JP2000155825A - Wireless IC card, POS system using this wireless IC card, fraud prevention system, and inventory management system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] A wireless IC card which improves work efficiency without trouble and time in a product accounting operation, shoplifting prevention and product inventory management operation, and a POS using this wireless IC card
Provide systems, fraud prevention systems, and inventory management systems. SOLUTION: A wireless IC card 10 is attached to each product. The control unit 14 has a built-in memory, in which a unique ID for card identification is held, and product information (for example, product price) on the product to which the IC card 10 is attached is stored. Has been written. Furthermore,
In the memory, there is also a storage area in which information indicating whether or not “payment is completed” is written. For example, when this wireless IC card 10 is applied to a POS system, a plurality of products can be collectively checked. That is, since the wireless IC card 10 attached to a plurality of products responds to the polling call from the POS cash register with a delay of the above-mentioned different response delay times, the possibility of collision of the responses is extremely low.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a wireless IC card,
The present invention relates to a POS system, a fraud prevention system, and an inventory management system using the wireless IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional accounting operation at a cash register or the like, for example, the price of a product is visually checked and manually input, or a barcode attached to the product is read by a barcode reader.

Conventionally, as a measure against fraudulent acts such as shoplifting, for example, an electronic article surveillance (EAS: Electronic Article Surveillanc) in a rental video store or the like.
e) Some stores have introduced systems. In this method, a dedicated tag is attached to a product, and a clerk removes the tag from the product when checking out at a cash register or the like. If an attempt is made to go outside the store with a product that does not have this tag removed, it is detected by an electronic reader installed at the entrance of the store and an alarm sounds. Alternatively, instead of removing the tag, there is a method in which the tag is turned off without an alarm.

Conventionally, inventory management such as inventory checking and merchandise inventory has been carried out manually by inspecting merchandise one by one.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional accounting business, when the price of a product is manually input while visually observing the price of the product, work efficiency is poor and human error is liable to occur. In recent years, more and more shops have introduced a POS system using a barcode reader. Even in this case, a barcode reader is located at a position where a barcode is pasted (printed) for each product, and the barcode reader is placed at that position. Work such as pressing was troublesome, and was not yet efficient enough.

Further, in the conventional shoplifting prevention system using tags, in addition to the accounting work, it is necessary to remove the tags of the products for which accounting has been completed or to set the tags to a state in which no alarm sounds. It took extra labor and time, which hindered smooth accounting. Further, for this reason, such a shoplifting prevention system is generally used in rental shops, and is practically difficult to use in stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

[0007] In addition, the conventional inventory management is basically performed manually by humans, and therefore takes a lot of time and labor. Especially when there are many types and numbers of products, a large number of humans are required and cost is reduced. The burden is heavy.

In recent years, wireless IC cards (non-contact I
C card) can transmit and receive data wirelessly or the like in a non-contact manner (communication distance varies, for example, from several mm to several meters), record data, read, write, hold self-identification data,
Since various functions such as an encryption process can be realized, it is expected to be used in various fields, for example, used as a train ticket or a commuter pass, and is being developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless IC card that improves work efficiency in a product accounting operation, shoplifting prevention, and product inventory management operation without labor and time, a POS system using the wireless IC card, Prevention systems, and inventory management systems.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A wireless IC card according to the present invention is attached to each product, and has storage means for storing product information relating to the product attached thereto, and is preset in response to a wireless call. Communication / control means for transmitting the product information with a specific timing delayed.

By using the above-mentioned wireless IC card, it is possible to improve the working efficiency in a variety of systems without any trouble and time. Examples of the system include a POS system, a fraud prevention system, and an inventory management system.

The POS system according to the present invention makes a wireless call to the wireless IC card, receives product information sent from each wireless IC card at a different timing, and obtains a product price of each product. And communication / control means for writing data indicating that accounting has been completed to the wireless IC card of the product for which the product price has been obtained.

According to the above-mentioned POS system, it is possible to smoothly carry out the accounting process without having to be aware of the position where the bar code of the product is attached as in the case of the bar code reader. Can be read at once by reader / writer,
The work efficiency of accounting is greatly improved.

[0014] The fraud prevention system according to the present invention, the P
Alarm control is not issued when a wireless IC card to which data indicating accounting has been written is passed by the OS system, and an alarm is issued when a wireless IC card to which data indicating accounting is not written is passed. Having means.

Since a process for preventing fraudulent acts such as shoplifting is performed along with the accounting process in the POS system (data indicating that accounting has been completed is written), a fraud prevention system that does not require extra time and effort is provided. realizable.

The inventory management system according to the present invention makes a wireless call to the wireless IC card attached to a product within a communication range of the wireless communication device, and based on the product information returned in response to the call. A communication / control means for detecting a type and a number of products in the communicable range;

According to the above-mentioned inventory management system, it is not necessary to take time-consuming inventory work as in the prior art, and various inventory management operations such as real-time inventory confirmation and detection of a product on another shelf being inserted are performed. It is possible to do it without taking time and effort.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a wireless IC card 1
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an internal configuration of the 0 ’.

The wireless IC card 10 of the present embodiment is basically used by being attached (pasted) to each product (sale product, rental product, etc.). A wireless IC card 10 shown in FIG.
It comprises a radio circuit unit 13 and a control unit 14.

The antenna 12 is configured so as to surround the periphery of the mold 11, and a wireless IC card reader /
Reception of power from the writer 20, signal reception, and reader /
An antenna for transmitting a signal to the writer 20.
In the present embodiment, reception of electric power by one antenna 12,
It performs signal reception and signal transmission, but is not limited to this. Further, the shape / arrangement of the antenna is not limited to that shown in FIG.

Inside the mold 11, a radio circuit section 13 and a control section 14 are built in a small chip.
The wireless circuit unit 13 is, for example, a modulation / demodulation circuit. Control unit 1
Reference numeral 4 controls the wireless circuit unit 13 to perform wireless communication control with an external device (such as a POS register described later).

The control unit 14 has a built-in memory, in which a unique ID for card identification is held, and product information (product) on the product to which the IC card is attached. Price data) is written. This commodity price data and the like can be rewritten. Further, the memory also has a storage area in which information indicating whether or not “payment is completed”, which will be described later, is written. Furthermore, POS described later
A program for realizing the function of the system, the fraud prevention system, or the inventory management system is stored. In addition, required applications and the like are stored.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless IC card reader / writer 20 (for example, provided on the POS register side). The wireless IC card reader / writer 20 shown in FIG. 1 has a pattern antenna 22 on an antenna substrate 21.
And a control unit 24 for controlling the wireless circuit unit 23.

The control unit 24 controls a communication protocol and the like, and further controls an interface with the above-mentioned device (POS register) not shown. An example of communication control by the control unit 24 will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, the reader / writer 20 wirelessly supplies power to the wireless IC card.

FIG. 3 shows the wireless IC card reader /
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a POS register using a writer; The POS register 30 shown in FIG.
A C card reader / writer 20 is incorporated. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the antenna surface of the reader / writer 20 (including the antenna substrate 21 and the pattern antenna 22) is arranged on the upper surface of the inspection table 31, but is not limited thereto.

PO using the wireless IC card of the present embodiment
In the S system, when a product is placed on the inspection table 31 (especially, a plurality of products are put together) or passed near the reader / writer 20, the above-mentioned product (within the communication area) attached to the product is The commodity price data stored in each of the wireless IC cards 10 is read, and the payment can be automatically made (collectively for a plurality of commodities). The read price of the product is displayed on the price display section 32.

Here, in order to read the commodity price data, for example, the reader / writer 20 performs Polling,
In a conventional wireless IC card, there is a high probability that responses from a plurality of cards will collide, and in practice, a plurality of cards cannot be identified at once.

In the present embodiment, for example, a plurality of cards can be practically identified at once by the method described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication control method that enables identification of a plurality of cards at once.

In the figure, for example, goods A to
The description will be made assuming that four products of the product D are put together. Wireless IC cards A to D are attached to the products A to D, respectively.

For example, the reader / writer 20 always
When a product is placed on the inspection table 31, each wireless IC card receives the Polling command at substantially the same time.
Each card has a random timing (response delay time appears at random), and basically returns a polling response at different timings. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the reader / writer 20 receives the polling responses from the respective wireless IC cards in basically different polling response reception time slots (that is, because the responses do not collide), a plurality of polling responses are received. The card can be identified. In the Polling response, the reader / writer 20 is notified of the commodity price stored in each card. By performing the polling response at such a random timing, the probability of a collision of the responses can be extremely reduced. However, the response may still collide and the product price may not be notified to the reader / writer 20. In consideration of such a case, in the Polling response, each wireless IC card notifies the product price and a card ID unique to each card for identifying each card. The reader / writer 20 replies the card ID when the merchandise price can be received without collision of responses. The wireless IC card to which its own card ID has been returned performs a process of writing information indicating “payment completed” internally (or has a 1-bit flag indicating “unpaid / payment completed, At this time, the flag may be set to '0' and the flag may be changed to '1' when the payment is completed.) The wireless IC card does not respond to Polling thereafter.

As a result, even when the response collides and the product price is not notified to the reader / writer 20, only the wireless IC card which does not perform the above-mentioned "payment completed" process is allowed to respond to the next Polling command. And respond again,
By repeating this, all the cards in the communication area can be finally recognized.

As described above, in the POS system using the wireless IC card according to the present embodiment, the probability that the response to the polling collides and the commodity price is not read becomes very low, and it is possible to cope with the case where the response collides. Therefore, in practice, accounting processing can be performed on a plurality of products at once. This can be applied not only to the accounting process but also to various processes performed on a plurality of products at once (a plurality of products are in the communication area) at a time. For example, as described in FIG. It can also be applied to efficient inventory management.

As described above, the information indicating "payment has been completed" is written on the IC card attached to the product for which the payment has been made at the POS cash register 30. Available to

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the fraud prevention system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the POS cash register 30 and a shoplifting prevention device 40 installed, for example, near the entrance of the store in the store, and the customer checks the merchandise (attached to the wireless IC card 10) before the store. A case where the user goes outside and a case where the user goes outside the store without accounting are shown. Also, in the same figure, the wireless IC card 10 has been paid (information indicating "payment has been completed" has been written).
Those are indicated as 10a, and those not yet accounted for as 10b.

The shoplifting prevention device 40 includes, for example, a reader / writer antenna 41 for a shoplifting prevention system and a warning speaker shown in FIG. Communication processing, and a warning speaker 4 according to the communication result.
There is also a communication / control unit that controls the generation of a warning sound (or the reproduction of a warning sound) from Step 2.

As shown in the upper part of FIG.
When the customer goes out of the store, the wireless IC card 10 of the product of the customer changes from the unaccounted state 10a to the accounted state 10b. , The wireless IC card 10b responds to the call from the shoplifting prevention device 40 to notify that the transaction has been completed, so that the warning sound is not sounded.

On the other hand, as shown at the bottom of the figure, if the customer tries to go out of the store with the merchandise without performing accounting,
The wireless IC card 10a responds to the call from the shoplifting prevention device 40 and notifies the user that the transaction has not been made, so that a warning sound is emitted.

As described above, not only does the accounting process at the cash register become smooth, but the accounting process at the cash register also serves as a process for preventing fraud as it is, so that shoplifting and the like can be performed without extra labor and time. Can also take countermeasures against fraud.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment using the wireless IC card of the present embodiment, and shows an example of a case where the present invention is applied to inventory management of commodities. In the figure, a book is shown as an example of a product, but is not limited to this. FIG. 1 shows a display shelf on which books are arranged in a bookstore, for example. A wireless IC card is attached to each of the books A to G, for example, on the back cover thereof, and a product code for managing the book is stored in a memory or the like built in the wireless IC card. On both sides of the shelf, 50 with built-in antennas are installed. The 50 antennas with built-in antennas are connected to a radio circuit unit, a control unit, and the like (not shown). Note that the antenna built-in antenna 50 need not always be installed on both sides of the shelf.

In the above configuration, for example, all products displayed on the shelf from the built-in antenna 50 are called (Polling) by the method shown in FIG. 4 and attached to each book according to the calling. For example, by returning the product code of the user at random timing from the wireless IC card, the type and number of all books on the shelf can be immediately grasped, and much labor is required as in the conventional case. Such inventory work becomes unnecessary. Note that information indicating that inspection has been completed may be written in the wireless IC card of the product that has been inspected. Not only during inventory, but also at regular intervals, for example,
You can check the current product inventory in real time by performing g to understand the type and number of the current books.
In this case, too, in consideration of the possibility of a collision of responses, information indicating that the inventory has been confirmed is written into the wireless IC card of the product whose inventory has been confirmed so that the card does not respond to Polling thereafter. Alternatively, the information indicating that the inventory has been confirmed may be deleted when the inventory confirmation of all the products on the shelf is completed. Furthermore, although various types of books are displayed on the shelf in the same figure, for example, if there is a shelf dedicated to manga, by checking the type of the above book, it can be confirmed that products on different shelves are slipping in. It can be detected early.

[0041]

As described above in detail, according to the wireless IC card of the present invention and the system using the wireless IC card, first, in the POS system using the wireless IC card, the sales clerk uses a bar code reader. As described above, it is not necessary to be aware of the position where the barcode of the product is attached, and a plurality of products can be read at once by the reader / writer at once, thereby improving the work efficiency of the accounting process. In addition, since a process for preventing shoplifting and other fraudulent activities is performed along with the accounting processing by the POS system, a fraud prevention system that does not require extra time and effort can be realized. Further, according to the inventory management system using the wireless IC card according to the present invention, it is not necessary to take time-consuming inventory work as in the past, and it is also possible to check inventory in real time and detect that a product on another shelf is inserted. Various inventory management can be performed without taking time and effort.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an internal configuration of a wireless IC card.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless IC card reader / writer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a POS register using the wireless IC card reader / writer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication control method that enables identification of a plurality of cards at a time.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a fraud prevention system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another example using the wireless IC card of the present embodiment, and shows an example of a case where the present invention is applied to inventory management of commodities.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 wireless IC card 11 mold 12 antenna 13 wireless circuit unit 14 control unit 20 wireless IC card reader / writer 21 antenna substrate 22 pattern antenna 23 wireless circuit unit 24 control unit 30 POS register 31 inspection table 32 price display unit 400,000 anti-shoplifting device 41 Reader / writer antenna for anti-shoplifting system 42 Warning speaker 50 Built-in antenna

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A storage means attached to each product for storing product information relating to the product attached thereto, and a predetermined unique timing delayed according to a wireless call, whereby the product information is stored. A wireless IC card comprising: communication / control means for transmitting. 2. A wireless call to the wireless IC card according to claim 1, receiving product information sent from each wireless IC card at a different timing to obtain a product price of each product; Wireless I of the product that obtained the product price
A POS system comprising communication / control means for writing data indicating that accounting has been completed to a C card. 3. A wireless IC card to which no data indicating that accounting has been written is not issued when a wireless IC card on which data indicating accounting has been written by the POS system according to claim 2 passes. An alarm control means for issuing an alarm when a vehicle passes. 4. A wireless IC card according to claim 1, which is attached to a product within a communication range of the wireless communication device, and said communication is performed based on the product information returned in response to the request. The types of products that are possible,
An inventory management system comprising communication / control means for detecting the number.