JPH0542550Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] (Industrial application field) This invention is applied to POS information systems.
Regarding POS counters.

(Conventional technology and its problems) In recent years, the retail industry has been rapidly introducing POS information systems that enable single item management based on product classification systems. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a standard configuration example of this POS information system. In the same figure, product information attached to product 1 in the form of barcodes, symbols, OCR characters, etc. at the store is displayed on product 1 at the counter.
Scanner 2 reads each individual item. The read product information is transmitted and input to the controller 4 via the POS terminal 3. On the other hand, the product name, the corresponding price, and other information are input in advance for each product 1 into the controller 4, and the product 1 is read by the scanner 2.
The price and other information corresponding to the above are sent from the controller 4 to the POS terminal 3. and,
That information is sent to register 5, and register 5
Then, the total amount of products 1 purchased by the customer is calculated, and the result is issued as a receipt by the printer 5a. In addition, for products that do not have the product information listed above, the operator's keyboard 6
The product information is input by the operation.
The input information is processed in the same way as information read by the scanner 2. controller 4
The sales data of the product 1 collected in the controller 4 is sent to the host computer 7 at the head office connected online to be aggregated, or temporarily recorded on a magnetic tape or floppy disk, and then sent to the host computer 7. Aggregation processing is performed. Note that a card reader 8 is connected to the above system, so that payments can also be made using IC cards and ID cards.

By the way, scanners applied to the above system include hand type scanners that are held in the operator's hand for reading operations, and fixed type scanners that are installed on a counter. ,b, the scanner 2 is
The counter 9 is placed so that its scanning surface 2a faces upward.
The one provided on the surface was used. and,
The counter 9 installed in the above scanner 2
In this case, the product information was read in the following manner.

First, the two scanners located on the left and right with scanner 2 in between
Of the counter surfaces 9a and 9b at each location, a product basket 10a carried by a customer is placed on one counter surface 9a, and an empty product basket 10b is placed on the other counter surface 9b. The product 1 whose product information has been read is transferred to the empty product basket 10b, and when all readings are completed, the product 1 is transferred to the product basket 10.
Give b to the customer. Next, as shown in FIG. 3b, the empty product basket 10a is moved to the empty counter surface 9b side, and the product basket 10c brought by the next customer is processed in the same manner as before. Read product information. Further, if there is a product without product information attached, the product information is input using a keyboard (not shown) installed at a separate location.

However, with this configuration of a counter equipped with a scanner, each time the above-mentioned product information reading operation is completed, the empty product basket is moved over the scanner that protrudes above the counter and onto the other counter surface. As a result, there was a problem in that the flow of product carts on the counter did not go smoothly and the efficiency of the reading operation was reduced. Furthermore, since the scanner is installed with its scanning surface facing upward, there is a problem in that dust and the like tend to accumulate thereon, which can cause malfunctions.

(Purpose of the invention) This invention was made to solve the above problems, and it allows the flow of product containers on the counter to be smooth, prevents dust from adhering to the scanning surface of the scanner, and makes the reading process easier. The purpose is to provide a highly efficient POS counter that can be used smoothly.

(Means for achieving the purpose) The technical means for achieving the above purpose is to:
A POS counter is provided with a support member protruding upward at a position opposite to the operator side away from the counter surface, and the support member is equipped with a keyboard for inputting product information and a scanner for reading product information. are at approximately the same height along the transfer direction of the product container, and with a space for passing the product container in the transfer direction on the counter surface at a position corresponding to the support member, the scanner scans its scanning surface with an operator. The counter is in a vertical position facing the operator, and is located above the edge of the counter surface opposite to the operator side.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a POS counter which is an embodiment of this invention.

This POS counter constitutes a part of the above-mentioned POS information system, and is located midway in the transfer direction on the surface of the counter 11 of the product basket 15 as a product container, and on the operator's side away from the surface of the counter 11. At the opposite position, that is, at the middle position of the front edge of the surface, a column 12 as a supporting member is provided to protrude upward. At the upper end of this column 12 is a scanner 13 for reading product information, with its scanning surface facing the operator. The counter 11 is provided in a vertical position and located above the edge of the surface of the counter 11 opposite to the operator side. Further, an arm 12a extending from the side of the main body of the scanner 13 is provided with a keyboard 14 for inputting product information by key operation for products to which product information is not attached. It is integrated with the scanner 13. The arm 12a is rotatably attached to the main body of the scanner 13, for example, and by rotating the arm 12a in the horizontal direction, the keyboard 14 can be brought closer to the operator.
It is configured so that it can be moved away from the operator.

On the other hand, on the surface of the right half of the counter 11 from the mounting position of the pillar 12, a conveyor 16 is provided for transporting a product basket 15 carried by a customer to a position in front of the mounting position of the pillar 12. Also, on the surface of the left half of the counter 11, there is an empty product basket 15.
A surface area is secured in which a product basket 15 into which the product information has been read and the product has been placed can be placed. The left and right surfaces of the counter 11 are configured to have approximately the same height along the transport direction of the product basket 15, and the counter 11 is located at a position corresponding to the support column 12.
There is a product basket 1 between the surface and the main body of the scanner 13.
A passage space is ensured through which the material 5 can pass in the transport direction. This conveyor 16 is located near the end of the conveyor 16 on the right half surface of the counter 11.
A sensor 17 is provided to detect the product basket 15 being transported by the conveyor 16, and the conveyor 16 is configured to stop while the sensor 17 is detecting the product basket 15. Further, on the left half side of the counter 11, there is separately provided a register 18 with a printer that calculates the total amount of products in the product basket 15 based on the information read by the scanner 13 and the information inputted by the keyboard 14. There is. Then, the scanner 13, keyboard 1
4. The registers 18 each constitute a terminal section of the POS information system.

Note that the scanner 13 uses, for example, two-color laser beams, red and green.
Only if the read scan is performed accurately by
The laser light is configured to change from one color to the other to facilitate operator identification.

Next, the procedure for reading product information at this POS counter will be explained.

When the product basket 15 carried by the customer is placed on the right half surface of the counter 11, this product basket 1
5 is transferred to the left side by the conveyor 16, and when it reaches this side of the column 12, the sensor 17 detects this and the conveyor 16 stops.

An empty product basket 15 is prepared in advance on the surface of the left half of the counter 11, and the operator stands at the rear of the support column 12, takes out the products one by one from the product basket 15 stopped on the right side, and carries out the corresponding product. A scanner 13 reads product information attached to the product in the form of a bar code or the like.
At this time, the scanner 13 is located above the front edge of the counter 11, and its scanning surface is in a vertical position facing the operator.
The reading position can be easily confirmed, and the scanner 1
3 does not protrude much above the surface of the counter 11, so there is no problem when the products are sequentially taken out from the product basket 15 on the right side, read by the scanner 13, and then transferred to the empty product basket 15 on the left side. The reading operation is easy and the workability is smooth. On the other hand, for a product to which product information is not attached, the operator rotates the arm 12a, draws the keyboard 14 toward the user, and operates a key to input the product information. The keyboard 14 is separately provided with a display section 14a, which displays the product code, price, etc., and confirms whether or not the input has been made correctly. This key operation is performed in the same posture as when reading by the scanner 13. Also, when reading by the scanner 13, since the scanning surface of the scanner 13 is in an almost vertical vertical position, there is little risk of dust or the like adhering.

Read information about all products in product cart 15,
When input by key operation is completed, register 1
8 calculates the total amount, and the printer section of the register 18 issues a receipt 19 on which the result is printed.

When the customer finishes paying and picks up the product basket 15, the products are taken out and placed empty on the counter 1.
The product basket 15 waiting on the right half of the screen 1 is transferred to the surface of the left half. At this time, the surface of the counter 11 is at approximately the same height along the transport direction of the product basket 15, and the surface of the counter 11 corresponding to the support column 12 is
Since a passage space for the product basket 15 is secured on one surface, the product basket 15 can be transferred by simply transversely moving the product basket 15 on the surface of the counter 11. In addition, the scanner 13 does not protrude above the surface of the counter 11 so much that it does not interfere with the parallel movement of the product basket 15.
Transfers can be made smoothly. Once the goods basket 15 is transferred, the sensor 17 no longer detects the goods basket 15, thereby restarting the operation of the conveyor 16, and the next customer's goods basket 15 is transferred by the conveyor 16 to the left side.

By repeating the above procedure, the product information is read by the scanner 13 and input by the keyboard 14 in sequence.

In this embodiment, the conveyor 16 is provided only on the right half of the counter 11, but another conveyor is provided on the left half to cooperate with the right half conveyor and the operator's product information reading operation. The product basket 15 is fully automatically transferred by the drive,
Various configurations are available, such as extending the conveyor 16 over the entire surface of the counter 11 and providing a mechanical stopper in front of the scanner 13, and performing the same fully automatic transfer by linking these and the operator's product information reading operation. is possible.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, according to the POS counter of this invention, the counter surface is at approximately the same height along the direction of transport of the product container, and the product container is placed on the counter surface at a position corresponding to the support member. A scanner is provided with its scanning surface in a vertical position facing the operator, and positioned above the edge of the counter surface opposite to the operator side. Yes, when products are taken out one by one from the product storage container carried by the customer, read on the scanning surface of the scanner, and then transferred one after another to the empty product storage container on the other side, the scanning surface of the scanner is oriented vertically. Because of the posture, the reading position can be easily confirmed, and the scanner does not protrude much above the counter surface, so reading can be performed easily without any problems, and workability is smooth. Furthermore, it is possible to effectively prevent dust from adhering to the scanning surface. In addition, when transferring product containers, the counter surface is at approximately the same height and space for passing the product container is secured, so it is only necessary to move the product container laterally, and the scanner can be moved from the counter surface. It does not protrude much upwards, so it does not cause any obstruction when moving the product container, allowing smooth transfer and smooth flow of the product container. Furthermore, the flow of the product container and the work of reading information become smoother, so that work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a POS counter that is an embodiment of this invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram of a POS information system, and Figures 3 a and b are explanatory diagrams showing the procedure for reading information using a conventional POS counter. It is. 11... Counter, 12... Pillar (supporting member), 13... Scanner, 14... Keyboard,
15...Product basket (product container).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A support member is provided to protrude upward at a midway point in the transfer direction on the counter surface of the product container and at a position opposite to the operator side away from the counter surface,
The support member is equipped with a keyboard for inputting product information and a scanner for reading product information.
In the POS counter, the counter surface is approximately at the same height along the transfer direction of the product container, and the counter surface has a space for passing the product container in the transfer direction on the counter surface at a position corresponding to the support member. A POS counter characterized in that a scanner is provided with its scanning surface in a vertical position facing an operator and positioned above the edge of the counter surface opposite to the operator side.