NL2003082C2

NL2003082C2 - Cash register system and method of operating a cash register system.

Info

Publication number: NL2003082C2
Application number: NL2003082A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Dirk Leonard Benschop; Henderik Reinout Benschop; Sander Ewout Sciarone
Original assignee: Hollandse Exploitatie Mij B V
Priority date: 2008-12-30
Filing date: 2009-06-25
Publication date: 2010-07-01
Also published as: FIU20090458U0; FI8882U1; DK200900212U1; FR2940706A3; IT1397525B1; DK200900212U3; FR2940706B3; DE202009017608U1; BE1019237A3; ITMI20092336A1

Description

r NL13343-Lg/td 1 i 5

Cash register system and method of operating a cash register | t system j Ü j FIELD OF THE INVENTION j

The invention relates a cash register system and method j 5 of operating a cash register system. In particular, the inven- | tion relates to age verification in relation to the purchase of j 5 age-restricted items at such a cash register system. j BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION | i

Nowadays, items as tobacco and alcoholic beverages receive increased attention as to their free availability for the 10 under-aged. Instances of selling age-restricted goods to underage individuals often result from careless employee j· verifications of a consumer's age before the consumer purchases (· age-restricted goods. Commonly, employees who are supposed to be j i verifying a consumer's age will not even ask for the consumer's ·; 15 identification, and in systems that prompt employees to enter j the consumer's birth date, employees often enter a fictitious birth date. In systems that prompt employees to verify the age of a customer, employees can simple overrule the prompt and thus contribute to unauthorised sale to minors. Such careless age 20 verification may go unnoticed by a store manager or owner.

On the other hand, government authorities are increasingly willing to enforce fines and license suspension penalties on establishments that sell age-restricted goods to underage individuals. If authorities catch an employee selling age- 1 25 restricted products to underage consumers, the manager or owner is often held responsible for the employee's actions and may even have their license to sell age-restricted goods revoked as a result of their employee's careless behaviour.

US 2002/087413 describes a vending machine including a 30 video camera for transmitting an image of a buyer to a remotely located human operator, a document reader for transmitting an image of identification document(s) to the remotely located human in control of the vending machine, and a user interface which gives the appearance that the machine is autonomous even ! i 2 f

I I

though the operator's approval is required prior to vending an age-restricted item. The machine also includes a payment acceptor and a dispensing apparatus.

The method of operating the prior art vending machine 5 provides a considerable burden to users of this machine.

There exists a need in the art to provide a cash register system, i.e. a payment system, for payment of age-restricted items.

10 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION j

, I

A cash register system comprising an age verification j.

system configured for verifying the age of a person for purchasing an age—restricted item is disclosed in claim 1, I

Furthermore, a computer-implemented method of operating 1 15 a cash register system for payment of an age-restricted item by j a person is disclosed in claim 13. \

The person image can be captured quickly and only re- · quires the person under consideration to expose him- or herself ! to the video camera, i.e. the burden is very low. In the major- j 20 ity of cases, it can be verified from the person image whether j r the age of the person is such that purchase of the age- j restricted item is allowed. The cash register device is only re- j leased for payment of this item, if the authorization signal is j ! received from the remote age verification centre, i.e. the bur- 25 den is also low for the cashiers since they have no involvement in the age verification process and are not in control of releasing the cash register device. Finally, the burden is also low for shop owners, since the age-restricted items do not need to be contained in a vending machine but can be made available 30 in a traditional off-shelf manner in the shop. Moreover, the age-restricted items can be bought using self-service cash registers without requiring involvement of employees while still providing an appropriate check as to the age of the person buying the item. Consequently, a system and method are provided 35 that enable quick age verification in combination with appropriate but secure selling of age-restricted items. The age verification process can already be triggered before an age- 4 i ! t i \ l t \ i 3 i j restricted item is recognized. This is advantageous since, espe- j daily in large shops, such as supermarkets, it is of critical j importance that delays are minimized in order to avoid queues at I· ï the cash register. j 5 It should be appreciated that, in some cases, the au- j ! thorization signal and the release signal coincide, i.e. the [ (positive) authorization signal is sufficient to allow payment j if of the age-restricted item. !

The age verification may comprise two separate process 10 phases.

In a first phase, an image is captured of the person by a video camera. This image is sent to an age verification centre within a vprv short time interval. Dossiblv a second or less. I

J ..... J . I

This process phase involves only a low burden and is convenient I

15 for the person involved. He or she only has to expose j.

him/herself to the video camera. If it can be determined that \ the age of the person is undoubtfully appropriate for purchasing \ the age-restricted item(s), the authorization signal is received | and the cash register device is released to allow payment for ) 20 the age-restricted item. [ i

Only if the age cannot be determined accurately by using the video camera, a second process phase may be required.

This second phase involves the reading of an identification document of the person whose age could not be verified in the 25 first phase. The image of the identification document should preferably comprise a picture of the legitimate holder of the document. This process phase is typically more time-consuming, and thus less convenient, than the first process phase. However, j this phase can often be omitted, since the video image often al- ! 30 lows determination whether or not a person should be allowed to purchase the item. The image of the identification document, or a sample thereof, is sent to the age verification centre. Moreover, the person image is obtained again, either from a database (or other means of storage) or from a second image by the video 35 camera in order to verify if the person image and document image are associated with the same person. If this is true and it can be determined that age of the person in question is appropriate j ί j j i 1- 4 ! jj for purchasing the age-restricted item, the authorization signal is received and the cash register device is released to allow payment for the age-restricted item in accordance with the embodiments of claims 2 an 14. Alternatively or in addition, 5 person characteristics can be used for further analysing the age l of the person under consideration, as defined in claims 12 and j 24. ί

The embodiments of claims 3 and 15 enable the person ; image and the document image to be captured and transmitted both 10 to the age verification centre at once in the beginning of the j age verification process. This is particularly efficient for persons in between the age of 16-30 that have a reasonable chance of being required to present an identification document before an authorization signal is given.

15 The initiation of the age verification process can be \ triggered in a variety of ways in advance of recognizing an age- j restricted item, as defined in claims 5, 6, 16 and 17. The em- j bodiments enable age verification as soon as a signal from the j cash register device for releasing the age verification system j ί 20 and/or an approval signal of the customer approving age verifi- j cation are detected. The signal from the cash register device j i may be initiated e.g. by scanning of a (first) item (not neces- j sarily an age-restricted item) or a last item from a preceding j customer at the cash register device or by a manually initiated [ i 25 signal (triggered e.g. by a cashier operating a "next customer" ( i means) . j·

The embodiments of claims 7 and 18 enable the age veri- j fication centre to control use of the age verification system by j only enabling the age verification system (in particular by ena- { 30 bling user input to approve capturing of the person image) \ during operation of the cash register device.

Often, age-restricted items are classified as to the age that is required to purchase the item. For example, certain items may require an age of 16, while others require an age of 35 18. The embodiments of claims 8, 9, 19 and 20 allow the age verification centre to provide age classification information and, therefore, make sure that a single age verification is suf- 5 ! 5.

ficient for a plurality of items having different age-restrictions. The age-classification information relates to the maximum age class for which the person is allowed to purchase items. For example, the age verification centre may, after hav-5 ing received the person image and, possibly, the document image, provide an authentication signal indicating that the person un- j der verification qualifies for the class age-16 items. If this person tries to purchase age-16 and age-18 items, the single au- j thentication signal is sufficient to allow payment of the age- ; 10 16 item, while payment is not allowed for the age-18 items. For items or groups of items, information regarding maximum age or age classification is stored, e.g. at the cash register system.

This information can be used to comoare with the aae classifies- i. ^

tion information from the age verification centre in order to I

15 select items or groups of items that may and/or may not be pur- f chased. j

The embodiments of claims 10, 11, 21 and 22 enable the j cashier to collect the not-allowed items at an early stage. j A system comprising a cash register system and an age | 20 verification centre is also disclosed.

It should be appreciated that the video camera and the document reader may be a single device, possibly with different settings adapted to the image to be made. The document reader may also be a scanner or a similar device.

25 It should also be appreciated that the image of the identification document may preferably contain an image of the legitimate holder of the identification document. The image of j the identification document may comprise a complete image of j (one or more pages of) the identification document, a part of j 30 the identification document and/or information derived from the * identification document.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings : 35 FIGS. 1 provides a schematic illustration of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; § i j ! 6 ! a i FIG. 2 provides a schematic illustration of a cash reg- j ister system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; j FIG. 3 provides a flow chart of a method of operating [ the cash register system of FIG. 2; and 5 FIGS. 4Δ and 4B provide a schematic illustration of a system and a timing diagram of operating the system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS j i 10 FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a system com- j t prising cash register systems IA, IB, 1C and an age verification j

centre 2, hereinafter also referred to as verification centre. I

ί

The cash register systems 1Ά, IB, 1C may comprise cash desk de- !.

vices operated by a cashier or self-service cash desk devices. | 15 The cash register systems IA, IB, 1C are connected to the remote f.

age verification centre 2 via a network 3. The network 3 may \ comprise a wired network and/or a wireless network. |

The cash register systems 1A-1C are located in a shop f S, e.g. a supermarket. Shop S sells a plurality of goods j ) 20 (items), amongst which are age-restricted items, such as to- j bacco, alcoholic beverages, adult magazines, weapons etc. The | i cash desk systems 1A-1C are for payment of items of the shop S. j

The verification centre 2 comprises a controller 5 and ( a plurality of display units 6. The display units 6 are config- j ί 25 ured to display images received from the cash register systems 1A-1C to human beings in order to verify the age of potential purchasers of age-restricted items. The images include a person image of a potential purchaser and/or an image of (a part of) an identification document.

30 Controller 5 distributes the received images amongst j the display units 6. The controller 5 may execute a round robin [ distribution process for efficient distribution of the images. j

In case more images are received than can be handled by the dis- j play units 5, the controller 5 is configured to manage a waiting I· 35 queue of images. The controller 5 is also configured for providing, in the first verification phase, a person image of a j potential purchaser to a first display unit 6 and, for the sub- f § !· i Ί 7 ! sequent second verification phase, the person image and the j document image on a second display unit 6, different from the { first display unit. f

The verification centre 2 also comprises a database 7. | 5 The database 7 may store the received images and other data re- j ceived from the cash register systems 1A-1C for future use. The j l images can be retrieved from the database 7 when desired. Infor- j mation from the database can be used for sales transaction j information for shop owners and allows authorities to check the 10 transactions regarding age-restricted items. Furthermore, the database information may be used for statistical analysis.

FIG. 2 provides a schematic illustration of a cash register system 1Ά as shown in FIG. 1= The self-service cash register system 1A comprises a bar code reader 10, an age veri- 15 fication button 11 and an age verification system 12. j.

The age verification system 12 of the cash register j system 1A comprises a video camera 13 for capturing a live image [ of a person in front of the camera (a person image) and a docu- j ment reader 14 (which also comprises a video camera in the j 20 present embodiment) configured for reading an identification j document (a document image) of that person. Identification documents include, but are not limited to, passports, identity cards, drivers licences etc. Preferably, the identification documents comprise a picture of the owner of the identification 25 document in combination with information of the age of the owner. However, the documents may alternatively comprise information from which the age of the owner can be derived, e.g. at the age verification centre 2. The age of the owner may e.g. be derived from information already stored in the database 7 or by 30 making a connection to an external system from which the age of the owner of the identification document can be derived using the information of the document.

Other options than a document reader 14 are also envisaged, including fingerprint identification devices, iris 35 scanners and flashcard readers. The information from such devices may be used to determine the accurate age of the person, possibly in combination with information from an external system

S

.......j ί s i 8 i or from the database 7 storing matches between iris scans, finger prints, flash card identities and the age of the associated person, possibly in combination with an earlier picture.

The age verification system 12 further comprises a dis- 5 play 15. The display 15 allows to inform potential purchasers j i that their image, and/or an image of an identification document i may be required before an item can be purchased. This information may be mandatory to comply with privacy provisions in some areas. Furthermore, the display 15 may guide potential purchas- j 10 ers through the age verification process. The display 15 may be j a touch screen comprising (soft) keys 16 for entering instruc- j tions to the age verification system 12. The keys 16 may also be f , . i buttons with dedicated functions.

It should be appreciated that the video camera 13 and j 15 the document reader 14 are not necessarily integral parts of the ]' }- age verification system 12. j

The age verification system 12 comprises a controller j 17 for issuing a release signal for the cash register system 1A. [

To that end, the controller 17 uses one or more of the following j f

20 functional modules of the age verification system 12. It should I

be appreciated that the functions of the modules may be largely j implemented as software code portions of one or more computer | programs executed by the controller 17, which may be an ordinary computer processor in combination with one or more storage means 25 in a manner known as such to the skilled person.

It should be appreciated however, that the controller 17 may also be configured for receiving instructions and commands from the verification centre 2, in particular the controller 5. As an example, controller 5 of verification centre [ 30 2 may issue a release signal to release the cash register system 1A in order to allow payment for the age-restricted item, i.e. the authorization signal and the release signal coincide.

The age verification system 12 comprises a connection = module 18 configured for connecting to the remote age verifica- j 35 tion centre 2 to transmit the person image and/or the document : image to the verification centre 2. The connection module 18 may also receive commands/signals from the verification centre 2, in

: I

9 particular an authorization signal and an identification request signal. The authorization signal may include the release signal to release the cash register system 1A to allow payment for the age-restricted item.

5 The controller 17 is configured for transmitting a re lease signal to a processor 19 of the cash register system 1A in order to release the cash register system 1A and to allow payment for the product Q.

In order to avoid undesired capturing of person images 10 by video camera 13, the cash register system 1A comprises an approval module 20, that may be operated using age verification button 11 and/or keys 16, configured for instructing the video camera 13 to capture the person image.

An embodiment of the operation of the system of FIG. 1 15 and the cash register system 1A of FIG. 2 will now be described with reference to FIG. 3. It will be assumed that a person, aged j 22, enters the shop S and desires to purchase an age-restricted j item Q. The age restriction for this item Q is 21. The person [ intends to purchase the age-restricted item (possibly in combi- j j 20 nation with other, non age-restricted, items). The person scans ! the age-restricted item using the bar code reader 10 of the cash j

register system 1A. Alternatively, the person may operate button I

11 in order to approve and start the age verification process [ via approval module 20. The bar code reader 10 or the button 11 25 may command the controller 17 to initiate the age verification procedure.

It should be noted that, when cash register system 1A j ί

would not be a self-service system, another alternative includes I

a cashier scanning the bar code of the age-restricted item using 30 bsr cods rsuder 10 or employing the button 11. In thut cusef the person to be verified may approve the age-verification using keys 16 and approval module 20.

After identifying the item Q, the display 15 may inform the person of the required age verification procedure. As men-35 tioned, the person may then, in step 30, first operate the ' button 11 for approval and to trigger the age verification process by activating the video camera 13. It should be noted that ίο |· i the age verification process according to an embodiment of the invention may be triggered differently, as will be explained in further detail for a cashier-operated system with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

5 The video camera 11 captures a live image of the person in step 31 and transmits the person image to the remote age verification centre 2, using connection module 18 (step 32).

The controller 5 distributes the received person image j

to one of the available display units 6. A human operator esti- I

10 mates from the person image on the display 6 whether the j purchaser has the required age for purchase of the selected item j- (step 33). The human operator is in doubt and believes that a \ further verification phase of the age is required (step 34). To f

that end, an identification request signal for an identification 15 document is transmitted from the verification centre 2 and received at the cash register system 1A (step 35). I

The display 15 instructs the person to provide an iden- ) tification document. The document reader 14 is then activated. j

The person exposes an identification document to the document j j'

20 reader 14. An image of the identification document is transmit- I

ted from the age verification system 12 to the verification i.

centre 2 in step 36. Moreover, video camera 13 captures another I

image of the person and also transmits this person image to the j verification centre 2 in step 36. It should be noted, however, j.

Ï-' 25 that alternatively, the person image obtained in step 32 is used again. In the latter case, the person image is e.g. retrieved j from the database 7 using an entry key assigned in step 32. j i

The controller 5 of the verification centre 2 provides I

the image of the document to an available display unit 6 (which j 30 is not necessarily the same display unit 6 used for the first j age verification phase) in combination with the person image (also received in step 36 or obtained from database 7). The human operator is now able to conclude from the identification document image and the person image that the person is the le- j· 35 gitimate holder of the identification document and that this person has reached the age of 22 and that, consequently, he is allowed to purchase the item (step 37). An authorization signal I 1 ; ! J ί 11 ! is then transmitted from the verification centre 2 and is re- j .! 1 •j ceived at the age verification system 12 in step 38. Controller ί

i I

17 may now release the cash register system 1A by instructing ! I ? j processor 19 to allow payment by the person for the product Q j ' 5 (step 39). As mentioned before, the authorization signal of the j verification centre 2 may also result in a direct release of the j payment.

The first age verification phase of step 33 will generally be sufficient in a majority of cases. If the person would 10 e.g. have the age of 50, the first age verification phase would already have resulted in receiving the authorization signal in 1 step 38. On the other hand, if the person would clearly be un der-aged, the first age verification phase (step 33) would not have resulted in obtaining an authorization signal and the cash-15 ier or person would not be able to pay for the item Q, i.e. the cash register system would remain locked for this item (step ! 40). The same would be true if the human operator would conclude ! that the age of the person was not sufficient in the second age j verification phase (step 37). j 20 It should be noted that the system allows the person | image and the document image to be captured and transmitted to j the age verification centre already in step 31 and 32. This is j particularly efficient for persons in between the age of 16-30 ; that have a reasonable chance of being required to present an 25 identification document before an authorization signal is given.

FIGS. 4A and 4B provide a schematic illustration of a system 1 and a timing diagram of operating the cash register system IB in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

System IB is a cashier-operated system comprising a cash regis-30 ter device 30 and the age verification system 12.

Cash register system IB is connected to remote age verification centre 2 for performing the age verification process. It should be noted that the actual connection to cash register system IB may be to the cash register device 30, to the 35 age verification system 12 or to another module, e.g. an inter- j mediate unit, connected to both the cash register device 30 and 1 the age verification system 12. j ; 12 1 FIG. 4B is an exemplary timing diagram for operating j the cash register system IB. \

In the initial stage, video camera 13 and document J

reader 14 are disabled. j 5 In step 40, a cash register signal is transmitted from ’ Ï.

the cash register device 30 to the age verification centre 2. j j

This cash register signal can be triggered by scanning a bar j i code of a first item of a customer (or a last item of a previous \ customer), not necessarily an age-restricted item, by the cash- j 10 ier using a bar code reader 10. Alternatively, the cashier may | f have operated a button 11, e.g. being representative of a "next [.

customer" indication. The age verification process can thus al- j rp^rh/ hp t ri γτγγρτρΗ hpfnrp an ργγρ-γρρΙτι pfoH itom iq rppprfni 70H ' £

This is advantageous since, especially in large shops, such as j i 15 supermarkets, it is of critical importance that delays are mini- j %

mized. I

i

In step 41, an enabling signal is received at the age j verification system 2 of the cash register system IB. Display 15 j (see FIG. 2) of the age verification system 2 informs the cus- | 20 tomer that age verification is or may be required and solicits j approval of the customer to perform this process. The customer may neglect this information if (s)he is under the assumption that such verification is not necessary, e.g. because (s)he does not intend to purchase age-restricted items. However, normally, 25 the customer would approve the age verification process to be conducted by user input, step 42, using keys 16 (see FIG. 2).

In step 43, an information signal is received from the age verification centre 2 for activation of the video camera 13.

It should be noted that the cash register signal of 30 step 40 may also be transmitted directly to the age verification system 12, possibly followed by approval of the customer (user input) to trigger the age verification process, i.e. without involving the age verification centre 2 in the prior triggering phase.

35 Steps 44-46, relating to the person image transmission, the possible identification request signal if the age cannot be | r? verified from the person image and the document image transmis- i f ! \ f i 13 ! ! sion, respectively, involve the actual age verification process as previously described.

Step 47 indicates the authorization signal or authorization denial signal determining whether or not purchase of an 5 item is allowed.

Further information, e.g. information of an age-restricted item triggered by scanning such an item, may also be j

communicated from the cash register system 1Ά or IB to the age J

verification centre 2. ί 10 It should be noted that steps 40-47 (possibly excluding j.

steps 45 and 46 if not required) can be conducted at any time [

after the customer has given approval and prior to payment of I

the items. Therefore, delays resulting from age verification at j the cash register system IB can be minimized. j 15 Often, age-restricted items Q are classified as to the j age that is required to purchase the item. For example, certain j

items may require an age of 16, while others require an age of I

18. The authorization signal in step 47 may therefore comprise i

age classification information to enable that a single age veri- I

20 fication is sufficient for a plurality of items having different age-restrictions. The age-classification information relates to the maximum age class for which the person is allowed to purchase items. For example, the age verification centre 2 may, after having received the person image in step 44 and, possibly, 25 the document image in step 46, provide an authentication signal indicating that the person under verification qualifies at maximum for the class age-16 items. If this person tries to purchase age-16 and age-18 items, the single authentication signal in step 47 is sufficient to allow payment of the age-16 item, while 5} Π n:it rmcin f- -ίο n Af η Ί Ί αγ.γωΗ f nr -hVirzi η pfO — IP ΐ f £*τη ο s^u £_/ <u. jriu.'w’i i L. _ι_ k_? live ci _i_ _l. vv \-a J- \_/ -l. ono Cl y XU ·

In an embodiment, the cash register system may comprise a memory storing information regarding a maximum or minimum age and/or an age classification for each item or group of items.

The release signal for allowing payment for a plurality of age-35 restricted items can be obtained by comparing the age- classification information from the authorization signal with the stored information. { ¢- & ^ .

!; 14 ! ί

Of course, the same procedure applies for a self- |

service cash register system 1A, as depicted and described with I

reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. i

If, in step 47, an authorization denial signal is re- j· i.

5 ceived, this signal may immediately block further operation of |

the cash register device 30, thereby allowing the cashier to J

pick out the items that should not be purchased by the person j j for which the age-verification process had been conducted. | l t %

Claims

A cash register system comprising an age verification system adapted to verify the age of a person before purchasing a product subject to an age limit, the age verification system comprising: 5. a video camera adapted to record an image of the person; i - connecting means for connecting to a remote! located age verification center and adapted to send the image of the person to the age verification center and receive an authorization signal from the age verification center when it can be determined on the basis of the image of the person that the person is an age that permits the purchase of the product for which the age limit applies; 15. control means for providing a release signal for the cash register system for payment of the product for which j | the age limit applies only when the authorization signal has been received; and wherein the cash register system further comprises control means for starting the age verification system prior to recognizing the product to which the age limit applies.

2. A cash register system according to claim 1, wherein the age verification system further comprises a document reader which is adapted to record an image of an identification document of the person, wherein the age verification system is further arranged for:; receiving an identification request signal when the age of the person cannot be determined from the image of the person, wherein the identification request signal represents a request for providing an identification document to the document reader; - sending an image of the identification document 35 to the remote age verification center, and! - receiving the authorization signal from the age verification center when it can be determined from the image of the identification document that the person has an age that allows him to purchase the product for which the age limit applies.

3. The cash register system according to claim 2, wherein the connecting means are adapted to send the images of the person and the identification document to the age verification center and to receive an authorization signal from the age verification center when based on the document image can be determined that it! i identification document belongs to the image of the original person. ! "I Γ

The cash register system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the document reader comprises a further video camera. i |

5. The cash register system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the control means for starting the age verification system prior to recognizing a product subject to an age limit comprises starting means in response to entering a user input, wherein the user input comprises at least one of an input at a cash register of the cash register system and an input at the age verification system. "

6. The cash register system according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the control means for starting the age verification system prior to recognizing a product for which an age limit applies comprises starting means for recognizing a cash register signal from a cash register as a result of at least one of the detection of a first or last product and a user input.

The cash register system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the cash register system is adapted to: send the user input or the cash register signal from the cash register, respectively, to the age verification system. Centre; - processing a release signal for releasing the user input at the age verification system from the age verification center.

8. The cash register system according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the authorization signal 10 contains age classification information, wherein the cash register system is arranged for processing the age classification information for providing a release signal for allowing the payment of a number of products for which an age limit applies. 15

The cash register system according to claim 8, wherein the cash register system comprises a memory for storing information for a number of products with regard to an age limit and / or age category of the products and wherein | The release signal is issued for one or more of these products after comparison of the age classification information from the authorization signal with the information stored in the memory.

The cash register system according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the cash register system comprises a cash register, wherein the cash register system is arranged for blocking the cash register in response to receiving an authorization reject signal from the age verification center. 30

The cash register system according to claim 10, wherein the cash register system is adapted to block the cash register immediately upon receipt of the authorization rejection signal.

12. The cash register system according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the age verification system further comprises a device for analyzing personal knowledge. marks of the person, such as an iris scanner or a fingerprint, the age verification system being further arranged for: [- receiving an identification request signal when the | The age of the person cannot be determined on the basis of the person's j-picture, the identification request signal j! · Represents a request to provide an identification document to the document reader; · - sending one or more personal characteristics of the person to the remote age verification center, and - receiving the authorization signal from the age verification center when it can be determined on the basis of the personal characteristics that the person has an age that allows him to buy the product for which the age limit 15 applies.

13. A computer-implemented method for using a cash register system for the payment by a person of products for which an age limit applies, wherein the cash register system comprises an age verification system, and wherein the method comprises the steps in the age verification system of: starting the age verification system prior to recognizing the product to which the age limit 25 applies; {| - registering an image of the person; j - sending the image of the person to a remote age verification center; } | receiving an authorization signal when on the basis of From the image of the person it can be determined that the person has an age that allows the purchase of the product to which the age limit applies; providing a release signal for the cash register system to enable payment of the product to which the age limit s applies only when the authorization signal has been received; "! r? i | ï i f 19 \ t Ά

The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of: - receiving an identification request signal from the remote age verification center when the person's age X-X5 cannot be determined from the image | of the person, - registering an image of an identification document of the person in response to the identification request signal; - sending the image of the identification document 10 to the elevation age verification center; receiving the authorization signal when the age of the person based on the image of the identification document can be determined.

The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:; - registering the image of an identification document of the person and again registering the image of the person; 20. sending the image of the person and the image of; the identification document to the remote age verification system; - receiving the authorization signal when it can be determined that the identification document belongs to the person on the basis of the images and the age of the person can be determined on the basis of the image of the identification document. j Γ

15 I

The method of claim 13, 14 or 15, further comprising the step of registering at least one of the image of the person and the image of the document by a user input prior to recognizing a product for which an age limit applies, wherein the user input comprises at least one of an input at a cash register of the cash register system 35 and an input at the age verification system. \ | |,

The method of claim 13, 14 or 15, further comprising the step of registering at least one of the image of the person and the image of the document by a user input prior to recognizing a product 5 for which an age limit applies in response to recognizing a cash register signal from a cash register as a result of at least one of the detection of a first or last product and a user input. <

The method of claim 16 or 17, further comprising comprising the steps of: - sending the user input or the cash register signal from the cash register, respectively, to the age verification center; 15. processing a release signal to release the user input at the age verification system from the age verification center.

19. The method according to one or more of the claims 13-18, wherein the authorization signal comprises age classification in formation, comprising the step of processing the age classification information for providing the release signal for paying a number of products for which a age limit applies. 25

The method of claim 19, wherein the release signal is output after comparing the age rating information from the authorization signal with stored information for the number of products with respect to an age limit and / or age category of the products.

20 I

The method according to one or more of the preceding claims 13-20, further comprising the step of blocking a cash register from the cash register system in response to receiving an authorization reject signal from the age verification center. i

The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of blocking the register immediately after receiving the authorization denial signal. 5

The method of any one of claims 13 to 22, further comprising the step of registering at least one of the image of the person and the image of the document with a video camera. j 10

The method of any one of claims 13 to 23, further comprising the steps of: j - receiving an identification request signal from the remote age verification center when the age; The person cannot be determined on the basis of the person's image I, - the recording of one or more person characteristics of the person in response to the identification request signal; S | - sending the personal characteristics to the insurrectional age verification center; j i - receiving the authorization signal when the age j of the person can be determined on the basis of the personal characteristics. j | 25 | i i r j I ’i I 'j