eligible to purchase. Therefore, according to the product storage device 40 of this embodiment, only those eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted product (e.g., adults in the case of alcohol sales) can open the product storage cabinet 42, and those not eligible to purchase the purchase-restricted product (e.g., minors in the case of alcohol sales) cannot open the product storage cabinet 42. Therefore, the product storage device 40 of this embodiment can be suitably used, for example, when displaying purchase-restricted products such as alcohol at unmanned sales outlets, etc.

The unlocking control unit 41 may further unlock the product storage unit 42 if it is determined that the person to be authenticated is the manager of the product storage unit 42. The manager determination may be performed, for example, by the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 of the product storage device 40, or by providing a separate manager authentication unit. The manager determination may be performed, for example, by linking the manager's personal identification information and manager attribute information in advance as the authentication standard information. Specifically, the purchase eligibility determination unit 10 or the manager authentication unit may, for example, acquire the manager's personal identification information and the authentication target's identification information, and verify whether the person to be authenticated is the manager by comparing the manager's personal identification information with the authentication target's identification information. The acquisition of the manager's personal identification information, the acquisition of the authentication target's identification information, and authentication of the manager may be performed in the same manner as in steps S1 to S3 of embodiment 1, except that the manager's personal identification information is acquired instead of the authentication standard information, and the manager's personal identification information is compared with the authentication target's identification information.

In the product storage method of this embodiment, steps S1 to S4 and S41 are executed sequentially, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, in the present invention, steps S1 and S2 may be executed upstream of step S3, and steps S1 and S2 may be executed simultaneously or separately. In the latter case, the order of execution is not particularly limited and is arbitrary.

[Embodiment 5]
The fifth embodiment is an example of a sales outlet of the present invention.

The sales outlet of the present invention is characterized by including, for example, at least one device selected from the group consisting of the purchase eligibility determination device, payment device, and product storage device of the present invention, with no other configuration or conditions being limited. Because the sales outlet of the present invention includes at least one device selected from the group consisting of the purchase eligibility determination device, payment device, and product storage device of the present invention, it is possible to determine, for example, whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be sold. The sales outlet may take the form of, for example, a store or a vending machine. It is preferable that the sales outlet of the present invention is, for example, an unmanned sales outlet.

The store may be, for example, a store (a so-called convenience store) located within a facility such as an apartment building, office building, station, factory, university, or hospital, and preferably allows customers to pay for and purchase products without the need for a store clerk. The store may be, for example, an unmanned store with no clerk on-site, or a manned store.

The sales outlet of this embodiment may have an imaging device such as a surveillance camera installed at the entrance. In this case, for example, a purchase eligibility determination device, payment device, or product storage device within the sales outlet may acquire a facial image of the customer captured by the surveillance camera as identification information of the person to be authenticated.

The method for determining whether a purchase-restricted product can be purchased, the payment method, and the product storage method at a sales outlet of the present invention are similar to, for example, the descriptions of the purchase eligibility determination device, payment device, and product storage device of the present invention, and the descriptions therein can be used.

[Embodiment 6]
The first program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the aforementioned purchase eligibility determination method. Specifically, the program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute the purchase eligibility determination method for a purchase-restricted product, including an authentication reference information acquisition procedure, an identification information acquisition procedure, an authentication procedure, and a purchase eligibility determination procedure.

The authentication standard information acquisition step acquires authentication standard information,
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition step acquires identification information of a person to be authenticated;
the authentication step includes authenticating the person to be authenticated by matching identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
In the purchase permission determination step, if the authentication is successful, it is determined that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product.

The first program of this embodiment can also be described as a program that causes a computer to function as an authentication standard information acquisition procedure, an identification information acquisition procedure, an authentication procedure, and a purchase eligibility determination procedure.

The first program of this embodiment can use the descriptions of the purchase eligibility determination device and purchase eligibility determination method of the present invention. For each of the steps, for example, "step" can be read as "processing." The program of this embodiment may also be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The recording medium is not particularly limited, and examples include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk (HD), optical disk, and floppy disk (FD).

[Embodiment 7]
The second program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the payment method described above. Specifically, the program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute a purchase eligibility determination procedure, a procedure for obtaining information about a product to be purchased, a procedure for detecting a product with a purchase restriction, and a payment procedure.

the purchase availability determination procedure is executed by the first program,
The step of acquiring information on a product to be purchased includes acquiring information on a product to be purchased,
The purchase restriction product detection step detects whether or not the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, payment for the purchase-scheduled product is made according to the payment procedure.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination step determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased;
If it is determined in the purchase permission determination step that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product, payment for the intended purchase products including the purchase-restricted product is made in the payment step.

The second program of this embodiment can also be described as a program that causes a computer to function as a purchase eligibility determination procedure, a procedure for obtaining information about products to be purchased, a procedure for detecting products with purchase restrictions, and a payment procedure.

The second program of this embodiment can use the descriptions in the payment device and payment method of the present invention. For each of the steps, for example, "step" can be read as "processing." The program of this embodiment may also be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The recording medium is not particularly limited, and examples include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk (HD), optical disk, and floppy disk (FD).

[Embodiment 8]
The third program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the above-described product storage method. Specifically, the program of this embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute the product storage method, including a purchase eligibility determination procedure and an unlocking control procedure.

the purchase availability determination procedure is executed by the first program,
The unlocking control procedure unlocks the product storage cabinet when the purchase permission determination procedure determines that the person to be authenticated is permitted to purchase the purchase-restricted product.

The third program of this embodiment can also be described as a program that causes a computer to function as a purchase eligibility determination procedure and an unlocking control procedure.

The third program of this embodiment can use the descriptions in the product storage device and product storage method of the present invention. For each of the steps, for example, "step" can be read as "processing." The program of this embodiment may also be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The recording medium is not particularly limited, and examples include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk (HD), optical disk, and floppy disk (FD).

The present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that would be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

<Additional Notes>
Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
(Appendix 1)
An authentication standard information acquisition unit, an identification information acquisition unit, an authentication unit, and a purchase eligibility determination unit,
the authentication standard information acquisition unit acquires authentication standard information;
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition unit acquires identification information of the person to be authenticated;
the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product if the authentication is successful.
(Appendix 2)
2. The purchase eligibility determination device according to claim 1, wherein the authentication standard information acquisition unit acquires read information obtained by reading an authentication medium including the authentication standard information, and extracts the authentication standard information from the read information.
(Appendix 3)
the personal identification information is biometric information,
the identification information acquisition unit acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated;
3. The purchase eligibility determination device according to claim 1, wherein the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing biometric information of the person to be authenticated with biometric information included in the authentication reference information.
(Appendix 4)
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition unit acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject,
3. The purchase eligibility determination device according to claim 1, wherein the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the authentication target identification number with the identification number included in the authentication standard information.
(Appendix 5)
The system includes a purchase availability determination unit, a purchase target product information acquisition unit, a purchase restriction product detection unit, and a payment unit,
the purchase eligibility determination unit is a purchase eligibility determination device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4,
the purchase candidate information acquisition unit acquires purchase candidate information,
the purchase restriction product detection unit detects whether the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, the payment unit makes a payment for the purchase-scheduled product.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination unit determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased;
When the purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase a purchase-restricted product, the payment unit performs payment for the products to be purchased, including the purchase-restricted product.
(Appendix 6)
A purchase possibility determination unit and an unlock control unit are included,
the purchase eligibility determination unit is a purchase eligibility determination device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4,
The unlocking control unit unlocks the product storage cabinet when the purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product.
(Appendix 7)
A merchandise store including at least one selected from the group consisting of a purchase eligibility determination device described in any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, a payment device described in Supplementary Note 5, and a merchandise storage device described in Supplementary Note 6.
(Appendix 8)
A product sales outlet as described in Appendix 7, which is an unmanned sales outlet.
(Appendix 9)
It includes an authentication standard information acquisition step, an identification information acquisition step, an authentication step, and a purchase eligibility determination step.
The certification standard information acquisition step acquires certification standard information,
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition step acquires identification information of the person to be authenticated,
the authentication step authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product if the authentication is successful.
(Appendix 10)
10. The purchase eligibility determination method according to claim 9, wherein the authentication standard information acquisition step acquires read information obtained by reading an authentication medium containing the authentication standard information, and extracts the authentication standard information from the read information.
(Appendix 11)
the personal identification information is biometric information,
the identification information acquisition step acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated,
11. The purchase eligibility determination method according to claim 9, wherein the authentication step authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing biometric information of the person to be authenticated with biometric information included in the authentication reference information.
(Appendix 12)
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition step acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject;
11. The purchase eligibility determination method according to claim 9, wherein the authentication step authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the authentication target identification number with the identification number included in the authentication standard information.
(Appendix 13)
The method includes a purchase permission determination step, a purchase target product information acquisition step, a purchase restriction product detection step, and a payment step.
The purchase eligibility determination step is a purchase eligibility determination method according to any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 12,
The purchase candidate product information acquisition step acquires purchase candidate product information,
The purchase restriction product detection step detects whether or not the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, payment for the purchase-scheduled product is made in the payment step.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination step determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased,
If the purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted item, the payment step performs payment for the items to be purchased, including the purchase-restricted item.
(Appendix 14)
The method includes a purchase permission determination step and an unlock control step,
The purchase eligibility determination step is a purchase eligibility determination method according to any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 12,
The unlocking control step unlocks the product storage cabinet when the purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product.
(Appendix 15)
A program for causing a computer to execute a method for determining whether a product can be purchased with a purchase restriction, the method including a procedure for obtaining authentication standard information, a procedure for obtaining identification information, a procedure for authenticating, and a procedure for determining whether a product can be purchased,
The authentication standard information acquisition step acquires authentication standard information,
The authentication standard information is information in which personal identification information is linked to attribute information relating to whether or not a purchase-restricted product can be purchased,
the identification information acquisition step acquires identification information of a person to be authenticated;
the authentication step includes authenticating the person to be authenticated by matching identification information of the person to be authenticated with personal identification information included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the restricted item if the authentication is successful.
(Appendix 16)
16. The program according to claim 15, wherein the authentication reference information acquisition step acquires read information obtained by reading an authentication medium including the authentication reference information, and extracts the authentication reference information from the read information.
(Appendix 17)
the personal identification information is biometric information,
the identification information acquisition step acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated;
17. The program according to claim 15, wherein the authentication procedure authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing biometric information of the person to be authenticated with biometric information included in the authentication reference information.
(Appendix 18)
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition step acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject;
17. The program according to claim 15, wherein the authentication procedure authenticates the person to be authenticated by matching the authentication target identification number with the identification number included in the authentication standard information.
(Appendix 19)
A program for causing a computer to execute a purchase permission determination procedure, a purchase target product information acquisition procedure, a purchase restriction product detection procedure, and a payment procedure,
The purchase possibility determination procedure is executed by a program described in any one of Supplementary Notes 15 to 18,
The step of acquiring information on a product to be purchased includes acquiring information on a product to be purchased,
The purchase restriction product detection step detects whether or not the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, payment for the purchase-scheduled product is made according to the payment procedure.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination step determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased;
and if it is determined in the purchase eligibility determination procedure that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted item, making payment for the items to be purchased, including the purchase-restricted item, in the payment procedure.
(Appendix 20)
A program for causing a computer to execute a product storage method including a purchase eligibility determination procedure and an unlocking control procedure,
The purchase possibility determination procedure is executed by a program described in any one of Supplementary Notes 15 to 17,
The unlocking control procedure is a program for unlocking the product storage cabinet when the purchase eligibility determination procedure determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product.
(Appendix 21)
A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon the program according to any one of appendices 15 to 20.

This invention makes it easy to determine whether a person is eligible to purchase a restricted item. Therefore, this invention is useful in fields such as retail and wholesale that sell items with purchase restrictions.

10 Purchase eligibility determination device 11 Authentication standard information acquisition unit 12 Identification information acquisition unit 13 Authentication unit 14 Purchase eligibility determination unit 101, 201, 401 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
102, 202, 402 Memory 103, 203, 402 Bus 104, 204, 404 Storage device 105, 205, 405 Program 106, 206, 406 Input device 107, 207, 407 Output device 20 Settlement device 21 Purchase-scheduled product information acquisition unit 22 Purchase-restricted product detection unit 23 Settlement unit 30 Communication network 40 Product storage device 41 Unlocking control unit 42 Product storage

Claims (10)

An authentication standard information acquisition unit, an identification information acquisition unit, an authentication unit, and a purchase eligibility determination unit,
the authentication standard information acquisition unit acquires authentication standard information;
The authentication standard information is information issued to a qualified purchaser who has attribute information that allows the purchase of a purchase-restricted product, and includes information linking personal identification information with the attribute information,
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition unit acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject,
the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing an identification number of the person to be authenticated with an identification number included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the purchase-restricted product if the authentication is successful. The purchase eligibility determination device described in claim 1, wherein the authentication standard information acquisition unit acquires read information obtained by reading an authentication medium containing the authentication standard information, and extracts the authentication standard information from the read information. 3. The purchase eligibility determination device according to claim 1, wherein the identification number is a telephone number. The identification information acquisition unit
outputting the identification information acquisition information as the identification information acquisition information;
The identification information acquisition information includes an authentication telephone number to be used for incoming call authentication,
When a call is made to the authentication telephone number, the telephone number that made the call to the authentication telephone number is acquired as the authentication subject identification number;
4. The purchase eligibility determination device according to claim 3, wherein the authentication unit authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing the person to be authenticated identification number with an identification number included in the authentication standard information. The system includes a purchase availability determination unit, a purchase target product information acquisition unit, a purchase restriction product detection unit, and a payment unit,
The purchase eligibility determination unit is a purchase eligibility determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
the purchase candidate information acquisition unit acquires purchase candidate information,
the purchase restriction product detection unit detects whether the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restriction product;
If the purchase-restricted product is not included in the purchase-scheduled product information, the payment unit makes a payment for the purchase -scheduled product.
When the purchase intention product information includes a purchase restricted product, the purchase possibility determination unit determines whether the purchase restricted product can be purchased;
When the purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase a purchase-restricted product, the payment unit performs payment for the products to be purchased, including the purchase-restricted product. A purchase possibility determination unit and an unlock control unit are included,
The purchase eligibility determination unit is a purchase eligibility determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The unlocking control unit unlocks the product storage cabinet when the purchase eligibility determination unit determines that the person to be authenticated is able to purchase the purchase-restricted product. A merchandise store including at least one selected from the group consisting of the purchase eligibility determination device described in any one of claims 1 to 4, the payment device described in claim 5, and the merchandise storage device described in claim 6. It includes an authentication standard information acquisition step, an identification information acquisition step, an authentication step, and a purchase eligibility determination step.
The certification standard information acquisition step acquires certification standard information,
The authentication standard information is information issued to a qualified purchaser who has attribute information that allows the purchase of a purchase-restricted product, and includes information linking personal identification information with the attribute information,
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition step acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject;
the authentication step authenticates the person to be authenticated by comparing an identification number of the person to be authenticated with an identification number included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is permitted to purchase the purchase-restricted product if the authentication is successful, in a method for determining whether or not the purchase-restricted product can be purchased, wherein each step is executed by a computer . A program for causing a computer to execute a method for determining whether a product can be purchased with a purchase restriction, the method including a procedure for obtaining authentication standard information, a procedure for obtaining identification information, a procedure for authenticating, and a procedure for determining whether a product can be purchased,
The authentication standard information acquisition step acquires authentication standard information,
The authentication standard information is information issued to a qualified purchaser who has attribute information that allows the purchase of a purchase-restricted product, and includes information linking personal identification information with the attribute information,
the personal identification information is an identification number,
the identification information acquisition step acquires an authentication subject identification number of the authentication subject;
the authentication step includes authenticating the person to be authenticated by matching an identification number of the person to be authenticated with an identification number included in the authentication reference information;
The purchase eligibility determination step determines that the person to be authenticated is allowed to purchase the restricted item if the authentication is successful. A computer-readable recording medium having the program described in claim 9 recorded thereon.