Patent Application
20170046774
The present invention relates to a payment assistance device, a payment assistance method, and a program.
Conventionally, a barcode or the like is typically affixed to products in supermarkets and mass retailers. When a product price is to be paid, a store staff needs to perform an operation to read the barcode affixed to the product using the barcode reader of a payment terminal (point of sales system (POS)) installed at a payment place (at a register).
(for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2010-198137
Therefore, customers necessarily go to the limited number of registers, and the store staffs need to perform the operation to read the barcode, and the customers need to wait for a long time.
Therefore, the customers have a demand to easily and immediately pay the product price without waiting in line at the register. However, conventional technologies including Patent Document 1 cannot meet such a demand.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an objective is to easily and immediately pay the product price without waiting in line at the register.
To achieve the above objective, a payment assistance device of one aspect of the present invention is
a payment assistance device that assists payment by performing communication with a terminal having a function to capture a cart in which one or more products are inserted by a user and a function to instruct the payment of the one or more products inserted in the cart, the payment assistance device including:
product image acquisition means configured to acquire a video of a captured inside of the cart;
product identification means configured to identify the product when the insertion of a new product into the cart has been determined on the basis of the video;
product price identification means configured to identify the price of the product identified by the product identification means;
total management means configured to accumulate the prices identified by the product price identification means, i.e., the price of the one or more products identified by the product identification means so far, and determine the cumulative price when a predetermined condition is satisfied indicating an instruction for payment from the terminal, as the total sum of the products to be paid; and
charging control means configured to control execution of the process of charging the user with the total sum determined by the total management means.
In the payment assistance device of another aspect of the present invention,
the terminal can further have a function to present information to the user, and
user position identification means configured to identify the position of the user when a new product is inserted into the cart, and
advertisement content management means configured to control presenting predetermined advertisements on the terminal on the basis of the position identified by the user position identification means
can be further included.
In the payment assistance device of another aspect of the present invention,
a weight measurement unit that measures weights of the one or more products inserted in the cart can be provided outside the payment assistance device,
the weight of a product having the possibility of being inserted into the cart can be obtained in advance, and actual weight acquisition means configured to acquire the weights measured by the weight measurement unit as an actual weight,
product weight identification means configured to identify an addition value of the weights respectively obtained for the one or more products identified by the product identification means so far, as an estimated weight, and
error determination means configured to calculate the error between the actual weight and the estimated weight can be further included.
A payment assistance method of one aspect of the present invention is
a payment assistance method executed by a payment assistance device that assists payment by performing communication with a terminal having a function to capture a cart in which one or more products are inserted by a user and a function to instruct the payment of the one or more products inserted in the cart, the payment assistance method including:
a product image acquisition step of acquiring a video of a captured inside of the cart;
a product identification step of identifying the product when the insertion of a new product into the cart has been determined on the basis of the video;
a product price identification step of identifying the price of the product identified by the product identification step;
a total management step of accumulating the prices identified by the product price identification step, i.e., the price of the one or more products identified by the product identification step so far, and determining the cumulative price when a predetermined condition is satisfied indicating an instruction for payment from the terminal, as the total sum of the products to be paid; and
a charging control step of controlling execution of the process of charging the user with the total sum determined by the total management step.
A program of one aspect of the present invention causes a computer that executes control of assistance of payment by performing communication with a terminal having a function to capture a cart in which one or more products are inserted by a user and a function to instruct the payment of the one or more products inserted in the cart, to execute a control process including:
a product image acquisition step of acquiring a video of a captured inside of the cart;
a product identification step of identifying the product when the insertion of a new product into the cart has been determined on the basis of the video;
a product price identification step of identifying the price of the product identified by the product identification step;
a total management step of accumulating the prices identified by the product price identification step, i.e., the prices of the one or more products identified by the product identification step so far, and determining the cumulative price when a predetermined condition is satisfied indicating an instruction for payment from the terminal, as the total sum of the products to be paid; and
a charging control step of controlling execution of the process of charging the user with the total sum determined by the total management step.
According to the present invention, the product price can be paid without affixing a barcode or the like to the product.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Outline of Payment Management System]
n (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) card media C-1 to C-n are issued by a business operator who offers a predetermined product P, for example. The n card media are configured from an integrated circuit (IC) that can perform contactless communication and a magnetic card, and are provided with a function to record and calculate information (data). Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the card media C-1 to C-n, these card media are collectively simply called “card medium C”. Company currency (points) usable for payment for the provision of the product P by the business operator is associated with the card medium C. Here, the “company currency is associated” does not mean that the company currency is directly stored in the card medium C, and does mean that an amount of the company currency usable by using the card medium C is managed by the payment assistance device 10. That is, the card medium C has the function of using the company currency as payment for the price of the product P of the business operator. The card medium C does not store the company currency itself, and stores only an identifier (card number) or the like for uniquely identifying itself.
n (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) cart systems 20-1 to 20-n are owned by the business operator who offers the predetermined product P, for example, and are used by users U-1 to U-n who are offered the predetermined product P. Here, the business operator is an arbitrary product provider, and can be a retail home improvement center operator, for example. In the present embodiment, the business operator is a retail supermarket operator for convenience of description. Note that, hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the cart systems 20-1 to 20-n, these cart systems are collectively called “cart system 20”. The cart systems 20-1 to 20-n are respectively provided with payment terminals 50-1 to 50-n and weight sensors 60-1 to 60-n. When the cart systems 20-1 to 20-n are collectively called “cart system 20”, the payment terminals 50-1 to 50-n are collectively called “payment terminal 50”, the weight sensors 60-1 to 60-n are collectively called “weight sensor 60”. The payment terminal 50 is configured as a computer provided with a processing function as a computer main body, a touch panel and some buttons as an input device, a display, speaker, and the like as a display device, and a camera and the like as a capturing device in a plate-like housing. Although not illustrated, the payment terminal 50 is provided with a reader/writer unit, a communication unit, a global positioning system (GPS) unit, and a camera unit. The reader/writer unit has a reader/writer function of the card medium C, and can read information stored on the card medium C and can write various types of information onto the card medium C by performing contact or contactless communication with the IC incorporated in the card medium C. The communication unit can perform communication for providing/receiving various types of information, using Wi-Fi, or the like, with another device (mainly the payment assistance device 10 in the example of
The payment assistance device 10 is configured from a server or the like managed by the same business operator or another entity, and assists payment of the price of the product P. Details of the payment assistance device 10 will be described with reference to
An outline of the operation of such a payment assistance system is as follows. For example, the user U pushes the cart system 20, and moves in the shop. The camera unit of the payment terminal 50 captures the inside of the cart of the cart system 20, and transmits the video to the payment assistance device 10. The payment assistance device 10 monitors the video, and determines whether the product P has been inserted by the user U. Here, assume that the user U has inserted the product P into the cart of the cart system 20. The payment assistance device 10 determines that the product P has been inserted, and identifies what the inserted product P is from the video. Next, the payment assistance device 10 identifies the product price from the identified product P. In a case where the products P are inserted one after another, the payment assistance device 10 repeats the act of determining that the product P has been inserted by the user U, and identifying the inserted product P and the product price, and calculates the cumulative total of the product prices. The identified products P, the identified product prices, and the cumulative amount are displayed on the payment terminal 50 according to an instruction from the payment assistance device 10. When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the payment assistance device 10 settles the total payment amount. For example, the predetermined condition can be set to the condition that the user U presses the checkout button of the payment terminal 50.
(the checkout button will be described below). When the user U pays with the card medium C, the payment assistance device 10 requests the charging server 30 to perform the charging process. The charging server 30 charges the total amount of the products P purchased in the supermarket.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the information of the products P, the product prices, and the cumulative amount of the product prices are calculated from the video captured by the camera unit of the payment terminal 50. The user U can pay the price of the products P on the basis of the information. Therefore, the store staff no longer needs to read the barcode affixed to the product P using the barcode reader of the payment terminal (POS). As a result, the business operator can resolve the state of customers waiting for a long time at the register.
Further, in the present embodiment, for example, to accurately identify the product P, the payment assistance device 10 compares the actual weight of the product P measured by the weight sensor 60 installed in the cart system 20 with the estimated weight of the identified product P. If the measured actual weight of the product P and the estimated weight of the identified product P fall within a fixed error range, the product P has been accurately identified. Further, when an error exceeds the fixed range, a predetermined error process is executed. As described below, in the present embodiment, the product P is identified again.
Further, in the present embodiment, for example, the payment assistance device 10 identifies the position of the user U from the display position of the identified product P, and controls the display of an advertisement on the payment terminal 50 according to the position of the user U. For example, in a case where the identified product P is an orange juice product, the payment terminal 50 displays an advertisement of oranges according to the display section of the orange juice.
The payment assistance device 10 requests the charging server 30 to perform the charging process for charging the total price of the products P with the card medium C. The charging server 30 charges the total price of the products P identified in the payment assistance device 10.
The series of processes performed by the payment assistance device 10 of the operation of the system described above is hereinafter called “payment process”.
[Configuration of Payment Assistance Device 10]
Next, details of the configuration of the payment assistance device 10, of such a payment assistance system of
The payment assistance device 10 is provided with a central processing unit (CPU) 111, a read only memory (ROM) 112, a random access memory (RAM) 113, a bus 114, an input/output interface 115, an output unit 116, an input unit 117, a storage unit 118, a communication unit 119, and a drive 120.
The CPU 111 executes various processes according to a program recorded on the ROM 112, or a program loaded from the storage unit 118 onto the RAM 113.
Data and the like necessary for the CPU 111 to execute the various processes are appropriately stored in the RAM 113.
The CPU 111, the ROM 112, and the RAM 113 are connected to one another through the bus 114. The input/output interface 115 is also connected to the bus 114. The output unit 116, the input unit 117, the storage unit 118, the communication unit 119, and the drive 120 are connected to the input/output interface 115.
The output unit 116 is configured from a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs an image and a sound. The input unit 117 is configured from a keyboard, various buttons, and the like, and inputs various types of information according to instruction operations of an operator. The storage unit 118 is configured from a hard disk, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or the like, and stores various data. The communication unit 119 controls communication performed between the payment assistance device 10 and other devices (the payment terminal 50 and the charging server 30 in the example of
A removable medium 131 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is appropriately mounted to the drive 120. The program read from the removable medium 131 by the drive 120 is installed to the storage unit 118, as needed. Further, the removable medium 131 can store the various data stored in the storage unit 118, similarly to the storage unit 118.
In the CPU 111, when execution of the payment process is controlled, a product image acquisition unit 201, a product identification unit 202, a product price identification unit 203, a total management unit 204, a charging unit 205, an actual weight acquisition unit 206, a product weight identification unit 207, an error determination unit 208, a user position identification unit 209, an advertisement content management unit 210, and a history data management unit 211 function. A product table storage unit 251, an advertisement table storage unit 252, and a history data storage unit 253 are provided as one area of the storage unit 118.
The product image acquisition unit 201 acquires the video of the inside of the cart of the cart system 20, the video having been captured by the camera unit installed in the payment terminal 50.
The product identification unit 202 determines whether a new product has been inserted on the basis of the video acquired by the product image acquisition unit 201. When the product identification unit 202 determines that the new product has been inserted, the product identification unit 202 identifies the new product from the video on the basis of the product table of
The product name refers to the name of a product. The link to the product discrimination image refers to the storage location of an image for discriminating the product. The product price refers to price given to the product. The product weight refers to the standard weight of a product measured in advance. The display section refers to the section in which the product is displayed. To be specific, regarding the ID=G1 in the product table of
Referring back to
The total management unit 204 calculates the cumulative total of the identified product prices so far every time a new product is identified. Further, the total management unit 204 displays the identified products, the identified product prices, and the cumulative amount on the payment terminal 50.
Further, in a case when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the total management unit 204 instructs the charging unit 205 to perform the charging process about total payment, and informs the history data management unit 211 described below of the identified products, the identified product prices, and the cumulative amount. In the present embodiment, the user U pressing the checkout button 312 in
The charging unit 205 requests the charging server 30 to execute the charging process of the price when the price of the product P is paid with the predetermined card medium C.
The actual weight acquisition unit 206 acquires the actual weight of the identified product in the cart of the cart system 20, the actual weight having been measured by the weight sensor 60 installed in the cart system 20.
The product weight identification unit 207 selects and identifies the weight of the identified product on the basis of the ID of the identified product in the product table of
The error determination unit 208 calculates the error between the actual weight of the identified product acquired in the actual weight acquisition unit 206 and the estimated weight of the identified product identified in the product weight identification unit 207. To be specific, assume that, regarding the orange juice with the ID=G1 in the product table of
As described above, the product P can be identified with the video. To more accurately identify the product P, the accuracy of identification of the product P is secured using the weight of the product P.
The user position identification unit 209 selects and identifies the display section from the ID of the identified product on the basis of the product table
The advertisement content management unit 210 selects and identifies the advertisement on the basis of the display section in the advertisement table of
By displaying the advertisement on the payment terminal 50, the business operator can let the user U browse an appropriate advertisement at an appropriate time, and can enhance the user U's willingness to buy.
Referring back to
With the history data management, the advertisement can be changed to one that fits the user U's need.
Next, the payment process executed by the payment assistance device 10 having the functional configuration of
A series of processes as follows is executed in the payment process of
In step S1 of
In step S2, the product identification unit 202 determines whether the new product has been inserted into the cart of the cart system 20 on the basis of the video acquired in step S1. When NO is determined in step S2, the process proceeds to step S10. Note that the process of step S10 and subsequent steps will be described below. In contrast, when YES is determined in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S3, the product identification unit 202 identifies the new product inserted in the cart of the cart system 20 on the basis of the product table of
In step S4, the product price identification unit 203 identifies the price of the identified product on the basis of the product table of
In step S5, the advertisement content management unit 210 executes the process of displaying the advertisement according to the position of the user U on the payment terminal 50. Such a process is hereinafter called “advertisement display process”. The advertisement display process will be described with reference to
In step S21, the user position identification unit 209 selects the display section and identifies the position of the user U on the basis of the product table of
Referring back to
In step S7, the error determination unit 208 executes the process of calculating the error between the actual weight of the identified product and the estimated weight of the identified product. Such a process is hereinafter called “error calculation process”. The error calculation process will be described with reference to
Referring back to
In step S9, the total management unit 204 displays the product name in the cart of the cart system 20, the product price, and the total price on the payment terminal 50. That is, the total management unit 204 displays the orange juice as the product name identified in steps S3 and S4 and ¥140 as the product price on the product display area 301 in
In step S10, the total management unit 204 determines whether the user U has pressed the checkout button 312 in
In step S11, the total management unit 204 instructs the charging unit 205 to calculate the total of the prices of the identified products when the predetermined condition in step S10 is satisfied. The charging unit 205 that has received the instruction from the total management unit 204 controls the execution of the charging process to the charging server 30. Accordingly, the payment process is terminated.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like in the scope where the objective of the present invention can be achieved are included in the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the example has been given in which the user position is identified by the display position of the identified product. However, the embodiment is not limited to the example. For example, in the present invention, the GPS provided in the payment terminal 50 can identify the user position on the basis of the current position of the payment terminal 50.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example has been given, in which the payment assistance device 10 to which the present invention is applied is a server. However, the embodiment is not limited to the example. For example, the present invention can be applied to electronic devices. To be specific, for example, the present invention is applicable to a note-type personal computer, a television receiver, a video camera, a portable navigation device, a mobile phone device, a portable game device, and the like.
In essence, a payment assistance device to which the present invention is applied is sufficient if the device includes the following means, and its embodiment is not especially limited. That is, a payment assistance device to which the present invention is applied is a payment assistance device that assists payment by performing communication with a terminal having a function to capture a cart in which one or more products are inserted by a user and a function to instruct the payment of the one or more products inserted in the cart, the payment assistance device including:
product image acquisition means configured to acquire a video of a captured inside of the cart;
product identification means configured to identify the product when insertion of a new product into the cart has been determined on the basis of the video;
product price identification means configured to identify the price of the product identified by the product identification means;
total management means configured to accumulate the prices identified by the product price identification means, i.e., the price of the one or more products identified by the product identification means so far, and determine the cumulative price of when a predetermined condition is satisfied indicating an instruction for payment from the terminal, as the total sum of the products to be paid; and
charging control means configured to control execution of the process of charging the user with the total sum determined by the total management means.
If such a payment assistance device is realized, the product price can be paid without affixing a barcode or the like to the product regardless of the embodiment.
Note that the payment assistance device to which the present invention is applied can further take various configurations as follows.
For example, the terminal further may have a function to present information to the user, and
user position identification means configured to identify the position of the user of when a new product is inserted into the cart, and
advertisement content management means configured to control presenting predetermined advertisements on the terminal on the basis of the position identified by the user position identification means
may be further included. Here, a technique of identifying the position of the user is not especially limited to the technique of the above-described present embodiment, and various techniques including the above technique with GPS can be employed. Further, in a case when the GPS is employed as the technique of identifying the position of the user, the advertisement of the product displayed in the section can be presented at the stage when the user has entered a predetermined section in the shop (at a stage where no new product is especially put in the cart). That is, the advertisement is appropriate as long as it is based on the position of the user, and presenting timing and presenting content are not especially limited.
Further, for example, a weight measurement unit that measures weights of the one or more products inserted in the cart can be provided outside the payment assistance device, the weight of a product having a possibility of being inserted into the cart can be obtained in advance, and
actual weight acquisition means configured to acquire the weights measured by the weight measurement unit as an actual weight,
product weight identification means configured to identify the addition value of the weights respectively obtained for the one or more products identified by the product identification means so far, as an estimated weight, and
error determination means configured to calculate the error between the actual weight and the estimated weight
can be further included. Here, the weight measurement unit was the weight sensor 60 installed the cart in the above-described embodiment. However, the weight measurement unit is not especially limited thereto, and for example, the weight measurement unit may not necessarily be installed in the cart as long as it can measure the weight. Further, regarding the product having a possibility of being inserted into the cart, it is sufficient to obtain the weight thereof in advance, and the system is not limited to the system using the product table of
The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware, or can be executed by software. In other words, the functional configuration of
In a case of executing the series of processes by the software, a program that configured the software is installed onto a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer incorporated in special hardware. Further, the computer may be a computer that can execute various functions by having various programs installed, or a general-purpose personal computer, for example.
The recording medium including such a program is configured from not only the removable medium 131 of
Note that, in the present specification, the steps describing the program recorded on the recording medium includes not only the processes performed sequentially in time, but also processes executed individually or in parallel although not necessarily processed sequentially. Further, in the present specification, the term of the system means the overall device configured from a plurality of devices, means, and the like.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-091117 | Apr 2014 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2015/062582 | 4/24/2015 | WO | 00 |
