JPH0827866B2 - Checkout device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a checkout device used in a large store such as a supermarket.

[Prior Art] With the conventional checkout device, when a customer brings a shopping cart containing unregistered products to the front side of the scanner, the operator takes out the unregistered products from the shopping basket and attaches them to the product. After the product code, that is, the bar code, is read by the scanner, it is stored in the empty shopping cart placed behind the scanner. After all the unregistered products have been registered, payment is made, and the empty shopping basket is placed behind the scanner in preparation for the next customer. The customer carries the shopping basket containing the registered merchandise to a bagging table, and performs bagging there.

However, in such a checkout apparatus, it is difficult for the operator to remove the products one by one from the shopping basket packed with a large number of unregistered products when reading the products A1). A2) Once the product has been taken out of the shopping basket, store it in order from the less fragile product in another shopping basket, especially if it is fragile. Must be able to operate quickly, A
3) There is a problem that an empty shopping basket must be located behind the scanner in preparation for the next customer.

For customers, B1) waiting time becomes long due to the above-mentioned problems of the operator, B2) heavy shopping basket containing registered merchandise must be carried to the bagging table after settlement, B3) bagging table In the above, there is a problem that it takes time to pack the registered products from the shopping basket and put them in the packaging bag in order from the one that is less likely to break to the bottom.

Therefore, as a device capable of solving both of these problems, the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-46591 is proposed.
This measures the reader that reads the barcode of the product read by the customer himself, the carry-in conveyor that carries in the product read by this reader, and measures the weight of the product placed on the carry-in conveyor. A measuring device, a carry-out conveyor provided continuously from the rear end of the carry-in conveyor, a bag filling portion provided at an end portion of the carry-out conveyor, and a customer who has completed bag filling at the bag filling portion pays off. And a settlement section that performs the settlement.

Therefore, when the customer arrives at the checkout position while sequentially inserting the products to be purchased into the shopping cart, the customer takes out the products one by one from the shopping cart,
After the barcode of the product is read by a reader, the barcode is placed on a carry-in conveyor.

Then, when the bar code of the product is correctly read by the reader, the weight data corresponding to the code read by the reader is read from the memory in which the weight data of the product is stored in advance for each product code. Also, when the weight of the goods placed on the carry-in conveyor is measured by the measuring device,
The weight data is compared with the weight data read from the memory.

Here, if the weight data of both the products match, it is considered that the product read by the reader and the product being conveyed are the same, and the conveyer and the conveyer are conveyed to the bagging unit by driving the conveyer. To go.

On the other hand, if the weight data does not match, the carry-in conveyor or the carry-out conveyor is returned to the reader by driving in the opposite direction. The customer causes the reader to read the merchandise returned to the reader again.

Therefore, if the bar code cannot be read by the reader (including the case where the customer directly places the product on the carry-in conveyor without reading the operation), or if the customer carries in a product different from the product read by the reader. When the product is placed on the conveyor, the product is returned to the reader, so that it is possible to prevent registration errors and customer fraud.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the case where the customer himself / herself reads and operates the bar code of the product, there are many cases where the bar code cannot be correctly read because the customer himself / herself is unfamiliar. In addition, the bar code may not be read correctly due to damage or dirt on the bar code label.

Under such circumstances, when attempting to register a product using a conventional device, the comparison result between the weight data of the product measured by the measuring device and the weight data read from the memory may not match. Likely to happen. Then, each time the product is returned to the reader, the reading operation of the next product cannot be performed during that time.

In addition, even if the reading operation is performed again, if the reading is not correctly performed, the operator in the settlement unit is called up to the reader, so that the operator cannot concentrate on the settlement work.

Here, an object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, to efficiently perform a reading operation of a product, and to easily add a product even if the carried-in product does not match the product at the time of reading. It is an object of the present invention to provide a checkout device that can be registered and can process two checkout lanes by one operator.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, in the present invention, the checkout lane is composed of two checkout lanes arranged on both sides of the checkout section, and each checkout lane includes a reading unit for reading a product code of a product, and The carrying-in means for carrying in the product, the checking means for checking whether or not the product carried in by the carrying-in means and the product whose product code is read by the reading means match, and the check result of the checking means. Accordingly, the distribution means for distributing the goods carried in by the carrying-in means in different directions, the carrying-out means for carrying out the goods distributed in one direction by the distribution means toward the settlement section, and the distribution means Stock means for stocking goods sorted in the other direction by the stock means, and the stock means of each of the checkout lanes is placed inside the transport means. It is arranged.

[Operation] In each checkout lane, when the customer reads the product code of the product by the reading means and then places it on the carry-in means, the product code read by the product and the reading means placed on the carry-in means It is checked whether or not the product matches. Here, when the collation results match, the sorting means sorts the products in one direction, and when they do not match, the products are sorted in the other direction. Then, the products sorted in one direction are carried out toward the settlement section by the carrying-out means. The goods sorted in the other direction are stocked in stock means.
Therefore, even if the collation results do not match, the reading operation of the next product can be continuously performed, so that the reading operation of the product can be efficiently performed.

Further, since the checkout lanes are arranged on both sides of the checkout section, the checkout work of each checkout lane can be processed by one operator located in the checkout section. Moreover, since the stocking means of each checkout lane is arranged inside the carrying-out means, that is, on the settlement section side, the operator located in the settlement section directly picks up the products stocked in the stocking means and performs additional registration. can do.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 is a plan view of the checkout device of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view. The checkout device includes two checkout lanes 2A and 2B arranged in parallel with each other on both sides of the settlement unit 1.

In the settlement section 1, a POS (point of sales) terminal 70 is arranged. The check-out lanes 2A and 2B are provided with reading units 10A and 10B and carry-in units 20A and 20B.
And distribution units 30A and 30B, unloading units 40A and 40B, stock units 50A and 50B as stock means, and bag filling units 60A and 60B.

The reading units 10A and 10B include scanners 11A and 11B and an operation panel 12 as reading means for reading a product code of a product.
A and 12B are provided respectively. Scanners 11A and 11B
The reading windows 13A, 13B are arranged substantially horizontally upward, and the reading windows 13A, 1B are provided.
While scanning the laser beam upward from 3B, the barcode is read by receiving the reflected light from the barcode surface of the commodity passing above the reading windows 13A and 13B. Further, on the operation panels 12A and 12B, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the indicators 14A and 14B, stat switches 15A and 15B and a stop switch 16 are provided.
A, 16B and call switch 17 for calling the operator
A and 17B are provided respectively.

The conveyors 20A, 20B are provided with carry-in conveyors 21A, 21B as carry-in means for carrying in the products read and operated by the scanners 11A, 11B toward the sorting units 30A, 30B. Weight scales 22A, 22B for measuring the weight of the products placed on the carry-in conveyors 21A, 21B are provided.

The distributors 30A, 30B have a plurality of first rollers for sending out products toward the carry-out sections 40A, 40B and a plurality of second rollers for sending out products for the stock sections 50A, 50B. Sorting conveyors 31A and 31B are provided as means. First sensors S1A, S1B are provided at the entrances of the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B to detect that the product has come off the carry-in conveyors 21A, 21B. In addition, at the outlet, the second sensors S2A, S2B for detecting that the goods are on the unloading sections 40A, 40B from the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B and the goods are sent from the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B to the stock section 50A. , 50B are respectively provided with third sensors S3A and S3B.

The carry-out section 40A, 40B is carried out as a carry-out means for carrying out the goods sorted in one direction by the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B to the bagging sections 60A, 60B through the side of the settlement section 1. Conveyors 41A and 41B are provided. In the middle of the unloading conveyors 41A and 41B, that is, in the vicinity of the settlement section 1, fourth sensors S4A and S4B for detecting the presence or absence of a product are provided.

The stock units 50A and 50B are provided with the sorting conveyors 31A and 31B.
It is for stocking products that have been distributed in the other direction, and is arranged inside and parallel to the carry-out conveyors 41A, 41B. Further, the stock units 50A and 50B are provided with stock conveyors 51A and 51B for sending the goods sorted in the other direction by the sorting conveyors 31A and 31B toward the front of the settlement unit 1. At the end of the stock conveyors 51A, 51B, the conveyors 41A, 41B for discharging the stocked goods on the boundary wall between the discharge conveyors 41A, 41B.
Gates 52A and 52B are provided for opening and closing the gates 52A and 52B, and guide the stocked products when the stock conveyors 51A and 51B are driven based on the opening of the gates 52A and 52B. Gate 52A, 52
Stopper walls 53A, 53B for feeding the B through B to the carry-out conveyors 41A, 41B are provided in an inclined shape.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the entire circuit configuration. In the figure, each component in each of the checkout lanes 2A, 2B, that is, the scanners 11A, 11B, the operation panel 12
A, 12B, loading conveyors 21A, 21B, weight scales 22A, 22B,
Sorting conveyors 31A, 31B, unloading conveyors 41A, 41B, stock conveyors 51A, 51B, gates 52A, 52B and sensors S1A, S1B
~ S4A and S4B are connected to the POS terminal 70. That is, it is controlled by the POS terminal 70.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a circuit configuration of the POS terminal 70. In the figure, 71 is a CPU. The CPU 71 has a ROM 7 that stores a program via the address / data bus 72.
3, RAM 74 for storing registration data, etc., keyboard controller 75, display controller 76, 79, 80, drawer controller 77, scanner interface 78, printer controller 81, 82 and checkout lanes 2A, 2B Interfaces 83 and 84 are respectively connected.

The RAM 74 is provided with a product data file 85 shown in FIG. 6 in addition to an area for storing registration data. In the product data file 85, the product name, unit price and weight of the product are set and stored in advance corresponding to the product code of the product handled in the shop.

The keyboard controller 75 has a keyboard 91 operated by an operator, the display controller 76 has an operator display 92, the drawer controller 77 has a drawer 93, and the scanner interface 78 has a bar code of a product. Touch scanner to read
94 are connected respectively. Further, the display controllers 79, 80 and the printer controllers 81, 82 are connected to customer display devices 95A, 95B and printers 96A, 96B provided for the respective checkout lanes 2A, 2B.

The CPU 71 controls each of the above-described components based on a program stored in the ROM 73. For example, when the scanners 11A and 11B read a barcode, after reading weight data corresponding to the read code from the product data file 85, the weight data is compared with the weight data measured by the weight scales 22A and 22B. Check whether the weight data matches. Here, the products loaded by the loading conveyors 21A and 21B and the scanner 11 are controlled by the CPU 71 and the ROM 73.
A check unit is configured to check whether or not the product code of A or 11B matches the read product. In addition, according to the collation result, the driving of the sorting conveyors 31A and 31B is controlled to sort the goods in different directions. The other details will be described in the operation.

 Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the customer, for example, comes to the position of the reading unit 10A while sequentially putting the products to be purchased into the shopping cart,
The operation is performed based on the operation method displayed on the display 14A of the operation panel 12A. First, press the start switch 15A. Then, the CPU 71 of the POS terminal 70 has the conveyors 21A, 31A,
After driving 41A, the display unit 14A displays "Please scan the product".

Based on this, the customer selects one product from the shopping cart.
Take out the barcode surface of the product one by one
After passing the goods through the reading window 13A, the goods are placed on the carry-in conveyor 21A. At this time, the CPU 71
When the 11A correctly reads the bar code, the weight data corresponding to the code read from the product data file 85 is read, and then this weight data and the weight data from the weight scale 22A (the customer places it on the carry-in conveyor 21A). Check whether or not it matches the weight data of the product. If the scanner 11A does not read the barcode correctly or the customer does not perform the reading operation, the product can be directly conveyed to the conveyor.
When placed on 21A, the weight data is not read from the product data file 85.

Here, if the weight data of both are in agreement,
When the goods on the carry-in conveyor 21A are on the sorting conveyor 31A, that is, when the first sensor S1A changes from on to off and the second and third sensors S2A and S3A are not on, The distribution conveyor 31A is controlled so that the goods on the distribution conveyor 31A are sent to the unloading conveyor 41A. When the goods are sent to the unloading conveyor 41A by the sorting conveyor 31A, the goods are unloaded to the bagging unit 60A while passing by the settlement unit 1 by the unloading conveyor 41A.

On the other hand, if the weight data of both do not match,
That is, when the scanner 11A cannot read the barcode correctly, when the customer directly places the product on the carry-in conveyor 21A without performing the reading operation, furthermore, when the customer
Conveyor 21A for loading a product different from the product read by
When placed on top, when the goods on the carry-in conveyor 21A are on the sorting conveyor 31A, the sorting conveyor 31A is controlled so that the goods on the sorting conveyor 31A are sent to the stock conveyor 51A side. I do.

When goods are sent to the stock conveyor 51A by the distribution conveyor 31A, the third sensor S3A is turned on. Then, the CPU 71 drives the stock conveyor 51A for a certain period of time (the time required for the product riding on the stock conveyor 51A to reach the stopper wall 53A). As a result, the products are sent and stocked between the stopper wall 53A and the gate 52A.

In addition, when the goods on the carry-in conveyor 21A reach the position of the first sensor S1A, if the goods are on the distribution conveyor 31A, the goods on the carry-in conveyor 21A are output until the goods on the distribution conveyor 31A come out. Stop driving.

After the reading operation of all the commodities is completed in this way, the customer presses the stop switch 16A. Then the CPU
71 stops the driving of the conveyors 21A, 31A, 41A. Thereafter, the customer proceeds to the settlement section 1. The operator in the settlement unit 1 performs settlement for the customer who has reached the settlement unit 1.

At this time, if the product is stocked in the stock section 50A, the operator directly takes out the stocked product and causes the touch scanner 94 to read the bar code of the product while confirming with the customer, and then the bag. Place it in the clogged part 50A. That is, additional registration is performed.

If a lot of products are stocked or if heavy products are stocked and it is difficult to take them out, the gate 52A is opened. Then, the CPU 71 drives the stock conveyor 51A and the carry-out conveyor 41A, and then, when the fourth sensor S4A is turned on, these conveyors 51A, 4A
Stop driving 1A. As a result, the commodities stocked in the stock section 50A are stopped when they arrive just beside the settlement section 1 after being sent from the stock conveyor 51A to the carry-out conveyor 41A. Therefore, the operator picks up the product just beside the settlement unit 1, causes the customer to read the bar code of the product with the touch scanner 94 while checking the product, and places it in the bagging unit 60A.

After completing the additional registration of all stocked products,
Perform payment. That is, the receipt of the registered product is issued from the printer 96A, passed to the customer, and exchange of money is performed. After the settlement, the customer goes to the bagging unit 60A and packs the product there.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the weight data corresponding to the product code read by the scanners 11A and 11B and the weight scales 22A and
22B is compared with the weight data measured, and if the weight data of both are the same, the product is carried out by conveyors 41A, 41
In addition to sending to B side, if the weight data of both does not match, the product is stocked in stock section 50A, 50B, so even if the weight data of both do not match, the next product read operation can be performed. Since it can be continuously performed, the reading operation can be efficiently performed.

In other words, if the barcode could not be read correctly because the customer's reading operation was unfamiliar, or if the barcode on the product was damaged or dirty and could not be read,
Since the reading operation of the next product can be performed continuously,
The reading operation can be performed efficiently.

Further, since the stock parts 50A and 50B are arranged inside the carry-out conveyors 41A and 41B, the products sent to the stock parts 50A and 50B are sent to the front of the settlement part 1 to be stocked. The operator in the settlement section 1 can directly take out the products in the stock sections 50A and 50B and additionally register them.

If many goods are stocked or heavy goods are stocked and it is difficult to take out, open the gates 52A and 52B and stock conveyors 51A and 5B.
The stock section 5 is driven by the drive of 1B and unloading conveyors 41A and 41B.
Since the commodities stocked in 0A and 50B are transported to the side of the settlement section 1, the operator can easily perform additional registration of those commodities while staying at the settlement section 1. At this time, the carry-out conveyors 41A, 4A of the checkout lanes 2A, 2B
Since the stock parts 50A and 50B are arranged inside 1B,
The goods sent from the stock units 50A, 50B to the unloading conveyors 41A, 41B pass through the settlement unit 1, and there is an advantage that the operator can easily pick up the goods from the unloading conveyors 41A, 41B and additionally register them.

Further, since the stock parts 50A and 50B are arranged inside each lane, the stocked unregistered products can be protected, so that a certain kind of fraud can be prevented.

Further, since the barcode of the product is read by the touch scanner 94 in the additional registration, the additional registration of the stocked product can be easily performed. If the barcode cannot be read by the touch scanner 94 due to damage or dirt, the keyboard 91 can be key-inputted.

Further, since the checkout lanes 2A and 2B are arranged on both sides of the settlement unit 1, the processing of two lanes can be performed by one operator who is arranged in the settlement unit 1. Therefore, the number of operators can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the stocked products in the stock units 50A, 50B are conveyed to the side of the settlement unit 1 by driving the stock conveyors 51A, 5B and the carry-out conveyors 41A, 41B. By arranging it closer to the settlement unit 1, the operator in the settlement unit 1 directly contacts the stock units 50A, 50
You can pick up the products stocked in B and register them additionally. Therefore, the gates 52A and 52B and the fourth sensors S4A and S4B can be eliminated.

Further, in the above embodiment, whether or not the products carried in by the carry-in conveyors 21A, 21B and the products read by the scanners 11A, 11B are matched, the weight data and the weight stored in advance for each product are compared. Although it was performed by comparing with the actual weight data measured by the scales 22A and 22B, the collation of whether or not they match each other is not limited to this. For example, the shape data of each product may be stored, the shape of the product on the carry-in conveyors 21A and 21B may be measured, and then the shape data may be compared with the stored shape data.

Further, in the above embodiment, the sorting of the goods by the sorting conveyors 31A and 31B is performed so that the sorting is performed right and left with respect to the loading direction of the loading conveyors 21A and 21B.
21A, 21B and the unloading conveyors 41A, 41B are arranged on a straight line, and if the collation results match, the goods are loaded into the infeed conveyors 21A, 21B,
While linearly conveyed along the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B and the unloading conveyors 41A, 41B, if the verification results do not match, the sorting conveyors 31A, 31B change the transportation direction of the goods to the stock conveyors 51A, 51B. It may be sent.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, in each checkout lane, it is checked whether or not the product carried in by the carrying-in means and the product read by the reading means are matched, and the matching is checked. According to the result, the goods are distributed to different directions, and in addition to the carry-out means for carrying out the goods distributed in one direction by this distribution to the settlement section, the stock means for stocking the goods distributed in the other direction is provided. Therefore, even if the two do not match, the reading operation of the next product can be continuously performed, so that the reading operation can be efficiently performed.

Further, since the checkout lanes are arranged on both sides of the checkout section, the checkout work of each checkout lane can be processed by one operator located in the checkout section. Moreover, since the stocking means of each checkout lane is arranged inside the carrying-out means, that is, on the settlement section side, the operator located in the settlement section directly picks up the products stocked in the stocking means and performs additional registration. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 3 is a view showing an operation panel, and FIG. 4 is an overall circuit configuration. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the POS terminal, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a product data file. 1 …… Payment department, 2A, 2B …… Checkout lane, 11A, 1
1B: Scanner (reading means), 21A, 21B ... Carry-in conveyor (carrying-in means), 31A, 31B ... Sorting conveyor (sorting means), 41A, 41B ... Carry-out conveyor (carrying-out means), 50A, 50B
…… Stock section (stock means), 71,73 …… CPU and
ROM (checking means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A check-out lane arranged on both sides of a checkout section, each check-out lane comprising a reading means for reading a product code of a product, a carrying-in means for carrying in the product, and a carrying-in means for carrying in the product. Checking means for checking whether or not the product carried in by the means matches the product whose product code is read by the reading means, and the carrying in means has been carried in by the carrying-in means according to the matching result of the checking means. Sorting means for sorting products in different directions, carrying-out means for carrying out the products sorted in one direction by the sorting means to the settlement section, and stocking products sorted in the other direction by the sorting means And a stocking means for storing the checkout lane, wherein the stocking means of each of the checkout lanes is arranged inside the transporting means. Winding device.