JP7360331B2 - Sales management system and sales management method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sales management system and a sales management method.

2. Description of the Related Art Self-checkout systems (so-called self-checkout) used to sell products unattended have been known. At the self-checkout counter, customers register their purchases by scanning the barcodes of the products themselves, and after registering all purchased products, pay the displayed total amount with cash or credit card.

In order to improve such self-checkout systems, it has been proposed to include an alert output means for outputting an alert to recommend that the user use a manned cash register if, for example, there are many operational errors by the user in the self-checkout device. (For example, Patent Document 1).

JP2019-040348A

By the way, although conventional self-checkout systems meet the demands of stores to reduce the number of staff, they require scanning product barcodes, etc., which leads to queues of people waiting to check out during busy times, reducing customer satisfaction. There were times when I did. In addition, there have been cases where customers have given up on purchasing products due to queues waiting to check out, which has caused disadvantages for the store as well, such as loss of product sales opportunities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable a store clerk and a purchaser to pay for merchandise without performing any operations.

An aspect of the present invention is a sales management system for managing one or more products to be sold to users, the wireless tag being attached to a product to be sold, storing unique tag identification information, and detecting movement of the product . a tag, a position specifying device that is capable of communicating with a user terminal owned by the user and that identifies location information of the user terminal within a checkout area for paying for the product, and product information that identifies the product to be sold. , an information processing device having a storage unit that stores tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product in association with the tag identification information of the wireless tag attached to the product; If the position is within the payment area and there is a product that has made a predetermined movement within the payment area based on information obtained from a wireless tag existing in the payment area , the item corresponds to the wireless tag. This is a sales management system that associates product information to the user terminal located within the payment area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to pay for products without a store clerk or a purchaser performing any operations.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of a sales management system according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device of the sales management system of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an advertising packet transmitted from an IoT tag. It is a figure showing an example of data composition of a product database. It is a figure showing an example of a data composition of a payment database. It is a sequence chart showing the operation of the sales management system of the first embodiment. It is a diagram showing an example of a payment screen. It is a sequence chart showing the operation of the sales management system of the second embodiment. It is a sequence chart showing operation of a sales management system of a 3rd embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows another operation of the sales management system of a 3rd embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a sales management system that is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Note that the communication distance of the IoT tag in the present disclosure is only an example and is not limited. The communication distance of the IoT tag can be changed or adjusted as appropriate depending on the usage of the IoT tag.
In the following description, the IoT tag will be simply referred to as a "tag" as appropriate.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) System Configuration of Sales Management System First, the system configuration of the sales management system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of a sales management system 1 of this embodiment.
In FIG. 1, a sales management system 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to connect to a network, for example, based on a signal received from an IoT tag T (an example of a wireless tag) attached to each product to be sold in a store. This is a cloud-type system in which product sales management is performed by a product management server 5 (an example of an information processing device). Although the product management server 5 is capable of managing sales of products from multiple stores, only one store is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a checkout area is provided near the exit of a store. The store is structured so that a customer who purchases a product (that is, a purchaser) exits the store through the checkout area when leaving the store. Therefore, the purchaser can automatically complete payment for the product by exiting the payment area and exiting the store while holding the product. That is, the store clerk and the purchaser do not need to perform any operations when paying for the product.
Although it is possible for a plurality of visitors to enter (exist) the payment area at the same time, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, a case will be described in which there is one visitor who makes payment in the payment area.

In the checkout area of the store, for example, a wireless device 2 that performs wireless communication with the IoT tag T of each product is placed. The wireless device 2 is, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) device, an access point, or the like, but may also be a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone. The wireless device 2 can provide a wireless environment to the IoT tag T of each product, for example. Although the number of wireless devices 2 does not matter, it is preferable to provide a wireless environment in which all IoT tags T in the store can generate power.
As will be described in detail later, the IoT tag T is an energy harvesting type device that generates power based on radio waves in the surrounding environment, and is not equipped with a battery. The IoT tag T has a built-in sensor that detects movement. Therefore, for example, when a purchaser moves to the payment area with a product, the IoT tag T attached to the product can detect the movement of the product.

The wireless device 2 can, for example, transmit a beacon signal to provide the IoT tag T passing through the payment area with a wireless environment in which power can be generated. The wireless device 2 also receives a signal (packet) from the IoT tag T and sends information obtained from the packet to the store server 3. The communication distance between the wireless device 2 and the IoT tag T is, for example, in the range of 3 to 10 meters, and depending on the size of the payment area, for example, by arranging one or two wireless devices 2, it is possible to pass through the payment area. Information can be acquired from the IoT tag T attached to the product.
The packet transmitted from the IoT tag T includes data detected by the built-in sensor (referred to as "sensor data").

Note that in the sales management system 1 of this embodiment, the wireless device 2 is not an essential component, and the wireless device 2 is not necessary if sufficient energy harvesting can be performed within the store without the wireless device 2. For example, even if the wireless device 2 is not present, the wireless device 2 is not necessary if the IoT tag T is capable of energy harvesting using the wireless signal emitted by the visitor's terminal. Furthermore, the IoT tag T can also utilize radio waves transmitted from other devices than the visitor terminal and the wireless device 2 (for example, a store clerk's mobile terminal, etc.) for energy harvesting. In other words, when the radio waves provided by the store visitor terminal or other devices other than the store visitor terminal are insufficient for energy harvesting, the IoT tag T uses the radio waves emitted from the wireless device 2 for energy harvesting. It can be used for.

The IoT tag T is configured to perform wireless communication with low power consumption, and examples of communication protocols include Bluetooth Low Energy (registered trademark) (hereinafter referred to as BLE), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and Zigbee (registered trademark). ) etc.
In the following, a case where communication is performed using BLE will be described as an example. In this case, the wireless device 2 is a BLE wireless terminal.
The IoT tag T performs broadcast communication with the wireless device 2 when complying with the BLE standard. Specifically, the IoT tag T broadcasts an advertising packet, and for example, the wireless device 2 can receive the advertising packet. In this broadcast communication, only one-way data transmission from the IoT tag T to the wireless device 2 is possible.

The store server 3 is an edge server connected to the wireless device 2, and is placed, for example, inside the store or in an office outside the store.
As will be described later, the packet transmitted from the IoT tag T to the wireless device 2 includes a tag ID (an example of tag identification information) unique to the tag. In the sales management system 1 of this embodiment, the store server 3 preferably decodes the tag ID of each IoT tag T and authenticates the tag ID. When authenticating the tag ID, the store server 3 may cooperate with an authentication server for the IoT tag T (not shown).

The receiver 6 and the position specifying device 7 are communicably connected and constitute a position specifying system that specifies the position of the user terminal 4 within the store. The receiver 6 is installed, for example, on the ceiling of a store, receives radio waves (a beacon signal; an example of a wireless signal) emitted by user terminals 4 of visitors moving within the store, and measures the angle of incidence of the radio waves. The position specifying device 7 positions the user terminal 4 using the AOA (Angle of Arrival) method, which specifies the position of the user terminal 4 in the store (position on a plane) based on the angle of incidence measured by the receiver 6 .

Although it is possible to estimate the location of the user terminal 4 with a single receiver 6, it is possible to estimate the location of the user terminal 4 by estimating the location of the user terminal 4. Preferably, many receivers 6 are provided. Note that the positioning method of the user terminal 4 is not limited to the AOA method, and other methods such as the TOA (Time of Arrival) method may be used.

The product management server 5 is, for example, a network server that provides a cloud-type product payment service to stores, and is capable of communicating with the store server 3 via a network NW such as the Internet.
If the product management server 5 determines that the user terminal 4 is located in the checkout area based on the estimated position of the user terminal 4 specified by the location specifying device 7, the product management server 5 generates a product code corresponding to the tag ID acquired from the store server 3. , is associated with the user ID corresponding to the user terminal 4, and processes for product payment are performed.

(1-2) Configuration of each device in the sales management system Next, the configuration of each device in the sales management system 1 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device of the sales management system 1 of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of an advertising packet transmitted from the IoT tag T. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the product database. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the payment database.

Referring to FIG. 2, the IoT tag T includes a control section 11, an antenna 12, a harvesting section 13, a voltage control section 14, an RF transceiver 15, and a sensor 16.
Although the overall form of the IoT tag T is not shown, for example, it is a thin film in which a conductive metal foil with a predetermined pattern on which the antenna 12 and the sensor 16 are formed, and an IC chip connected to the metal foil are connected. It is a member. A control section 11, a harvesting section 13, a voltage control section 14, and an RF transceiver 15 are mounted within the IC chip.

The control unit 11 includes a microprocessor and a memory 111, and controls the entire IoT tag T. The memory 111 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores programs executed by a microprocessor, a tag ID which is identification information unique to the IoT tag T, and sensor data output by the sensor 16. remember.

The harvesting unit 13 performs energy harvesting based on radio waves in the surrounding environment (for example, radio waves from surrounding wireless communication), and stores the power obtained by the power generation in an internal energy storage 131 . In this embodiment, the harvesting unit 13 converts, for example, a wireless signal received by the antenna 12 into a DC voltage, and stores it in the energy storage 131. Energy storage 131 is, for example, a capacitor. In the case of a capacitor, it may be constructed on a semiconductor chip (that is, an on-die type capacitor).

The radio waves used by the harvesting unit 13 for energy harvesting are radio waves in a plurality of different frequency bands over a wide range of frequency bands. For example, radio waves for wireless communication in frequency bands used in mobile communication systems such as 3G to 5G, and frequency bands used in communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Radio waves from wireless communications, radio waves from 2.4 GHz band wireless communications represented by communication protocols such as ZigBee (registered trademark) and Thread, and frequency bands used in RFID (e.g. 900 MHz band, 13.56 MHz band). Examples include radio waves caused by wireless communication.
Radio waves as exemplified here are generally applicable to almost all stores. The IoT tags T attached to products in the store operate using electricity obtained through energy harvesting by the harvesting section 13 based on radio waves in the surrounding environment. Therefore, there is no need to mount a battery on the IoT tag T, and system costs can be suppressed. Furthermore, since there is no need to mount a battery, there is no need to replace the battery, and therefore the problem of not being able to obtain a tag ID even though a tag exists does not occur.

The voltage control unit 14 supplies an operating voltage to the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15, and monitors the voltage of the energy storage 131, and switches the power mode according to the monitoring result. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is below a predetermined threshold, the power mode is set to the first mode in which only the minimum number of circuits are operated, and at this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 perform packet generation and wireless No signal transmission etc. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is charged to a predetermined threshold or higher, the power mode is set to the second mode in which a normal processing routine is executed, and at this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 generate packets and transmit wireless signals. Various processes including transmission are performed.

Note that even if the power mode is the first mode, for example, if the voltage of the energy storage 131 is charged to a predetermined threshold value or more, the control unit 11 changes the sensor data detected by the sensor 16 to the detection time. may be stored in the memory 111 together with the data. In that case, the control unit 11 generates and transmits a packet containing the sensor data and detection time data stored in the memory 111 at the time the power mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode. good. Thereby, it is possible to provide the wireless device 2 with information regarding the presence or absence of movement of the tag during a period when the charging voltage of the energy storage 131 is relatively low.

The sensor 16 detects, for example, the movement of the IoT tag T itself. The detected data (sensor data) is temporarily stored in the memory 111 to be included in a packet to be described later. The sensor data is configured such that it can be determined, for example, whether the tag has been moved. Note that the sensor data may be a value indicating the degree of movement of the IoT tag T, or may be a binary value indicating whether or not the IoT tag T has moved.
The sensor 16 may detect the weight or pressure related to the IoT tag T. The sensor 16 may detect temperature if the IC chip has a built-in temperature sensor.

The control unit 11 generates advertising packets according to the BLE protocol when the power mode is the second mode.
The advertising packet is a packet transmitted using an advertising channel to realize broadcast communication in BLE, and has the packet configuration shown in FIG. 3. The advertising packet will be simply referred to as a "packet" below as appropriate.

In FIG. 3, the preamble and address access each have predetermined fixed values. CRC is a cyclic check code, and is check data calculated using a predetermined generator polynomial for a packet payload (that is, an advertising channel PDU (protocol data unit)).
An advertising channel PDU (hereinafter simply referred to as "PDU") consists of a header and a payload, and the payload consists of an ADV address and ADV data. The ADV address is the address of the advertiser (that is, the IoT tag T that is the subject of notification), but it may also be a random value that is set each time the transmission is made so as not to specify the sender. ADV data is advertiser data (broadcast data), and in this embodiment includes a tag ID and sensor data output by the sensor 16.

It is preferable that the control unit 11 encrypts the PDU. Although the encryption method is not limited, for example, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with a key length of 128 bits can be used.

The RF transceiver 15 performs orthogonal modulation after performing predetermined digital modulation (for example, GFSK (Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying)) on the packet (baseband signal) to be transmitted, and transmits a high frequency signal (2.4 GHz in the case of BLE). frequency band signal) to the antenna 12.

The antenna 12 includes a transmitting antenna and a power generation antenna. The transmitting antenna transmits a high frequency wireless signal (packet) sent out by the RF transceiver 15. On the other hand, the power generation antenna receives, for example, radio waves in the surrounding environment or a wireless signal transmitted from the wireless device 2, and functions as a rectenna in cooperation with the harvesting unit 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless device 2 includes a control section 21, an antenna 22, an RF transceiver 23, and a communication section 24.
The control unit 21 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire wireless device 2 . For example, the control unit 21 decodes the PDU of the packet received from the IoT tag T, performs error detection from the CRC using the same generating polynomial as on the IoT tag T side, and then extracts broadcast data from the PDU, The communication unit 24 is controlled to transmit data to the store server 3.
The RF transceiver 23 detects the radio signal received from the IoT tag T with the antenna 22, converts it to a baseband signal, performs predetermined digital demodulation, and receives the packet. Furthermore, in order to transmit a beacon signal from the antenna 22, the RF transceiver 23, for example, orthogonally modulates a baseband signal of a predetermined pattern and sends it to the antenna 22.
The communication unit 24 functions as a communication interface for communicating with the store server 3.

As mentioned above, the IoT tag T performs energy harvesting based on radio waves in the surrounding environment, but when there are few radio waves in the surrounding environment, normal operations such as generating packets and transmitting wireless signals are not performed. (For example, when the power mode is the first mode). Therefore, if the state in which communication with the IoT tag T is not possible (for example, the state in which advertising packets cannot be received) continues for a predetermined period of time or more, the control unit 21 of the wireless device 2 starts radio transmission using the antenna 22, or Preferably, RF transceiver 23 is controlled to increase the power transmitted by antenna 22. As a result, the radio waves in the environment surrounding the IoT tag T increase, making it possible to store electric power and starting or resuming wireless communication with the wireless device 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the store server 3 includes a control section 31, a storage 32, and a communication section 33.

The control unit 31 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and controls the entire store server 3. For example, the control unit 31 authenticates the tag ID included in the broadcast data received from the wireless device 2, and transmits a payment request including the tag ID to the product management server 5.
The payment request is a request for payment of the product corresponding to the authenticated tag ID.

Authentication may be performed, for example, by making an inquiry to an authentication server (not shown) connected to the network NW and obtaining an authentication result from the authentication server. In this case, the authentication server is, for example, a server managed by the manufacturer of the IoT tag T, and has a database that stores the tag IDs of all the manufactured IoT tags T. The tag ID inquired from step 3 is authenticated.
It is preferable that the control unit 31 transmits the tag ID to the product management server 5 when the tag ID is successfully authenticated. That is, when the tag ID authentication is successful, the control unit 31 preferably associates the product code corresponding to the tag with the user terminal 4 located within the payment area. By authenticating the tag ID, it can be confirmed whether the tag ID is genuine or not, so it is possible to avoid the verification process (described later) of the product management server 5 from being performed based on incorrect data.

Every time the control unit 31 receives broadcast data from the wireless device 2, it transmits a payment request including the decoded tag ID to the product management server 5 via the communication unit 33. Note that in this embodiment, it is not essential to include the sensor data included in the broadcast data in the payment request.

The storage 32 includes a large-scale storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores, for example, the product code of a product delivered to a corresponding store and the tag ID of an IoT tag attached to the product. Attach and memorize.
For example, at each store, each time a product arrives, the product code and tag ID attached to the product are read by a store employee's mobile terminal (not shown) that is capable of BLE communication, and the store Send to server 3. The product code (an example of product information) is information that identifies a product, such as a JAN code.
The control unit 31 of the store server 3 associates the product code and tag ID and stores them in the storage 32, and sends a product registration request including the product code and tag ID to the communication unit for product management in the product management server 5. 33 to the product management server 5. In response to this product registration request, the product code and tag ID are recorded in the product database (described later) of the product management server 5.

The communication unit 33 receives broadcast data from the wireless device 2 and sends it to the control unit 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 4 includes a control section 41, a storage 42, an operation input section 43, a display section 44, a first communication section 45, and a second communication section 46.

The control unit 41 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and controls the entire user terminal 4 . For example, the control unit 41 loads and executes a product application program (hereinafter referred to as "product application") stored in the storage 42.
For example, the product application performs processing for registering user information in the product management server 5 in advance of purchasing a product at a store by communicating with the product management server 5 . The user information is, for example, the user ID, the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 (an example of terminal identification information), and the user's account information when paying for purchased products. The user ID is, for example, unique identification information given to the user when installing the product application on the user terminal 4. The terminal ID is, for example, the individual identification number of the user terminal 4, the subscriber's unique ID, or the like.
The storage 42 is a storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs executed by the control unit 41, such as the above-mentioned product applications.

The operation input unit 43 is an input interface that receives operation input from a user in order to execute various programs, and may be a touch panel input unit provided on the display panel of the display unit 44.
The display unit 44 includes a display panel such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Panel) and a drive circuit for the display panel, and displays the results of the program execution by the control unit 41.

The first communication unit 45, for example, performs wireless communication with an object in a communication range narrower than that of the second communication unit, and is configured to emit a beacon signal according to, for example, the BLE protocol. The beacon signal includes a terminal ID that identifies the user terminal 4.
The second communication unit 46 is a communication interface for communicating with the product management server 5 via, for example, a wireless communication network and network NW (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the receiver 6 includes a radio wave receiving section 61, an incident angle measuring section 36, and a communication section 63.
The radio wave receiving unit 61 includes an antenna that receives a beacon signal (radio wave) transmitted from the user terminal 4.
The incident angle measuring section 62 measures the incident angle of the radio wave from the user terminal 4 received by the radio wave receiving section 61 .
The communication unit 63 is an interface for communicating with the user terminal 4 and the position specifying device 7. For example, the communication unit 63 demodulates the received signal from the user terminal 4. The communication unit 63 also functions as a communication interface between the receiver 6 and the position specifying device 7, and associates the information on the angle of incidence measured by the angle of incidence measurement unit 62 with the terminal ID and sends the information to the position specifying device 7. Send to. Note that communication between the receiver 6 and the position specifying device 7 may be wired or wireless.

As shown in FIG. 2, the position specifying device 7 includes a control section 71, a storage 72, and a communication section 73.
The control unit 71 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and controls the entire position specifying device 7 . For example, the microprocessor of the control unit 71 executes the positioning engine (software), and based on the beacon signal (an example of a wireless signal) transmitted from the user terminal 4 and including the terminal ID of the user terminal 4, Identify the location of 4. The control unit 71 identifies the position of the user terminal 4 based on information about the angle of incidence of the beacon signal that the receiver 6 receives from the user terminal 4 . More specifically, when using the AOA method, as described above, the known position of the receiver 6 in the store (the three-dimensional coordinate position based on a predetermined position in the store) and the receiver 6 The position of the user terminal 4 within the store area (the XY coordinate position of the store floor) is determined over time based on the information on the incident angle (direction of arrival of radio waves) of the user terminal 4 that is sequentially obtained from (positioning).
The control unit 71 sequentially transmits information on the identified position of the user terminal 4 (position information) to the product management server 5 via the communication unit 73 in association with the terminal ID of the user terminal 4.
The positioning interval of the user terminal 4 may be set arbitrarily, but is set to a time required to accurately grasp the position of the user terminal 4 (for example, several hundred milliseconds or less).

The storage 72 is, for example, a large-scale storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and may store not only the location engine but also the execution results of the location engine.
The communication unit 73 is a communication interface for communicating with the receiver 6 and communicating with the product management server 5 via the network NW.
In the following description, the receiver 6 and the position specifying device 7 may be collectively referred to as a "position specifying system" as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the product management server 5 includes a control section 51, a storage 52, and a communication section 53.

The control unit 51 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and controls the entire product management server 5 .
The storage 52 (an example of a storage unit, a second storage unit) includes, for example, a large-scale storage device such as an HDD, and stores a product database (product DB), a payment database (payment DB), and position data.
The position data is data in which, for each terminal ID, the time when position information is received from the position specifying device 7 is associated with the position of the user terminal 4 (the XY coordinate position of the store floor). Every time position information is received from the position specifying device 7, the position data is updated. By referring to the position data, the position of the user terminal 4 within the store at any given time can be determined.
The communication unit 53 functions as a communication interface for communicating between the user terminal 4 and the position specifying device 7.

The product database in Figure 4 has the following fields for each record: "Store ID", "Tag ID", "Product Code", "Color", "Size", "Brand Name", "Production Value", and "Price". It is a database for managing products sold by stores. The product code (an example of product information) is information that specifies a product, such as a JAN code. Here, the "Color", "Size", "Brand Name", and "Production Country" fields contain the product color, size, product brand name, and product production location (for example, country of production) that correspond to the product code. etc.) is stored. By counting the number of records corresponding to the same product code in the product database, the number of identical products can be determined.
Each record in the product database includes information on the tag ID of the IoT tag attached to the product in the store, the product code that identifies the product, and the price of the product.
For example, before a product is sold in a store, a record for the product is added to a product database. When a store no longer carries a specific product or when changing the price of a product on sale, the control unit 51 of the product management server 5 updates the product database in response to a request from the store server 3. Good too.
Note that the fields shown in FIG. 4 are merely examples, and fields related to other data regarding the product (for example, product type, product category, distinction between regular product/limited product, etc.) may also be provided.

In the payment database shown in FIG. 5, each record corresponds to one user. The payment database has values for fields such as "user ID", "terminal ID", "purchased product code", and "account information" for each record, and stores product purchase records and product information for pre-registered users. This is a database for managing payments. As described above, the user ID is unique identification information given to the user in advance. The terminal ID and account information are information acquired for each user from the product application of the user terminal 4.
The purchased product code is a product code for a product for which payment has been completed, and is updated (added) each time a product is purchased.

The microprocessor of the control unit 51 performs, for example, the following processes (i) to (iii) by executing a predetermined program.

(i) When the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 and the location information of the user terminal 4 are received from the location specifying device 7, the location data in the storage 52 is updated and the location of the user terminal 4 is determined to be within the payment area. Determine whether it exists or not. Note that the geographical information of the payment area is recorded in the storage 52 and is referred to when determining whether the position of the user terminal 4 is within the payment area.
(ii) When a payment request is received from the store server 3, a process of associating the product code corresponding to the tag ID included in the payment request with the user ID corresponding to the user terminal 4 located in the payment area (hereinafter (referred to as "matching processing").

The matching process is executed in order to correctly associate a purchaser with a product that the purchaser is purchasing. In the matching process, when the position of the user terminal 4 specified by the position identification system is within the payment area, the control unit 51 selects the product corresponding to the tag based on the tag ID obtained from the tag existing in the payment area. The code is associated with the user terminal 4 located within the payment area.
Preferably, the control unit 51 specifies the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 located within the payment area based on the position of the user terminal 4 specified by the position calculation system. That is, when the position of the user terminal 4 is within the payment area, the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 is specified. Since the terminal ID does not overlap among multiple user terminals 4, even if multiple user terminals 4 exist within the payment area, the user terminal 4 can be reliably specified.
On the other hand, the product purchased by the purchaser is identified by acquiring from the store server 3 the tag ID of the IoT tag attached to the product.
In the matching process, the control unit 51 uses the user ID specified based on information from the user terminal 4 and the information acquired from the IoT tag in order to correctly link the purchaser and the product that the purchaser is purchasing. and the product code specified based on the tag ID. That is, with reference to the payment database, the user ID corresponding to the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 located within the payment area is identified, and the identified user ID is associated with the product code corresponding to the tag present in the payment area. . Thereby, even if one visitor has multiple user terminals 4, the product code can be linked to one user ID.

In the matching process, for example, the order of the time when the user terminal 4 entered the payment area (entry time) matches the order of the time when the payment request was received from the store server 3, and the user ID and product code are matched. can be mapped. For example, user terminal 4-1 with user ID: 1, user terminal 4-2 with user ID: 2, and user terminal 4-3 with user ID: 3 enter the payment area in this order, and the store server Assume that the order of tag IDs included in the payment request received from No. 3 is tag ID: 11, tag ID: 12, and tag ID: 13. In this case, in the matching process, user ID: 1 is associated with the product code corresponding to tag ID: 11, user ID: 2 is associated with the product code corresponding to tag ID: 12, and user ID: 3 is associated with the tag ID: :Match to the product code corresponding to 13.

Note that when multiple wireless devices 2 (known locations) are arranged within the checkout area of the store, the wireless device 2 closest to the tag is identified based on the RSSI value when receiving a packet from the tag. be able to. On the other hand, the position specifying device 7 specifies the position of each user terminal 4 within the store. Here, if the location of the user terminal 4 and the location of the wireless device 2 closest to the tag are separated by a predetermined threshold or more, the store visitor who is the user of the user terminal 4 may It can be determined that the person does not own the product. Therefore, in the matching process, the control unit 51 determines the user ID to be associated with the product code corresponding to the tag ID based on the RSSI value when each of the plurality of wireless devices 2 receives a packet from the tag with the tag ID. It is preferable to limit the Thereby, even if a plurality of user terminals 4 exist within the payment area, the accuracy of the matching process is improved.

(iii) After the user ID and product code are associated through the matching process in (ii), the value of the "purchased product code" field of the record of the user ID in the payment database is associated with the user ID. Update the payment database by writing the product code. The updated content of the payment database is provided to, for example, a payment system (not shown). For example, information such as a credit card registered in advance in a payment database etc. is also provided to the payment system, and the payment is completed without cash.

(1-3) Operation of Sales Management System Next, the operation of the sales management system 1 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a sequence chart showing the operation of the sales management system 1 of this embodiment. In FIG. 6, the receiver 6 and the position specifying device 7 are collectively referred to as a position specifying system.
In the sequence chart of FIG. 6, it is assumed that all records corresponding to each product of the store have been created in the product database of the product management server 5 before the start.

The position identification system monitors the location of the user terminal 4 in the store based on the beacon signal transmitted by the user terminal 4. That is, the user terminal 4 transmits a beacon signal including the terminal ID (step S2), and the position specifying device 7 performs a process of specifying the position of the user terminal 4 based on the angle of incidence of the beacon signal on the receiver 6 (step S4). ). The position identification system sequentially transmits the terminal ID and the position information of the identified user terminal 4 to the product management server 5 (step S6). Every time the product management server 5 receives location information, it updates the location data corresponding to the terminal ID (step S8).
The product management server 5 determines whether the user terminal 4 is located in the payment area based on the position information received in step S6 (step S10).

On the other hand, the wireless device 2 installed in the checkout area, for example, emits a beacon signal (step S12), and uses this beacon signal to send messages to the tags T1, T2, ... attached to products present in the checkout area. It is possible to provide a wireless environment that can generate electricity. Each tag operates by harvesting energy based on radio waves in the surrounding environment and storing the generated power in an internal energy storage (for example, a capacitor). When the voltage of the energy storage is charged to a predetermined threshold or higher, each tag generates and transmits a packet including an encrypted PDU (steps S14 and S16). This packet is an advertising packet that is broadcast.

For example, when the wireless device 2 recognizes and receives a packet transmitted from each tag, it decodes the PDU included in the packet, extracts broadcast data included in the PDU, and transmits it to the store server 3 (step S18 ).
The store server 3 authenticates the tag ID included in the received broadcast data (step S20). Authentication of the tag ID is performed, for example, based on an authentication result obtained by making an inquiry to an external authentication server.

If the tag ID is successfully authenticated, the store server 3 transmits a payment request including the tag ID to the product management server 5 (step S22).
Upon receiving the payment request, the product management server 5 executes a matching process (step S24). That is, the product management server 5 associates the user ID corresponding to the terminal ID received in step S8 with the product code corresponding to the tag ID included in the payment request received in step S22. At this time, the product database and payment database are referred to. Through the matching process, the purchaser and the product that the purchaser is purchasing are linked.

Next, the product management server 5 transmits a payment notification to the purchaser's user terminal 4 (step S26). The payment notification is a notification for confirming to the store visitor who has the user terminal 4 whether or not it is okay to pay for the product. The product application on the user terminal 4 displays a payment screen based on the received payment notification (step S28).
An example of the payment screen is shown in FIG. In the payment screen G1 illustrated in FIG. 7, a product code corresponding to the tag ID included in the payment request, a product image IMG corresponding to the product code, text Tx1 indicating supplementary information regarding the product, and price information of the product are displayed. The text Tx2 shown in FIG. Examples of the supplementary information indicated by the text Tx1 include the size and color of the product, but may also include incidental information about the store, such as store campaign information and new product information.

The payment screen G1 in FIG. 7 includes a button b1 that requests the store visitor's approval for payment processing for the displayed product. If the visitor wishes to check the products on the payment screen and proceed with payment processing, he or she operates button b1. Thereby, the product application of the user terminal 4 returns an approval notification to the product management server 5 (step S32). If the payment screen displays a product that is not intended for purchase by the store visitor, by operating button b2 on the payment screen G1 in FIG. 7, the product application on the user terminal 4 sends an approval notification to the product management server 5. Do not send. Note that if the product management server 5 does not receive the approval notification within a certain period of time after transmitting the payment notification, the product management server 5 may determine that the payment has not been approved.

When the product management server 5 receives the approval notification from the user terminal 4, it updates the payment database (step S34). Specifically, in the payment database, the product code associated with the user ID is written in the "purchased product code" field of the record of the target user ID.
Note that if the visitor passes through the payment area (goes out) with the product in hand before the payment is completed, that is, before the payment database is updated in step S34, the product management server 5 It is preferable to send a warning message to the store server 3 or user terminal 4, for example. Moreover, in step S24, if the user ID corresponding to the product code cannot be specified, it is preferable to send a warning message to the store server 3.

As explained above, in the sales management system 1 of the present embodiment, when a store visitor (purchaser) passes through the checkout area with a product in the store, the IoT tag attached to the product identifies the product to be purchased. is specified. The location identification system measures the location of the user terminal 4 based on the beacon signal transmitted by the user terminal 4 of the store visitor (purchaser), and the product management server 5 measures the location of the user terminal 4 based on the location information for each terminal ID of the user terminal 4. It is determined whether the purchaser is located in the checkout area. Then, a matching process is performed in which the user ID corresponding to the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 located in the payment area is associated with the product code of the product to be purchased. Accordingly, information regarding which product is purchased by the purchaser with which user ID is specified.
According to the sales management system 1 of this embodiment, store clerks and purchasers do not perform operations such as scanning code information such as barcodes of products when selling or purchasing products. As a result, there is less of a waiting line to check out like in conventional self-checkout systems, greatly reducing the complexity of purchasing products for store visitors, and also having the advantage that stores are less likely to suffer the disadvantage of losing product sales opportunities. There is.

(2) Second Embodiment Next, a product payment system according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8.
The configuration of the product payment system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 2), but the control unit 31 of the store server 3 is different. Based on the sensor data included in the broadcast data received from the tag via the wireless device 2, the control unit 31 determines whether the corresponding IoT tag (that is, the tag with the tag ID included in the broadcast data) has been moved. to decide. If it is determined that the tag has been moved, the control unit 31 is configured to transmit a payment request including the tag ID of the moved tag to the product management server 5.

The sequence chart shown in FIG. 8 differs from the sequence chart in FIG. 6 only in that steps S21a and S21b are provided between step S20 and step S22. are omitted as appropriate.
Referring to FIG. 8, when the tag ID is successfully authenticated, the store server 3 determines whether the corresponding tag has been moved based on the sensor data included in the broadcast data (step S21a). If the store server 3 determines that the tag has been moved, it determines whether the product corresponding to the tag ID has made a predetermined movement (step S21b).

The determination in step S21b can be made from various viewpoints.
For example, the above-mentioned predetermined movement of the product may be a movement in which the product located at a predetermined position within the payment area moves to a position separated by a predetermined distance or more from the predetermined position. In other words, determining whether or not a product has made a predetermined movement is based on, for example, whether the movement of a visitor moves a product that is located at a predetermined position within the checkout area to a position that is a predetermined distance or more away from the predetermined position. It may be carried out on the basis of Here, the movement of moving the product to a position more than a predetermined distance away is, for example, a movement corresponding to the movement of a visitor who carries the product in the checkout area toward the exit of the store. If the product makes such a predetermined movement, it is considered that the store visitor has an intention to purchase the product, so it is preferable that the store server 3 transmits a payment request to the product management server 5.
The distance traveled by the product can be obtained by sequentially measuring the position of each tag within the payment area. The product management server 5 determines that the product has made a predetermined movement by detecting that each tag has moved a predetermined distance away within the payment area based on the positioning results of each tag.
As a method for positioning tags within the payment area, there is a method in which a plurality of wireless devices 2 are distributed and arranged at predetermined positions within the payment area, and positioning is performed using a triangulation method. Specifically, using the attenuation characteristics of radio waves depending on the distance, each wireless device 2 uses the received signal strength (RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value) when receiving a packet from the tag to communicate with the tag. The distance to the wireless device 2 is estimated, and the tag T is positioned by triangulation. When each wireless device 2 receives a packet from a tag, it transmits its own unique device ID, the RSSI value at the time of receiving the packet from the tag, and the broadcast data obtained from the packet to the store server 3. . The store server 3 identifies the location of the tag based on the data received from each wireless device 2.
Since the radio wave propagation environment within the payment area is generally not an ideal free space, the tag positioning accuracy can be further improved by using any number of wireless devices 2, 4 or more, for positioning a single tag. You can also do that.

From another perspective, the store server 3 may determine that the product has made a predetermined movement when the tag continuously detects the movement of the product for a predetermined period of time or more.
Since the store server 3 continuously acquires broadcast data from each tag in the checkout area, the judgment in step S21b is that it continuously judges (detects) that the tag corresponding to the same tag ID has been moved. Can be done based on time. That is, when a visitor moves a product within the checkout area, sensor data indicating that the tag has been moved is continuously acquired from the tag attached to the product. Therefore, if the time during which the tag continuously detects movement of the product (detection time) is longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the product has made a predetermined movement. Thereby, it is possible to more accurately reflect the customer's purchase intention for the product.
It is preferable not to judge that the product has made a predetermined movement even if the visitor moves a little while holding the product. This is because if the visitor moves a little while holding the product, there is a possibility that the visitor will not purchase the product.

The threshold value for the detection time may be set to a different value depending on the position of the tag within the store area. For example, if a product that has moved in a predetermined manner is not located in the checkout area in the store, the product may have been moved by a customer using a mirror or the like to adjust the product to their body. Therefore, if the product is not located in the checkout area in the store, it is preferable that the store server 3 not send the checkout request even if the product moves in a predetermined manner.
From the above viewpoint, the store server 3 may change the predetermined time according to the position of the tag within the store area. For example, when a product is located in a predetermined range other than the checkout area, the above-mentioned predetermined time period used to determine whether the product has made a predetermined movement is set to be longer than when the product is located in the checkout area. You can make it longer. Note that the tag positioning can be performed by arranging a plurality of wireless devices 2, as described above.

(3) Third Embodiment Next, a product payment system according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user terminal 4 receives packets transmitted from each tag within the checkout area of the store.
Referring to FIG. 9, the tags (tags T1, T2, . . . ) existing in the payment area that operate by energy harvesting generate a packet (step S14) and broadcast it to the surrounding area (step S16). For example, in the checkout area, the user terminal 4 of a visitor holding a product receives a packet transmitted by a tag attached to the product. Note that the user terminal 4 emits a beacon signal, the location information is sequentially acquired by the location identification system, and the location data is updated in the product management server 5, as in the case of FIG.

When the user terminal 4 receives the packet from the tag, it transmits the PDU included in the packet to the store server 3 (step S18a). The store server 3 decodes the received PDU and authenticates the tag ID included in the broadcast data extracted from the PDU (step S20). The subsequent operation is the same as in FIG.
As shown in this embodiment, what provides the tag ID to the store server 3 is not limited to the wireless device 2, but may be the user terminal 4.

The sequence chart shown in FIG. 10 differs from the sequence chart in FIG. 9 only in that steps S21a and S21b are provided between step S20 and step S22. are omitted as appropriate. That is, in this embodiment as well, the store server 3 may send a payment request to the product management server 5 when the product corresponding to the tag ID makes a predetermined movement, as shown in FIG. . Thereby, it is possible to more accurately reflect the customer's purchase intention for the product.

If the visitor's user terminal 4 has a built-in motion sensor such as an acceleration sensor, the sensor built in the user terminal 4 is configured to obtain information regarding whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement. Good too. For example, when the visitor's user terminal 4 receives a packet from the tag, it determines whether the product to which the tag is attached has made a predetermined movement based on the detection value of the built-in sensor. Next, the user terminal 4 transmits the tag ID included in the packet and the determination result as to whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement to the store server 3. In this way, by utilizing the sensor built into the user terminal 4, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement.

Note that there may be a case where a plurality of visitors exist in the payment area and each of them has a user terminal 4. In that case, among the plurality of user terminals 4, the user terminals 4 whose RSSI value received from the tag attached to the product in the checkout area is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value are far from the product, It can be determined that this is not the user terminal 4 of the purchaser who is making the payment.
Therefore, in this embodiment, each user terminal 4 transmits its own terminal ID and the RSSI value of the packet from each tag to the store server 3 in addition to the PDU, and the store server 3 responds to the payment request to the terminal. It is preferable to include the ID, tag ID, and RSSI value. Thereby, the product management server 5 can improve the accuracy of the matching process in step S24. For example, when a plurality of user IDs exist as candidates for a specific tag ID, the user ID corresponding to the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 having a low RSSI value can be excluded.
Moreover, when a plurality of user IDs exist as candidates for a specific tag ID, the user ID corresponding to the terminal ID of the user terminal 4 having the highest RSSI value can be associated with the product code corresponding to the tag ID.

Based on the RSSI value when the user terminal 4 receives a packet from the tag, the distance between the user terminal 4 and the tag can be estimated using the attenuation characteristics of radio waves depending on the distance. Therefore, the product management server 5 calculates the distance to the tag corresponding to the tag ID included in the payment request based on the RSSI value included in the payment request, and if the distance is within a predetermined distance, is associated with the user terminal 4 that is the source of the RSSI value. That is, when the positions of the plurality of user terminals 4 are specified to be within the payment area, the product management server 5 determines whether the distance between the plurality of user terminals 4 and the tag existing in the payment area is within a predetermined distance. A product code corresponding to the tag may be associated with the user terminal 4 that is the user terminal 4 .

Although the embodiments of the sales management system and sales management method have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Moreover, various improvements and changes can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the IoT tag can generate power based on radio waves emitted from at least one of the wireless device 2, the user terminal 4, and the store clerk terminal.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a cloud-type service for sales management is provided by the product management server 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto. This can also be achieved using a so-called on-premises system. In that case, the store server 3 is provided with a product database and a payment database, and the comparison process is executed by the store server 3.
In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which tag ID authentication is performed by the store server 3, but this is not a limitation. The tag ID may be authenticated by the product management server 5.
In the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the product management server 5 includes a product database and a payment database, but the invention is not limited thereto. The product database and the payment database are provided in a database server separate from the product management server 5, and the product management server 5 or the store server 3 accesses the database server as appropriate to execute the matching process and update the product database and the payment database. It may be configured as follows.

In the embodiment described above, the product management server 5 may have the function of the store server 3, and the store server 3 is not necessary in that case as well. Conversely, the store server 3 may have the functions of the product management server 5.

In the embodiments described above, the wireless device 2 and/or the user terminal 4 may be configured to be able to receive only packets from IoT tags T to which it has access authority. For example, a wireless tag that may be carried by a passerby outside the store transmits data using the same wireless communication protocol used between the wireless device 2 and/or user terminal 4 and the IoT tag T, such as the BLE protocol. However, there is a possibility that the wireless device 2 receives the data. Therefore, in order to distinguish between packets that should be received by the wireless device 2 and/or user terminal 4 and data that does not need to be received, packets transmitted from the IoT tag T include data indicating access authority (access authority data) is preferably included. In this case, in the embodiment described above, each time the wireless device 2 and/or the user terminal 4 receives a packet, it checks the access authority data included in the received packet, and discards the packet for which it does not have access authority.

In the above-described embodiments, a case has been described in which the product payment system and method are applied to the apparel field, but they can also be applied to fields that handle other products such as foods, medicines, and cosmetics. Depending on the field of application, the information contained in the product database and its format may vary. For example, each record in a product database in the food field may include an expiration date (best-before date) value corresponding to the product code. Each record in the product database in the pharmaceutical field may include an expiration date value corresponding to the product code. Furthermore, in the pharmaceutical field, when an IoT tag is attached to one package containing a predetermined number of drugs, each record in the product database can include a value of the quantity of drugs in the package.
When managing products that are subject to expiration date or expiration date, the product management server periodically monitors the expiration date or expiration date, and settles the product code, quantity, and product position of the product that is nearing its expiration date. It is preferable to reflect it on the screen as appropriate.

1...Sales management system T...IoT tag 11...Control unit 111...Memory 12...Antenna 13...Harvesting unit 131...Energy storage 14...Voltage control unit 15...RF transceiver 16...Sensor 2...Wireless device 21...Control unit 22... Antenna 23...RF transceiver 24...Communication unit 3...Store server 31...Control unit 32...Storage 33...Communication unit 4...Staff terminal 41...Control unit 42...Storage 43...Operation input unit 44...Display unit 45...First communication unit 46...Second communication unit 5...Product management server 51...Control unit 52...Storage 53...Communication unit 6...Receiver 61...Radio wave reception unit 62...Incidence angle calculation unit 63...Communication unit 7...Position specifying device 71...Control unit 72...Control unit 73...Communication unit NW...Network

Claims (7)

A sales management system that manages one or more products sold to users,
a wireless tag that is attached to a product to be sold, stores unique tag identification information, and detects movement of the product ;
a position specifying device that is capable of communicating with a user terminal owned by the user and that specifies the position of the user terminal in a payment area where payment for the product is performed;
an information processing device having a storage unit that stores product information for identifying the product to be sold in association with tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product;
including;
The information processing device includes:
The position of the user terminal specified by the position specifying device is within the payment area, and the user terminal has made a predetermined movement within the payment area based on information obtained from a wireless tag present in the payment area. If a product exists , associating product information corresponding to the wireless tag with the user terminal located within the checkout area;
Sales management system. The location identifying device identifies the location of the user terminal based on a wireless signal transmitted from the user terminal and including unique terminal identification information of the user terminal,
The information processing device specifies terminal identification information of a user terminal located within the payment area based on the location of the user terminal specified by the location specifying device.
A sales management system according to claim 1. The information processing device includes a second storage unit that stores user identification information for identifying the user in association with terminal identification information of the user terminal, and stores user identification information corresponding to a user terminal located within the payment area. identifying information and associating the identified user identification information with product information corresponding to the wireless tag existing in the payment area;
The sales management system according to claim 2. When the position specifying device specifies that the positions of the plurality of user terminals are within the payment area, the information processing device is configured to locate a wireless tag located within the payment area among the plurality of user terminals. associating product information corresponding to the wireless tag with a user terminal whose distance is within a predetermined distance;
A sales management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . further comprising a wireless device that communicates with the wireless tag,
The information processing device authenticates the tag identification information received by the wireless device, and if authentication is successful, associates product information corresponding to the wireless tag with the user terminal located within the checkout area.
A sales management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The wireless tag operates by obtaining energy from surrounding radio waves.
A sales management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A sales management method for managing one or more products sold to users, the method comprising:
A wireless tag attached to a product to be sold stores unique tag identification information and detects movement of the product ,
A position identifying device capable of communicating with a user terminal owned by the user identifies location information of the user terminal within a payment area where payment for the product is performed;
The information processing device stores product information identifying the product to be sold in association with tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product, and the information processing device stores product information identifying the product to be sold in association with tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product, and the information processing device stores product information identifying the product to be sold in association with tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to the product, and is within the payment area, and there is a product that has made a predetermined movement within the payment area based on information obtained from a wireless tag located in the payment area , associating corresponding product information with the user terminal located within the payment area;
Sales management method.

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