JPS6373367A - POS system transaction processing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] 〔overview〕 At stores that have introduced POS systems.

When entering a PO5 terminal, for example, for a customer using a particular credit card, the host computer may be queried for past transaction data for that customer. This host inquiry is performed as part of the transaction operation (entering the product code number, entering the price, etc.) on the PO5 terminal, so it takes a long time after the host inquiry is input until a response is received from the host computer. It is time consuming and can take a long time to process transactions for - many customers. In the present invention, when a host inquiry is made, the host computer searches for data, and in the time it takes for the search to be answered,
Transactions can now be processed for the following customers.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a transaction processing method and device for a POS system, and particularly to a transaction processing method and device for a POS system that can eliminate unnecessary waiting time when a host inquiry is made.

[Conventional technology]

Stores that sell large quantities of items, such as department stores and supermarkets, may introduce PO5 (Point of Sales) systems to streamline transaction processing, but common examples of such POS systems include: There is something like the one shown in Figure 4.

This POS system has multiple POS placed in each sales floor.
P that aggregates transaction data from terminal 1 and POS terminals
An OS controller 2, a store controller 3 that further performs sales analysis etc. based on the aggregated results from the POS controller 2, and a host computer (hereinafter referred to as host CPU) 5 connected to the store controller 3 via a line 4. It is configured.

A PO8 terminal, for example, as shown in FIG. A display 6 that displays input data, a printer 9 that outputs transaction processing results as a receipt, a processing program, and a PO
A memory IO in which transaction data in the S terminal is stored and a selector 1 that regulates the flow of signals within the PO5 terminal.
1, and a control section 12 that controls the operations of the various functional components and transmits and receives data to and from the POS controller 2. The control unit is composed of a processing device such as a microcomputer, and not only stores and sends transaction data, but also accesses (INQ: inquiry) the PLU (Price Lookup) table developed in the host CPU 5. to obtain price data or customer data. Then, when the business for -day ends, the CPU that constitutes the control unit 12 automatically starts the closing process, and stores the sales data for -day in a predetermined format (for example, single item information, total sales amount, number of items sold, etc.). Transmit to POS controller 2.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, in the above-mentioned POS system, for a customer who uses a specific card, such as a credit card, the past transaction data of that customer is hosted.
Sometimes the CPU 5 is queried. This is done when offering a certain discount to a specific customer who frequently uses the store, but since this host inquiry is performed as part of the transaction operation at the POS terminal, During host inquiry, the POS terminal 1 was required to stop transaction processing until a response was received from the host CPU 5. In such a case, other customers in line behind the customer who made the host inquiry may be forced to wait for a long time and may be offended.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems.The purpose of the present invention is to make a host inquiry for a certain customer by utilizing the time it takes to receive a response from the host CPU. A POS that processes transactions for customers of
The purpose of the system is to provide a transaction processing method.

[Means for solving problems]

In the principle diagram shown in FIG. 1, 15 is a POS terminal, which is connected to the POS controller 2 shown in FIG.

20 indicates a selector, and 21 indicates a printer. This POS terminal 15 further receives inquiry response data (
INQ data memory 9 that stores INQ data (hereinafter referred to as INQ data), and an INQ reception flag 22 that indicates that INQ data is stored in the INQ data memory 9.
, a detection unit 23 that detects whether the INQ reception flag is set, and a control unit 24 that is composed of a CPU and that controls various functional units in the POS terminal and transmits and receives data to and from the POS controller 2. , a multiplexer 17 that selects between the memory 18 and the INQ data memory 19 according to the type of data input from the host cPU 5 to the POS terminal 15 (for example, FLU data or INQ data) under the control of the control unit 24. I will do it.

Note that 25 is a signal line for data transmission.

[Effect]

When making a host inquiry, when the operator inserts the card received from the customer into the POS terminal 15, the card data is read from the card reader 16 and temporarily stored in the memory 18.
After being input to the CPU 5 via the signal line 25.

The host CPU 5 performs a search based on the sent card data, and returns the searched data (INQ data) through the line 4. This INQ data is input to the POS terminal from the signal line 25, while the multiplexer 17 opens the gate to the INQ data memory 19 in response to a command from the control unit 24. As a result, the INQ data becomes
The data is written to the data memory 19. When the control unit 24 confirms that data has been written to the INQ data memory 19, it sets the INQ reception flag 22. Furthermore, while these series of host inquiry processes are being carried out, transaction processes with customers are carried out in parallel at the PO5 terminal.

〔Example〕

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the POS terminal 15 for carrying out the transaction processing method of the POS system of the present invention. This P.O.
The S terminal is a POS terminal shown in the above-mentioned principle diagram with additional basic functions used for customer transaction processing, and includes a keyboard 26 and a bar for inputting product code numbers and prices. It has a barcode reading section 27 for reading a code and inputting product data, and a display 28 for displaying the data input from the keyboard 26 or the barcode reading section 27. This PO5 terminal 15 includes a POS controller 2, a store controller 3.
Furthermore, it is connected to the host CPU 5 through the line 4 and the POS
Build a system. The operation of this POS system will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

When transaction processing is started, the CPUI uses the detection unit 23 to check whether the INQ receipt flag 22 is on in processing step (hereinafter referred to as ST) l, and
If the NQ reception flag 22 is on, the process moves to Sr1 and operates the printer 21 to print the INQ data on the receipt, and after clearing the INQ reception flag 22 with Sr1, the process returns to the first STI. On the other hand, if the INQ receipt flag 22 is not on in STI, the process moves to Sr1, and it is checked whether the transaction selection key on the keyboard 26 has been pressed. If the transaction selection key has not been pressed in this processing step, the process returns to STI, whereas if it has been pressed, it is checked in Sr1 whether the transaction content is a host inquiry transaction. If it is determined in this check operation that it is not a host inquiry, the process moves to Sr1, processing is performed for each transaction, and one transaction process is completed. On the other hand ST5
If it is determined that the transaction is a host inquiry transaction, the process moves to Sr1 to have the card reading section 16 read the customer's card, and further, host inquiry activation is performed in Sr1.

Subsequent processing steps are multi-launch, one is PO
The processes of STI to ST8 (this is referred to as sequence ■) are executed in the S terminal 15, and on the other hand, the POS terminal 15
Inquiry and response processing (this is referred to as sequence 2) is executed in parallel between the CPU 5 and the boss).

In sequence H, host inquiry activation (S T 8)
After this has been carried out, the Sr9 treatment step is entered and the phos)
A telephone call is made to the CPU 5, and after confirming the hook-off operation of the called side, card data is transmitted through the line 4 at 5TIO. After this transmission, on the POS terminal 15 side, the host CPU 5 waits for the transaction data related to the inquired card to be searched and sent back, and after a certain period of time, 5
INQ data reception is performed at T11. This received INQ data is written to the INQ data memory 19 by the operation of the multiplexer 17 at 5T12, and then at 5T13, the control CPU writes the INQ flag 22 to the INQ data memory 19.
On the other hand, the process moves to 5T14, disconnects the telephone line, and ends the process of sequence H. By executing sequence I in parallel with sequence H, P
At the OS terminal 15, transactions can be performed for customers who are next in line after the customer who owns the card. Then, when the processing of sequence H is completed, IN
Since the Q receipt flag is on, when the next time transaction processing is started at the POS terminal 15, the INQ receipt flag on is detected in the STI, the INQ data printing process (Sr1) is performed, and based on this The operator determines whether or not to give a discount to the customer who owns the previous card, and performs ST4 to ST through subsequent operations.
6 transaction processing is executed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, when a host inquiry is made during transaction processing by a POS system, transactions for other customers can be processed in parallel with the host inquiry processing, so customers are lined up in line with the cashier and wait in line with the cashier. It is possible to shorten the waiting time of customers waiting for the service, and to achieve smooth customer turnover.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention, Figure 2 is a diagram showing the PO of the present invention.
A block diagram showing an embodiment of a PO5 terminal for executing the transaction processing method of the S system, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of executing the transaction processing of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a POS system to which the present invention is applied. Figure 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the general configuration of the PO used for conventional transaction processing.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an S terminal. 1.15... POS terminal 2... POS controller 3... Store controller 4... Line 5... Host computer 6.28... Display 7.26... Keyboard 8.27...・Barcode reading unit 9.21...Printer to, ta...Memory 11.20...Selector 12.24...Control unit (CPU) 16...Card reading unit 17...Multiplexer 19 ... INQ data memory 22 ... INQ reception flag 23 ... Detection unit Patent applicant Fujitsu Ltd.
λ−；゛ ＼ Representative Patent Attorney Sada Igeta: ；ノの訳の訳、Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) While a POS terminal is provided with a host inquiry function, if this POS terminal performs a host inquiry for a certain customer during transaction processing, other users may 1. A transaction processing method for a POS system, characterized in that transactions for multiple customers are performed in parallel. 2) A product data input section (26, 27), a card reading section (16), a memory (18) for storing product data, and a means for transmitting and inquiring card reading data to a host computer (5) for control ( 24) and a memory (19) for storing inquiry response data from the host computer (5).
and a means 22 for displaying reception of inquiry response data, and when a host inquiry is made in the middle of transaction processing, other transaction processing is executed in parallel with this host inquiry sequence, and inquiry response data from the host computer is executed. A transaction device for a POS system that temporarily stores the inquiry response data in the memory (19) and displays the storage state.