Information processing device and transaction management system

Abstract

The invention discloses an information processing device and a transaction management system, which are convenient for a waiter to check. An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment is an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a management apparatus. The management device stores transaction designation information that designates a transaction, transaction information that indicates details of a product registered in the transaction, and state information that indicates a state of a customer who registers the product. The check completion information is registered under the condition that the shop assistant completes the check of the commodity registered through the operation of the customer; the information processing apparatus includes a first display unit that lists and displays a first screen on which the status information of customers involved in each transaction managed by the management apparatus is displayed, and a second display unit that lists and displays a second screen on which the status information of customers involved in each transaction managed by the management apparatus. And a second display unit that displays a second screen that shows transaction information of the specified transaction and that includes a control for accepting a check operation by the shop assistant, the second display unit being configured to display a first screen that displays transaction information of the specified transaction and that displays a second screen that includes a control for accepting a check operation by the shop assistant. And a display unit that displays the second screen in which the control is enabled or disabled according to the operation method accepted by the accepting unit.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese patent application filed on September 20, 2023, with application number JP2023-152493, and cites the contents of the above application, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing device and a transaction management system. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, a system in which customers register products on the sales floor has been adopted in stores such as supermarkets. As such a system, for example, a system using a shopping cart equipped with a tablet terminal and a scanner has been proposed.

[0004] Customers who are shopping use a scanner to scan the barcode or other code symbol (hereinafter referred to as "product barcode") attached to the product they want to buy. The product is registered based on the product code read by the scanner, and the registered product information (product name, price, etc.) is stored in the tablet terminal or store server. Then, when the customer pays for the goods, the above product information is transmitted to the checkout machine for checkout processing. The customer operates the checkout machine to pay.

[0005] In addition, a system is also used in which customers can use portable terminals such as smartphones to shop instead of tablet terminals and scanners provided by stores. In this system, a shopping application is installed on the customer's smartphone. Then, the product barcode is photographed using the smartphone's camera to read the product code.

[0006] Stores that use the above system usually place staff at the checkout area where the checkout machine is installed. The staff (hereinafter referred to as "attendants") placed in the checkout area check the goods that customers want to buy and assist customers in operating the checkout machine. The check performed by the attendant varies depending on the store used. For example, it is to confirm the age of the customer when the goods to be purchased include age verification products.

[0007] The waiter checks the age of the customer at the checkout machine where the customer makes the payment operation. For example, if the goods to be purchased by the customer include age verification goods, the call light on the checkout machine will light up, and the waiter will move to the checkout machine to check the age of the customer. Therefore, the waiter needs to move to the checkout machine every time, which makes the check work of the waiter complicated. Summary of the invention

[0008] In view of the above problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a transaction management system that enable a waiter to easily perform verification work.

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned problem, the information processing device of the embodiment is an information processing device that can communicate with a management device, and the management device will correspond and manage transaction designation information that specifies a transaction, transaction information that indicates the details of the goods registered in the transaction, status information that indicates the status of the customer who registers the goods, and verification information registered when the clerk completes the verification of the goods registered through the customer's operation. The information processing device includes: a first display unit that displays a first screen that lists the status information of the customers related to each transaction managed by the management device, an acceptance unit that accepts an operation to identify a specified transaction, and a second display unit that displays a second screen that shows the transaction information of the specified transaction and includes a control for accepting the clerk's verification operation, wherein the second display unit displays the second screen that makes the control valid or invalid according to the operation method accepted by the acceptance unit.

[0010] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, the verification work of the store clerk can be facilitated, and the store clerk can be prevented from making erroneous verification operations.

[0011] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the receiving unit includes an operation of directly inputting transaction specified information through the operating unit, an operation of selecting a status information from the status information displayed in the list on the first screen, and an operation of reading the transaction specified information from the code symbol displayed on the terminal operated by the customer.

[0012] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, the second screen can be displayed according to three types of operations.

[0013] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the second display unit displays the second screen in which the control is enabled, when the designated transaction is recognized by the operation method of directly inputting transaction designation information.

[0014] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, in the case of the operation method of directly inputting the transaction designation information, since the customer is nearby, the control is enabled and the clerk can check it.

[0015] In the above-mentioned information processing device, when the designated transaction is recognized using the operation method of reading transaction designation information from the code symbol displayed on the terminal operated by the customer, the second screen for enabling the control is displayed.

[0016] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, in the case of the operation method of reading transaction designation information from the code symbol, since the customer is nearby, the control is enabled and the clerk can check.

[0017] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the second display unit displays the second screen in which the control is disabled when the second display unit recognizes that the transaction corresponding to the status information is the designated transaction by using an operation method of selecting one status information from the status information listed and displayed on the first screen.

[0018] According to the above information processing device, in the case of an operation method of selecting one state information from the state information, since the customer is not nearby, the control is disabled, thereby preventing the clerk from making an erroneous check.

[0019] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the second display unit displays the second screen for enabling or disabling an editing operation of the transaction information displayed on the second screen according to the operation method accepted by the acceptance unit.

[0020] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, by enabling or disabling the editing operation according to the operation method, it is possible to prevent the clerk from performing editing by mistake.

[0021] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the status information displayed in a list on the first display unit is a status control for selecting one of the status information displayed in the list.

[0022] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, by operating the status information, the status information can be easily selected.

[0023] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the status information listed in the first display unit includes shopping status information and checkout completion status information, the shopping status information is a status control for selecting one of the status information listed, and the checkout completion status information is not a status control.

[0024] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, selection of a completed transaction is prohibited, thereby preventing useless browsing.

[0025] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the second display unit displays a guidance screen indicating the content of the verification performed by the store clerk before displaying the second screen.

[0026] According to the above-mentioned information processing device, the store clerk can confirm the contents to be checked before checking.

[0027] A transaction management system according to another aspect of the present invention comprises a server device, an attendant terminal and a checkout machine, wherein the server device comprises: a transaction management unit for associating and managing transaction designation information for designating a transaction, transaction information indicating details of commodities registered in the transaction, status information indicating the status of a customer who registers the commodities, and verification completion information registered when a clerk completes verification of the commodities registered by the customer's operation; a request receiving unit for receiving a transaction information request including the transaction designation information from the checkout machine; and an output unit for outputting transaction information corresponding to the transaction designation information to the checkout machine on the condition that the transaction designation information included in the received transaction information request is registered in correspondence with the verification completion information, and the attendant terminal comprises: a first display unit for displaying a list of the status information of customers involved in each transaction managed by the server device a first screen displayed; a receiving unit that receives an operation to identify a designated transaction; a second display unit that displays transaction information indicating the designated transaction and includes a second screen including a control for receiving a verification operation by the clerk; and a sending unit that, on the condition that the control is operated, sends verification information indicating the transaction designated information of the designated transaction to the server device, wherein the checkout machine comprises: a receiving unit that sends the transaction information request to the server device and receives the transaction information as a response to the transaction information request; and a checkout processing unit that performs checkout processing based on the received transaction information, wherein the second display unit displays the second screen that makes the control valid or invalid according to the operation method received by the receiving unit, and the transaction management unit, when the verification information is sent from the waiter terminal, registers the verification completion information in correspondence with the transaction designated information indicated by the verification information.

[0028] According to the transaction management system described above, the verification work of the store clerk can be facilitated, and checkout can be reliably prevented before the store clerk verifies the items. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a transaction management system in an embodiment.

[0030] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of a checkout area of ​​a store that uses the transaction management system in the embodiment.

[0031] Figure 3 This is a block diagram showing an example of a main hardware configuration of a server device in the embodiment.

[0032] Figure 4 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of a product master file stored in the storage unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0033] Figure 5 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of a terminal management table stored in the storage unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0034] Figure 6 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of the emphasis information management table stored in the storage unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0035] Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of a transaction information management table stored in the storage unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0036] Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of a mode management table stored in the storage unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0037] Fig. 9 This is a block diagram showing an example of a main functional configuration of a control unit of a server device in the embodiment.

[0038] Fig.10 This is a block diagram showing an example of a main hardware configuration of a portable terminal in the embodiment.

[0039] Fig.11 This is a block diagram showing an example of a main functional configuration of a control unit of a portable terminal in the embodiment.

[0040] Fig.12 This is a block diagram showing an example of the main hardware configuration of the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0041] Fig.13 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of the status management table stored in the storage unit of the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0042] Fig.14 This is a block diagram showing an example of the main functional configuration of the control unit of the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0043] Fig.15 This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the transaction management system in the embodiment.

[0044] Fig.16 This is a diagram showing an example of a transaction information display screen displayed on the portable terminal in the embodiment.

[0045] Fig.17 This is a diagram showing an example of a transaction list screen displayed on the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0046] Fig.18 This is a diagram showing an example of a waiter verification screen displayed on the mobile terminal in the embodiment.

[0047] Fig.19 This is a diagram showing an example of a transaction details screen displayed on the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0048] Fig. 20 This is a diagram showing an example of a guidance screen displayed on the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0049] Fig.21 This is a diagram showing an example of a checkout screen displayed on the mobile terminal in the embodiment.

[0050] Fig. 22 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of transaction detail screen display processing performed by the control unit of the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0051] Fig.23 This is a diagram showing an example of a transaction details screen for browsing displayed on the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0052] Fig.24 This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of transaction editing processing performed between the waiter PC and the server device in the embodiment.

[0053] Fig.25 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of waiter verification and determination processing performed by the control unit of the server device in the embodiment.

[0054] Fig.26 This is a diagram showing an example of an emphasis setting screen displayed on the waiter PC in the embodiment.

[0055] Fig. 27 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the waiter verification process performed by the control unit of the checkout machine in the modified example.

[0056] Description of Reference Numerals

[0057] 1. Transaction management system; 2. Server device; 4. Portable terminal; 5. Cashier; 6. Waiter PC (information processing device, waiter terminal); 6001. Sending and receiving unit; 6002. Input unit (receiving unit); 6003. Reading unit; 6004. Information management unit; 6005. Display control unit (first display unit, second display unit). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] The following will describe the information processing device and transaction management system of the embodiments. In addition, the embodiments described below do not limit the present invention. For example, in the embodiments described below, an example of an information processing device as a terminal device operated by a store clerk (hereinafter also referred to as a waiter terminal) is described, but it is not limited to this. The information processing device can be a device such as a server device that manages information of one or more stores, or it can be other devices set up in the store. In addition, in the embodiments described below, an example of a portable terminal used for commodity registration is described as an information terminal held by a customer, but it is not limited to this. The portable terminal can also be an information terminal provided by a store. In addition, the so-called commodity registration refers to the process of storing (registering) information about the commodity that the customer wants to purchase.

[0059] Hereinafter, a transaction management system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram showing a transaction management system 1. The transaction management system 1 is used in a store that sells goods, such as a supermarket. The transaction management system 1 includes a server device 2 and a mobile self-service cashier system 3. The server device 2 and the mobile self-service cashier system 3 are connected to each other via a network such as the Internet so as to be communicable.

[0060] The mobile self-service cashier system 3 is a system used in a store, and includes a portable terminal 4 held by a customer, a cash register 5, and an attendant PC 6. The portable terminal 4, the cash register 5, and the attendant PC 6 are communicatively connected to each other via an in-store network based on a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the like. In addition, the portable terminal 4, the cash register 5, and the attendant PC 6 are communicatively connected to the server device 2 via the in-store network.

[0061] In addition, the portable terminal 4 may communicate with the server device 2 without passing through the in-store network. In addition, various devices may be connected to the in-store network separately. For example, a POS terminal where a clerk performs operations related to product registration and payment, a self-service POS terminal where a customer performs operations related to product registration and payment, a semi-self-service POS system where a clerk performs operations related to product registration and a customer performs operations related to payment, etc. may also be connected to the in-store network. Furthermore, the number of portable terminals 4 and checkout machines 5 is not limited to the example shown in the figure.

[0062] The server device 2 (management device) is, for example, a store server. The server device 2 receives store entry information from the portable terminal 4. The store entry information includes the company code and store code of the store where the customer is located. The server device 2 receives the store entry information from the portable terminal 4, thereby being able to specify the store where the portable terminal 4 is located. The server device 2 issues a terminal code and a transaction code to the portable terminal 4 that has sent the store entry information, and sends them to the portable terminal 4. The terminal code is terminal specifying information for specifying the portable terminal 4, and the transaction code is transaction specifying information for specifying a transaction.

[0063] Furthermore, the server device 2 transmits mode information to the portable terminal 4. The mode information is information indicating the mode of the mobile self-service checkout system 3 of the store where the customer is. The details of the mode information will be described later.

[0064] When the portable terminal 4 transmits various information to the server device 2, the server device 2 can easily specify the portable terminal 4 that is the source of the information transmission by transmitting the terminal code. In addition, in the present embodiment, multiple transaction codes are not issued to one portable terminal 4 during the customer's shopping. That is, since there is a one-to-one correspondence between the terminal code and the transaction code, either one can have the function of the other.

[0065] Specifically, the transaction can be specified by the terminal code. Therefore, the terminal code is also an example of transaction specifying information. In addition, the portable terminal 4 can be specified by the transaction code. Therefore, the transaction code is also an example of terminal specifying information. Therefore, in the following description, the terminal code and the transaction code can be appropriately replaced with each other. In addition, the server device 2 can also issue only one of the terminal code and the transaction code.

[0066] The server device 2 receives a registration request from the portable terminal 4. The registration request includes a terminal code and a product code read by the portable terminal 4. The server device 2 that manages the product information of each store reads the product information corresponding to the product code included in the registration request received from the portable terminal 4, and registers it as a transaction object. In other words, the server device 2 registers the above-mentioned product information as a part of the transaction information. The transaction information includes various information required for the customer to make a payment, such as product information. The product information includes information such as the product name, price, and emphasis information. The emphasis information is information indicating that the product is a product that the waiter should pay attention to when checking. In this way, the server device 2 corresponds to each customer, in other words, corresponds to each terminal to manage the transaction information in real time.

[0067] The server device 2 sends the transaction information of the store where the waiter PC 6 is installed among the transaction information it manages (hereinafter also referred to as "store transaction information") to the waiter PC 6. The server device 2 periodically receives the store transaction information request from the waiter PC 6 at short time intervals, and sends the store transaction information as a response to the store transaction information request. In this way, the waiter PC 6 can obtain the transaction information of the store to which it belongs in substantial real time. The waiter PC 6 manages the status of each customer based on the acquired transaction information. In addition, each time the transaction information is updated, the server device 2 can send the store transaction information of the store whose transaction information has been updated directly to the waiter PC 6. In this case, the waiter PC 6 does not need to send a store transaction information request.

[0068] The server device 2 receives the verification information from the waiter PC 6. The verification information is information indicating that the waiter has completed the verification of the commodity whose barcode the customer has scanned, that is, the commodity the customer wants to purchase, and includes transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code). In the following description, the verification of the purchased commodity by the waiter is sometimes referred to as "waiter verification". The server device 2 manages whether each transaction has completed the waiter verification by storing the terminal code, transaction code and verification information in correspondence.

[0069] The server device 2 receives a transaction information request from the checkout machine 5. The transaction information request is a request for transaction information for a customer to make a payment, and includes a transaction code that specifies a transaction to be paid. When receiving the transaction information request, the server device 2 determines whether the transaction specified by the transaction code included in the transaction information request (hereinafter also referred to as the target transaction) has been checked by the waiter.

[0070] Then, if the transaction has been verified by the waiter, the server device 2 transmits the transaction information of the transaction to the checkout machine 5. If the transaction has not been verified by the waiter, the server device 2 transmits an error message to the checkout machine 5 instead of the transaction information. The error message is information indicating that the transaction has not been verified by the waiter. Based on this, the server device 2 allows the customer to use the checkout machine 5 to make payment on the condition that the checkout machine has been verified by the waiter in advance.

[0071] In addition, the server device 2 may be composed of a plurality of computers. In other words, the functions of the server device 2 may be distributed to a plurality of computers.

[0072] The portable terminal 4 is a portable terminal held by the customer. In this embodiment, the portable terminal 4 is composed of a smart phone held by the customer. The portable terminal 4 is installed with an application for the mobile self-service cashier system. The portable terminal 4 uses a camera 44 (see Fig.10) Take a picture of the product barcode and read the product code. The portable terminal 4 and the server device 2 send and receive various information.

[0073] The checkout machine 5 is a so-called self-service checkout machine that is operated by the customer himself. The checkout machine 5 includes a scanner unit that can read code symbols such as barcodes and two-dimensional codes. The checkout machine 5 reads a transaction code from a checkout barcode (hereinafter also referred to as a checkout barcode) on a checkout screen displayed on the portable terminal 4 through the scanner unit. The checkout machine 5 sends a transaction information request including the read transaction code to the server device 2.

[0074] When the checkout machine 5 receives transaction information from the server device 2 as a response to the transaction information request, it performs checkout processing based on the transaction information. Checkout processing is a process for the customer to pay for the goods to be purchased. Checkout processing includes, for example, display of transaction information, calculation of change amount, payment of change, etc. in cash settlement, and transmission and reception of various information with the settlement server of the settlement provider in non-cash settlement.

[0075] When the checkout machine 5 receives error information from the server device 2 as a response to the transaction information request, the checkout machine 5 displays the error information on the display unit of the device itself. The displayed error information is, for example, information indicating that payment cannot be made because the waiter has not completed the verification. The checkout machine 5 sends and receives various information to and from the server device 2.

[0076] The attendant PC 6 is operated by a store employee such as an attendant, and is an example of an information processing device and an attendant terminal. The attendant PC 6 includes a scanner unit 64 (see Fig.12 The server PC 6 reads the transaction code from the checkout barcode displayed on the server verification screen on the portable terminal 4 through the scanner unit 64. The server PC 6 obtains the transaction information corresponding to the read transaction code from the server device 2 and displays it on the display unit 62 (see Fig.12 ).

[0077] The attendant PC 6 can receive input of a terminal code through the operation unit 63 instead of reading the transaction code through the scanner unit 64. The terminal code is displayed on the attendant verification screen of the portable terminal 4. Since the terminal code corresponds to the transaction code in the server device 2, the attendant PC 6 can also obtain transaction information corresponding to the transaction code from the server device 2 by sending the terminal code to the server device 2. In this way, even in the case where the scanner unit 64 fails, the attendant PC 6 can obtain necessary transaction information from the server device 2.

[0078] The waiter performs waiter verification based on the transaction information displayed on the waiter PC 6. For example, when the transaction object includes age-confirmed goods, the waiter will confirm the customer's age. In addition, when the transaction object includes unregistered goods, the unregistered goods are confirmed. Unregistered goods refer to goods whose product information corresponding to the product code is not registered in the product master file for some reason. When the waiter verification is completed, the verification completion input is input to the waiter PC 6. When the verification completion input is input, the waiter PC 6 sends the verification information to the server device 2.

[0079] In addition, when the waiter has confirmed that the product is not registered, he / she checks and completes the input on the waiter PC 6, and then moves to the checkout machine 5 or the dedicated cash register with the customer. Then, the waiter operates the checkout machine 5 or the dedicated cash register to manually register the product information of the unregistered product as part of the transaction information.

[0080] Here, we will refer to Figure 2 This section explains how to use it in stores. Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing an example of a checkout area of ​​a store. The checkout area is an area where one or more checkout machines 5 are arranged, and customers who have completed product registration can pay for the products by operating the checkout machines 5. An attendant and an attendant PC 6 operated by the attendant are arranged near the entrance of the checkout area, in other words, arranged on the path of the customer to any checkout machine 5.

[0081] Before the customer uses the checkout machine 5 to pay, the waiter verification screen displayed on the portable terminal 4 is shown to the waiter. The waiter uses the scanner unit 64 of the waiter PC 6 to scan the checkout barcode on the waiter verification screen. The waiter PC 6 obtains the transaction information corresponding to the transaction code read from the checkout barcode from the server device 2 and displays it on the display unit 62. The waiter performs the waiter verification based on the displayed transaction information. When the waiter completes the waiter verification, he / she inputs the verification completion to the waiter PC 6. The waiter PC 6 sends the verification completion information to the server device 2.

[0082] When the waiter verification is completed, the customer can use any checkout machine 5 to make payment. Even if the customer who has not completed the waiter verification tries to use the checkout machine 5 to make payment, an error message will be displayed on the checkout machine 5 and payment cannot be made. In this case, the customer moves to the position of the waiter PC 6 and receives the waiter verification. Since the waiter can perform the waiter verification for each customer at the place where the waiter PC 6 is installed, the verification work becomes easy.

[0083] Next, the server device 2 , the portable terminal 4 , and the attendant PC 6 constituting the transaction management system 1 will be described in detail.

[0084] First, the server device 2 will be described. Figure 3 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the main hardware configuration of the server device 2. The server device 2 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, and a communication unit 24. The control unit 20, the storage unit 21, the display unit 22, the operation unit 23, and the communication unit 24 are connected to each other via a bus 25 or the like.

[0085] The control unit 20 is a computer structure including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 , and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 . The CPU 201 , the ROM 202 , and the RAM 203 are connected to each other via a bus 25 .

[0086] The CPU 201 controls the overall operation of the server device 2. The ROM 202 stores various programs and various data such as programs for driving the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is used as a work area of ​​the CPU 201, and various programs and various data stored in the ROM 202 and the storage unit 21 are loaded. The control unit 20 operates according to the control program stored in the ROM 202 and the storage unit 21 and loaded in the RAM 203, thereby executing various control processes of the server device 2.

[0087] The storage unit 21 is composed of a storage medium such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, and can retain the stored content even when the power is turned off. The storage unit 21 stores a control program 211, a product master file 212, a terminal management table 213, a highlight information management table 214, a transaction information management table 215, and a mode management table 216.

[0088] The control program 211 is a program for realizing functions such as sending and receiving information between external devices such as the portable terminal 4, the checkout machine 5, the waiter PC 6, etc., managing transaction information corresponding to each customer, accepting transaction information requests and determining whether the transaction subject to the transaction information request has been completed and checked by the waiter, etc.

[0089] The commodity master file 212 is a master file storing information on commodities sold in each store. The commodity master file 212 is updated based on information obtained from each store. Since commodities sold in each store change every day, the commodity master file 212 is updated appropriately according to the store. Figure 4 21 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the product master file. The product master file 212 stores the company code, store code, product code, product name, price, and emphasis item No in association with each other.

[0090] The company code is information specifying a company operating a store using the transaction management system 1. The store code is information specifying a store using the transaction management system 1. When a plurality of stores in one company use the transaction management system 1, a plurality of store codes are associated with the company code.

[0091] The product code is information that specifies the product. Since multiple products are sold in one store, multiple product codes correspond to the store code. The product name is information that indicates the name of the product. The price is information that indicates the price of the product. The emphasis item No. is information that specifies the emphasis item that the waiter should pay attention to when checking. The emphasis item No. corresponds only to the product that is set as the product that the waiter should pay special attention to (hereinafter also referred to as "emphasized product"). The product name, price and emphasis item No. correspond to the product code one by one.

[0092] The terminal management table 213 is a data table for managing the portable terminals 4 used in the mobile self-checkout system 3 . Figure 5 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the terminal management table 213. The terminal management table 213 stores a terminal code, a notification destination, a company code, and a store code in association with each other.

[0093] The terminal code is information that specifies the portable terminal 4 that uses the transaction management system 1. When the server device 2 receives the store entry information from the portable terminal 4, it issues the terminal code to the portable terminal 4 and registers it in the terminal management table 213. In addition, the terminal code can use an identification code such as IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) held by the portable terminal 4 itself. In addition, there is the following advantage: by issuing a terminal code dedicated to the transaction management system 1, the number of digits of the terminal code can be reduced, making it easier to operate in the case where the terminal code needs to be manually input.

[0094] The notification destination is information indicating the notification destination of the portable terminal 4, and is the communication address of the portable terminal 4, etc. The enterprise code is information specifying the enterprise operating the store where the portable terminal 4 is located. The store code is information specifying the store where the portable terminal 4 is located. The notification destination, the enterprise code, and the store code are registered based on the store entry information received from the portable terminal 4. In addition, the information related to the terminal code of the customer who has completed the payment of the transaction can be deleted in order from the information registered in the terminal management table 213. In this case, since the same terminal code can be used multiple times, the number of digits of the terminal code used can be reduced.

[0095] The highlight information management table 214 is a data table for managing highlight items in highlight commodities. The highlight information management table 214 is updated based on information acquired from each store. The waiter PC 6 displays a transaction detail screen based on the information registered in the highlight information management table 214. Figure 6 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the emphasis information management table 214. The emphasis information management table 214 stores the company code, the store code, the emphasis item No., the item, the importance, the display order, and the display comment in association with each other.

[0096] As described above, the enterprise code is information for specifying an enterprise, and the store code is information for specifying a store. The emphasized item No. is information for specifying an emphasized item to be paid attention to when the waiter checks. The item is information indicating the content of the emphasized item, for example, information indicating age-confirmed goods, unregistered goods, etc. The importance is information indicating the importance of the emphasized item, for example, "1" is registered in an emphasized item with a higher importance, and "0" is registered in an emphasized item with a lower importance. The display order is information indicating the display order on the transaction details screen of the waiter PC 6. The display comments are information indicating comments in the transaction details screen of the waiter PC 6.

[0097] The transaction information management table 215 is a data table for managing transaction information corresponding to each transaction of each store. The transaction information management table 215 is updated based on information from the portable terminal 4, the checkout machine 5, and the attendant PC 6. Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the transaction information management table 215. The transaction information management table 215 stores the transaction code, terminal code, login time, checkout instruction time, checkout machine No., waiter verification flag, transaction amount, checkout completion flag (status information), product information, registration time, and cancellation flag in association with each other.

[0098] The transaction code is information for specifying a transaction. The terminal code is information for specifying the portable terminal 4. When the server device 2 receives the store entry information from the portable terminal 4, it issues the transaction code and the terminal code and registers them in the transaction information management table 215. The login time is information indicating the time when the customer entered the store, for example, the time when the server device 2 received the store entry information from the portable terminal 4.

[0099] The checkout instruction time is information indicating the time when the server device 2 received the checkout instruction from the portable terminal 4. The checkout machine No. is information specifying the checkout machine 5 that executes the checkout process related to the transaction of the corresponding transaction code. In other words, the checkout machine No. is information specifying the checkout machine 5 that reads the corresponding transaction code from the checkout screen of the portable terminal 4. The checkout machine No. is registered based on the transaction information request from the checkout machine 5.

[0100] The waiter verification flag is information indicating whether the waiter verification has been completed. If it has been completed, "1" is registered (status information indicating that the checkout has been completed), and if it has not been completed, "0" is registered (status information indicating that the purchase is in progress). Based on the verification information obtained from the waiter PC 6, the waiter verification flag is rewritten to "1". The waiter verification flag registered with "1" is an example of verification completion information registered when the waiter verification has been completed.

[0101] The transaction amount is information indicating the total amount of the commodity prices in a transaction. The checkout completion flag is information indicating whether the payment related to the transaction has been completed, in other words, whether the checkout process performed by the checkout machine 5 has been completed. If the payment related to the transaction has been completed, the checkout completion flag is registered as "1", and if it has not been completed, it is registered as "0". Based on the checkout completion notification obtained from the checkout machine 5, the checkout completion flag is rewritten to "1".

[0102] The product information is information indicating the product code, product name, and price. When multiple products are purchased in one transaction, multiple product information is registered corresponding to the transaction code. The registration time is information indicating the time when the product information was registered. The cancellation flag is information indicating whether the product information has been cancelled, and "1" is registered if the product information has been cancelled, and "0" is registered if it has not been cancelled. Based on the cancellation information from the portable terminal 4, the cancellation flag is rewritten to "1". The cancellation information is information indicating the cancellation of product registration, and includes the product code of the product registration cancellation object.

[0103] The mode management table 216 is a data table for managing the mode set in the mobile self-checkout system 3 of each store. The mode management table 216 is updated based on information acquired from each store. Figure 8 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the pattern management table 216. The pattern management table 216 stores the company code, the store code, and the pattern in association with each other.

[0104] As described above, the company code is information specifying a company operating a store, and the store code is information specifying a store. The mode is information indicating the mode in which the mobile self-checkout system 3 is set, and information indicating either the pre-verification mode or the normal mode is registered.

[0105] like Figure 2As described above, the pre-check mode is an operation mode in which the customer performs a check by the waiter before using the checkout machine 5 to pay. Specifically, the pre-check mode is a mode in which the customer can use the checkout machine 5 to pay on the condition that the customer has received the check by the waiter. The normal mode is a mode for regular operation. Specifically, the normal mode is a mode in which the customer can use the checkout machine 5 to pay even if the customer has not received the check by the waiter. Each store can select the pre-check mode or the normal mode according to the operation.

[0106] Return to Figure 3 , the hardware structure of the server device 2 is explained.

[0107] The display unit 22 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel and displays various information. The display unit 22 displays information stored in, for example, the product master file 212, the terminal management table 213, the emphasis information management table 214, the transaction information management table 215, and the mode management table 216 as needed.

[0108] The operation unit 23 is used to input information to the control unit 20 , and includes, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and the like.

[0109] The communication unit 24 is an interface for communicating with external devices such as the portable terminal 4, the checkout machine 5, and the waiter PC 6. By connecting to the external device via the communication unit 24, the control unit 20 can transmit and receive information (data) to and from the external device.

[0110] Next, the functional structure of the server device 2 will be described. Fig. 9 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the main functional configuration of the control unit 20 of the server device 2. The control unit 20 is operated by the CPU 201 according to the control program stored in the ROM 202 and the storage unit 21, and functions as an example of a transmission and reception unit 2001, an information management unit 2002, an information processing unit 2003, a mode setting unit 2004, and a highlighted product setting unit 2005. In addition, each of these functions may be configured by hardware such as a dedicated circuit.

[0111] The transceiver 2001 transmits and receives various information between the portable terminal 4, the checkout machine 5, and the attendant PC 6. For example, the transceiver 2001 receives store entry information from the portable terminal 4, and transmits the terminal code, transaction code, and mode information to the portable terminal 4 that is the source of the store entry information.

[0112] The sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a registration request including a terminal code and a commodity code from the portable terminal 4, and sends the registered commodity information as a response to the registration request to the portable terminal 4, which is the sending source of the registration request. The sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a checkout instruction including a transaction code from the portable terminal 4, and sends the transaction amount of the transaction specified by the transaction code and the waiter verification screen display instruction to the portable terminal 4, which is the sending source of the checkout instruction. The checkout instruction is information indicating that the registration of the commodity involved in a transaction has been completed. The waiter screen display instruction is information that instructs the portable terminal 4 to display the checkout barcode read by the waiter PC 6. In addition, the transaction amount can be calculated on the portable terminal 4.

[0113] The sending and receiving unit 2001 regularly receives a store transaction information request including a store code from the attendant PC 6 at short intervals, and sends the transaction information of the store specified by the store code as a response. Thus, the attendant PC 6 can obtain the transaction information of the store in real time.

[0114] The sending and receiving unit 2001 receives the verification information from the waiter PC 6. The verification information is information indicating that the waiter verification has been completed, and includes transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code). Based on the received verification information, the sending and receiving unit 2001 sends a checkout screen display instruction to the portable terminal 4 of the customer who has completed the checkout by the waiter. The checkout screen display instruction is information that instructs the portable terminal 4 to display the checkout barcode read by the checkout machine 5.

[0115] The sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a transaction information request including a transaction code from the checkout machine 5, and transmits the transaction information specified by the transaction code as a response. The sending and receiving unit 2001 functions as an example of a request receiving unit that receives a transaction information request. In addition, the sending and receiving unit 2001 functions as an example of an output unit that outputs transaction information. The sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a checkout completion notification from the checkout machine 5. The checkout completion notification is information indicating that the payment related to the transaction has been completed, and includes a transaction code.

[0116] The information management device 2002 manages various information such as information received by the transmission and reception unit 2001. Here, the information management means a process of writing or reading various information (data) in the storage unit 21.

[0117] For example, when the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives store entry information, the information management unit 2002 writes the terminal code and the transaction code into the terminal management table 213 and the transaction information management table 215. In addition, when the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives store entry information, the information management unit 2002 reads out the mode information corresponding to the store code included in the store entry information from the mode management table 216.

[0118] When the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives the registration request, the information management unit 2002 registers the commodity information corresponding to the commodity code included in the registration request in the transaction information management table 215. Specifically, the information management unit 2002 refers to the terminal management table 213 and reads out the company code and the store code corresponding to the terminal code included in the registration request. Then, the information management unit 2002 reads out the commodity information corresponding to the above-mentioned company code and store code and corresponding to the commodity code included in the registration request from the commodity master file 212, and registers it in the transaction information management table 215. The information management unit 2002 functions as an example of a registration unit that performs commodity registration.

[0119] When the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a store transaction information request, the information management unit 2002 extracts the transaction information of the store specified by the store code included in the store transaction information request. Specifically, the information management unit 2002 reads all the terminal codes corresponding to the above-mentioned store code from the terminal management table 213. The information management unit 2002 reads all the transaction information corresponding to the read terminal code from the transaction information management table 215.

[0120] When the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives a transaction information request, the information management unit 2002 reads out the transaction information specified by the transaction code included in the transaction information request. When the sending and receiving unit 2001 receives verification information, the information management unit 2002 rewrites the waiter verification flag corresponding to the transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code) included in the verification information to "1" in the transaction information management table 215. The information management unit 2002 writes or reads other information in the storage unit 21 as needed.

[0121] As described above, the information management unit 2002 manages the transaction information management table 215, which is an example of a transaction management unit. The transaction information management table 215 stores transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code), transaction information, and verification completion information (server verification flag) in correspondence.

[0122] The information processing unit 2003 performs various information processing. For example, the information processing unit 2003 calculates the transaction amount of a transaction. In addition, the information processing unit 2003 performs the processing of assigning transaction codes and terminal codes and issues these transaction codes and terminal codes. The information processing unit 2003 refers to the transaction information management table 215 to determine whether the transaction is completed and the waiter checks it.

[0123] The mode setting unit 2004 sets the mode of the mobile self-service cash register system 3 of each store to any one of the pre-check mode and the normal mode. Specifically, the mode setting unit 2004 registers the information indicating the pre-check mode or the normal mode in the mode management table 216 based on the information obtained from the store. For example, if the number of customers gradually increases after the store opens and the store is very crowded, the pre-check mode is used when the store opens. In this case, when the waiter checks all the customers, the checkout is stagnant. Therefore, a mode change unit indicating the pre-check mode or the normal mode is set in the waiter PC6. Through the operation of the mode change unit, a mode setting request for setting the normal mode is sent from the waiter PC6 to the server device 2. The server device 2 that receives the mode setting request switches from the pre-check mode to the normal mode through the mode setting unit 2004. Because the mode is stored in the portable terminal 4 when entering the store, customers who come to the store thereafter can be processed in the normal mode. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the situation where customers using the checkout machine are stranded when it is crowded. In addition, the reverse switching can also be performed. If the number of customers gradually decreases, the pre-check mode can be restarted.

[0124] The highlighted product setting unit 2005 sets the highlighted product from the products registered in the product master file 212. Specifically, the highlighted product setting unit 2005 registers information related to the highlighted product in the product master file 212 and the highlighted information management table 214 based on information acquired from the store.

[0125] Next, the details of the portable terminal 4 will be described. Fig.10 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the main hardware configuration of the portable terminal 4. The portable terminal 4 includes a control unit 40, a storage unit 41, a display unit 42, an operation unit 43, a camera unit 44, and a communication unit 45. The control unit 40, the storage unit 41, the display unit 42, the operation unit 43, the camera unit 44, and the communication unit 45 are connected to each other via a bus 46 or the like.

[0126] The control unit 40 is a computer structure including a CPU 401 , a ROM 402 , and a RAM 403 . The CPU 401 , the ROM 402 , and the RAM 403 are connected to each other via a bus 46 .

[0127] The CPU 401 controls the overall operation of the portable terminal 4. The ROM 402 stores various programs and various data such as a program for driving the CPU 401. The RAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401 and loads various programs and various data stored in the ROM 402 and the storage unit 41. The control unit 40 causes the CPU 401 to operate according to the control program stored in the ROM 402 or the storage unit 41 and loaded in the RAM 403, thereby executing various control processes of the portable terminal 4.

[0128] The storage unit 41 is composed of a storage medium such as a HDD or a flash memory, and the stored contents are maintained even when the power is turned off. The storage unit 41 includes a control program 411 , a terminal code unit 412 , a transaction information unit 413 , and a mode information unit 414 .

[0129] The control program 411 is an application program for a mobile self-service cashier system, etc. The application program for a mobile self-service cashier system enables the portable terminal 4 to function as an input device for commodity registration. In addition, the application program for a mobile self-service cashier system enables the portable terminal 4 to function as a checkout barcode display device.

[0130] The terminal code unit 412 stores the terminal code received from the server device 2. The terminal code is a code issued by the server device 2 based on the store entry information from the portable terminal 4.

[0131] The transaction information unit 413 stores transaction information in which the transaction code received from the server device 2 is associated with the commodity information registered in the server device 2. Specifically, the commodity information registered by the server device 2 is sequentially registered in the transaction information unit 413 in association with the transaction code.

[0132] The mode information unit 414 stores the mode information received from the server device 2. The mode information unit 414 stores the mode information received from the server device 2 in association with the store entry information from the portable terminal 4. The mode information is information indicating the mode of the mobile self-service checkout system 3 of the store where the portable terminal 4 is located.

[0133] When the portable terminal 4 receives the transaction completion notification from the server device 2, it clears the information stored in the terminal code unit 412, the transaction information unit 413, and the mode information unit 414. The terminal code unit 412, the transaction information unit 413, and the mode information unit 414 store new information for each transaction.

[0134] The display unit 42 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays various information. The display unit 42 displays, for example, product information of products registered in the server device 2, the total amount of products registered, and the like. In addition, the display unit 42 displays a waiter verification screen and a checkout screen. The checkout barcode read by the waiter PC 6 and the checkout machine 5 is displayed on these waiter verification screens and the checkout screens.

[0135] The operation unit 43 is composed of a touch panel provided on the surface of the display unit 42, for example, and inputs information to the control unit 40 according to the position touched by the user. When the customer operates a control displayed on the display unit 42, the operation unit 43 inputs information corresponding to the control to the control unit 40.

[0136] The camera unit 44 captures the QR code, product barcode, etc. displayed at the store entrance, and inputs the image (or animation) data obtained by the capture (hereinafter also referred to as the captured image data) to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 reads the store information from the image of the QR code, and reads the product code from the image of the product barcode. In addition, when the portable terminal 4 uses so-called object recognition to recognize the product code, the camera unit 44 captures the appearance of the product and inputs it to the control unit 40.

[0137] The communication unit 45 is an interface for communicating with an external device such as the server device 2. The control unit 40 is connected to the external device via the communication unit 45, and can transmit and receive information (data) with the external device.

[0138] Next, the functional configuration of the control unit 40 of the portable terminal 4 will be described. Fig.11 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the main functional structure of the control unit 40 of the portable terminal 4. The control unit 40 operates by the CPU 401 according to the control program stored in the ROM 402 and the storage unit 41, and functions as a transmission and reception unit 4001, an input unit 4002, a reading unit 4003, an information management unit 4004, an information processing unit 4005, and a display control unit 4006. In addition, these functions can be configured by hardware such as dedicated circuits.

[0139] The transmission and reception unit 4001 transmits and receives various information to and from the server device 2. For example, the transmission and reception unit 4001 transmits store entry information to the server device 2, and receives a terminal code, a transaction code, and mode information from the server device 2.

[0140] The sending and receiving unit 4001 sends a registration request including a terminal code and a commodity code to the server device 2, and receives the registered commodity information and the transaction amount from the server device 2 as a response. The sending and receiving unit 4001 sends a checkout instruction including a transaction code to the server device 2, and receives the transaction amount of the transaction specified by the transaction code and the waiter verification screen display instruction from the server device 2. The sending and receiving unit 4001 receives the checkout screen display instruction and the checkout completion notification from the server device 2.

[0141] Various information is inputted to the input unit 4002 from the operation unit 43 and the camera unit 44. For example, a transaction start instruction and a checkout instruction are inputted to the input unit 4002 from the operation unit 43. In addition, the camera unit 44 inputs the input unit 4002 with the image data of the two-dimensional code displayed at the store entrance and the image data of the product barcode.

[0142] The reading unit 4003 extracts a two-dimensional code from the camera data input to the input unit 4002, and decodes the two-dimensional code to read the store information. In addition, the reading unit 4003 extracts a product barcode from the camera data input to the input unit 4002, and decodes the product barcode to read the product code. In addition, the two-dimensional code and the product barcode may be decoded by the server device 2. In this case, the sending and receiving unit 4001 sends the camera data of the two-dimensional code and the barcode to the server device 2, and receives the store information and the product code read by the server device 2 from the server device 2.

[0143] The information management unit 4004 manages various information such as information received by the transmission / reception unit 4001. Here, the management of information means writing or reading various information (data) in the storage unit 41.

[0144] For example, the information management unit 4004 writes the terminal code received by the sending and receiving unit 4001 into the terminal code unit 412. In addition, the information management unit 4004 writes the transaction code and product information received by the sending and receiving unit 4001 into the transaction information unit 413. Specifically, when the sending and receiving unit 4001 receives the transaction code, the information management unit 4004 writes the transaction code into the transaction information unit 413. Then, each time the sending and receiving unit 4001 receives product information registered by the server device 2, the product information is associated with the transaction code and written into the transaction information unit 413. The information management unit 4004 writes the mode information received by the sending and receiving unit 4001 into the mode information unit 414.

[0145] The information processing unit 4005 performs various information processing. For example, when the transmission and reception unit 4001 receives a waiter verification screen display instruction from the server device 2, the information processing unit 4005 generates a checkout barcode to be displayed on the display unit 42.

[0146] The display control unit 4006 causes the display unit 42 to display various information. For example, the display control unit 4006 causes the display unit 42 to display the commodity information and transaction amount stored in the transaction information unit 413. The transaction amount may be obtained from the server device 2 or calculated by the information processing unit 4005 based on the transaction information stored in the transaction information unit 413.

[0147] When information indicating the pre-check mode is registered in the mode information unit 414, when the settlement barcode is generated by the information processing unit 4005, the display control unit 4006 causes the display unit 42 to display the waiter check screen. Then, when the transmission and reception unit 4001 receives a checkout screen display instruction, the display control unit 4006 causes the display unit 42 to display the checkout screen.

[0148] When the information indicating the normal mode is registered in the mode information unit 414, the display control unit 4006 displays the checkout screen on the display unit 42 instead of the waiter check screen when the checkout barcode is generated by the information processing unit 4005. The details of the waiter check screen and the checkout screen will be described later.

[0149] Next, the details of the waiter PC 6 will be described. Fig.12 : is a block diagram showing an example of the main hardware structure of the attendant PC 6. The attendant PC 6 includes a control unit 60, a storage unit 61, a display unit 62, an operation unit 63, a scanner unit 64, and a communication unit 65. The control unit 60, the storage unit 61, the display unit 62, the operation unit 63, the scanner unit 64, and the communication unit 65 are connected to each other via a bus 66 or the like.

[0150] The control unit 60 is a computer structure including a CPU 601 , a ROM 602 , and a RAM 603 . The CPU 601 , the ROM 602 , and the RAM 603 are connected to each other via a bus 66 .

[0151] The CPU 601 controls the overall operation of the server PC 6. The ROM 602 contains various programs and various data such as programs for driving the CPU 601. The RAM 603 is used as a work area for the CPU 601 and loads various programs and various data stored in the ROM 602 and the storage unit 61. The control unit 60 performs various control processes of the server PC 6 by the CPU 601 operating according to the control program stored in the ROM 602 and the storage unit 61 and loaded in the RAM 603.

[0152] The storage unit 61 is composed of a storage medium such as an HDD or a flash memory, and maintains the stored contents even when the power is turned off. The storage unit 61 stores a control program 611 and a status management table 612 .

[0153] The control program 611 is a program for realizing a function of transmitting and receiving information with the server device 2, a function of managing the status of customers of a store, and the like.

[0154] The status management table 612 is a data table for managing the status of customers who have not completed payment. The status management table 612 is updated at any time based on information obtained from the server device 2. Fig.13 : is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the status management table 612. The status management table 612 stores the terminal code, transaction code, login time, moving time, latest operation time, number of registrations, registered amount, status, and checkout device number in association with each other.

[0155] As described above, the transaction code is information that specifies the transaction, and the terminal code is information that specifies the portable terminal 4. The login time is information indicating the time when the customer entered the store. The travel time is the time that the customer has passed since entering the store, and is calculated based on the current time and the login time. The latest operation time is information indicating the time when the customer has recently operated the portable terminal 4. Specifically, the latest operation time is information indicating the time when the operation was recently performed, such as the login time, the registration time, the checkout instruction time, etc.

[0156] The number of registered items is information indicating the number of items for which the items have been registered. The registered amount is information indicating the total amount of items for which the items have been registered. The registered amount has the same meaning as the transaction amount, and may be a price including tax or a price excluding tax. The status is an example of status information indicating the status of the customer. The status includes a pre-checkout status such as "shopping", and "shopping" indicates a status in which one or more items have been registered and no checkout instruction has been input into the portable terminal 4. In addition, the statuses of "checkout" and "checkout completed" may be registered. "Checkout" indicates a status in which a checkout instruction has been input into the portable terminal 4 and payment has not been completed. "Checkout completed" indicates a status in which payment has been completed. Checkout device No is information specifying the checkout machine 5 that is executing the checkout process for the corresponding transaction No.

[0157] Return to Fig.12 , the hardware structure of the waiter PC6 is explained.

[0158] The display unit 62 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays various information. For example, the display unit 62 displays a transaction list screen, a transaction detail screen, a guide screen, and a highlight setting screen. The transaction list screen is a screen that displays the status of a customer at a glance. The transaction detail screen is a screen that displays the details of a customer's transaction. The guide screen is a screen that displays guidance to the waiter when the waiter checks. The highlight setting screen is a screen for setting highlighted products. The details of each of these screens will be described later.

[0159] The operation unit 63 is used to input information to the control unit 60 , and includes, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, etc. For example, the operation unit 63 inputs information for setting the mode of the mobile self-service checkout system 3 and information for setting highlighted products to the control unit 60 .

[0160] The scanner unit 64 reads a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or other code symbol. For example, the scanner unit 64 scans a checkout barcode displayed on the waiter verification screen of the portable terminal 4, and inputs the scanned data to the control unit 60. The scanner unit 64 may be configured as a camera unit that captures an image. In this case, the scanner unit 64 inputs the captured image data to the control unit 60.

[0161] The communication unit 65 is an interface for communicating with an external device such as the server device 2. The control unit 60 is connected to the external device via the communication unit 65, and can transmit and receive information (data) with the external device.

[0162] Next, the functional structure of the control unit 60 of the waiter PC 6 will be described. Fig.14 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the main functional structure of the control unit 60 of the waiter PC 6. The control unit 60 operates by the CPU 601 according to the control program stored in the ROM 602 and the storage unit 61, and functions as a transmission and reception unit 6001, an input unit 6002, a reading unit 6003, an information management unit 6004, and a display control unit 6005. In addition, each of these functions may be constituted by hardware such as a dedicated circuit.

[0163] The sending and receiving unit 6001 sends and receives various information to and from the server device 2. For example, the sending and receiving unit 6001 sends a store transaction information request including a store code to the server device 2, and receives transaction information corresponding to the store code as a response. The sending and receiving unit 6001 sends a transaction information request including a transaction code to the server device 2, and receives transaction information corresponding to the transaction code as a response. In addition, the sending and receiving unit 6001 sends verification information to the server device 2.

[0164] The sending and receiving unit 6001 sends various setting information to the server device 2. For example, the sending and receiving unit 6001 sends the mode setting information of the mobile self-service cashier system 3 to the server device 2. In addition, the sending and receiving unit 6001 sends the setting information for setting the highlighted product to the server device 2. In addition, the waiter PC 6 can send and receive information with the server device 2 either through the function of a dedicated application or by accessing a website using a browser.

[0165] Various information is inputted to the input unit 6002 from the operation unit 63 and the scanner unit 64. The input unit 6002 functions as a receiving unit for receiving various operations. Here, the so-called operation includes not only the concept of operation via the operation unit 63, but also the concept of operation of reading code symbols using the scanner unit 64. That is, the receiving unit receives operations including directly inputting transaction specified information through the operation unit, selecting an information from the status information displayed in the list on the first screen, and reading transaction specified information from the code symbol displayed on the terminal operated by the customer. For example, verification completion information is inputted to the input unit 6002 from the operation unit 43. Verification completion information is information indicating that the waiter has completed verification. In addition, the scanned data of the checkout barcode displayed on the waiter's verification screen is inputted to the input unit 6002 from the scanner unit 64.

[0166] The reading unit 6003 decodes the scanned data inputted in the input unit 6002 and reads the transaction code. Alternatively, the scanned data may be decoded by the server device 2. In this case, the transmitting and receiving unit 6001 transmits the scanned data to the server device 2 and receives the transaction code read by the server device 2.

[0167] The information management unit 6004 manages various information such as information received by the transmission / reception unit 6001. Here, the management information refers to various information (data) written or read in the storage unit 61.

[0168] For example, the information management unit 6004 writes necessary information into the state management table 612 based on the transaction information of the store received by the transmission and reception unit 6001. In addition, the information management unit 6004 reads information displayed on the display unit 62 from the state management table 612 as necessary.

[0169] The display control unit 6005 causes the display unit 62 to display various information. The display control unit 6005 functions as an example of a first display unit and a second display unit. For example, the display control unit 6005 causes the display unit 62 to display a transaction list screen, a transaction detail screen, a guide screen, and an emphasis setting screen. In addition, the transaction list screen, the transaction detail screen, the guide screen, and the emphasis setting screen are screens displayed by accessing a website provided by the server device 2.

[0170] Although the description of the structure of the register 5 is omitted, the register 5 includes a control unit structure of a computer structure composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., similar to the server device 2, the portable terminal 4, and the waiter terminal 6 described above. In addition, the register 5 includes a storage unit such as an HDD or a flash memory that stores various programs, a display unit composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, an operation unit composed of an input device such as a keyboard, a keyboard, etc., a scanner unit similar to the scanner unit 64, and a communication unit for communicating with an external device. The control unit of the register 5 performs various processes such as the waiter verification determination process to be described later by cooperating with the program stored in the storage unit. In addition, the control unit of the register 5 realizes the functional structure of the receiving unit and the checkout processing unit by cooperating with the program stored in the storage unit.

[0171] Next, an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 having the above configuration will be described. Fig.15 1 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the transaction management system 1. In addition, the sequence diagram shows the operation flow when the mode of the mobile self-service cashier system 3 is set to the pre-verification mode. In addition, the above sequence diagram is a diagram showing the operation flow when the customer has been verified by the waiter before using the checkout machine 5 to pay.

[0172] The customer starts the application for the mobile self-service cashier system (step S1). Next, the customer uses the portable terminal 4 to read the store entry information and enter the transaction start input (step S2). The portable terminal 4 sends the store entry information including the company code, store code and login time to the server device 2 (step S3).

[0173] The server device 2 issues a terminal code and a transaction code (step S4). At this time, the server device 2 registers the necessary information in the terminal management table 213 and the transaction information management table 215 based on the received store entry information. The server device 2 reads the mode information of the store code included in the store entry information from the mode management table 216 (step S5). The server device 2 sends the issued terminal code, transaction code and the read mode information to the portable terminal 4 (step S6).

[0174] The portable terminal 4 registers the received information (step S7). Specifically, the portable terminal 4 registers the received terminal code in the terminal code unit 412, the transaction code in the transaction information unit 413, and the mode information in the mode information unit 414. The customer uses the camera unit 44 to shoot the product barcode, so that the portable terminal 4 reads the product code specifying the product (step S8). In addition, the product code of the product without a barcode is input by the operation unit 43. The portable terminal 4 sends a registration request including the terminal code and the product code to the server device 2 (step S9). The portable terminal 4 can send the registration request including the transaction code to the server device 2 instead of the terminal code or together with the terminal code. In the following description, it is assumed that the portable terminal 4 sends the terminal code together with the information to the server device 2.

[0175] The server device 2 performs product registration based on the registration request. Specifically, the server device 2 reads the product information corresponding to the product code included in the registration request from the product master file 212 and registers it in the transaction information management table 215 (step S10). The server device 2 sends the read product information to the portable terminal 4 (step S11).

[0176] The portable terminal 4 stores the received commodity information in the transaction information unit 413 and displays the transaction information display screen (step S12). In addition, each time the portable terminal 4 reads a commodity code, it can obtain transaction information including all commodity information related to the transaction registered in the transaction information management table 215 by the server.

[0177] Here, the transaction information display screen is described. Fig.164 is a diagram showing an example of a transaction information display screen displayed on the portable terminal 4. The display unit 42 of the portable terminal 4 displays a header portion 421, a total information portion 422, a product information portion 423, and a footer portion 424 on the transaction information display screen.

[0178] The title portion 421 displays the company name "00", the store name "△△ store", characters indicating that the customer is shopping, etc. In addition, a terminal code portion 4211 is formed in the title portion 421. The terminal code portion 4211 displays a terminal code.

[0179] The total number and total amount of the registered commodities are displayed in the total information section 422. The total number and total amount are not included for commodities that have been registered but whose registration has been cancelled.

[0180] The product information section 423 displays information about products that have been registered and products that have been deregistered. The displayed product information includes product name, price, tax rate, quantity, and additional information. The additional information is, for example, information indicating age-confirmed products, but is set to be irrelevant to the highlighted product. For products that have been deregistered, the product name, price, and quantity are marked with a strikethrough.

[0181] The footer 424 displays various controls. Specifically, a "no barcode" icon, a "scan" icon, and a "pay" icon are displayed in the footer 424. The "no barcode" icon is an icon for displaying a preset screen for registering a commodity without a commodity barcode attached. The "scan" icon is an icon for photographing a commodity barcode. The "pay" icon is an icon for inputting a checkout instruction.

[0182] Return to Fig.15 , an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 is described.

[0183] Each time the customer takes a picture of the barcode attached to the product, the process from step S8 to step S12 is repeated. The attendant PC 6 sends a store transaction information request to the server device 2 (step S13). In addition, although the store transaction information request is treated as the process in step S13 for the sake of convenience, it is repeatedly output to the server device 2 at short intervals regardless of other processes. In other words, the store transaction information request is substantially always sent to the server device 2.

[0184] When receiving the store transaction information request, the server device 2 extracts the transaction information corresponding to the store code included in the store transaction information request from the transaction information management table 215 as the store transaction information (step S14). The server device 2 sends the extracted store transaction information to the attendant PC 6 (step S15).

[0185] The attendant PC 6 updates the state management table 612 based on the received store transaction information (step S16). The attendant PC 6 displays the transaction list screen on the display unit 62 based on the information stored in the state management table 612 (step S17). As described above, since the store transaction information request is repeatedly sent to the server device 2 at short time intervals, the processing of steps S14 to S17 executed together with the store transaction information request is also repeatedly executed. Therefore, the transaction list screen is automatically updated.

[0186] Here, the transaction list screen is explained. Fig.17 1 is a diagram showing an example of a transaction list screen displayed by the attendant PC 6. The display unit 62 of the attendant PC 6 displays an update button 621, a terminal code input field 622, a register use display unit 623, an end button 624, a highlight setting button 625, and a status display unit 626 on the transaction list screen.

[0187] The update button 621 is a control for manually updating the information displayed on the status display unit 626. The terminal code input field 622 is an input field for inputting a terminal code and displaying a transaction detail screen related to the terminal code. The terminal code input field 622 is used, for example, when the scanner unit 64 fails and cannot read the checkout barcode. The checkout machine display unit 623 displays the number of checkout machines 5 in use.

[0188] The end button 624 is a control for ending the transaction list display. The screen displayed after the end button 624 is pressed can be arbitrarily set by the store. The emphasis setting button 625 is a control for transitioning to the emphasis setting screen.

[0189] The status display unit 626 lists and displays the status of customers corresponding to each terminal code. In other words, it lists and displays the status information of customers involved in each transaction. Fig.17 An example of the first screen is shown. Specifically, the status display unit 626 displays the items of the terminal code, the moving time, the last operation time, the number of registered items, the registered amount, the status, and the checkout machine No. The contents of each item are as described in the description of the status management table 612 of the waiter PC 6, so the repeated description will be omitted.

[0190] In each item of the status display unit 626, a sorting icon 6261 is displayed with an upward arrow and a downward arrow. When the sorting icon 6261 of any item is operated, the item is used as a key to sort the status of the customer. Fig.17In the state shown, when the sorting icon 6261 of the moving time item is operated, each data is sorted in ascending order of the moving time. That is, the data of the lowest row with the shortest moving time is at the highest position. The data in all rows are sorted in the same way. In this state, when the sorting icon 6261 of the moving time item is operated again, each data is sorted in descending order of the collection time.

[0191] The same applies to the sorting icons 6261 for other items. In addition, when sorting in ascending or descending order, if the values ​​of the items used as buttons are the same, the value of the item located further to the left is prioritized. For example, in the case of ascending order of travel time, Fig.17 In the example, the third row (row with checkout machine number 403) and the fourth row (row with checkout machine number 404) have the same travel time, but the value of the terminal code, which is the item on the far left, is smaller, so the third row is at the top. In addition, the default display format of the status display unit 626 is set so that the data of the status item "shopping" is at the top.

[0192] In the status display unit 626, a highlight icon 6262 is displayed in the status item. The highlight icon 6262 is an icon indicating that the transaction information includes the highlighted product. The service staff can recognize that the transaction data for which the highlight icon 6262 is displayed requires special attention during the service staff check.

[0193] Here, the status such as "shopping" displayed in the status item also functions as a control that can accept the selection operation. That is, the status such as "shopping" displayed in the status item also functions as a state control for selecting a state (state information) in the state (state information) displayed in the list. When any state is selected (touched) from the status display unit 626, the transaction details screen related to the terminal code of the selected state is displayed. In other words, the state displayed on the status display unit 626 represents the state of the customer, and functions as an example of a control for displaying the transaction details screen related to the corresponding terminal code. For example, when confirming the transaction details of any portable terminal 4, the state selection operation is flexibly applied. Hereinafter, the state displayed in the status item of the status display unit 626 is also referred to as a "state control". In addition, the state of "shopping" displayed in the status item functions as a control for selecting a state information, and other states (such as "checkout completed") may not function as a control for selecting a state information. That is, the status information displayed on the first screen includes shopping and checkout completed. The shopping status information is a status control for selecting one of the status information displayed in the list, and the checkout completed status information is not a status control. Accordingly, it is possible to prohibit the selection of the checkout completed transaction and prevent useless browsing.

[0194] Furthermore, on the transaction list screen, by reading the transaction barcode, a transaction detail screen related to the transaction code included in the transaction barcode can be displayed, and a message 627 explaining this fact is displayed above the status display unit 626.

[0195] In this way, the transaction details screen can be displayed by (1) directly inputting the terminal code through the terminal code input field 622, (2) selecting the status control, and (3) reading the checkout barcode in the transaction list screen.

[0196] Return to Fig.15 , an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 is described.

[0197] When the customer completes the product registration for the purchased product and operates the payment icon on the transaction information display screen, a checkout instruction is input to the portable terminal 4 (step S18). The portable terminal 4 transmits the checkout instruction to the server device 2 (step S19).

[0198] The server device 2 updates the transaction information based on the received checkout instruction and calculates the transaction amount (step S20). Specifically, the server device 2 registers the checkout instruction time corresponding to the transaction code included in the checkout instruction in the transaction information management table 215. In addition, the server device 2 calculates the transaction amount based on the commodity information corresponding to the above transaction code. The server device 2 sends the calculated transaction amount and the waiter verification screen display instruction to the portable terminal 4 (step S21).

[0199] The portable terminal 4 generates a checkout barcode indicating the transaction code (step S22). The portable terminal 4 checks the mode of the mobile self-service cashier system 3 with reference to the mode information unit 414 (step S23). If it is the front check mode, the waiter check screen is displayed (step S24). In addition, if the mode of the mobile self-service cashier system 3 is the normal mode, the portable terminal 4 displays the checkout screen described later.

[0200] Here, the waiter verification screen is described. Fig.18 1 is a diagram showing an example of a waiter verification screen displayed on the portable terminal 4. The display unit 42 of the portable terminal 4 displays a title portion 421, a total information portion 422, and a checkout barcode portion 425 on the waiter verification screen. Fig.18 The barcode of indicates an invalid barcode that cannot actually be read. is a barcode exemplified for explaining this embodiment.

[0201] The title portion 421 displays the company name "00", the store name "△△ store", the characters "checkout machine settlement" indicating that the customer has input a checkout instruction, etc. In addition, a terminal code portion 4211 is formed in the title portion 421. The terminal code portion 4211 displays the terminal code. In addition, a return button 4212 is displayed in the title portion 421. The return button 4212 is a control for returning the display to the previous screen. For example, when the return button 4212 is operated on the waiter verification screen, the portable terminal 4 returns the display to the transaction information display screen (see Fig.16 ).

[0202] The total number of registered commodities and the total amount are displayed in the total information section 422. If a discounted commodity is registered in the transaction for which a checkout instruction has been input, the total information section 422 also displays the total amount of the discounted amount.

[0203] The checkout barcode unit 425 displays a checkout barcode indicating a transaction code. In addition, the checkout barcode unit 425 displays a guidance message to the customer, such as a message such as "Please show the checkout barcode at the entrance of the checkout area." In addition, the checkout barcode unit 425 displays an illustration showing how the checkout barcode is read using the scanner unit 64 of the waiter PC 6. The customer who sees the waiter verification screen can recognize that he needs to move to a place where the waiter PC 6 is installed and show the checkout barcode.

[0204] Return to Fig.15 , an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 is described.

[0205] When the waiter scans the checkout barcode on the waiter verification screen presented by the customer with the scanner unit 64, the checkout barcode is input into the waiter PC 6 (step S25). The waiter PC 6 reads the transaction code from the settlement barcode and sends a transaction information request including the transaction code to the server device 2 (step S26).

[0206] The server device 2 extracts the transaction information corresponding to the transaction code included in the transaction information request from the transaction information management table 215 (step S27). The server device 2 transmits the extracted transaction information to the attendant PC 6 (step S28).

[0207] Furthermore, when the server device 2 receives a transaction information request including a terminal code from the attendant PC 6, the server device 2 extracts transaction information corresponding to the terminal code included in the transaction information request from the transaction information management table 215 in step S27.

[0208] The attendant PC 6 switches from displaying the transaction list screen to displaying the transaction details screen (second screen) (step S29). (Second display unit)

[0209] Here, the transaction details screen is explained. Fig.19 1 is a diagram showing an example of a transaction details screen (second screen) displayed by the attendant PC 6. The display unit 62 of the attendant PC 6 displays a terminal code display unit 721, a total amount display unit 722, a total number of items display unit 723, a display switching button 724, a display object display unit 725, a product details unit 726, a return button 727, and an OK button 728 (controls) on the transaction details screen.

[0210] The terminal code display unit 721 displays the terminal code corresponding to the target transaction to be displayed on the transaction details screen. The total amount display unit 722 displays the transaction amount of the target transaction. The total number display unit 723 displays the number of products purchased in the target transaction.

[0211] The display switching button 724 is a control for switching the display objects displayed in the product detail section 726. The display switching button 724 switches the display objects displayed in the product detail section 726 to all the products to be traded or to only the highlighted products. Fig.19 In the example of FIG. 7 , since only the highlighted product is displayed in the product detail section 726 , the display switching button 724 is in a state where the characters “all items” are displayed. When the display switching button 724 is operated in this state, all products to be traded are displayed in the product detail section 726 .

[0212] For example, in the case of a store that operates to check that the registered products and the products stored in the shopping cart are completely identical, it is assumed that the display objects displayed in the product detail section 726 are all the products to be traded. In addition, in the case of a store that operates to check only the products registered and to highlight the products, the display objects displayed in the product detail section 726 are only the highlighted products.

[0213] The display object display section 725 displays the display objects displayed in the product details section 726. Fig.19 In the example of , only the highlighted product is displayed in the product detail section 726 , and therefore “only highlighted” is displayed in the display object display section 725 .

[0214] The commodity details section 726 displays the commodity details. Specifically, the commodity details section 726 displays the scanning order, commodity name, quantity, amount, tax, and confirmation points for each commodity. The scanning order indicates the scanning order. The commodity name indicates the name of the commodity. The quantity indicates the number of corresponding commodities registered. The amount indicates the amount of the corresponding commodity, specifically the amount obtained by multiplying the unit price by the quantity. The tax indicates the applicable tax category. The confirmation points indicate the display annotations preset for the commodity (see the emphasis information management table 214).

[0215] In the commodity details section 726, sorting icons 7261 are displayed for the items of scanning order, quantity, and amount. The function of the sorting icons 7261 is the same as Fig.17 The functions of the sorting icons 6261 on the transaction list screen are the same, so repeated descriptions will be omitted.

[0216] In the product detail section 726, an emphasis icon 7262 and an important icon 7263 are displayed in the items in the scanning order. The emphasis icon 7262 is an icon indicating that the item is an emphasized product. The important icon 7263 is an icon indicating a product with a high degree of importance in the check of the waiter. The emphasis icon 7262 and the important icon 7263 have the same shape, but are displayed in different colors.

[0217] The return button 727 is a control for returning to the transaction list screen. The OK button 728 is a control for inputting information indicating that the waiter's verification is completed. In other words, the OK button is a control for accepting the verification operation of the clerk. When the OK button 728 is operated, the waiter PC 6 sends the verification information to the server device 2.

[0218] Fig. 20 729. The guidance screen is a screen displayed before the transaction details screen (second screen) is displayed. The second display unit displays the guidance screen showing the content of the check performed by the clerk before displaying the second screen. The store can arbitrarily set whether to display the guidance screen. The guidance screen is in the form of a pop-up display of the guidance display unit 729 on the transaction details screen. The guidance screen is displayed in the case of an operation method of directly inputting transaction designation information by the operation unit and an operation method of reading transaction designation information from a code symbol displayed on a terminal operated by the customer.

[0219] The guidance display unit 729 is displayed only when the transaction includes the highlighted product. The guidance display unit 729 displays the guidance of the contents that the waiter should perform during the waiter's verification. For example, the guidance display unit 729 displays a message indicating that the transaction target products include products that the waiter needs to confirm. In addition, the guidance display unit 729 displays a message indicating that age verification is required for alcoholic beverages, and that unregistered products need to be registered at a dedicated cash register.

[0220] A return button 7291 and an OK button 7292 are displayed on the guide display unit 729. The return button 7291 is a control for returning to the transaction list screen. The OK button 7292 is a control for inputting information indicating that the waiter has confirmed the contents displayed on the guide display unit 729. When the OK button 7292 is operated, the guide display unit 729 is cleared and the transaction details screen is displayed.

[0221] Return to Fig.15 , an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 is described.

[0222] When the OK button 728 is pressed on the transaction details screen, the verification completion input is made to the attendant PC 6 (step S30). The attendant PC 6 transmits the verification information to the server device 2 (step S31).

[0223] The server device 2 updates the waiter verification flag (step S32). Specifically, the server device 2 rewrites the waiter verification flag corresponding to the transaction code included in the verification information to "1" in the transaction information management table 215. The server device 2 sends a checkout screen display instruction to the portable terminal 4 (step S33).

[0224] When receiving the checkout screen display instruction, the portable terminal 4 disables the return button 4212 (step S34). Then, the portable terminal 4 switches the display unit 42 from displaying the waiter checkout screen to displaying the checkout screen (step S35). Fig.18 ) and the checkout screen ( Fig.21 )

[0225] Here, the checkout screen is explained. Fig.21 4 is a diagram showing an example of a checkout screen displayed on the portable terminal 4. The display unit 42 of the portable terminal 4 displays a title portion 421, a total information portion 422, and a checkout barcode portion 425 on the checkout screen. The checkout screen is similar to the waiter check screen, so only the differences from the waiter check screen will be described here, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. Fig.21 The barcode is an invalid barcode that cannot actually be read. It is a barcode used as an example to illustrate this embodiment. That is, the customer uses the same checkout barcode on the waiter PC 6 and the checkout machine 5.

[0226] The title part 421 is the same as the waiter verification screen, and displays the terminal code in addition to the company name "00", the store name "△△ store", and the characters "checkout machine settlement" indicating that the customer has entered the checkout instruction. In addition, in the title part 421 of the checkout screen, the return button 4212 displayed on the waiter verification screen is in a state of being invalidated by the processing of step S34. Here, the so-called invalidation means making it inoperable. By invalidating the return button 4212, the return button 4212 is displayed or hidden in a grayed-out state, for example.

[0227] exist Fig.21 In the checkout screen, the return button 4212 is shown as an anti-gray state and cannot be operated. Therefore, it is not possible to return to the previous screen (waiter verification screen) from the checkout screen.

[0228] Here, the invalidation of the return button 4212 on the checkout screen is based on the following processing. In the action flow when the pre-check mode is set, after the waiter completes the checkout, the registered goods are in a confirmed state, so the customer cannot perform additional registration or cancellation of goods by his own operation, and can only pay through the checkout machine 5. If the waiter is allowed to return to the waiter checkout screen or the transaction information display screen before that after the waiter completes the checkout, it is possible that the customer accidentally edits the registered content of the goods after the waiter completes the checkout. In this case, the goods that the waiter has not confirmed, such as age-confirmed goods, may be purchased without confirming the age of the customer.

[0229] Therefore, in the portable terminal 4 of the present embodiment, in the checkout screen displaying the waiter verification completion, in order to prevent the screen from returning to the previous screen, the checkout screen is displayed with the return button 4212 disabled. This prevents the portable terminal 4 from returning to the waiter verification screen and the screen where the product registration can be performed before that, and thus the registration status of the product at the stage where the waiter verification is completed can be maintained.

[0230] In addition, when the mode of the mobile self-service cashier system 3 is selected as the normal mode, the checkout screen with the return button 4212 enabled can be displayed in the same manner as the waiter verification screen, but the present invention is not limited to this form.

[0231] The checkout barcode unit 425 displays a guidance message for customers, such as a message such as "Please scan the checkout barcode on the screen with the scanner of the checkout machine." In addition, the checkout barcode unit 425 displays an illustration showing the state of reading the checkout barcode with the scanner unit of the checkout machine 5. Customers who see the checkout screen can recognize that they need to move to the checkout machine 5 and scan the checkout barcode.

[0232] Return to Fig.15 , an overview of the operation of the transaction management system 1 is described.

[0233] When the customer scans the checkout barcode with the scanner unit of the checkout machine 5, the checkout barcode is input to the checkout machine 5 (step S36). The checkout machine 5 requests the server device 2 for transaction information of the transaction code read from the checkout barcode (step S37).

[0234] The server device 2 executes the waiter verification determination process (step S38). The waiter verification determination process is a process for determining whether the waiter verification has been completed for the transaction with the transaction information request. The details of the waiter verification determination process will be described later.

[0235] When the waiter has completed the verification, the server device 2 sends the transaction information corresponding to the transaction code included in the transaction information request to the cashier 5 (step S39). At this time, the server device 2 stores the cashier No. and the transaction code included in the transaction information request in the transaction information management table 215 in correspondence.

[0236] If the waiter verification is not completed, the server device 2 transmits error information to the checkout machine 5. The checkout machine 5 that receives the error information displays a message urging the customer to accept the waiter verification, for example.

[0237] The checkout machine 5 that receives the transaction information performs checkout processing (step S40). The checkout machine 5 performs checkout processing involving cash settlement and checkout processing by non-cash settlement based on the customer's operation. In addition, when the customer's purchased goods include unregistered goods and the like, in the case where the checkout machine 5 requires the operation of a waiter, the checkout machine 5 is also operated by the waiter. When the checkout processing is completed, the checkout machine 5 sends a checkout completion notification to the server device 2 (step S41).

[0238] The server device 2 updates the transaction information based on the received transaction completion notification (step S42). Specifically, the server device 2 rewrites the transaction completion flag corresponding to the transaction code included in the transaction completion notification to "1" in the transaction information management table 215.

[0239] The server device 2 transmits a transaction completion notification to the portable terminal 4 (step S43 ). The server device 2 transmits the transaction completion notification to the portable terminal 4 specified by the terminal code corresponding to the transaction code included in the transaction completion notification received from the register 5 .

[0240] The portable terminal 4 displays information indicating that the transaction is completed on the display unit 42 (step S44 ).

[0241] Through the above operation, the customer can pay using the settlement machine 5 on the condition that the customer has accepted the checkout by the waiter placed near the entrance of the checkout area. Therefore, the waiter does not need to move to the checkout machine 5 every time the checkout is performed, which improves the operability of the waiter checkout.

[0242] Next, the processing related to displaying the transaction detail screen on the above-mentioned transaction list screen is explained. Fig. 22 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of the transaction details screen display process performed by the control unit 60 of the waiter PC 6. Fig.15 An example of the processing performed by the waiter PC 6 in steps S25 to S31 described in .

[0243] In the state where the transaction list screen is displayed (step S51 ), the control unit 60 waits until an operation instructing to display the transaction detail screen is received (step S52 ; No).

[0244] When receiving an operation instructing to display the transaction details screen (step S52; "Yes"), the control unit 60 determines whether the operation method is to input the terminal code through the terminal code input bar 622 (an operation method of directly inputting transaction specified information) or to read the checkout bar code (that is, the transaction code) through the scanner unit 64 (an operation method of reading the transaction specified information from the code symbol displayed on the terminal operated by the customer) (step S53).

[0245] Here, if the operation method is to input the terminal code via the terminal code input field 622 or to read the checkout barcode via the scanner unit 64 ("Yes" in step S53), the control unit 60 sends a transaction information request including the terminal code or transaction code indicated by the operation to the server device 2 (step S54). Then, the control unit 60 displays the transaction information on the display unit 62 based on the transaction information returned from the server device 2. Fig.19 The transaction details screen described in (step S55).

[0246] On the other hand, when the operation method is a selection operation of the state control displayed in the commodity detail section 726 (No in step S53) (an operation method of selecting a state information from the state information displayed in the list on the first screen), the control unit 60 sends a transaction information request including a transaction code related to the state control selected by the operation to the server device 2 (step S56). In this case, the control unit 60 displays a transaction detail screen (hereinafter also referred to as a browsing transaction detail screen) on the display unit 62 that invalidates the completion operation of the clerk's verification based on the transaction information returned from the server device 2 (step S57). In other words, the second screen (second display unit) that invalidates the control for accepting the clerk's verification operation is displayed.

[0247] Here, we explain the transaction details screen for browsing. Fig.23 1 is a diagram (second screen) showing an example of a browsing transaction details screen displayed by the waiter PC 6. In addition, the browsing transaction details screen is a screen similar to the transaction details screen, so only the differences from the transaction details screen are described here, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0248] like Fig.23 As shown in FIG. 1 , on the browsing transaction details screen, the OK button 728 is hidden because the information displayed on the transaction details screen indicating that the waiter verification is completed is input. That is, although the browsing transaction details screen can confirm the commodity details of the registered commodity, it is a screen that invalidates (impossible) the completion operation of the waiter verification.

[0249] In addition, the browsing transaction details screen displayed by the selection operation of the status control is made different in form from the transaction details screen displayed by other operation methods based on the following circumstances.

[0250] First, the operation method of inputting the terminal code via the terminal code input field 622 or reading the checkout barcode via the scanner unit 64 is performed with the waiter facing the customer, so the input (or reading) of the corresponding customer's terminal code or checkout barcode is in a correct state. On the other hand, the operation method based on the status control is a case of selecting a customer's state from a plurality of customer states (status controls) displayed on the status display unit 626. Therefore, the operation method based on the status control is more prone to erroneous operation than other operation methods, and there is a possibility that the completion operation of the waiter's verification is performed based on the transaction details screen that is displayed incorrectly.

[0251] In the server PC 6 of this embodiment, the transaction details screen that validates the completion operation of the server check and the transaction details screen that invalidates the completion operation of the server check are switched and displayed according to the operation method. Thus, the server PC 6 can prevent the server check completion operation from being performed based on the transaction details screen displayed incorrectly.

[0252] In addition, Fig.23 In the browsing transaction details screen, the OK button 728 is hidden, but the method of invalidation is not limited to this, for example, it can be displayed in a grayed-out state so that it cannot be operated.

[0253] Return to Fig. 22 After displaying the transaction details screen in step S55 or step S57, the control unit 60 determines whether the operation of the return button 727 has been accepted (step S58). When the operation of the return button 727 has been accepted ("Yes" in step S58), the control unit 60 displays the transaction list screen on the display unit 62 by removing the transaction details screen and returning the process to step S51.

[0254] Furthermore, when the operation of the return button 727 is not received ("No" in step S58), the control unit 60 determines whether the operation of the OK button 728 is received (step S59). Here, when the operation of the OK button 728 is not received, the control unit 60 returns the process to step S58. In addition, when the browsing transaction details screen is displayed in step S57, since the OK button 728 is invalid, the control unit 60 does not perform the determination process in step S59, and waits for the return button 727 to be operated in step S58 ("No" in step S58).

[0255] When the operation of the OK button 728 is accepted in step S59 ("Yes" in step S59), the control unit 60 sends the verification information including the transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code) of the transaction related to the transaction detail screen to the server device 2 (step S60). Then, the control unit 60 displays the transaction list screen on the display unit 62 by removing the transaction detail screen and returning the process to step S51.

[0256] In addition, in the transaction details screen, in addition to confirming the details of the registered products and completing the waiter's verification, you can also edit the registered products. For example, if there are results of the waiter's verification, missed registration of products, or products that the customer is not allowed to buy due to his or her age (alcohol, cigarettes, etc.), you can add products to the transaction details screen and cancel the registered products.

[0257] Specifically, when the target commodity to be registered is specified on the transaction details screen, the control unit 60 sends a registration request to the server device 2, the registration request including the transaction code or terminal code related to the transaction displayed on the transaction details screen and the commodity code of the target commodity to be registered. In this case, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 performs commodity registration based on the registration request, similar to the registration request sent from the portable terminal 4. Specifically, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 reads the commodity information corresponding to the commodity code included in the registration request from the commodity master file 212, and registers it in the transaction information management table 215.

[0258] In addition, there is no particular limitation on the method of specifying the target commodity for additional registration. For example, the specification can be performed by reading the commodity barcode. In addition, for example, the target commodity to be additionally registered can be specified by increasing the quantity displayed in the commodity detail section 726. In this case, the control unit 60 can either send a registration request for the additional quantity or include the additional quantity in the registration request and send it.

[0259] In addition, when specifying a commodity to be cancelled on the transaction details screen, the control unit 60 sends a registration cancellation request to the server device 2, the registration cancellation request including the transaction code or terminal code related to the transaction displayed on the transaction details screen and the commodity code of the commodity to be cancelled. In this case, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 performs a process of canceling the commodity registration based on the registration cancellation request. Specifically, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 deletes the transaction code or terminal code included in the registration cancellation request and the transaction information corresponding to the condition of the commodity code from the transaction information management table 215.

[0260] In addition, the method of specifying the commodity to be cancelled is not particularly limited. For example, the commodity to be cancelled may be specified via the commodity detail section 726 or by reading the commodity barcode. In addition, the commodity to be cancelled may be specified by, for example, performing an operation to reduce the quantity in the commodity detail information section 726. In this case, the control unit 60 may send a registration cancellation request corresponding to the reduced quantity or may include the cancellation quantity in the registration cancellation request and send it.

[0261] After sending the registration request or the registration cancellation request, the control unit 60 of the waiter PC 6 acquires the edited transaction information (store transaction information) from the server device 2 , thereby updating the transaction details screen displayed on the display unit 62 .

[0262] Furthermore, even with regard to editing operations performed via the transaction details screen, in order to prevent editing operations from being performed on an erroneously displayed transaction details screen, it is preferred to display a browsing transaction screen that invalidates the editing operations according to the operation method for displaying the transaction details screen.

[0263] Specifically, when the control unit 60 instructs to display the transaction details screen by inputting a terminal code via the terminal code input field 622 or reading a checkout barcode via the scanner unit 64, the transaction details screen that enables the editing operation is displayed. On the other hand, when the display of the transaction details screen is instructed by the status control displayed in the commodity details section 726, the control unit 60 displays a browsing transaction details screen that disables the editing operation. This prevents the server PC 6 from performing an editing operation of editing the transaction content based on the transaction details screen that is displayed incorrectly. That is, according to the operation method received by the receiving unit, the second screen that enables or disables the editing operation of the transaction information displayed on the second screen is displayed.

[0264] Fig.24 This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the transaction editing process performed between the waiter PC 6 and the server device 2. This sequence diagram shows the flow of the transaction content editing operation performed in a state where the transaction details screen is displayed on the waiter PC 6. It is assumed that the transaction details screen is displayed by any operation method of inputting a terminal code via the terminal code input field 622 or reading a checkout barcode via the scanner unit 64.

[0265] When the control unit 60 of the server PC 6 accepts the editing operation of the commodity based on the transaction details screen (step S71), it sends an editing request to the server device 2, and the editing request includes the transaction code or terminal code of the transaction related to the transaction details screen and the commodity code of the commodity to be edited (step S72). For example, in the case where the content of the editing operation is to add a registration commodity, the control unit 60 sends the registration request as an editing request to the server device 2, and the registration request includes the transaction code or commodity code of the transaction involved in the transaction details screen and the commodity code of the commodity to be added. In addition, for example, in the case where the content of the editing operation is to cancel the registration of the commodity, the control unit 60 sends the registration cancellation request as an editing request to the server device 2, and the registration cancellation request includes the transaction code or commodity code of the transaction related to the transaction details screen and the commodity code of the commodity to be canceled.

[0266] The control unit 20 of the server device 2 edits the transaction information related to the transaction and the commodity indicated by the edit request based on the received edit request (step S73). For example, in the case of receiving a registration request as an edit request, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 reads the commodity information corresponding to the commodity code included in the registration request from the commodity master file 212 and registers it in the transaction information management table 215. In addition, for example, in the case of receiving a registration cancellation request as an edit request, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 deletes the transaction information corresponding to the conditions of the transaction code or terminal code and commodity code included in the registration cancellation request from the transaction information management table 215.

[0267] Next, the control unit 60 of the attendant PC 6 transmits a transaction information request designating the transaction code or terminal code of the transaction to be edited to the server device 2 (step S74).

[0268] The control unit 20 of the server device 2 extracts the transaction information corresponding to the transaction code or terminal code included in the transaction information request, that is, the edited transaction information, from the transaction information management table 215 (step S75). The server device 2 sends the extracted transaction information to the attendant PC 6 (step S76).

[0269] Then, the control unit 60 of the waiter PC 6 updates and displays the transaction details screen based on the transaction information transmitted from the server device 2 (step S77).

[0270] In addition, in the present embodiment, after editing the transaction content, the transaction information after editing is acquired from the server device 2 by sending a transaction information request from the server PC 6, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the following structure may be adopted: after editing the transaction information, the control unit 20 of the server device 2 sends the transaction information to the server PC 6, so that the server PC 6 acquires the edited transaction information.

[0271] Next, the waiter verification and determination process executed by the server device 2 will be described. Fig.25 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of waiter verification and determination processing performed by the control unit 20 of the server device 2.

[0272] The control unit 20 determines whether the transmission and reception unit 2001 receives the transaction information request from the checkout machine 5 (step S81). If not received (No in step S81), the control unit 20 returns to the processing of step S81 and waits.

[0273] When the transmission and reception unit 2001 receives the transaction information request (Yes in step S81), the information management device 2002 reads the transaction information corresponding to the transaction code included in the transaction information request from the transaction information management table 215 (step S82).

[0274] Next, the information processing unit 2003 determines whether the read transaction information has been verified by the waiter (step S83). Specifically, the information processing unit 2003 determines whether "1" is registered in the waiter verification flag of the read transaction information.

[0275] If the waiter has completed checking the read transaction information (Yes in step S83), the transmission and reception unit 2001 transmits the transaction information to the checkout machine 5 that is the transmission source of the transaction information request (step S84). Then, the control unit 20 ends the waiter checking determination process.

[0276] If the waiter has not completed the verification of the read transaction information ("No" in step S83), the transmission and reception unit 2001 transmits an error message to the checkout machine 5 as the transmission source of the transaction information request (step S85). The error message is information indicating that the transaction information is not transmitted because the waiter verification is not completed. Then, the control unit 20 ends the waiter verification determination process.

[0277] Through the above-mentioned waiter verification and determination process, the server device 2 transmits transaction information to the checkout machine 5 only for transactions that have completed the waiter verification.

[0278] Next, a method for setting a highlighted product will be described. Fig.26is a diagram showing an example of an emphasis setting screen displayed by the waiter PC 6. Fig.17 The display unit 62 of the attendant PC 6 displays an item selection column 821, an importance selection column 822, a display order setting column 823, a display comment setting column 824, a return button 825, and a save button 826 on the emphasis setting screen.

[0279] The item selection column 821 displays a plurality of items and displays a check box corresponding to each item. The items provided include age-confirmed products, products not registered in the product master file, package sales products, automatic discount products, high-priced products, and other items. The user operating the attendant PC 6 checks the check box of the item set as the highlight item in his / her own store.

[0280] The commodity corresponding to the item selected as the highlighted item is set as the highlighted commodity, and a highlight icon 7262 is displayed on the transaction details screen (see Fig.19 ). For example, the commodity corresponding to the item is, for example, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and the like when the item is an age confirmation commodity.

[0281] The importance selection column 822 displays radio buttons corresponding to each item. When the user operating the attendant PC 6 performs attendant verification at the store, the user selects the radio button corresponding to the item set as the important item. The commodity corresponding to the item selected as the radio button of the importance is displayed on the transaction details screen with the important icon 7263 (see Fig.19 ). In addition, the importance may be such that only the highlighted items whose checkboxes are checked in the item selection field 821 can be selected, or only the items whose checkboxes are not checked in the item selection field 821 can be selected.

[0282] The display order setting column 823 displays input columns corresponding to each item. The user operating the attendant PC 6 enters the display order in the above input column. The display order is the display order displayed on the transaction details screen. Fig.23 In the example shown, the display order of products not registered in the product master is set to "1". Therefore, when the transaction targets include products not registered in the product master, the products not registered in the product master are displayed at the top in the transaction details screen.

[0283] The display comment setting column 824 displays a comment input column corresponding to each item. The user operating the attendant PC 6 enters comments in the above comment input column as needed. The display comment setting column 824 can only input the highlighted items or the items whose importance is selected for the corresponding items. The input comments are displayed as confirmation points in the transaction details screen.

[0284] The return button 825 is a control for returning to the transaction list screen. The save button 826 is a control for saving the setting information input on the emphasis setting screen. When the save button 826 is operated, the information of the store where the attendant PC 6 is installed (company code, store code) and the setting information are sent to the server device 2.

[0285] The server device 2 updates the highlight information management table 214 based on the received store information and setting information. Thereby, the server device 2 can manage the highlight products set in each store.

[0286] Next, a modification of the waiter verification process will be described. In the above example, the server device 2 executes the waiter verification process, but in the modification, the checkout machine 5 executes the waiter verification process.

[0287] As a premise, it is assumed that in addition to the transaction code, a verification code indicating whether the waiter has completed the verification is encoded in the checkout barcode read by the scanner unit of the checkout machine 5. Fig.15 In the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 1 , when the portable terminal 4 receives the checkout screen display instruction in step S33, it generates a checkout barcode to be displayed on the checkout screen. The checkout barcode displayed on the checkout screen encodes a verification code indicating whether the waiter has completed the verification in addition to the transaction code. The customer causes the scanner unit of the checkout machine 5 to read the checkout barcode. Although the checkout barcode is displayed on the checkout screen in the embodiment described above, the checkout barcode is displayed on the checkout screen in the embodiment described above. Fig.18 and Fig.21 The same checkout barcode is described in the example above, but in this variation, the checkout barcode is different before and after the waiter checks it.

[0288] Fig. 27 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the waiter verification and determination process executed by the control unit of the checkout machine 5 .

[0289] The control unit determines whether the checkout barcode has been input (step S91). If not ("No" in step S91), the process returns to step S91 and waits. When the checkout barcode is input, the control unit reads the verification code encoded in the checkout barcode (step S92).

[0290] The control unit determines whether the read verification code indicates that the waiter verification has been completed (step S93). If the waiter verification has been completed ("Yes" in step S93), the control unit executes the checkout process (step S94). As in the above example, the checkout process then sends a checkout completion notification to the server device 2 (step S95). Then, the control unit ends the waiter verification determination process.

[0291] In the process of step S63, if the waiter has not completed the verification ("No" in step S93), the control unit displays an error message on the display unit of the checkout machine 5 (step S96). The error message displayed is, for example, information indicating that payment cannot be made because the waiter verification has not been completed. Then, the control unit ends the waiter verification determination process.

[0292] As described above, the waiter PC 6 of the embodiment is configured to be able to communicate with the server device 2, and the server device 2 associates and manages transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code) that designates a transaction, transaction information that indicates details of the goods registered in the transaction, status information (status) that indicates the status of the customer who registers the goods, and verification completion information (waiter verification flag) that is registered when the clerk completes verification of the goods registered by the customer's operation, and the waiter PC 6 displays a transaction list screen that lists customer status information related to each transaction managed by the server device 2, and displays the transaction information of the designated transaction when an operation of identifying the designated transaction is accepted, and displays a transaction detail screen including an OK button 728 for accepting the operation of the waiter verification. In addition, the waiter PC 6 displays a transaction detail screen that enables or disables the OK button 728 according to the operation method of the transaction recognition received.

[0293] According to this, in the waiter PC 6 that performs the waiter check, a transaction detail screen can be displayed in which the OK button 728 is set to be valid or invalid according to the operation method when the transaction is recognized. Therefore, the occurrence of waiter checking for transactions that are incorrectly selected (recognized) can be reduced. Therefore, the waiter's checking work becomes easy.

[0294] In addition, the server device 2 includes a transaction management unit (information management unit 2002) that manages transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code) that specifies a transaction, transaction information required for checkout processing for a customer to make a payment, and verification completion information (waiter verification mark) registered when the clerk has completed the verification of the goods that have been registered by the customer, an acceptance unit (sending and receiving unit 2001) that accepts a transaction information request containing the transaction designation information, and an input unit (sending and receiving unit 2001) that outputs the transaction information corresponding to the transaction designation information, based on the condition that the transaction designation information contained in the transaction information request accepted by the acceptance unit corresponds to the verification completion information and is registered.

[0295] Thus, the server device 2 can guide the customer to have the waiter check before the customer pays using the checkout machine 5. Therefore, the waiter's check work becomes easy.

[0296] In addition, the server device 2 of the embodiment also includes a mode setting unit 2004, and the mode setting unit 2004 can set a pre-verification mode and a normal mode. The pre-verification mode is a mode in which the output unit outputs the transaction information under the condition that the transaction designation information and the verification completion information are matched and registered when the receiving unit receives the transaction information request, and the normal mode is a mode in which the output unit outputs the transaction information without the condition that the transaction designation information and the verification completion information are matched and registered when the receiving unit receives the transaction information request.

[0297] According to this, the server device 2 can select the mode of the mobile self-service checkout system 3 as the pre-check mode or the normal mode. Therefore, the store can adopt the mode of the mobile self-service checkout system 3 suitable for its own operation.

[0298] As described above, the transaction management system 1 of the embodiment includes a server device 2, an attendant PC 6, and a checkout machine 5. The server device 2 manages transaction designation information (transaction code or terminal code) that designates a transaction, transaction information that indicates details of commodities registered in the transaction, status information (status) that indicates the status of a customer who registers the commodities, and verification completion information (attendant verification flag) that is registered when the clerk has completed verification of the commodities registered by the customer's operation. In addition, the attendant device 2 outputs transaction information corresponding to the transaction designation information to the checkout machine 5 on the condition that, when receiving a transaction information request including the transaction designation information from the checkout machine 5, the transaction designation information included in the received transaction information request is registered in correspondence with the verification completion information. The attendant PC 6 displays a transaction list screen that lists the status information of the customers related to each transaction managed by the server device 2, and, when receiving an operation to identify a specified transaction, displays the transaction information of the identified transaction and a transaction detail screen including an OK button 728 for accepting the operation of the attendant verification. Then, the attendant PC 6 sends the transaction designation information and the verification completion information to the server device 2 on the condition that the OK button 728 is operated. In addition, when the checkout machine 5 receives the transaction information as a response to the transaction information request from the server device 2 while sending the transaction information request to the server device 2, the checkout process is performed based on the received transaction information. In addition, the attendant PC 6 displays the transaction details screen that enables or disables the OK button 728 according to the accepted operation method for identifying the transaction, and when the verification information including the transaction designation information is sent from the attendant terminal 6, the server device 2 associates the verification completion information with the transaction designation information and registers it.

[0299] According to this, the transaction management system 1 can guide the customer to accept the waiter's verification before the customer uses the checkout machine 5 to pay. Therefore, the waiter's verification work becomes easy. In addition, the transaction details screen can be displayed on the waiter PC 6 for the waiter verification, and the transaction details screen sets the OK button 728 to be valid or invalid according to the operation method used when identifying the transaction. Therefore, the occurrence of the waiter verification of the transaction that is incorrectly selected (identified) can be reduced.

[0300] In addition, the transaction management system 1 of the embodiment also includes a waiter PC 6 operated by a store clerk, and while the waiter PC 6 displays the transaction information received from the server device 2, it corresponds the input verification completion information and the transaction specified information and sends them to the server device 2, and the server device 2 corresponds and stores the received verification completion information and the transaction specified information.

[0301] According to this, the waiter can check the transaction information of the customer on the waiter PC 6 and at the same time, input the check completion information into the waiter PC 6. Therefore, the check work of the waiter becomes easy.

[0302] The server PC 6 of the transaction management system 1 of this embodiment displays the transaction information while emphasizing the preset designated commodity (emphasized commodity). In addition, the server PC 6 of the transaction management system 1 of this embodiment displays comments related to the verification of the commodity corresponding to each designated commodity.

[0303] This allows the waiter to easily recognize the merchandise to be checked, thereby facilitating the check work of the waiter.

[0304] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the control program executed by each device of the server device 2, the portable terminal 4, the checkout machine 5, and the waiter PC 6 can be configured to be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM. In addition, the control program executed by each device of the above-mentioned embodiment can also be configured to be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Furthermore, it can also be configured to be provided via a network such as the Internet.

[0305] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The embodiments can be implemented in various other ways, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An information processing device capable of communicating with a management device, the management device managing transaction designation information designating a transaction, transaction information indicating details of commodities registered in the transaction, status information indicating the status of a customer who registered the commodities, and verification completion information registered when a clerk has completed verification of the commodities registered by the operation of the customer, the information processing device comprising: a first display unit for displaying a first screen showing a list of the status information of customers involved in each transaction managed by the management device; An accepting unit, for accepting an operation of identifying a specified transaction; as well as The second display unit displays transaction information of the designated transaction and includes a second screen for receiving a check operation by the clerk, wherein: The second display unit displays the second screen for enabling or disabling the control according to the operation method accepted by the acceptance unit.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving unit includes an operation of directly inputting transaction designation information through the operation unit, an operation of selecting a status information from the status information displayed in the list on the first screen, and an operation of reading the transaction designation information from the code symbol displayed on the terminal operated by the customer.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The second display unit displays the second screen in which the control is enabled, when the designated transaction is recognized by the operation method of directly inputting transaction designation information.

4. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein: When the designated transaction is recognized by using an operation method of reading transaction designation information from a code symbol displayed on a terminal operated by the customer, the second screen for enabling the control is displayed.

5. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The second display unit displays the second screen in which the control is disabled, when recognizing that the transaction corresponding to the status information is the designated transaction by using an operation method of selecting one status information from the status information listed and displayed on the first screen.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The second display unit displays the second screen for enabling or disabling an editing operation of the transaction information displayed on the second screen according to the operation method accepted by the acceptance unit.

7. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein: The status information displayed in a list on the first display unit is a status control for selecting one of the status information displayed in the list.

8. The information processing device according to claim 7, wherein: The status information displayed in the list on the first display unit includes shopping status information and checkout completed status information. The shopping status information is a status control for selecting one of the status information displayed in the list, and the checkout completed status information is not a status control.

9. The information processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The second display unit displays a guidance screen indicating the content of the check performed by the store clerk before displaying the second screen.

10. A transaction management system comprising a server device, a waiter terminal and a checkout machine, wherein: The server device comprises: a transaction management unit that associates and manages transaction designation information that designates a transaction, transaction information that indicates details of commodities registered in the transaction, status information that indicates the status of a customer who registers the commodities, and verification completion information that is registered when a clerk completes verification of the commodities registered by the operation of the customer; a request receiving unit that receives a transaction information request including the transaction specifying information from the checkout machine; and an output unit, which outputs transaction information corresponding to the transaction specifying information to the checkout machine on the condition that the transaction specifying information included in the received transaction information request is registered corresponding to the verification completion information, The waiter terminal comprises: a first display unit for displaying a first screen showing a list of the status information of customers involved in each transaction managed by the server device; An accepting unit, for accepting an operation of identifying a specified transaction; a second display unit that displays a second screen showing transaction information of the designated transaction and including a control for accepting a verification operation by the clerk; and a sending unit that sends verification information of the transaction designation information indicating the designated transaction to the server device on the condition that the control is operated, The checkout machine comprises: an accepting unit that sends the transaction information request to the server device and receives the transaction information as a response to the transaction information request; and A checkout processing unit performs checkout processing based on the received transaction information, wherein: The second display unit displays the second screen for enabling or disabling the control according to the operation method received by the receiving unit, When the verification information is transmitted from the waiter terminal, the transaction management section associates the verification completion information with the transaction designation information indicated by the verification information and registers the same.

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