RU2723144C1 - Automated control system for sale of goods - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics.SUBSTANCE: goods are located on shelves, in the base of which scales are built. When weight of goods is changed scales are sent to computer data on weight before and after change. Computer calculates the difference in weight before and after the change, then divides by the weight of the commodity unit, obtaining the number of taken or put goods. Identification of buyers is carried out using a device (for example, a magnetic card), which is applied to the reading device of the shelf, on which the product is put or with which the system is taken, after which the system relates the taken goods to the buyer who has attached the identifying device. Customer submits the identification device to the payment terminal, which receives from the system information on the value of the goods taken by the buyer and displays the screen, then the buyer pays for the goods. In case of goods without identification device, change of weight by value, not multiple to weight of unit of goods, or in other cases system fixes this with the help of surveillance cameras and gives signal to store employees.EFFECT: automated system for controlling sales of goods relates to trade and is intended for sale of goods using equipment and software in an automated manner.8 cl, 1 dwg

Description

1. The technical field to which the invention relates.

The invention relates to the field of trade, mainly to the retail sale of goods, and is intended for the organization of trade with the help of specialized equipment and software that provide for the accounting of goods, the fixation of goods taken and delivered, control functions and payment for goods without human intervention (automated way) or with minimal human involvement.

2. The prior art.

In recent years, with the rapid growth of organizations selling goods, problems began to emerge in the technical and organizational support of stores.

These problems include:

- queues at the box office;

- a systematic discrepancy between the information displayed to customers about goods and prices with the current information stored in the store database;

- difficulties in inventory and accounting;

- inefficient use of time by store employees;

- incorrect weighing of goods by the buyer;

- illegal actions on the territory of the store for both employees and customers.

Conventional stores are as follows: a trading floor with equipment for storing and displaying goods, scales for hanging goods sold by weight, a number of cash desks where barcodes are scanned and paid.

Most of the time, the load on the ticket office is minimal, however, during peak hours (for example, after the end of working hours for most people), as well as on weekends, pre-holiday and holidays, it increases sharply. As a result, the cash desks and the workers who are behind them are part of the time not burdened with work, and part of the time they do not manage to cope with a large number of buyers.

In the light of the above problems, it becomes necessary to create and widely disseminate an automated system for managing the sale of goods (hereinafter abbreviated as ACS PT), that is, a system that will, with minimal human participation and with high efficiency, provide customers with the opportunity to choose and pay for goods in the store.

ACS PT has several analogues, information about which is available on the Internet.

The first analogue is the “Shop of the Future” supermarket, information on which is available on the date of December 17, 2012 at the following Internet address:

https://www.m24.ru/articles/svyaz/17122012/10567

The “Shop of the Future” uses an RFID tag printed on each unit of goods for the automatic sale of goods, with which the sensors record what the buyer took.

The second analogue is the Amazon Go supermarket, information on which on the date of December 7, 2016 and January 23, 2018 can be obtained at the following addresses on the Internet:

https://www.popmech.ru/technologies/299662-pervyy-v-mire-magazin-bez-kassovykh-apparatov/

https://meduza.io/shapito/2018/01/23/v-ssha-otkrylsya-magazin-bez-ocheredey-amazon-go-v-pervyy-zhe-den-k-nemu-vystroilas-ochered/

Amazon Go uses software to process video images of customer actions with products for the automatic sale of goods.

These analogs coincide with the ACS PT in the following ways:

- automatic fixation of the collection and return of goods by customers;

- accounting of all goods collected by the buyer using software;

- payment by the buyer of the goods electronically or via payment terminals.

The closest analogue (prototype) ACS PT is Amazon Go, in which the following features additionally coincide with ACS PT:

- the absence of the need to apply any additional elements to the goods or packaging of the goods;

- fixing the capture of goods by the buyer directly at the time of collection, and not before payment for the goods;

- payment by the buyer of the goods electronically or via payment terminals.

The main problem when using analogues of the invention is the lack of a reliable and economically reasonable way of automatically fixing the collection and return of goods by customers. In the case of applying labels to each unit of goods, this either requires a large expenditure of resources and time for labeling when receiving goods from suppliers, or creating a coordinated alliance of all manufacturers of goods with the aim of applying uniform marks at the stage of manufacturing or packaging of goods, which is practically impossible present at present, when the only uniform packaging element for most goods is a bar code that does not solve the tasks of reliable automatic fixation.

In the case of the automatic video capture used by the prototype, a number of problems are also observed:

- fixing the taking of goods and their return to the place by processing video images in ordinary stores with a large number of simultaneously active buyers does not currently provide reliable control over the actions of buyers due to software and hardware limitations;

- hardware and software requirements of the system for fixing the taking of goods and their return using video image processing are expensive and resource-intensive;

- the stop of the cameras producing video recording of the supermarket premises will lead to a pause in the work of the entire supermarket;

- the inability to carry out a verification check of goods taken by customers.

ACS PT in comparison with analogues has the following advantages:

- reliability (scales are highly accurate and at the same time very reliable measuring device);

- ease of entering information about the received goods into the database (goods of the same brand of the same manufacturer usually have the same weight with minimal error, therefore, it is enough to weigh all the goods received and divide by the unit weight to get the quantity of goods received);

- control (all goods taken by the buyer can be checked on a control weighing before leaving the store to avoid potential dishonest actions - the weight of the goods during the control weighing should coincide with the total weight of the goods taken separately);

- tracking (a change in weight that fixes the collection and return of goods occurs at a specific point in time, so the video recording of any operation of any buyer will be quickly available to store staff);

- detection of inconsistencies (signs of non-standard operations, to which attention of store personnel should be attracted in order to avoid dishonest actions, it is easy to set: weight change without buyer activity, taking goods and returning another goods with different weight).

Thus, the ACS PT, in addition to solving the main problem - the automation of the process of selling goods, offers a more optimized, reliable and safe way of automation than existing analogues.

3. Disclosure of the invention

The task of ACS PT is a reliable and efficient process for automating the accounting and sale of goods. This is achieved by using information about the weight of the goods and its change as the main method of automatic fixation of taken and laid goods, which is described in detail later in the present description.

In the present description, the following terms and abbreviations are used:

- shop - non-residential premises used for storage and sale of goods to customers;

- a trading floor is a part of a store intended for exhibiting goods and visiting customers;

- organization - a legal or natural person or individual entrepreneur engaged in the sale of goods to customers in a store;

- buyer - a person who intends to purchase goods in a store;

- ACS PT - an automated system for managing the sale of goods;

- the central control unit is a part of the control system of the automation system that receives, processes, stores, transfers information and has an interface for displaying information to the operator and receiving commands from the operator;

- employee - a person performing various functions in the store on the basis of an employment and / or civil law contract with the organization;

- Administration - employees performing organizational and administrative functions in the store;

- operator - an employee receiving information from the central control unit and authorized to issue commands from the central control unit;

- security guard - an employee who controls the rules of conduct in the store and prevents violations of the rules and illegal actions;

- goods - a material object that can be purchased in a store;

- producer - a legal or natural person or individual entrepreneur engaged in the production and manufacture of goods;

- supplier - a legal or natural person or individual entrepreneur who delivers goods to a store;

- a trading session - a period of time, according to which the automated control system generates reports on all the events set in the system settings that occurred in the store for this period of time (for example, from the moment the store opens in the morning until it closes in the evening or - for convenience stores - from the time of day, reserved for reporting, until the next such time of day);

- token - a device (for example, a magnetic card, smart card or smartphone with installed software), with which the automated control system identifies customers, employees, and so on;

- Buyer's account - a personalized or anonymous section created in the databases of the automated control system for each buyer on which the goods taken by the buyer are recorded, their value, the token associated with it and other information;

- employee account - a personalized electronic section created in the databases of the automated control system for each employee on which the tasks performed by him, his goods and other information are recorded;

- cabinet - equipment for storage and weighing of goods, the shelves of which are divided into sections, to the surface of which scales of high, special or medium accuracy are attached, and the sections themselves are equipped with a token reader and a screen for displaying information, and the cabinet is equipped with a module for receiving and transmitting information to the central control unit;

- payment terminal - a device for receiving cash, issuing change, executing non-cash payments and printing payment documents, equipped with a token reader, a screen for displaying information, a module for receiving and transmitting information to the central control unit;

- control point - scales on which goods located at an individual customer are weighed, equipped with a token reader, a screen for displaying information, and a module for receiving and transmitting information to the central control unit;

- surveillance camera - a device installed in the store or outside it, designed to record video images, equipped with a module for receiving and transmitting information to the central control unit.

If in the present description it is indicated that some action is carried out by the automated control system, this means that the software of the central control unit carries out information processing and creates a command or performs the action required in this particular situation.

Further, in the present description, the stages of the operation of the automated control system of the automation system, from the installation of all types of cabinets to the interaction of the automatic control system and the operator, are sequentially disclosed.

1. Preparation of equipment ACS PT.

1.1. Cabinets are installed on the trading floor (Fig. 1). In another embodiment of the invention, platforms with side walls are also used simultaneously with the cabinets, also divided into sections and intended for bulk goods, bulk goods or other goods, the storage of which on shelves is impractical. In another embodiment of the invention, the platforms can be equipped with side shelves with sections. In another embodiment of the invention, refrigerated cabinets and heated cabinets are used for goods that require maintaining a certain temperature to maintain consumer qualities. Depending on the needs of the administration, in other embodiments of the invention, cabinets with electronic screens or cabinets with places for attaching plates and / or sheets of paper can be used. Depending on the needs of the administration in other embodiments of the invention, the section readers may be equipped with the Near Field Communication standard.

1.2. At the exit from the trading floor, payment terminals are installed.

1.3. In another embodiment of the invention, control points are set in front of the payment terminals for weighing the goods held by the buyer in order to verify their total weight and the total weight of the goods indicated in the buyer's account. Such control points can also be installed on the trading floor for independent control by the buyer of the total weight of the goods selected by him.

1.4. Static and / or movable surveillance cameras are installed in the store premises so that all the cabinets, goods, payment terminals and other devices are visible to the surveillance cameras (depending on the system settings), or

so that mobile surveillance cameras can change their position in such a way as to be able to see all cabinets, goods, payment terminals and other devices (depending on the system settings).

1.5. After installing cabinets, payment terminals, control points, surveillance cameras and other devices, all of them are connected through the modules for receiving and transmitting information to a computer network connected to the central control unit of the ACS PT. In another embodiment of the invention, the listed devices can be first connected to computers that process information, and these computers, in turn, are connected to a central control unit. This embodiment of the invention may be suitable for stores with a large number of cabinets, a significant number of simultaneously serviced customers, or for other reasons.

1.6. The central control unit is installed in a separate storeroom. It includes one or more computers to which all devices included in the ACS PT are connected. The computer (computers) of the central control unit displays information on one or more monitors from which the operator can view it. The operator enters commands into the control system using the keyboard, mouse and other input devices connected to the computer (s) included in the central control unit.

2. Entering information in ACS PT.

2.1. The goods are delivered to the storehouse, where the operator enters information on them into the ACS PT: cost, manufacturer, expiration date, barcode and other information provided for by the system settings. Goods that are sold individually, in packages or in sets, are weighed and information about the weight of one unit is entered into the automated control system of the technical specification indicating the possible error for each individual product (the default error is automatically calculated based on the unit weight of the product, but can also be set manually). For goods sold by weight, information about the cost of a kilogram of this product is entered.

2.2. Prior to the beginning of the employee’s performance of his duties, the operator creates an employee account for each employee in the ACS PT, and issues a token that is associated with his employee account.

2.3. Before entering the trading floor, the buyer must receive a token. To do this, he can take in front of the entrance to the trading anonymous token, which the ACS PT associates with the newly created anonymous account of the buyer. Either the buyer can independently, for example, on the Internet or with the help of a store employee, associate a token that is suitable for his characteristics (for example, a smartphone with special software installed, or a credit or debit plastic card) with a personalized customer account that creates an ACS based on information provided by the buyer.

2.4. In case of any incidents in the store, the ACS PT saves information about them, if it is provided for by the system settings. Videos, images, information about the time and date of the incident, information about goods, sections, tokens and persons related to the incident, as well as other information depending on the system settings, can be saved. Signs of incidents that are set by the system settings can be the following: change in the weight of the goods without bringing the token to the reader; the discrepancy between the weight of the unit placed on the section of goods with the weight of a unit of goods, which should be on this section; taking expensive goods by the buyer with a token tied to the anonymous account of the buyer; a mismatch in the total weight of the goods recorded at the control point, as well as other signs.

2.5. After payment, payment terminals send information about the payment and the method of payment to ACS PT.

3. The movement of goods from the warehouse to the trading floor.

3.1. After the decision is made to move part of the goods from the warehouse to the trading floor, the administration appoints the employee responsible for such a movement. After documenting the transfer of goods to this employee, information about all goods to be moved is entered into his account on the basis of the transfer document by the operator.

3.2. The operator enters information about each product in the ACS PT, indicating which section this product will be located.

3.3. The employee delivers the goods to the cabinet, brings the token to the reader of the section on which the goods should be, and places it on this section. ACS PT checks the weight of the goods placed on the section with the total weight of the goods received by the employee from the warehouse, recorded in the employee’s account. If the check was successful, then the ACS PT deducts the goods from the employee’s account and confirms their presence in the corresponding section.

3.4. If at the moment of placing or after placing the goods on the ACS ПТ section, it will notify the operator, and depending on the settings, it will signal a mismatch to the section screen or give a hidden or explicit signal to the guard or focus the surveillance cameras on the employee or take another action.

3.5. After the successful completion of the movement of all goods received by the employee from the warehouse to the sections of the automated control system provided for them, they record the movement of goods from the warehouse to the trading floor.

4. Moving goods from the trading floor to the warehouse.

4.1. After making a decision on the movement of part of the goods from the trading floor to the warehouse, the administration appoints an employee responsible for such movement. This employee brings the token to the reader of the corresponding section, and then takes the goods from this section. ACS PT fixes that the total weight of the goods in the section has changed by a certain amount, divides this value by the weight of a unit of goods, receiving the number of units of goods taken (for goods sold individually), reduces the number of goods in the section by the number of units of goods taken, enters information about this product and its weight on the employee account.

4.2. After completing the transfer of goods to the warehouse, information about all goods received at the warehouse is entered by the operator in the automated control system of the warehouse, which compares them with the goods recorded on the account of the employee moving the goods. If the check was successful, then the ACS PT deducts the goods from the employee’s account and confirms their presence in the warehouse.

4.3. If at the moment of acceptance or after acceptance of goods to the warehouse, the ACS PT detects a discrepancy, it will notify the operator and, depending on the settings, it will signal the warehouse employee or give a hidden or explicit signal to the guard or focus the surveillance cameras on the employee or take another action.

4.4. If the weight of the product has changed due to spoilage, shrinkage or other natural processes, the automated control system will notify the operator, and depending on the settings, it will signal employees or focus the surveillance cameras on the corresponding section.

5. The procedure for the selection and payment of goods by the buyer.

5.1. The buyer, intending to purchase a certain product in the store, brings his token to the reader, after which he takes the goods from the shelf. ACS PT fixes that the total weight of the goods in the section has changed by a certain amount, divides this value by the weight of a unit of goods, getting the number of units of goods taken (for goods sold individually, in packages, sets), reduces the number of goods in the section by the number of units of goods taken , enters information about this product and its weight on the buyer's account.

5.2. If the buyer changes his mind about purchasing the goods, then he again brings the token to the reader of the corresponding section, and then places the goods on this section.

5.3. If at the moment of returning the goods, the ACS PT detects a discrepancy between the weight of a unit of goods per section and the weight of a unit of returned goods or finds that the returned goods were not taken by this buyer, the system will notify the operator and, depending on the system settings, it will signal a discrepancy on the section screen (for example, the screen blinks red, a certain sound will be heard and / or another action will be taken) either it will give a hidden or explicit signal to the guard or will focus the surveillance cameras on the buyer or take another action. If goods sold by weight are returned, the ACS PT will notify the operator about this and focus the surveillance cameras on the buyer, and depending on the system settings, it will give a hidden signal to the guard or take another action.

5.4. After the buyer has taken all the goods that he intends to purchase, he goes to the payment terminal.

5.5. In another embodiment, the customer places a trolley or basket with all goods in front of the terminal at the checkpoint and brings the token to the checkpoint reader. The control point scales weigh all the goods with a cart or basket and transfer the received weight to the ACS PT, after which the ACS PT takes the weight of the cart or basket from the received weight, then reconciles the difference with the total weight of the goods recorded in the buyer's account. If the check is successfully passed, the control system of the control unit will give a signal using the control point (for example, the screen will blink green, a certain sound will be heard and / or another action will be taken), after which the buyer passes to the payment terminal. If during verification the ACS PT detects a discrepancy, it will notify the operator and give a signal of non-compliance with the help of a control point (for example, the screen will blink red, a certain sound will be heard and / or another action will be performed), and depending on the system settings, it will give a hidden or explicit the signal to the guard will either focus the surveillance cameras at the control point or perform another action.

5.6. For payment, the buyer brings the token to the reader of the payment terminal. A token identification number, customer data (if the customer’s account is personalized), a list of goods, their price, weight, total cost of all goods, the amount of discounts if available, and other information provided for by the system settings appear on the terminal screen. Using the terminal, the buyer pays the required amount using cash or non-cash. The payment terminal prints a check to the buyer, issues change, sends the payment information to ACS PT. If, after successfully passing the check at the checkpoint, the buyer does not apply his token to the reader of the payment terminal for a certain amount of time (thirty seconds or another time set by the ACS PT settings), then the request appears on the payment terminal for the buyer to put the cart or basket back on the checkpoint .

5.7. After making the payment, ACS PT saves the payment information (time and date of payment, information about the check and other information provided for by the system settings) to the buyer's account and records the transfer of paid goods to the buyer's property.

5.8. If the buyer allowed damage to any product, then this incident is resolved with the help of the administration. In case of damage to the goods through the fault of the buyer, the operator in ACS PT transfers the damaged goods from the corresponding section to the buyer's account or performs other actions established by the administration. In case of damage to the goods through the fault or negligence of the employee, the operator in ACS PT transfers the damaged goods from the corresponding section to the employee’s account or performs other actions established by the administration. In case of damage to the goods due to circumstances beyond the control of the buyer or employee, the operator in ACS PT transfers the damaged goods from the corresponding section to the warehouse or performs other actions established by the administration.

5.9. If the buyer intends to return the goods after payment to the store, then after the administration has agreed on the return, the operator will find the buyer’s account in ACS PT, which stores payment information and a receipt confirming payment for the goods to be returned. Then, the operator in ACS PT transfers this product from the buyer's account from the section paid to the warehouse.

6. Management of ACS PT.

6.1. ACS PT is controlled by the operator from the central control unit.

6.2. The human-machine interface of the automated control system of the PT is represented by the main menu.

6.3. The main menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of the number of buyers in the trading floor for the current trading session;

• display of the number of employees in the store for the current trading session;

• display of the cost of goods taken by buyers for the current trading session;

• display of the number of incidents for the current trading session;

• display of date and time;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.4. The device menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of the list of cabinets, control points, payment terminals, surveillance cameras and other devices included in the automated control system of technical equipment;

• sorting and grouping and organizing devices according to categories and features defined by the operator or system;

• display of the names of goods located on sections of cabinets;

• display of the need for diagnostics, repair or maintenance of devices;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.5. The cabinet menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of the list of goods located on the cabinet sections;

• setting the temperature in separate sections or in the entire cabinet;

• lock the cabinet from changing settings using the controls located on the cabinet;

• display of cameras in the field of view of which the cabinet falls;

• displaying a list of incidents related to the cabinet;

• setting information displayed on section screens;

• display of the need for diagnostics, repair or maintenance of the cabinet;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.6. The control point menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• displaying a list of customers verified at a checkpoint;

• displaying a list of surveillance cameras in the field of view of which a control point falls;

• displaying a list of incidents related to the checkpoint;

• display of the need for diagnosis, repair or maintenance of the control point;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.7. The menu of the payment terminal, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• displaying the list of buyers who paid at the payment terminal for the current trading session;

• displaying the list of goods paid at the payment terminal for the current trading session;

• display of the amount of cash and the number of notes and coins located in the payment terminal;

• display of the need to withdraw or add cash to the payment terminal;

• displays of information on non-cash payments carried out using the payment terminal;

• displaying surveillance cameras in the field of view of which the payment terminal falls;

• displaying a list of incidents related to the payment terminal;

• display of the need for diagnostics, repair or maintenance of the payment terminal;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.8. The menu of the surveillance camera, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• transmission of the video image received from the surveillance camera;

• display of the list of devices falling into the field of view of the surveillance camera;

• displaying a list of incidents recorded by the surveillance camera;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.9. The security menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• transmission of video images received from surveillance cameras;

• displaying a list of incidents recorded during the current trading session;

• display of statistical and other information about incidents and related goods and persons;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.10. The product menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• sorting, grouping, and organizing goods according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, by manufacturer, supplier, weight, price, or alphabet);

• display of statistical and other information on sales of goods;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.11. The individual product menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• displaying information about the product: cost, weight of a unit of goods, quantity of goods in the warehouse and on the trading floor, manufacturer, composition, characteristics, participation of the goods in marketing campaigns and other information provided for by the system settings;

• display information on which cabinets the goods are located;

• display of statistical and other information on sales of goods;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.12. The trading floor menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• displaying the scheme of the trading floor indicating the objects set by the operator or system;

• sorting, grouping and organizing goods located on the trading floor according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, by manufacturer, supplier, weight, price or alphabet);

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.13. The warehouse menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of the warehouse scheme with an indication of the objects set by the operator or system;

• sorting, grouping and organizing goods in stock according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, by manufacturer, supplier, weight, price or alphabet);

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.14. The manufacturers menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• sorting, grouping and organizing manufacturers according to categories and characteristics defined by the operator or system (for example, by manufactured goods, supplier, weight, price or alphabet);

• display of statistical and other information about manufacturers;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.15. The menu of a particular manufacturer, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of statistical and other information about the manufacturer and the goods manufactured by him;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.16. Depending on the system settings, the vendors menu can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• sorting, grouping and organizing suppliers according to categories and characteristics defined by the operator or system (for example, by delivered goods, manufacturer, weight, price or alphabet);

• display of statistical and other information about suppliers;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.17. Depending on the system settings, the menu of an individual vendor can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of statistical and other information about the supplier and the goods supplied by him;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.18. The menu of employees, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• sorting, grouping and organizing employees according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, by length of service, salary, position, place of work or alphabet);

• display of statistical and other information about employees;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.19. The menu of an individual employee, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of statistical and other information about the employee and his labor duties;

• display information about incidents related to this employee;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.20. The customer menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• display of the list of customers;

• sorting, grouping and organizing buyers according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, for personalized customer accounts, according to preferred products, visit time or alphabet);

• display information on unpaid goods held by customers;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.21. The individual customer’s menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• displaying information about unpaid goods from this buyer;

• display of statistical and other information about the buyer and the goods purchased by him;

• display information about incidents related to this buyer;

• other functions provided by the system settings.

6.22. The document menu, depending on the system settings, can provide the following functions:

• transition to other menus provided by the system settings;

• sorting, grouping and organizing documents according to categories and attributes defined by the operator or system (for example, by type, date or alphabet);

• export and import of documents to other information systems

• other functions provided by the system settings.

4. A brief description of the drawings.

In FIG. 1 shows a device for storing and weighing goods.

5. The implementation of the invention.

In the described embodiment of the invention, the automated control system includes a central control unit and seven cabinets (devices for storing and weighing goods) connected to it by a computer network, two surveillance cameras, and a payment terminal. Employees and customers have tokens, which are magnetic cards with a built-in chip that interacts with Near Field Communication equipment. Employee tokens are associated with employee accounts in ACS PT, and customer tokens are associated with customer accounts in ACS PT.

A device for storing and weighing goods (Fig. 1) in shape is an open cabinet without a front door, consisting of a base (1), a back wall (2), side walls (3) and shelves (4), which are separated by partitions (5 ) on the section. High-precision scales are attached to the surface of each section (for example, the STRICH-Slim 500 scales manufactured by the STRICH-M manufacturer), the shape of the receiving platform (6) of which corresponds to the section surface. A screen (7) is attached to the base of each section, which displays information in the form of text and numbers about the name of the product in this section, its value, as well as the properties and characteristics of the product specified by the system settings. Next to each screen is a device (8) for reading magnetic cards, smart cards. Scales, monitors and readers are connected by cables to the data receiving and transmitting device (9) located on the side, back or top of the cabinet. The cabinet is connected by a cord (10) to the mains; in addition, the scales and the device for receiving and transmitting data are equipped with a battery, which allows continuing work during interruptions in the power supply. The device for receiving and transmitting data by cable (11) is connected to the central control unit.

The cabinet in the second version is additionally equipped with the Near Field Communication standard, so that customers can not only insert a card, but simply bring it to the reader.

The cabinet in the third version is additionally equipped with a Wi-Fi wireless module, so it can be freely moved around the trading floor, even where there are no cables connected to the central control unit.

The cabinet in the fourth version is closed by transparent doors, and a heating element is installed inside it. It stores cooking products that the buyer can take warmed up.

The cabinet in the fifth version differs from other models in that instead of screens, grooves are attached to the base of each section, in which employees insert sheets of paper with the written name and price of the goods. This is a more economical cabinet model.

The sixth version cabinet differs from other cabinet models in that instead of several shelves it has one, located at a height of sixty centimeters from the floor. The surface of the shelf is square in shape and divided into sections. It stores heavy goods, such as watermelons.

The cabinet in the seventh version is arranged in the same way as the cabinet in the sixth version, but additionally, shelves are attached to its side walls, to the base of which are attached high-precision scales, the shape of the receiving platform of which corresponds to the surface of the section. Small goods are stored on these side shelves, for example, bottles of water weighing 0.5 kilograms each.

The surveillance camera is a stationary video camera attached to the wall of the store. One camera in the described embodiment of the invention is directed by the lens to the cabinet, the second to the control point and the payment terminal. The cameras are connected by a cord to the mains; in addition, they are equipped with a battery that allows you to continue working during interruptions in the power supply. Both surveillance cameras are connected to the central control unit by cables.

The control point is an electronic scale installed in a recess in the store floor. The notch is a circle with a radius of one meter. The depth of the recess is six centimeters. The surface of the weighing platform of the scales is flush with the floor surface. The gap between the floor and the loading platform is five millimeters. The control point is connected by a cord to the mains; in addition, it is equipped with a battery that allows you to continue working during breaks in the power supply. The control point is connected by cables to the central control unit.

A payment terminal is a device for receiving cash (paper and coins), issuing cash back (paper and coins), receiving plastic cards, receiving signals from Near Field Communication equipment, printing receipts, and displaying information on the screen. For this purpose, for example, the SLT-17 terminal from the manufacturer Soft-logic is suitable. The payment terminal is connected by a cord to the mains; in addition, it is equipped with a battery that allows you to continue working during interruptions in power supply. The payment terminal is connected by cable to the central control unit.

The central control unit includes:

- computers with means of inputting information and outputting information;

- software that allows you to perform the functions of ACS PT;

- Databases containing information about goods, suppliers, customers, devices included in the system, as well as other information required for the operation of automated control systems;

- uninterruptible power supplies, ensuring stable operation of the central control unit.

The central control unit provides:

- obtaining information from devices for storing and weighing goods, surveillance cameras, payment terminals, as well as all other devices included in ACS PT;

- processing the information received;

- storing the received information in the database;

- performing programmed operations based on the information received;

- display of information on the means of information output;

- execution of operator commands received from the input device;

- the direction of information to devices included in the ACS PT.

The described embodiment of the invention operates as follows.

1. The supplier brings the goods to the store and transfers them according to the transfer documents to the warehouse employee. The employee informs the operator of the automated control system of information about the received goods, which the operator enters from the central control unit into the database of goods of the automatic control system.

2. The administration decides how much goods need to be moved from the warehouse to the trading floor and where to put it, who will be involved in the movement of the goods, and reports this information to the ACS PT operator. The operator from the central control unit enters information about the product in the ACS PT section related to the section on which this product will be located. The operator enters into the account of the employee appointed to transfer goods from the warehouse to the trading floor, information about the goods transferred to him from the warehouse on the basis of a transfer document drawn up by the warehouse employee and the employee appointed to transfer goods from the warehouse to the trading floor.

3. The employee brings the token to the reader of the section on which this product should be located, after which it places the product in this section. Section weights measure the weight of the goods placed on them and send it to the central control unit. ACS PT checks the information about the weight of the goods placed on the section with the weight of the goods received by the employee in the warehouse and records the movement of goods from the employee’s account with which the token is connected to the section of the corresponding section in the database.

4. A buyer comes to the store, takes the cart, approaches one of the cabinets and brings the token to the reader of the section where the goods sold by weight are located (for example, potatoes, with a total weight of 30 kilograms), after which they take the quantity of goods they need (for example , 2 kilograms). The section weights record the difference in the total weight of the goods before the buyer takes it (30 kilograms) and after the buyer takes it (28 kilograms) and send information about the difference (2 kilograms) to the central control unit. ACS PT enters information about the name of the taken product and its weight to the buyer's account with which the token is associated, and also saves the new total weight of the product (28 kilograms) remaining in the section in the section of the corresponding section in the database.

5. The buyer brings the token to the reader of the section on which the product is sold individually (for example, bottles of lemonade, 10 pieces of 1.5 kilograms each, with a total weight of 15 kilograms) and then takes the quantity of goods it needs (for example, 2 bottles). The section weights record the difference in the total weight of the goods before the buyer takes it (15 kilograms) and after the buyer takes it (12 kilograms) and send information about the difference (3 kilograms) to the central control unit. ACS PT divides the weight of the taken goods (3 kilograms) by the weight of a unit of goods (1.5 kilograms), thus obtaining the quantity of goods taken (2 pieces), and enters information about the name of the taken goods, its weight and quantity to the buyer's account with which a token is connected, and also saves the new total weight (12 kilograms) and the quantity (8 pieces) of goods remaining in the section in the section of the corresponding section in the database.

6. The buyer changes his mind about buying and wants to return one unit of goods (for example, a bottle of lemonade weighing 1.5 kilograms) per section. He mistakenly brings the token to the reader of the section on which another product is located (for example, bottles of lemonade, 10 pieces of 1.25 kilograms each, with a total weight of 12.5 kilograms) and places the goods returned to him on this section. The section weights fix the difference in the total weight of the goods before the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (12.5 kilograms) and after the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (14 kilograms) and sends information about the difference (1.5 kilograms) to the central control unit . ACS PT divides the weight of the placed goods (1.5 kilograms) by the weight of a unit of goods (1.25 kilograms), thus obtaining a non-integer number, on the basis of which it concludes that the placed goods do not correspond to the rest of the goods in the sections. After that, the ACS PT sends a signal about the place, time and essence of the incident to the operator on the central control unit and the guard on a cell phone, and also sends a signal to the screen of the section on which the goods were placed by the buyer so that it blinks red and draws the attention of the buyer to its error action.

7. The buyer still wants to return one unit of goods (for example, a bottle of lemonade weighing 1.5 kilograms) per section. He mistakenly brings the token to the reader of the section on which there is another product of the same weight, but of a different name and price (for example, bottles of lemonade from another manufacturer, 5 pieces of 1.5 kilograms each, with a total weight of 7.5 kilograms) and places on this section returned goods. Section weights record the difference in the total weight of the goods before the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (7.5 kilograms) and after the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (9 kilograms) and sends information about the difference (1.5 kilograms) to the central control unit . ACS PT divides the weight of the placed goods (1.5 kilograms) by the weight of a unit of goods (1.5 kilograms), thus obtaining an integer, based on which it concludes that the weight of the placed goods corresponds to the rest of the goods in the section. After that, ACS PT checks whether the buyer took the goods from this section to this store visit and finds out that the buyer did not take goods from this section. After that, the ACS PT sends a signal about the place, time and essence of the incident to the operator on the central control unit and the guard on a cell phone, and also sends a signal to the screen of the section on which the goods were placed by the buyer so that it blinks red and draws the attention of the buyer to its error action.

8. The buyer still wants to return one unit of goods (for example, a bottle of lemonade weighing 1.5 kilograms) per section. He finds the desired section and brings the token to the reader of the section on which the same product is located (for example, bottles of lemonade, 8 pieces of 1.5 kilograms each, with a total weight of 12 kilograms) and places the goods returned to him on this section. Section weights record the difference in the total weight of the goods before the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (12 kilograms) and after the buyer places an additional unit of goods per section (13.5 kilograms) and sends information about the difference (1.5 kilograms) to the central control unit . ACS PT divides the weight of the placed goods (1.5 kilograms) by the weight of a unit of goods (1.5 kilograms), thus obtaining an integer, based on which it concludes that the weight of the placed goods corresponds to the rest of the goods in the section. After that, the ACS PT checks whether the buyer took the goods from this section during this shopping visit (by comparing the goods on the goods section on the buyer's account), and receives a confirmation that he took. After that, the ACS PT records the movement of the returned product from the customer’s account to the section of the corresponding section in the database, saves the new total weight (13.5 kilograms) and the quantity (9 pieces) of goods remaining in the section in the section of the corresponding section in the database, and also sends a signal to the screen of the section on which the product was placed by the buyer, so that it blinks green and confirms the correctness of the actions of the buyer.

9. The buyer who takes all the goods he needs goes to the payment terminal. In front of the terminal there is a control point, to the reader of which the buyer applies a token, and on the scales of which the buyer puts a cart with goods. The scales of the control point calculate the total weight of the cart and the goods in it (for example, 10.5 kilograms, which include 7 kilograms of cart weight and 3.5 kilograms of other goods: 2 kilograms of potatoes and 1.5 kilograms of a bottle of lemonade), then send the information about weight (10.5 kilograms) per central control unit. ACS PT of the total weight (10.5 kilograms) takes the weight of the trolley (7 kilograms), thus obtaining the total weight of the goods taken by the buyer (3.5 kilograms). Then, the ACS PT checks the total weight of the goods taken by the buyer (3.5 kilograms) with the weight of the goods information about which is contained in the buyer's account (3.5 kilograms). After that, the ACS PT sends a signal to the screen of the control point at which the goods were placed by the buyer, so that it blinks green and confirms the correctness of the actions to the buyer.

10. Having made sure that all the goods in his cart are correctly registered, the buyer goes to the payment terminal and applies the token to his reader. The payment terminal receives information from the ACS PT about the goods taken by the buyer contained in the buyer’s account and displays this information, as well as information about the price of each product and the total amount payable (for example, 95 rubles). The buyer selects the method of payment in cash and places a bill of 100 rubles in the bill acceptor. The payment terminal recognizes the bill and gives the buyer change (5 rubles with one coin) and a receipt for payment. After that, the ACS PT saves the payment information (time and date, check information and other information provided by the system settings) to the buyer's account and records the transfer of paid goods to the buyer's property.

The described embodiment of the invention allows customers to independently choose the goods they need, return back if they are not needed, and pay, while all these actions are carried out automatically and controlled by the automated control system, and its operator intervenes exclusively in the event of an accident, making any information or changes and organizational issues.

The means mentioned in the present description may be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the manufacturing process of all devices included in the ACS PT, typical, standard industrial equipment, known materials and components can be used.

The present invention has been described using non-limiting examples and embodiments.

Claims (26)

1. An automated system for managing the sale of goods, including the definition of people taking and putting goods, the definition of goods taken and put, correlation of people and goods taken and laid by these people, payment for goods, accounting of goods and operations with goods, characterized in that - consists of a central control unit and devices connected to it by a computer network for storing and identifying goods taken from them and put on them, payment terminals, surveillance cameras, computers, information input / output devices, servers, printers, smartphones that can send information to the central control unit and to which information, commands, signals can be sent from the central control unit; - people taking and storing goods are identified using a person’s identifying device, such as a magnetic card, smart card, smartphone or key fob, which has the Near Field Communication standard for near contactless communication; - the determination of the taken and put goods is carried out as follows: after the goods are delivered to the store in the automated system for managing the sale of goods, the store employee stores information about the weight of a unit of goods sold individually, in packages, sets, after which the goods are placed on the scales of devices for storing and identifying taken from information about which goods are located on which scales, then, after people take goods from the scales of the device for storing and identifying goods taken from it and put on it, or place the goods on the scales of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from it and put on it, the total weight of the goods on the scales changes, increasing or decreasing, and the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from it and put on it sends information to the central control unit about the total weight of the tov ditch on the scales after the change, then the automated system for managing the sale of goods calculates the difference between the total weight of the goods on the scales before the change and the total weight of the goods on the scales after the change, then the automated control system for the sale of goods divides the calculated difference by the weight of the unit sold individually, in packages, sets, and calculates the number of taken or put goods, and in the case of an increase in the weight of the goods after the change compared with the weight before the change, information is stored about placing the goods on the scales of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from it and put on it, and in case of weight reduction goods after the change compared with the weight before the change, information is stored on taking goods from the scales of the device for storing and identifying goods taken from it and put on it; - Also, the determination of the goods taken and put can be carried out using machine vision or reading barcodes for certain categories of goods, such as goods with very light weight, goods whose sale is subject to registration, for example alcohol, goods sold to certain groups of people, for example, only adults or retirees; - the correlation of people and goods taken and laid by these people is carried out as follows: before taking or placing goods on a device for storing and identifying goods taken from him and put on him, a person brings the identifying device that he has with him to the reader of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from him and laid on him, after which information is stored in the automated system for managing the sale of goods about the location of the owner of this identifying device of the goods taken by him from the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from him and the goods placed on him, and is also stored information about the goods placed by the owner of this identifying device on the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from him and put on him, then the person re-brings the identifying device to the reader of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from him and put on him, after hours his automated system for managing the sale of goods ceases to store information that the owner of this identifying device took or placed goods on a device for storing and identifying goods taken from him and put on it, to the reader of which the identifying device of this person was repeatedly brought up, and the automated system sales management may also stop storing information that the owner of the identifying device took or placed the goods on the device to store and identify the goods taken from it and put on it, after the reader of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from it and put another person’s identification device was brought to him or a certain period of time expired during which the weight of the goods on the scales of the device for storing and identifying the goods taken from him and put on him did not change; - payment for goods is carried out as follows: the person who has taken all the goods that he intends to purchase brings the identification device to the reader of the payment terminal, after which the automated system for managing the sale of goods multiplies the cost of each product sold individually, in packages, in sets, by the total number of pieces, packages , sets of this product, taken according to the information of the automated control system for this person, and also multiplies the cost of a kilogram of goods sold by weight, by the total weight of this product, taken from the information of the automated control system for this person, after which the automated control system for the sale of goods sums up the cost of all of goods taken by this person, deducts from the amount received the cost of existing discounts and sends to the payment terminal information about the total amount that needs to be paid to the person whose identification device was attached to the reader of the payment terminal, Then the person pays the necessary amount by depositing banknotes or coins into the coin acceptor or by bank transfer and can leave the store with the goods purchased, and the payment terminal sends information to the central control unit about the payment for goods by this person; - there are static and / or movable surveillance cameras located in such a way that devices for storing and identifying the goods taken from them and put on them, payment terminals, entrances, exits and other important places in the store were visible or could be seen, if possible there would be one surveillance camera, while the information from the surveillance cameras enters the central control unit, and information, commands, signals can be sent to the surveillance cameras from the central control unit. 2. The system according to p. 1, characterized in that in front of the payment terminals and / or in other places of the store there are control scales, to the reader of which a person brings an identification device, and then puts on the control scale containers with goods, for example, carts, baskets, packages, then the control scales measure the total weight of the goods and containers and send information about it to the central control unit, where the indicated weight minus the tare weight is checked against the weight of the goods taken by this person, information about which is stored in the automated control system, after which, if there is a match of the checked weight, the central control unit sends information on such a coincidence to the control scale, and this information becomes available to the person who put the container with the goods on the control scale, by means of a signal of coincidence, for example, text on the screen, light indicator, sound accompaniment, and in case of mismatch central data control unit directs to control the information about the discrepancy and the specified information becomes available to the person who put the container with the goods on the control balance by means of a discrepancy signal, for example, text on the screen, a light indicator, sound accompaniment, after which the central control unit executes an established command, for example, gives a signal to the store personnel , fixes surveillance cameras on a control balance, on which a container with goods whose weight does not match is located. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that information from devices for storing and identifying goods taken from them and put on them, payment terminals, surveillance cameras, information input-output devices, smartphones, can first be transmitted to computers, where it is processed and sent from computers to the central control unit, and information, commands, signals from the central control unit can first go to computers, and then to devices for storage and identification of goods taken from them and put on them, payment terminals, surveillance cameras , information input-output devices, smartphones. 4. A device for storing and identifying goods taken from it or put on it, used in the system according to claim 1 of the formula, which is a cabinet without a door or with one or more doors, with one or more shelves, characterized in that - equipped with a module for receiving and transmitting information; - shelves are equipped with readers of magnetic cards and / or smart cards; - shelves consist of one or several sections, each of which is equipped with a screen capable of displaying graphic, video and / or text information, or places for attaching plates and / or sheets of paper to them; - the surface of each section is equipped with weights that fix the weight of the goods on this section; - information on the weight of goods from each weight is transmitted through the module for transmitting information to devices connected by a computer network; - information received from the reader of magnetic cards and / or smart cards is transmitted through the information transfer module to devices connected to the computer network; - information received through the receiving module with devices connected to the computer network is displayed on the screens. 5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that the shelves are closed by transparent doors, and the device is equipped with an apparatus that maintains the set temperature in it, and you can set the temperature through the module for receiving information from devices connected to the computer network or directly controlling the temperature on the device according to .4, for example, with a toggle-switch, buttons or using the touch screen. 6. The device according to p. 4 or 5, characterized in that the readers of magnetic cards and / or smart cards are additionally equipped with the Near Field Communication standard. 7. The device according to paragraphs. 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a Wi-Fi wireless module. 8. The device according to paragraphs. 4, 6 or 7, characterized in that it has only one shelf, closed by the side walls, while the roof of this shelf is missing, so that people can take the goods lying in it from above. 9. The device according to p. 8, characterized in that the shelves are attached to the side walls of this device, which are: - equipped with magnetic card readers and / or smart cards and / or Near Field Communication standard; - consist of one or more sections, each of which is equipped with a screen capable of displaying graphic, video and / or text information, or places for attaching plates and / or sheets of paper to them; - the base of each section is equipped with weights that fix the weight of the goods on this section.

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