Patent ID: 6793126
Filing Date: 2004-09-21
Classification: G06K,G06Q,G07G

Abstract:
A charging system for automatically calculating a charge for a dish or drink selected by a customer, comprising:writing means for writing data in at least two re-writable data carriers, each of the re-writable data carriers being attached to a container of a dish or drink; reading means for reading data in a non-contact state from the re-writable data carriers by repeating an inquiry, each of the re-writable data carriers including a communication control logic to cause each of the re-writable data carriers to enter a state of waiting a predetermined random period before answering the inquiry from the reading means, to answer the inquiry from the reading means, to communicate with the reading means, and to enter a state of not answering another inquiry from the reading means after communicating with the reading means for a predetermined period; and calculating means for calculating the charge using the read data and displaying the charge.