Patent Publication Number: US-10332092-B2

Title: Information output control apparatus and point-of-sale system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/008,147, filed on Jan. 27, 2016, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-017447, filed on Jan. 30, 2015, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to an information output control apparatus and point-of-sale system. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In recent years, a POS (Point Of Sales) system has become commonplace and used in a store that sells products and services. In one example, the POS system comprises a POS terminal and a plurality of peripheral devices which are connected with each other in a wired or wireless manner. These peripheral devices include, for example, a barcode scanner and a receipt issuing device. 
     In the POS system, the POS terminal (host device) communicates with the receipt issuing device (recording device) and a receipt is issued through the receipt issuing device. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an example layout of a control system according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating functional components of a POS terminal, an identification information reading device and a receipt issuing device. 
         FIGS. 3A-3B  illustrate two examples of POS system arrangement in a store. 
         FIG. 4A  is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation for issuing a receipt according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4B  is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing communications between a reading device and the POS terminal according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 5A  is a table for associating each of different identification information with device identifiers for receipt issuing devices or with commodity information. 
         FIG. 5B  is a table for associating each of different identification information with device identifiers for receipt issuing devices, with commodity information, or with device identifiers for POS terminals. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     According to an embodiment, an information processing system includes a code reader, an information processing apparatus configured to receive codes read by the code reader, and a first printer in communication with the information processing apparatus. Upon receiving a first code which indicates printing information and a second code which indicates a target printer, the information processing apparatus selects the target printer indicated by the second code, and transmits the printing information indicated by the first code to the target printer. The first printer receives from the information processing apparatus the printing information and prints the printing information, when the first printer is indicated by the second code as the target printer. 
     Hereinafter, the embodiment is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  FIG. 1  shows an example layout of a control system  100  (information output control system) according to the present embodiment. 
     For example, the control system  100  comprises a plurality of POS terminals  110  ( 110   a ,  110   b ,  110   c , . . . ) as the information processing apparatuses, a plurality of identification information reading devices  120  ( 120   a ,  120   b ,  120   c , . . . ) and a plurality of receipt issuing devices  130  ( 130   a ,  130   b , . . . ) as the information output devices. For example, one POS terminal  110   a  and one identification information reading device  120   a  are wirelessly connected with each other, and one POS terminal  110   a  and one receipt issuing device  130   a  are wirelessly connected with each other. Even in a case of connecting each of devices in a wired manner or in a case of connecting some of these devices in a wired manner, an information output control processing described hereinafter can be applied. 
     One identification information reading device  120   a  can wirelessly communicate with one POS terminal  110   a  associated with the identification information reading device  120   a  in advance or one POS terminal  110   a  selected through the reading of identification information, and one POS terminal  110   a  can wirelessly communicate with one receipt issuing device  130   a  selected through the reading of identification information. A method of selecting one POS terminal  110   a  through the reading of the identification information and a method of selecting one receipt issuing device  130   a  through the reading of the identification information are described below in detail. 
     The identification information reading device  120  can read identification information recording medium  140  ( 140   a ,  140   b , used to identify the receipt issuing device  130  and identification information recording medium  150  ( 150   a ,  150   b , . . . ) used to identify a commodity. Further, the identification information reading device  120  can read identification information recording medium used to identify the POS terminal  110  as described below. 
     The identification information recording medium  140   a  includes unique identification information  1   a ; similarly, the identification information recording medium  150   a  includes unique identification information  2   a ; and similarly, the identification information recording medium  305   a  includes unique identification information  3   a . The identification information recording medium  140  is prepared in response to each receipt issuing device  130  to identify each receipt issuing device  130 . For example, the identification information recording medium  140   a  is attached to the receipt issuing device  130   a  and the identification information recording medium  305   a  is attached to the POS terminal  110   a . The identification information recording medium  150  is prepared in response to each commodity to identify the each commodity. For example, the identification information recording medium  150   a  is attached to a commodity A and the identification information recording medium  150   b  is attached to a commodity B. 
     For example, the identification information reading device  120  reads the identification information  1   a  from the identification information recording medium  140   a  and transmits the read identification information  1   a  to the POS terminal  110   a  associated in advance or the POS terminal  110   a  selected through the reading of the identification information. The identification information reading device  120  reads the identification information  2   a  from the identification information recording medium  150   a  and transmits the read identification information  2   a  to the POS terminal  110   a  associated in advance or the POS terminal  110   a  selected through the reading of the identification information. 
     In the present embodiment, the control system  100  that includes a plurality of POS terminals  110 , a plurality of identification information reading devices  120  and a plurality of receipt issuing devices  130  is mainly described; however, the control system  100  may be constituted by one POS terminal  110 , one identification information reading device  120  and one receipt issuing device  130 . 
     Various devices of the control system  100  of the present embodiment may wirelessly communicate with each other directly or indirectly through an access point. The wireless communication is assumed as a wireless LAN or a Bluetooth®, a ZigBee®, and the like. 
     In the present embodiment, the control system  100  can be a part of a POS system for executing a checkout processing to be applicable to a store such as a supermarket, a convenience store and a restaurant. It is assumed that the identification information reading device  120  is a portable barcode scanner or a portable RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader and that the identification information recording mediums  140 ,  150 ,  305  are bar-codes or RFID tags, 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating functional components of the POS terminal  110 , the identification information reading device  120  and the receipt issuing device  130 . The POS terminal  110  includes a communication section  212 , a storage section  214 , an identification information comparison section  215 , an input section  216 , a display section  217  and a control section  211  for controlling these sections. 
     The communication section  212  is a functional block for communicating with various devices and includes a POS terminal wireless communication section  213  that wirelessly communicates with the identification information reading device  120  and the receipt issuing device  130 , 
     The storage section  214  stores an identification information table T1 for associating the identification information with price of a commodity or the receipt issuing device  130 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 5A , the identification information table T1 includes information for associating the identification information  1   a  with a device ID of the receipt issuing device  130   a , associating the identification information  1   b  with a device ID of the receipt issuing device  130   b , associating identification information  2   a  with information relating to the commodity A (price and name of the commodity) and associating identification information  2   b  with information relating to the commodity B (price and name of the commodity). 
     The identification information comparison section  215  compares the identification information with reference to the identification information table T1 stored in the storage section  214  and outputs the comparative result to the control section. For example, the identification information comparison section  215  selects the device ID of the receipt issuing device  130   a  based on the identification information.  1   a  and outputs the selected device ID of the receipt issuing device  130   a  to the control section. Further, the identification information table T1 is stored in an external device, and the POS terminal  110  may transmit the identification information (e.g. identification information  1   a ) to the external device and receive in response thereto information (e.g. device ID of the receipt issuing device  130   a ) associated with the transmitted identification information. 
     A keyboard or various switches are assumed as the input section  216  that outputs input information to the control section  211 . The display section  217 , which is assumed to be a liquid crystal panel, displays the information input from the control section  211 . Further, the POS terminal  110  may not include the input section  216  and the display section  217  and may use an external input device and external output device through the communication section  212 . 
     The identification information reading device  120  includes a reading device control section.  221 , an identification information reading section  222  and a reading device wireless communication section  223 . The identification information reading section  222  is a functional block for reading identification information and outputs the read identification information to the reading device control section  221 . The reading device control section  221  outputs the identification information input from the identification information reading section  222  to the reading device wireless communication section  223 . The reading device wireless communication section  223  transmits the input identification information to the POS terminal wireless communication section  213 . 
     The receipt issuing device  130  includes an issuing device control section  231 , a receipt issuing section  232  and an issuing device wireless communication section  233 . The issuing device wireless communication section  233  receives information transmitted from the POS terminal wireless communication section  213  and outputs the received information to the issuing device control section  231 . If the information input from the issuing device wireless communication section  233  is receipt information, the issuing device control section  231  outputs the input information to the receipt issuing section  232  which issues a receipt based on the input information. 
     Next, in the case where a shop clerk carries out a checkout processing on commodities desired to be purchased by a shopper, basic operations of a receipt issuing processing are described. In the example shown in  FIG. 3A , the identification information reading device  120  ( 120   a ,  120   b ,  120   c , . . . ) is described as a barcode scanner  302  ( 302   a ,  302   b ,  302   c , . . . ), the receipt issuing device  130  ( 130   a ,  130   b ,  130   c , . . . ) is described as a receipt printer  303  ( 303   a ,  303   b ,  303   c , . . . ) and the identification information recording medium  140  ( 140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c , . . . ) is described as a barcode  304  ( 304   a ,  304   b ,  304   c , . . . ).  FIG. 3A  illustrates one example of the device arrangement in the store. A register counter  301   a  is arranged at a register setting position P 100   a , and the POS terminal  110   a  and the barcode scanner  302   a  capable of wirelessly communicating with the POS terminal  110   a  are arranged on the register counter  301   a . Similarly, a register counter  301   b , the POS terminal  110   b  and the barcode scanner  302   b  are arranged at a register setting position P 100   b , and a register counter  301   c , the POS terminal  110   c  and the barcode scanner  302   c  are arranged at a register setting position P 100   c . Further, the barcode scanner  302   a  is associated with the POS terminal  110   a  through a previous mutual authentication and it is set that the barcode scanner  302   a  wirelessly communicates with the POS terminal  110   a , which is similar to the relationship between the barcode scanner  302   b  and the POS terminal  110   b  and the relationship between the barcode scanner  302   c  and the POS terminal  110   c.    
     The receipt printers  303   a  and  303   b  are arranged at a printer setting position P 200 . The barcode  304   a  corresponding to the identification information  1   a  associated with the receipt printer  303   a  is attached to the receipt printer  303   a , and the barcode  304   b  corresponding to the identification information  1   b  associated with the receipt printer  303   b  is attached to the receipt printer  303   b . Even if the barcode  304   a  is not directly attached to the receipt printer  303   a , the barcode  304   a  may be arranged so that it is understood that the barcode  304   a  corresponds to the receipt printer  303   a . Similarly, the barcode  304   b  may be arranged so that it is understood that the barcode  304   b  corresponds to the receipt printer  303   b . The association of the receipt printer  303   a  and the identification information  1   a  is stored in the storage section  214  of each POS terminal  110  ( 110   a ,  110   b , . . . ) (refer to the identification information table T1 of  FIG. 5A ). Similarly, the association of the receipt printer  303   b  and the identification information  1   b  is stored in the storage section  214  of each POS terminal  110  (refer to the identification information table T1 of  FIG. 5A ). 
     In the example, it is assumed that the distance from the register setting position P 100  to the printer setting position P 200  is about 5˜10 m. Herein, it is described that a shop clerk A carries out the checkout processing at the register setting position P 100   a.    
       FIG. 4A  is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations (information output control) of the POS terminal  110 , the receipt printer  303  and the barcode scanner  302 . The shop clerk. A uses the POS terminal  110   a  to carry out a commodity registration of commodities desired to be purchased by the shopper (ACT  410 A). For example, the shop clerk A uses the barcode scanner  302   a  to read the identification information recording medium  150  (barcode) attached to the commodity A. The identification information reading section  222  reads barcode information (identification information  2   a ) from the identification information recording medium  150  attached to the commodity A, and the reading device wireless communication section  223  transmits the identification information  2   a  to the POS terminal  110   a . The PCS terminal  110   a  (the POS terminal wireless communication section  213 ) receives the identification information  2   a  and the storage section  214  stores the identification information  2   a . The identification information comparison section  215  compares the identification information table T1 stored in the storage section  214  with the received identification information  2   a  to derive information relating to the commodity A (e.g. price and commodity name) that corresponds to the received identification information  2   a  and registers the information relating to the commodity A. Alternatively, the shop clerk A may input the price of the commodity A from the input section  216  of the POS terminal  110   a  as the registration of the information relating to the commodity A. 
     If the commodity registration of all commodities are completed, the shop clerk A conveys total amount to the shopper, receives money from the shopper and inputs the received money to the input section  216  of the POS terminal  110   a  (ACT  420 A). Next, the shop clerk. A moves from the register setting position P 100   a  to the printer setting position P 200 , carrying the barcode scanner  302   a . Then, the barcode scanner  302   a  is used to read the identification information recording medium  140  (barcode) attached to a receipt printer  303  to be used (ACT  430 A). Herein, it is assumed that the receipt printer  303   a  is used, the identification information reading section  222  of the barcode scanner  302   a  reads the barcode information (identification information  1   a ) according to the barcode  304   a  attached to the receipt printer  303   a , and the reading device wireless communication section  223  transmits the barcode information (identification information  1   a ) to the POS terminal  110   a  (ACT  440 A) 
     The POS terminal wireless communication section  213  receives the barcode information (identification information  1   a ) (ACT  450 A) to determine a receipt printer being used (ACT  460 A). That is, the identification information comparison section  215  refers to the identification information table T1 stored in the storage section  214  to derive (select) the receipt printer according to the received barcode information. The barcode information is barcode information (identification information  1   a ) of the barcode  304   a , and thus the receipt printer  303   a  is derived (selected). The POS terminal  110   a  transmits receipt printing information (output information) to the receipt printer  303   a  (ACT  470 A). 
     The issuing device wireless communication section  233  of the receipt printer  303   a  receives the transmitted receipt printing information (ACT  480 A). The issuing device control section  231  of the receipt printer  303   a  outputs the received receipt printing information to the receipt issuing section  232  to carry out the receipt issuing processing by the receipt issuing section  232  (ACT  490 A). Then, the issued receipt is transferred to the shopper from the shop clerk A. 
     In the next example, it is assumed that the shop clerks A, B and C complete the payment processing (ACT  420 A) almost at the same time respectively using the POS terminals  110   a ,  110   b  and  110   c , and thereafter, the shop clerks A, B and C subsequently move to the printer setting position P 200 . The shop clerk A who arrives at the printer setting position P 200  first uses the barcode scanner  302   a  to read the barcode  304   a . Next, the shop clerk B who moves to the printer setting position P 200  second after the shop clerk A, uses the barcode scanner  302   b  to read the barcode  304   b  attached to the register printer  303   b  which is not used by the shop clerk A. Then, the shop clerk C who moves to the printer setting position P 200  last, waits until the shop clerk A or B takes the issued receipt, and reads the barcode  304   a  or  304   b  attached to the receipt printer  303   a  or  303   b  which completed the issue of the receipt to the shop clerk A or B. In this way, even if the payment processing is completed almost at the same time, a plurality of receipts is not issued from one receipt printer  303 . Further, the use status of the receipt printer can be confirmed, and in that case a receipt can be issued from the selected receipt printer  303   a  or  303   b.    
     As described above in detail, in accordance with the embodiment, even if one or a plurality of receipt printers is arranged at a position separated from the POS terminal  110  and one or a plurality of receipt printers is used in a shared manner, the receipts are issued in sequence from one or a plurality of receipt printers; however, as the receipt is issued in front of the shop clerk serving as the operator of the POS terminal, it is possible to prevent the receipt from being taken mistakenly. 
     In the above description, it is described that the barcode scanner  302   a  is associated with the POS terminal  110   a  in a one to one manner in advance; however, a random barcode scanner can correspond to the PCS terminal. For example, as shown in  FIG. 33 , it is assumed that there is a plurality of POS terminals  110  and a plurality of barcode scanners  302  ( 302   a ,  302   b ,  302   c ,  302   d ,  302   e  and  302   f ) and that the number of the barcode scanners  302  is more than the number of the POS terminals  110 . 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 43 , the shop clerk A carries the barcode scanner  302   a  to read a barcode  305  attached to a POS terminal  110  to be used (ACT  410 B). Herein, it is assumed that the POS terminal  110   a  is used, the identification information reading section  222  of the barcode scanner  302   a  reads the barcode information (identification information  3   a ) according to the barcode  305   a  attached to the POS terminal  110   a , and the reading device wireless communication section  223  transmits the barcode information (identification information  3   a ) and the device ID of the barcode scanner  302   a  to each POS terminal  110  ( 110   a ,  110   b  . . . ) (ACT  420 B). 
     The POS terminal wireless communication section  213  of each POS terminal  110  receives the barcode information (identification information  3   a ) and the device ID of the barcode scanner  302   a  (ACT  430 B), and each POS terminal  110  determines the association of the POS terminal and the barcode scanner  302   a  (ACT  440 B). That is, the identification information comparison section  215  of each POS terminal  110  refers to an identification information table T2 stored in the storage section  214  to associate the barcode scanner  302   a  with the POS terminal  110   a  corresponding to the identification information  3   a  according to the received barcode information (identification information  3   a ) and the device ID of the barcode scanner  302   a . In this way, the communication between the POS terminal  110   a  and the barcode scanner  302   a  is established and the information from the barcode scanner  302   a  is transmitted to the POS terminal  110   a.    
     After the POS terminal  110   a  is associated with the barcode scanner  302   a , similar to the information output control processing shown in  FIG. 4A , an information output control processing can be executed. After the receipt printing information is transmitted, the POS terminal  110   a  releases the association of the barcode scanner  302   a  and the POS terminal  110   a . Alternatively, if the receipt is issued and receipt issuing completion information from the receipt printer is received, the PUS terminal  110   a  releases the association of the barcode scanner  302   a  and the POS terminal  110   a.    
     For example, in a case in which there are plural shop clerks, it is possible that the barcode scanner is distributed to each of the shop clerks to improve efficiency, and meanwhile the number of the POS terminals and that of the receipt printers are both less than that of the barcode scanners to reduce the system setup cost. Further, it is possible that the number of the receipt printers is less than that of the POS terminals to further reduce the system setup cost. Moreover, each shop clerk can correctly receive a desired receipt without mistakes. 
     The above-mentioned procedures of the controls and the processing can be entirely executed by the software. Thus, through a computer-readable recoding medium in which programs for executing the procedures of the controls and the processing are stored, the foregoing processing and controls can be realized by only executing the programs installed in the control system  100  (for example, the POS terminal). 
     For example, the control system  100  (for example, the POS terminal) reads the foregoing programs from the computer-readable recoding medium, stores the read programs in a storage device of the storage section  214  and completes the installation of the programs. Alternatively, the control system  100  (for example, the POS terminal) downloads the foregoing programs, stores the downloaded programs in the storage device of the storage section  214  and completes the installation of the programs. In this way, the control system  100  can realize the foregoing processing and controls easily on the basis of the foregoing installed programs. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.