JP2006092384A - Data processing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processing method and device capable of avoiding erroneous purchase of a specified commodity containing an allergic component or the like in a store such as a supermarket or convenience store. <P>SOLUTION: A customer of the store preliminarily makes a member registration while inputting individual unique information for commodities the customer should avoid to purchase to an IC card. When the customer that is a registered member goes to the store and selects and carries a desired commodity to a cash desk, the individual unique information is read by an IC card reader 11, commodity information of the commodity is read by a bar code reader 12, and detailed commodity information of the selected commodity is further read from a commodity information database 13. The commodity is compared with the individual unique information in a POS device 14, and the result is displayed on a commodity information display device 15 and also announced by voice from a voice information reproduction part 17 as occasion demands. Thus, the customer can finally determine whether to purchase the commodity with a purchase confirmation input device 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing method and apparatus, and more particularly to data processing that enables a consumer to provide more detailed information using a POS (Point of Sale) terminal when purchasing (or selling) a product in a retail store or the like. It relates to a method and an apparatus.

  At retail stores such as supermarkets (supermarkets) and convenience stores (convenience stores), we have a large number of commodities such as grocery items, as well as products that customers (consumers) select and carry to the cash register. It is common to perform settlement processing using. As a result, the store side can immediately obtain product sales information, which can be used as inventory management and product purchase information. On the other hand, a consumer or a purchaser can perform a checkout process quickly.

  Recently, consumers 'health-consciousness has increased, and consumers' interest in products is not limited to the price, quantity, production location and expiration date of the products. Agrochemicals, preservatives, and coloring agents used in the production of products There is increasing interest in other ingredients. In particular, various components such as egg allergy, soybean allergy, buckwheat allergy, and crab allergy are known as allergic components. For example, it is not difficult for consumers with egg allergies or buckwheat allergies to avoid the purchase of eggs or buckwheat itself, but it is necessary to check and purchase products containing eggs and buckwheat as hidden taste in various products. It is not easy to avoid. It is particularly difficult for visually impaired people and elderly people to confirm the components of various products.

  In other words, the population with allergies and health disorders such as diabetes is increasing. Consumers with such health problems are required to manage themselves. That is, when selecting a product, the company pays great attention to the presence / absence or content (content rate) of self-allergens or sugars. However, it is difficult to obtain such information about a product that the consumer desires to purchase, and it takes a long time to select the product. Furthermore, it is not easy to display such information on merchandise on the store side or producer side for all merchandise handled in retail stores.

  Prior arts related to such technical fields are disclosed in several technical documents. An allergen-containing product information retrieval system is disclosed that enables an allergic patient to know in advance whether or not he / she will cause an allergic reaction when the product is purchased (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .) In addition, a personal health information inquiry system is disclosed that allows emergency personnel to take appropriate measures when there is a sudden change in the health of a person such as a traffic accident or emergency disaster, and to know whether there is an allergy to that person's medicine (for example, (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-58550 A (3rd page, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-334165 (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

  In a conventional POS terminal, product-specific information on a product purchased by a consumer, that is, product-related information such as product name, quantity, and unit price, is presented to the consumer on a display board. There is no one that notifies the result information by comparing the constitution and the characteristics of the product, for example, allergic components.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data processing method and apparatus that eliminates or reduces such problems.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the data processing method and apparatus of the present invention employ the following characteristic configuration.

(1) In a data processing method for purchasing various products handled at a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store by a customer who has visited the store, accounting and purchasing with a cashier counter,
Pre-entering individual customer-specific information including allergic components unique to each customer into the customer's membership card, and presenting the member card to the store clerk during the accounting process of the product selected by the customer. A data processing method for acquiring the detailed information of the product and comparing it with the individual-specific information and confirming the customer's intention to purchase after accounting.

  (2) The data processing method according to (1), wherein the comparison result of the detailed information of the product and the personal unique information is visually displayed to prompt the customer to determine whether or not to purchase.

  (3) The data processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the comparison result between the detailed information of the product and the personal specific information is notified to the customer by voice.

  (4) The data processing apparatus according to (1), (2), or (3), wherein the detailed information of the product is read from a product information database based on a barcode read result of the product.

(5) In a data processing apparatus for purchasing one or more products selected by a customer from a variety of products handled at a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store by accounting at a cashier counter,
Stored is a card reader that reads the individual-specific information from a membership card in which individual-specific information unique to each customer is input in advance, a barcode reader that reads the barcode of the product selected by the customer, and detailed information of the various products A data processing device comprising: a product information database; and a POS device that compares the detailed information read from the product information database with the individual-specific information, confirms the customer's intention to purchase the product based on the comparison result, and performs accounting processing .

  (6) The data processing device according to (5), wherein the purchase intention confirmation of the product is performed by a product information display device that displays the comparison result and a purchase confirmation input device.

  (7) The data processing apparatus according to (5) or (6), further including an audio reproduction unit that notifies the customer of the comparison result by audio.

  (8) The data processing device according to (5), wherein the purchase intention confirmation of the product is performed by a customer touching the product information display device of a touch panel type to determine whether or not the purchase is possible.

  (9) The data processing device according to (5), (6), (7), or (8), wherein the individual-specific information is allergy component information that the customer avoids purchasing.

  According to the data processing method and apparatus of the present invention, the following remarkable practical effects can be obtained. First, it is possible to purchase products that meet the needs of each consumer. The reason for this is to avoid consumption of products containing allergic ingredients, without having to select the product while reading the detailed information (allergy information) of the product that the consumer (customer) is trying to purchase. This is because it is possible to automatically display allergy information at the time of accounting and confirm the intention of purchase.

  In addition, it is possible to introduce equipment on the store side at a low price. The reason is to check in conjunction with the POS terminal. A large number of devices are required to make each customer who visits a store use a device (or terminal) having a check function, but in the case of a POS terminal of a cashier counter, only a small number is required.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a preferred embodiment of the data processing method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration of a first embodiment of a data processing apparatus according to the present invention. This data processing device 10 is composed of an IC card reader 11, a barcode reader 12, a product information database 13, a POS device (or POS terminal) 14, a product information display device 15, a purchase confirmation input device 16, and a voice information playback unit 17. Is done.

The data processing apparatus 10 will be briefly described as (1) to (7) below.
(1) When registering at a supermarket, department store, etc., register the member after hearing personal information such as allergy products such as egg allergies and soy allergies in advance through a questionnaire. Issuing an IC card with a membership card.
(2) The registered member (consumer) of the store presents the member card to the store clerk when purchasing the product at the store.
(3) The store clerk reads the member card with a card recognizer at the POS terminal.
(4) The store clerk reads the barcode attached to the product to be purchased by the registered member (consumer).
(5) A product information display is provided in a place where a registered member (consumer) can visually recognize, and information on the name, price, and quantity of the product to be purchased is displayed on the display. In addition, the personal identification information held in the membership card is compared with the product components, and the result of determining whether or not it corresponds is also displayed on the display.
(6) When the corresponding product is detected, in addition to displaying it on the product information display device, it is also possible to notify by a caution sound by sound from the speaker of the audio information reproducing unit.
(7) When the corresponding product is detected, the store clerk prompts the registered member (consumer) to confirm the purchase intention. Therefore, the consumer inputs purchase intention with the purchase confirmation input device. If the consumer cannot make an input with the input device, the store clerk can hear the intention and enter the purchase decision.

  Next, a specific description will be given based on the functional block diagram of the data processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The main functions of each functional block constituting the data processing apparatus 10 will be described.

  The IC card reader 11 reads a membership card (not shown) and transmits it to the POS device 14. The barcode reader 12 reads the barcode of the product and transmits it to the POS device 14. The merchandise information database 13 is a storage device that holds a merchandise code and its detailed information such as a merchandise name, a merchandise unit price, a merchandise component, a country of origin, and a country of origin. Is returned to the POS device 14.

  The POS device 14 has functions such as registration of purchased goods, cash payment and card settlement, and further has an interface function with other devices. The POS device 14 obtains detailed product information from the product information database 13 using the product code acquired from the product barcode, and outputs (displays) the information to the product information display 15. At this time, if there is matching specific information obtained by comparing the individual specific information acquired from the membership card with the detailed information of the product, the fact is output to the product information display 15. The merchandise information display 15 displays whether or not the merchandise detailed information sent from the POS device 14 matches the specific information.

  The purchase confirmation input device 16 has a function of allowing a consumer to select and input whether or not to purchase a corresponding product when there is a match with specific information. By using, for example, a touch panel type input device as the product information display device 15, it is also possible to serve as a purchase confirmation input device. When there is a match with the specific information, the voice information reproducing unit 17 announces (notifies by voice) that effect.

  Next, the operation of the data processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. At the time of merchandise accounting, accounting processing is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  First, the membership card (IC card) is read by the IC card reader 11 (step S1). Then, the read member card specific information is stored in the POS device 14 (step S2). Next, the product barcode is read by the barcode reader 12 (step S3), and the product code is extracted (step S4). Detailed product information is acquired from the product information database 13 (step S5). Next, it is checked whether or not the specific information of the IC card matches the product information (step S6). If the product information matches the specific information of the IC card, a message to that effect is displayed on the product information display 15 (step S7). If the product information and the IC card specific information do not match, only the product information is displayed on the product information display 15 (step S8).

  Next, the consumer inputs whether or not to purchase the product based on the display of the product information display 15 (step S9). When it is input that the product is not purchased, the corresponding product is not counted in the accounting process (step S10). On the other hand, when the product is purchased, the product is included in the accounting process (step S11).

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the second embodiment of the data processing apparatus according to the present invention. The data processing device 30 includes an IC card reader 31, a barcode reader 32, a product information database 33, a POS device 34, a consumer product information display device 35, a clerk product information display device 36, and an audio information reproduction unit 37. Has been.

  As apparent from the comparison of FIG. 3 with FIG. 1, in the data processing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, the merchandise information display machine 15 and the purchase confirmation input machine 16 are separate devices, but the data processing apparatus of the second embodiment. In 30, the product information display device and the purchase confirmation input device are integrated by configuring the display device as a touch panel display. In this case, the consumer product information display device 35 and the store clerk (seller) product information display device 36 installed in the consumer orientation are configured with two units so that the consumer can easily input. It is also possible to do.

  The configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment of the data processing method and apparatus according to the present invention have been described in detail above. However, it should be noted that such examples are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that various modifications and changes can be made according to a specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, merchandise information is generally read by a bar code, but recently there has been a movement to adopt a microchip for merchandise instead of a bar code due to the development of microchip technology. In that case, a microchip reader may be used instead of the barcode reader, and it should be understood that such a case is also included in the present invention.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the whole structure of 1st Example of the data processor by this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the data processor shown in FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the whole structure of 2nd Example of the data processor by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 30 Data processing device 11, 31 IC card reader 12, 32 Barcode loader 13, 33 Product information database 14, 34 POS device 15, 35, 36 Product information display device 16 Purchase confirmation input device 17, 37 Audio information playback unit

Claims (9)

In the data processing method when various products handled at stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores are selected by customers who have visited the store and accounted for and purchased at a cashier counter,
Pre-entering individual customer-specific information including allergic components unique to each customer into the customer's membership card, and presenting the member card to the store clerk during the accounting process of the product selected by the customer. A data processing method, wherein the detailed information of the product is obtained and compared with the individual-specific information, and the customer is accounted for after confirming the purchase intention.   The data processing method according to claim 1, wherein a comparison result of the detailed information of the product and the personal specific information is visually displayed to prompt the customer to determine whether or not to purchase.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a detailed result of the product and a comparison result of the individual specific information are notified to the customer by voice.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the detailed information of the product is read from a product information database based on a barcode reading result of the product. In a data processing apparatus that purchases one or more products selected by customers out of various products handled at stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores by accounting at a cashier counter,
Stored is a card reader that reads the individual-specific information from a membership card in which individual-specific information unique to each customer is input in advance, a barcode reader that reads the barcode of the product selected by the customer, and detailed information of the various products A product information database, and a POS device that compares detailed information read from the product information database with the individual-specific information, confirms the customer's intention to purchase the product based on the comparison result, and performs accounting processing. A data processing device.   6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the purchase intention confirmation of the product is performed by a product information display device that displays the comparison result and a purchase confirmation input device.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an audio reproducing unit that notifies the customer of the comparison result by audio.   6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the purchase intention confirmation of the product is made by a customer touching the product information display device of a touch panel type to determine whether or not the purchase is possible.   9. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, 6, 7, or 8, wherein the individual-specific information is allergen component information that the customer avoids purchasing.

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