TW201715478A - Checkout support device, checkout support method and program including a merchandise-specifying means, a merchandise price-specifying means, a total management unit, and a payment collecting unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A subject of the present invention is to allow a user U to easily check out the merchandise immediately without queuing up at the cashier. The merchandise-specifying means 202 monitors the moving images and determines whether the new merchandise has been inserted by the user U. In the case where a new merchandise is inserted, the merchandise-specifying means 202 specifies the inserted new merchandise by the moving images. Next, the merchandise price-specifying means 203 specifies the price of the merchandise according to the specified merchandise. In the case where new merchandises are successively inserted, the following behaviors are repeated: determining whether or not the new merchandise has been inserted by the user U, and performing specific behaviors on the specified merchandises and the specified merchandise prices, while the total management unit 204 accumulating and calculating the merchandise price. The specified merchandise, the specified merchandise price, and the accumulated amount are displayed on the checkout terminal 50 according to the instruction of the total management unit 204. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the total management unit 204 determines the total amount of the payment. After that, the payment collecting unit 205 requests the payment collecting server 30 to collect payment.

Description

Checkout support device, checkout support method, and program

The present invention relates to a checkout support device, a checkout support method, and a program.

In the past, supermarkets, mass merchandisers, and merchandise have barcodes and other general conditions. At the time of checkout of the merchandise payment, the clerk must use the barcode reader set at the checkout counter (POS (Point of sale system): the point-of-sale management system), and the reading operation is attached to the merchandise. Bar code.

Advanced technical literature Patent literature

Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-198137

Therefore, the customer must go to a limited number of cash registers, the clerk needs to perform the above barcode reading operation, and the customer has to go through a long wait at the checkout counter. Therefore, the customer desires to easily check out the merchandise payment immediately without queuing at the checkout counter.

However, conventional techniques including Patent Document 1 cannot cope with such a request.

The present invention is an invention completed in view of such a situation, and its object is to easily check out merchandise money immediately without queuing at the checkout counter.

In order to achieve the above object, a checkout support device according to an aspect of the present invention is provided by the photographing function of a cart having an image in which one or more products are inserted by a user, and the instruction to be inserted into the cart. The terminal of the function of the checkout of the product is configured to communicate with the checkout support device for supporting the checkout, and the checkout support device includes a product image acquisition means that acquires a moving image of the inside of the cart; The commodity specifying means specifies the product when the new product is inserted in the cart based on the moving image; and the product price specifying means specifies the price of the product specified by the product specifying means; The total management means accumulates each of the aforementioned prices specified by the commodity price specifying means for one or more of the products specified by the commodity specifying means so far, and satisfies the display of the foregoing checkout from the terminal The cumulative price at the time of the indicated conditions is set to the total amount of goods to be settled; and the collection control hand , Which is set by means of the aforementioned total management of the aforementioned total amount, to control the execution on a user's payment processing.

In another aspect of the checkout support device of the present invention, The terminal further has a function of presenting information to the user, and the device may further include: a user location specifying means for specifying a location of the user when a new product is inserted in the cart; and an advertisement content management means And controlling the predetermined advertisement to the terminal according to the foregoing location specified by the user location specific means.

In the checkout support device according to another aspect of the present invention, a weight measuring unit is provided outside the checkout support device, and the weight of the one or more products inserted into the cart is measured, and the cart may be inserted into the cart. The product may have a weight determined in advance, and the apparatus may further include: an actual weight obtaining means that obtains a weight measured by the weight measuring unit as an actual weight; and a product weight specifying means that is specific to the commodity specifying means up to now The added value of the weight obtained in advance for each of the above-described products is specified as a weight; and the error determining means calculates an error between the actual weight and the estimated weight.

The checkout support method according to an aspect of the present invention is a function of transmitting a photograph of a cart having a product inserted into one or more products by a user, and a knot indicating the one or more products inserted into the cart. The terminal of the function of the account communicates to support the checkout support method executed by the checkout support device of the checkout, and the checkout support method is characterized by including: a product image obtaining step of acquiring a moving image in the cart; and a product specifying step of determining a product when the new item is inserted in the cart based on the moving image; a specific step of specifying a price of the aforementioned item specified in the product specific step; a total management step of accumulating the one or more of the items specified in the item specifying step so far in the specific item price step Each of the foregoing predetermined prices, and the cumulative price at which the predetermined condition indicating the foregoing checkout from the terminal is satisfied is set as the total amount of the goods to be settled; and the collection control step, which is in the foregoing total The foregoing total amount determined by the management step controls the execution of the collection process for the aforementioned user.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a control process including a step of inserting a photographing function and an instruction to a cart having a product inserted into one or more products by a user. The terminal of the checkout function of the one or more products of the cart communicates to support the checkout execution control, and the step is a product image acquisition step of acquiring a motion picture in the cart; a specific step of specifying the product when the new item is inserted in the cart based on the moving image; and a product price specifying step of specifying a price of the item specified in the item specifying step; a total management step of accumulating each of the aforementioned prices specified in the commodity price specifying step for each of the one or more products specified in the product specific step so far, and satisfying the foregoing indication from the terminal The cumulative price at the time of the set condition of the checkout is set as the total amount of the goods to be settled; and the charge control step of controlling the collection process for the aforementioned user with the aforementioned total amount determined in the aforementioned total management step carried out.

According to the present invention, it is possible to check out the merchandise money without attaching a barcode to the merchandise.

111‧‧‧CPU

112‧‧‧ROM

113‧‧‧RAM

114‧‧‧ Busbar

115‧‧‧Output interface

116‧‧‧Output Department

117‧‧‧ Input Department

118‧‧‧Memory Department

119‧‧‧Communication Department

120‧‧‧ drive

131‧‧‧Removable media

201‧‧‧Commodity Image Acquisition Department

202‧‧‧Commodity Specific Department

203‧‧‧Commodity Price Specific Department

204‧‧‧General Management Department

205‧‧‧ Collection Department

206‧‧‧The actual weight acquisition department

207‧‧‧Commodity weight specific department

208‧‧‧Error Judgment Department

209‧‧‧User location specific department

210‧‧‧Ad Content Management Department

211‧‧‧ Resume Data Management Department

251‧‧‧Commodity Table Memory Department

252‧‧‧Advertising Form Memory

253‧‧‧ Resume data storage department

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a checkout support system to which a checkout support device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the checkout support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for performing payment settlement processing among the functional configurations of the checkout support device of Fig. 2.

4 is a view showing a structure of a product table stored in a product table storage unit of a storage unit of the checkout support device of FIG. 2 .

Fig. 5 is a view showing an example of a screen of the checkout terminal of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view showing a structure of an advertisement table stored in an advertisement table storage unit of a storage unit of the checkout support device of Fig. 2; .

Fig. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of payment settlement processing executed by the checkout support device of Fig. 2 having the functional configuration of Fig. 3.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the advertisement display processing in the payment settlement processing of FIG. 7 in detail.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of error calculation processing in the payment settlement processing of Fig. 7 in detail.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[summary of checkout management system]

Fig. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a checkout support system to which a checkout support device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

The checkout support system shown in FIG. 1 is constructed by interconnecting the checkout support device 10, the shopping cart systems 20-1 to 20-n, and the payment server 30 via the network 40.

The card media C-1 to Cn of n sheets (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) are, for example, those issued by a company that provides a predetermined product P, and an IC that can perform non-contact communication (integrated circuit). It is composed of a magnetic card and has the function of recording and calculating data. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish the card media C-1 to C-n one by one, these are collectively referred to as "card media C".

The card medium C is given a correspondence relationship with the company's currency (points) that can be used to pay for the provision of the product P of the above-mentioned company. Here, the phrase "corresponding to the corporate currency" does not mean that the corporate currency is directly stored in the card medium C, but means that the amount of the corporate currency that can be used by the card media C is managed by the checkout support system 10.

In other words, the card medium C has the use of the company's currency when paying for the provision of the product P of the above-mentioned company, but does not memorize the enterprise. The industry itself, only remembers to focus on identifying the person's logo (card number) and so on.

Each of the shopping cart systems 20-1 to 20-n of n units (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) is, for example, a company that provides a predetermined product P, and is a user who receives a predetermined product P. -1~Un used.

Here, the company is an arbitrary product provider, and may be, for example, a retailer who retails at HOME CENTER. In the present embodiment, for the sake of convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the retailer is in the supermarket. In addition, in the following, when it is not necessary to distinguish the shopping cart systems 20-1 to 20-n, these are collectively referred to as "shopping cart system 20".

The shopping cart systems 20-1 to 20-n are provided with checkout terminals 50-1 to 50-n and weight sensors 60-1 to 60-n.

In the case of the "shopping cart system 20", the checkout terminals 50-1 to 50-n are collectively referred to as "checkout terminal 50", and the weight sensors 60-1 to 60-n are collectively referred to as "weight sensing". 60".

The checkout terminal 50 is configured as a computer, and includes a processing function as a computer main body, a touch panel as an input device, a plurality of buttons, a display or a speaker as a display device, and a photographing device in a plate-shaped casing. Camera etc.

Although not shown, the checkout terminal 50 includes a reading/writing unit, a communication unit, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit, and a camera unit.

The read/write section has a read/write function of the card medium C, and can be contacted or non-contacted with the IC mounted on the card medium C. The message is read by the card medium C or written to the card medium C.

The communication unit can perform communication for receiving, for example, various materials using Wi-Fi or the like with other devices (mainly the checkout support device 10 in the example of FIG. 1) via the network 40.

When the GPS unit receives the GPS signals from the plurality of GPS satellites, the data indicating the current position of the checkout terminal 50 is calculated based on the GPS signals, specifically, the latitude, longitude, and altitude are calculated. Various materials (hereinafter referred to as "location data"). For example, the GPS unit can specify the current position of the user U through the location data.

The camera unit system is capable of capturing, for example, a moving image of the product P inserted into the cart of the shopping cart system 20.

The weight sensor 60 measures the weight of the cart and the product P of the shopping cart system 20, and outputs the measured result.

The checkout support device 10 is configured by a server managed by the same company or other company as the above-mentioned company, and supports the payment of the consideration of the product P. The details of the checkout support device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings in FIG. 2 and later.

The payment server 30 executes processing for collecting the total amount of the specific product P (hereinafter referred to as "receipt processing") in accordance with the request from the checkout assistance device 10.

Network 40 is any network that contains the Internet.

The outline of the operation of such a checkout support system is as follows.

For example, user U presses shopping cart system 20 and moves within the store. The camera unit of the checkout terminal 50 captures the inside of the cart of the shopping cart system 20, and transmits the moving image to the checkout support device 10. The checkout support device 10 monitors the moving image and determines whether or not the product P has been inserted by the user U. Here, it is assumed that the user U has inserted the article P into the cart of the shopping cart system 20. The checkout support device 10 determines that the product is inserted, and specifies the product P to be inserted by the moving image. Next, the checkout support device 10 specifies the product price by the specified product P. When the product P is inserted one after another, the checkout assistance device 10 determines that the product P has been inserted by the user U, repeats the behavior of specifying the inserted product P and the product price, and calculates the cumulative product price. The specified product P, the specified product price, and the accumulated amount are displayed on the checkout terminal 50 in accordance with an instruction from the checkout support device 10.

When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the checkout support device 10 determines the total amount of payment. For example, the predetermined condition can be set as a condition that the user U presses the settlement button of the checkout terminal 50. (The settlement button is described later.)

When the user U makes a payment by the card medium C, the checkout assistance device 10 requests the collection server 30 to perform the collection process.

The collection server 30 collects the total amount of the merchandise P purchased at the supermarket.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the data of the cumulative amount of the product P, the product price, and the product price is calculated from the moving image captured by the camera unit of the checkout terminal 50. The user U can pay the consideration of the item P based on the data.

Therefore, the clerk does not need to use the barcode reader of the checkout terminal (POS) to read the barcode attached to the commodity P, and as a result, the enterprise can release the situation that the user must wait at the checkout station for a long time.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, in order to correctly specify the product P, the checkout support device 10 is the actual weight of the article P measured by the weight sensor 60 provided in the shopping cart system 20, and is The estimated weight of the specific commodity P is compared. As long as the actual weight of the measured product P and the estimated weight of the specified product P are within a certain error range, the product P is correctly specified.

Moreover, when the error exceeds a certain range, a predetermined error process is executed. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the specification of the product P is performed again.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, the checkout support device 10 specifies the position of the user U from the display position of the specific product P, and displays the advertisement corresponding to the position of the user U at the knot. The account terminal 50 controls the matter. For example, when the specific product P is orange juice, the checkout terminal 50 displays an advertisement of oranges in response to the display section of the orange juice.

The checkout support device 10 requests the collection server 30 to receive the payment process by the card medium C to collect the total amount of the product P.

The payment server 30 collects the total amount of the merchandise P specified by the checkout assistance device 10.

Hereinafter, a series of processes performed by the checkout support device 10 in the operation of the system described above will be referred to as "payment checkout process".

[Configuration of Checkout Support Device 10]

Next, details of the configuration of the checkout support device 10 in the checkout support system of Fig. 1 will be described.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the checkout support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The checkout support device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113, and a bus bar 114. The input/output interface 115, the output unit 116, the input unit 117, the memory unit 118, the communication unit 119, and the driver 120 are provided.

The CPU 111 executes various processes in accordance with a program recorded in the ROM 112 or a program downloaded from the storage unit 118 to the RAM 113.

The data and the like necessary for the CPU 111 to execute various processes are also appropriately stored in the RAM 113.

The CPU 111, the ROM 112, and the RAM 113 are connected to each other via a bus bar 114. The bus bar 114 is also connected to the input/output interface 115. The output unit 116, the input unit 117, the memory unit 118, the communication unit 119, and the driver 120 are connected to the input/output interface 115.

The output unit 116 is configured by a display, a speaker, or the like, and outputs video and sound.

The input unit 117 is constituted by a keyboard or various buttons, and inputs various materials in response to an operator's instruction.

The memory unit 118 is constituted by a hard disk or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like, and stores various materials.

The communication unit 119 controls communication between the network 40 including the Internet and other devices (the checkout terminal 50 and the payment server 30 in the example of Fig. 1).

The drive 120 is suitably mounted with a removable medium 131 composed of a magnetic disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory. The program read from the removable medium 131 by the drive 120 is installed to the memory unit 118 as needed. Further, the removable medium 131 can also memorize various materials stored in the storage unit 118 in the same manner as the storage unit 118.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for executing such payment settlement processing among the functional configurations of the checkout support device 10.

When the CPU 111 controls the execution of the payment settlement process, the product image acquisition unit 201, the product identification unit 202, the product price specifying unit 203, the total management unit 204, the collection unit 205, the actual weight acquisition unit 206, and the product The weight specifying unit 207, the error determining unit 208, the user position specifying unit 209, the advertisement content managing unit 210, and the history data management unit 211 function.

The product table storage unit 251, the advertisement table storage unit 252, and the history data storage unit 253 are provided as one area of the storage unit 118.

The product image acquisition unit 201 acquires a moving image in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 imaged by the camera unit of the checkout terminal 50.

The product identification unit 202 determines whether or not a new product has been inserted based on the moving image acquired by the product image acquisition unit 201. commodity When the specific unit 202 determines that a new product has been inserted, the specific unit 202 specifies a new product from the moving image based on the product table stored in the product table storage unit 251 in FIG. 4 .

Specifically, the product identification unit 202 specifies a new product in the moving image by comparing the moving image with the product identification image of the product table of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a structure of a product table stored in the product table storage unit 251 of the storage unit 118 of the checkout support device 10 of FIG.

In the product table, the product name, the link for the product identification image, the product price, the product weight, and the display interval are stored for each ID.

The so-called product name refers to the name of the product. The connection of the product discrimination image indicates the storage location of the image for product identification. The so-called commodity price refers to the price attached to the commodity. The so-called commodity weight indicates the standard weight of the commodity measured first. The display section refers to a section in which goods are displayed.

Specifically, in the product table of FIG. 4, ID=G1, the product name is orange juice, and the image of the product identification image is linked, the product price is 140 yen, the estimated weight of the product is 500 g, and the display interval is A3. .

Referring back to FIG. 3, the product price specifying unit 203 selects and specifies the price of the specific product based on the ID of the specific new product (hereinafter referred to as "specific product") in the product table of FIG. 4 stored in the product table storage unit 251. (hereinafter referred to as "specific commodity price").

Specifically, the commodity price of the orange juice with ID=G1 in the product table of FIG. 4 is specified as 140 yen.

The total management unit 204 calculates the accumulation of the specific product prices up to the present every time a new product is specified. Further, the total management unit 204 displays the specific product, the specific product price, and the accumulated amount in the checkout terminal 50.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the state of the screen of the checkout terminal 50.

In the present embodiment, the checkout terminal 50 is used in a store such as a supermarket.

As shown in FIG. 5, a display area 301 such as a product, an advertisement display area 302, and a payment amount display area 303 are provided as screens of the checkout terminal 50.

The specific item and the specific item price are displayed in the display area 301 such as a product.

An advertisement based on the location data of the user U is displayed in the advertisement display area 302.

The payment amount display area 303 includes a total amount display area 311 and a settlement button 312.

Although the detailed description is omitted, as shown in FIG. 5, the price of the product P may be paid by means other than the card medium C, or the price of the product P may be paid by the card medium C and the card medium C.

In addition, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the total management unit 204 issues an instruction to the collection unit 205 to process the payment of the total amount of payment, and instructs the history data management unit 211, which will be described later, the specific product, the specific product price, and the cumulative amount. .

In the present embodiment, the user U presses the settlement button 312 in FIG. 5 as a predetermined condition.

Specifically, it is assumed that the apple of ID=G2 in the product table of FIG. 4 has a price of 100 yen. Then, when the orange juice of ID=G1 and the price of 140 yen are specified as new products, the price yen of the orange juice is added to the price of 100 yen of the apple, thereby calculating the accumulated amount and displaying the accumulated amount at the checkout terminal 50. 240 yen. At this point in time, when the user U presses the settlement button 312 in FIG. 5, the total management unit 204 issues an instruction to the collection unit 205 for the collection processing of a total of 240 yen.

When the payment unit 205 is to pay the consideration of the product P with the predetermined card medium C, the collection unit 205 requests the collection server 30 to perform the payment processing of the consideration.

The actual weight acquisition unit 206 acquires the actual weight of the specific product installed in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 measured by the weight sensor 60 of the shopping cart system 20.

The product weight specifying unit 207 selects and specifies the weight of the specific product based on the ID of the specific product in the product table of FIG. 4 stored in the product table storage unit 251.

The error determination unit 208 calculates an error between the actual product specific weight acquired by the actual weight acquisition unit 206 and the specific product estimated weight specified by the product weight specifying unit 207.

Specifically, regarding the orange juice of ID=G1 in the product table of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the estimated weight in the product table of FIG. 4 is 500 g and the actual weight of the orange juice measured by the weight sensor 60 is 515 g. The error is 15g.

When the company has set 20g to a certain range of the error, since the actual error is less than a certain range, the total management unit 204 determines that the product P is correctly specified.

In addition, when the company has set 10g as a certain range of the error, since the actual error exceeds a certain range, in the present embodiment, the total management unit 204 re-specifies the new product.

As described above, the product P can be specified by the moving image. However, in order to more accurately specify the product P, the weight of the product P is used to ensure the accuracy of the specific product P.

The user position specifying unit 209 selects and specifies the display section from the ID of the specific product based on the product table of FIG. 4 stored in the product table storage unit 251.

Specifically, the user position specifying unit 209 specifies the A3 section as its display section for the orange juice of D1=G1 in the product table of FIG. 4 .

The advertisement content management unit 210 selects and specifies an advertisement based on the display section of the advertisement table of FIG. 6 stored in the advertisement table storage unit 252.

6 is a view showing an example of a structure of an advertisement table stored in the advertisement table storage unit 252 of the storage unit 118 of the checkout assistance device 10 of FIG.

In the advertisement form, a link between the display section and the advertisement content is stored by each ID.

Further, the advertisement content management unit 210 issues an instruction to the checkout terminal 50 to cause the specified advertisement to be displayed on the checkout terminal 50.

Specifically, in the case where the display section in the advertisement table of FIG. 6 is the A3 section, the advertisement of ten or more half-prices of the orange is specified and displayed on the checkout terminal 50.

Further, the advertisement content management unit 210 acquires the history data from the history data management unit 211, and instructs to change the advertisement table of FIG. 6 stored in the advertisement table storage unit 252.

By displaying the advertisement to the checkout terminal 50, the enterprise can timely and let the user U see the appropriate advertisement, thereby increasing the user's willingness to purchase.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the history data management unit 211 transmits the history data to the advertisement content management unit 210 based on the history data storage unit 253.

The history data management unit 211 acquires the history data from the total management unit 204 and transmits the history data to the history data storage unit 253.

By managing the resume data, it is possible to change the advertisement to an advertisement that meets the needs of the user U.

Next, the payment settlement processing executed by the checkout support device 10 of such a functional configuration of Fig. 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 .

Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of payment settlement processing executed by the checkout support device 10 of Fig. 2 having the functional configuration of Fig. 3.

The payment settlement processing of Fig. 7 performs the following series of processing.

In step S1 of FIG. 7, the product image acquisition unit 201 of FIG. 3 acquires a moving image in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 captured by the checkout terminal 50.

In step S2, the product identification unit 202 determines whether or not the new product has been inserted into the cart of the shopping cart system 20 based on the motion image acquired in step S1.

If the determination in step S2 is NO, the process proceeds to step S10. The processing after step S10 will be described later. On the other hand, if the determination in step S2 is YES, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the item specifying unit 202 specifies a new item inserted into the cart of the shopping cart system 20 based on the item table of FIG.

That is, in the above-described example, when the new product inserted into the cart of the shopping cart system 20 is orange juice, the product specifying unit 202 recognizes the image of the orange juice inserted into the cart and the product table of FIG. The product identification image orenge.jpg in the first column is identical, and the new product is designated as the orange juice of ID=G1.

In step S4, the product price specifying unit 203 sets the price of the specific product based on the product table of FIG. 4 by using the ID of the new product specified in step S3 as an index.

In other words, in the above-described example, since the ID of the orange juice specified in the step S3 is G1, the product price specifying unit 203 specifies the 140 yen of the ID=G1 of the product table of Fig. 4 as the price of the new product.

In step S5, the advertisement content management unit 210 executes a process of displaying an advertisement corresponding to the position of the user U at the checkout terminal 50. Such processing is hereinafter referred to as "advertising display processing".

The advertisement display processing will be described with reference to Fig. 8 .

In step S21, the user position specifying unit 209 uses the ID of the new product specified in step S3 as an index, and selects the display section based on the product table of FIG. 4 to specify the position of the user U.

In other words, in the above-described example, since the ID of the orange juice specified in step S3 is G1, the user position specifying unit 209 specifies the A3 section of the ID=G1 of the product table of FIG. 4 as the display section of the new product.

In step S22, the advertisement content management unit 210 selects an advertisement based on the display section of the article specified in step S21, and then selects the advertisement based on the advertisement table of FIG. The advertisement content management unit 210 displays the selected advertisement on the checkout terminal 50.

In other words, in the above-described example, since the display section of the orange juice specified in step S21 is A3 and the ID is X1, the advertisement content management unit 210 sets the ID of the advertisement table of FIG. 4 to X1, "10 or more oranges. The half price is selected as an advertisement and displayed at the checkout terminal 50.

Referring back to FIG. 7, in step S6, the total management unit 204 calculates the product accumulation in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 by adding the product price specified in step S4 to the accumulation up to the present.

That is, it is assumed that in the above example, Apple has been designated as a product name, and 100 yen is specified as its price. Then, when the orange juice is specified as a new product and the 140 yen is specified as the price, the price of the orange juice is added to the accumulated 100 yen to the current 100 yen, and the 240 yen is calculated.

In step S7, the error determination unit 208 performs a process of calculating an error between the actual weight of the specific product and the estimated weight of the specific product. Hereinafter, such processing will be referred to as "error calculation processing".

The error calculation processing will be described with reference to Fig. 9 .

In step S31, the actual weight acquisition unit 206 acquires the actual weight of the product in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 measured by the weight sensor 60 of the shopping cart system 20.

In step S32, the product weight specifying unit 207 sets the product weight based on the product table of FIG. 4 and specifies the estimated weight of the specific product based on the ID of the new product specified in step S3.

In other words, in the above-described example, the ID of the orange juice specified in the step S3 is G1, and the product weight specifying unit 207 specifies 500g of ID=G1 stored in the product table storage unit 251 as the estimated weight of the new product.

In step S33, the error determination unit 208 calculates an error between the actual weight acquired in step S31 and the estimated weight specified in step S32.

Referring back to Fig. 7, in step S8, the total management unit 204 determines whether or not the error calculated in step S7 is within a certain range.

In the case where the determination in step S8 is NO, the processing returns to step S3, and the processing after the processing is executed.

That is, the error calculation processing from the new item specificity of step S3 to step S7 is executed again. This processing is repeated as the loop processing from step S3 to step S8 until the error becomes within a certain range. When the error is within a certain range and the determination is YES in step S8, the process proceeds to step S9.

Furthermore, for example, a certain range can be arbitrarily set by the company.

In other words, in the above-described example, when the actual weight of the orange juice obtained by the actual weight acquisition unit 206 is 515 g and the estimated weight of the orange juice specified by the product weight specifying unit 207 is 500 g, the error determination unit 208 calculates the error as 15g.

When the company sets 10g as a certain range of the error, since the actual error exceeds a certain range, the total management unit 204 returns to step S2 and repeats the loop processing from step S3 to step S8 until the error is less than 10 g.

On the other hand, when the company sets 20 g as a certain range of the error, since the actual error is less than a certain range, the total management unit 204 proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the total management unit 204 displays the product name, the product price, and the total amount in the cart of the shopping cart system 20 in the checkout terminal 50.

In other words, the total management unit 204 displays the orange juice, which is the product name specified in steps S3 and S4, and the product price, that is, 140 yen, in the display area 301 such as the product of Fig. 5 . Further, the total management unit 204 displays the total of 3,240 yen, which is calculated in step S6, in the total amount display area 311 of Fig. 5 .

In step S10, in the present embodiment, the total management unit 204 determines whether or not the user U has pressed the settlement button 312 of FIG.

In the case where the determination in step S10 is NO, the processing returns to step S2 and the processing after the processing is executed.

That is, step S9 from the step S2 of determining whether or not the new product has been placed to the display of the product name, price, and total in the control cart is performed. Such a place The hierarchy is repeatedly executed as the loop processing from step S2 to step S10 until the settlement button 312 of FIG. 5 is pressed. When the user U presses the settlement button 312 of FIG. 5 and the determination is YES in step S10, the process proceeds to step S11.

On the other hand, if it is determined as YES in step S10, the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, when the predetermined condition of step S10 is satisfied, the total management unit 204 instructs the collection unit 205 to total the specific products.

The collection unit 205 that has received the instruction from the total management unit 204 controls the execution of the collection process for the collection server 30.

Thereby, the payment settlement process is ended.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the user position is specified by using the display position of the specific product, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the present invention can specify the user location based on the current location of the checkout terminal 50 by the GPS provided in the checkout terminal 50.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the checkout support device 10 to which the present invention is applied is described by taking a server as an example, but is not particularly limited thereto.

For example, the invention can be applied to general electronic machines. Specifically, the present invention can be applied, for example, to a notebook personal computer, a television receiver, and a video camera. Cameras, portable navigation devices, mobile phones, portable game consoles, etc.

In short, the checkout support device to which the present invention is applied is sufficient as long as it is a device having various means as described below, and is not particularly limited to the embodiment.

In other words, the checkout support device to which the present invention is applied is a photograph having a photographing function for photographing a cart in which one or more products are inserted by a user, and a knot indicating the one or more products inserted into the cart. The terminal of the account function communicates to support the checkout support device for the checkout, and the checkout support device includes: a product image obtaining means that acquires a moving image in the cart; and a product specifying means according to the foregoing The motion picture determines whether the item is inserted in the cart, and specifies the item; the item price specifying means specifies the price of the item specified by the item specifying means; and the total management means Each of the above-mentioned products specified by the commodity price specifying means is integrated for one or more of the products specified by the product-specific means, and the total of the predetermined conditions indicating the indication of the settlement from the terminal is satisfied. The price is set as the total amount of goods to be settled; and the means of collection control, which is based on the aforementioned total management means The total amount of the foregoing, control for execution on a user's payment processing.

As long as such a checkout support device can be realized, even if it is not according to this embodiment, it is possible to check out the merchandise payment without attaching a barcode to the merchandise.

Further, the checkout support device to which the present invention is applied can further adopt various configurations as described below.

For example, the terminal further has a function of presenting information to the user, and the device may further include: a user location specifying means for specifying a location of the user when a new product is inserted in the cart; and an advertisement The content management means controls the presentation of the predetermined advertisement to the terminal based on the position specified by the user location specific means.

Here, the specific method of the user position is as described above, and is not particularly limited to the method of the present embodiment, and various methods including the above-described GPS method can be employed.

Further, when a GPS or the like is used as a specific method of the user's position, it is possible to present a product displayed in the area, such as a stage in which the user enters a predetermined area in the store (particularly, a stage in which a new product has not been placed). ad. In other words, the advertisement is sufficient only on the basis of the user's position, and the presentation time point and the presentation content are of course not particularly limited.

Further, for example, a weight measuring unit is provided outside the checkout support device, and the weight of the one or more products inserted into the cart is measured, and the weight of the product that can be inserted into the cart is determined in advance, and the device is also Further, the actual weight obtaining means may be configured to obtain the weight measured by the weight measuring unit as the actual weight, and the product weight specifying means to obtain one or more of the products specified by the product specifying means up to now. The added value of the obtained weight is specified as the estimated weight; The error determination means calculates an error between the actual weight and the estimated weight.

In the above-described embodiment, the weight measuring unit is a weight sensor 60 provided in the cart. However, the weight measuring unit is not particularly limited thereto, and may be, for example, a weight that can be measured, and may not be provided in the cart.

In addition, it is sufficient that the product to be inserted into the cart is sufficient in advance, and it is of course not limited to the form in which the product table of FIG. 4 of the above-described embodiment is used.

The series of processes described above can be performed by hardware or by software.

In other words, the functional configuration of FIG. 3 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. In other words, it is sufficient that the checkout support device 10 is provided with a function capable of executing the above-described series of processes as a whole, and what function block is used to realize the function is not particularly limited by the example of FIG.

Further, one functional block may be composed of a hard body, may be composed of a soft body, or may be composed of such a combination.

When a series of processes are executed by the software, the program constituting the software is installed from a network, a recording medium, or the like to a computer or the like.

The computer can also be a computer that is installed on a dedicated hardware. Also, the computer can be a computer that performs various functions by installing various programs, such as a general-purpose personal computer.

The recording medium containing the program is not only constituted by the removable medium 131 of FIG. 2 which is different from the apparatus body in order to provide the program to the user U, and is also provided in a state of being mounted on the apparatus body. It is composed of a recording medium or the like for the user U. Can be removed The medium 131 is composed of, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk (a Blu-ray disk), a compact disk, or a magneto-optical disk. The optical disc is composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The magneto-optical disc is composed of an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. Further, the recording medium supplied to the user U in a state of being mounted in advance on the apparatus main body is constituted by, for example, the ROM 112 of FIG. 2 in which the program is recorded, the hard disk included in the storage unit 118 of FIG. 2, and the like.

Furthermore, in the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium naturally includes processing in time series according to the order, but does not necessarily have to be processed in time series, and includes processing performed in parallel or individually. .

Further, in the present specification, the term "system" means an entire device composed of a plurality of devices and a plurality of means.

20‧‧‧Shopping cart system

30‧‧‧ Receiving Server

60‧‧‧weight sensor

111‧‧‧CPU

118‧‧‧Memory Department

201‧‧‧Commodity Image Acquisition Department

202‧‧‧Commodity Specific Department

203‧‧‧Commodity Price Specific Department

204‧‧‧General Management Department

205‧‧‧ Collection Department

206‧‧‧The actual weight acquisition department

207‧‧‧Commodity weight specific department

208‧‧‧Error Judgment Department

209‧‧‧User location specific department

210‧‧‧Ad Content Management Department

211‧‧‧ Resume Data Management Department

251‧‧‧Commodity Table Memory Department

252‧‧‧Advertising Form Memory

253‧‧‧ Resume data storage department

C‧‧‧Card Media

Claims (5)

A checkout assistance device that is provided with a function of photographing a cart that captures one or more products by a user, and a function of instructing a checkout of the one or more products inserted into the cart A billing support device that supports communication to support the checkout, wherein the checkout support device includes: a product image obtaining means that acquires a moving image in the cart; and a product specifying means that determines the push based on the moving image When a new product is inserted in the vehicle, the product is specified; the product price specifying means specifies the price of the product specified by the product specifying means; and the total management means for the product specific means up to now Each of the specified one or more products is integrated with each of the aforementioned prices specified by the commodity price specifying means, and the cumulative price at the time of satisfying the predetermined condition indicating the indication of the settlement from the terminal is determined as the pending price. The total amount of goods in the account; and the collection control means, which are the aforementioned totals determined by the aforementioned total management means , For the user to control execution of the payment process. The checkout assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal further has a function of presenting information to the user, and the device further includes: a user position specifying means for specifying the case where a new product is inserted in the cart User's location; and The advertisement content management means controls the presentation of the predetermined advertisement to the terminal based on the position specified by the user location specific means. The currency management device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a weight measuring unit is provided outside the checkout support device, and the weight of the one or more products inserted into the cart is measured, and the product may be inserted into the cart. The device further includes an actual weight obtaining means for obtaining the weight measured by the weight measuring unit as the actual weight, and a product weight specifying means for the one specified by the commodity specifying means up to now. The added value of the weight obtained in advance in each of the above products is specified as a presumed weight; and an error judging means calculates an error between the actual weight and the estimated weight. A checkout support method is a function of transmitting a check function of a cart having an image in which one or more products are inserted by a user, and a function of instructing a checkout of the one or more items inserted into the cart. The terminal performs communication to support the checkout support method executed by the checkout support device for the checkout, and the checkout support method includes a product image acquisition step of acquiring a moving image in the cart, and a product specifying step. When it is determined that a new product is inserted into the cart based on the moving image, the product is specified; a product price specifying step of specifying a price of the product specified in the product specific step; and a total management step of accumulating the product price specific for the one or more products specified in the product specifying step up to now The step is specified for each of the aforementioned prices, and the cumulative price at which the predetermined condition indicating the foregoing checkout from the terminal is satisfied is set as the total amount of the goods to be settled; and the collection control step is The aforementioned total amount determined by the aforementioned total management step controls the execution of the collection process for the aforementioned user. A program for causing a computer to execute a control process including a step of inserting a photographing function with a cart having a user inserted one or more products and an instruction to be inserted into the cart The terminal of the checkout function of one or more products performs communication to support the execution of the checkout, and the step is: a product image acquisition step of acquiring a moving image in the cart; and a product specifying step, When it is determined that a new product is inserted in the cart based on the moving image, the product is specified; a product price specifying step specifies a price of the product specified in the product specifying step; a total management step Each of the above-mentioned prices specified in the commodity price specifying step is accumulated for one or more of the aforementioned products specified in the product specific step, and an indication indicating the foregoing checkout from the terminal is satisfied. The cumulative price at the time of the established condition is the total amount of goods to be settled; and A collection control step of controlling the execution of the collection process for the user by the aforementioned total amount determined in the aforementioned total management step.