Program, system, mobile communication terminal, and information processing device

Abstract

To support comfortable shopping.SOLUTION: A program causes a computer to function as a mobile terminal that can be used to register products. The program causes the computer to function as registration means, detection result acquisition means, action detection means, and notification means. The registration means registers products inserted into a shopping basket. The detection result acquisition means acquires an insertion detection result indicating the insertion of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket. The action detection means detects a case in which no product has been registered by the registration means when an insertion detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means as an unregistered insertion action. The notification means issues, when an unregistered insertion action is detected, an unauthorized insertion announcement indicating that fact, and issues, when a removal detection result is acquired, a product removal announcement indicating that fact. The notification means does not issue a product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired after an unregistered insertion action is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, a system, a mobile communication terminal, and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various techniques for wirelessly connecting a plurality of communication devices have been known. For example, there is known an information communication terminal that reads the MAC address of a device from an NFC tag attached to the device and transmits data with the IP address corresponding to the read MAC address as the destination (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, there is known a system in which a customer registers products by himself / herself in a product display area using a shopping cart.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, there has been a problem that announcements regarding the loading and unloading of products into / from a shopping cart may not be appropriately notified, which may interfere with comfortable shopping.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technology capable of supporting comfortable shopping.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a mobile communication terminal available for registering products, the program causing the computer to function as: registration means for registering products put into a shopping basket; detection result acquisition means for acquiring an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket; operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; notification means for notifying an illegal input announcement indicating that when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; and the notification means does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means. The program is characterized by this.

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a system according to another aspect of the present invention is a system including a mobile communication terminal for registering products and a detection device for detecting products in a shopping basket, the mobile communication terminal including: registration means for registering products put into the shopping basket; detection result acquisition means for acquiring, from the detection device, an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket; operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; notification means for notifying an illegal input announcement indicating that when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; and the notification means does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means. The system is characterized by this.

[0008] In order to solve the above-described problems, a mobile communication terminal according to another aspect of the present invention is a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, and includes a registration unit that registers products put into a shopping basket, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration unit when the input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an improper input announcement indicating that when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit, and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit. A mobile communication terminal is characterized by this.

[0009] In order to solve the above-described problems, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to function as a system including a mobile communication terminal that registers products and a detection device that detects products in a shopping basket, and causes the computer to function as a registration unit that registers products put into the shopping basket, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires, from the detection device, an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration unit when the input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an improper input announcement indicating that when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit, and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit. A program is characterized by this.

[0010] In order to solve the above-described problems, an information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that connects to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, and includes a registration unit that registers products put into a shopping basket, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration unit when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an unauthorized input announcement indicating that fact when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit, and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that fact when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The information processing apparatus is characterized by this.

[0011] In order to solve the above-described problems, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to function as an information processing apparatus that connects to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, and causes the computer to function as a registration unit that registers products put into a shopping basket, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration unit when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an unauthorized input announcement indicating that fact when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit, and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that fact when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The program is characterized by this.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

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Figure 12A

Figure 12B

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] (Embodiment) (Network Configuration of the Sales System 1) FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the network configuration of a sales system 1 according to an embodiment. The sales system 1 is an example of a system. The sales system 1 can be introduced into various stores. The various stores are, for example, supermarkets, drugstores, home centers, convenience stores, large home appliance stores, and the like.

[0014] In the sales system 1, transactions are conducted in a self-service manner. Specifically, in the self-service transactions in the sales system 1, the registration of the merchandise received from the customer in the merchandise display area is performed by the mobile terminal 60, and the settlement of the merchandise is performed by the settlement device 50. Hereinafter, mainly such self-service transactions will be described. However, in addition to such a mode, the sales system 1 includes a registration and settlement device (cash register) installed in the store, and a mode in which merchandise registration and settlement are performed in the registration and settlement device. Note that the registration of merchandise in the registration and settlement device may be performed by a store clerk or by a customer. Also, the settlement in the registration and settlement device may be performed by a store clerk or by a customer.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the sales system 1 includes a head office server 10, a cloud server 20, a store controller 30, a transaction status management device 40, a settlement device 50, a mobile terminal 60, and a cart device 70. The various devices provided in the store St may be owned by the store St, may be lent from the manufacturer of each device, or may be lent under a lease contract from a leasing company.

[0016] The head office server 10 and the cloud server 20 are installed, for example, outside the store (such as at the head office, data center, etc.). The store controller 30, the transaction status management device 40, and the settlement device 50 are each installed inside the store. The devices installed inside the store and the devices installed outside the store can communicate (either directly or through the store controller 30). The devices installed inside the store are communicably connected via a LAN (Local Area Network) 19. Each device shown in FIG. 1 is a computer device equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a communication unit, etc. Each device is communicably connected via a network.

[0017] (Head office server 10) The head office server 10 is installed, for example, at the head office of the store. The head office server 10 acquires various information from the store controllers 30 arranged in each store and manages the various information for each store. The various information includes information such as sales, inventory status, and sales history.

[0018] (Cloud server 20) The cloud server 20 generates and manages transaction information (cart information) indicating the products in the virtual cart in a transaction. The transaction information includes registration information indicating the products registered by each customer. The transaction information is generated for each customer (for each transaction). The transaction information is updated based on the product code (product identification information) read by the mobile terminal 60. Transaction identification information (cart identification information) for identifying the transaction (cart or customer) is assigned to the transaction information. The transaction information also includes a store clerk call flag, information indicating whether there is a connection to the cart device 70, status information, etc. The status information is information indicating each status such as before entering the store, start of product registration, end of product registration, start of settlement, end of settlement, leaving the store, etc.

[0019] In addition to transaction information, the information managed by the cloud server 20 also includes customer information regarding customers, store information regarding stores, product information (product master) regarding products for each store, etc. The product master is a file that stores product information such as product identification information (e.g., JAN (Japanese Article Number) code), product name, and selling price for each product. Also, the product master includes various information such as product identification information, product name, unit price, etc. for products that require weighing.

[0020] (Store Controller 30) The store controller 30 manages the settlement device 50 and a weighing device (not shown) that weighs weighed products. Also, the store controller 30 stores various information necessary for transactions such as the product master. In addition to the product master, the store controller 30 stores various information such as sales, inventory status, sales history, and deposit and withdrawal records.

[0021] (Transaction Status Management Device 40) The transaction status management device 40 is a monitoring terminal device that monitors the settlement device 50. Specifically, the transaction status management device 40 can display the status (processing status) of the settlement device 50 and control the settlement device 50. A store clerk for monitoring is arranged at the transaction status management device 40. Note that the sales system 1 may include a store clerk terminal device held by a store clerk instead of or in addition to the transaction status management device 40. The store clerk terminal device displays, for example, the same content as that displayed on the transaction status management device 40 and notifies that a store clerk is to be called.

[0022] (Settlement Device 50) The settlement device 50 is a self-checkout device that performs settlement by a customer's operation. The settlement device 50 acquires transaction information (registration information) used for settlement from the cloud server 20 and performs settlement based on the transaction information. The number of settlement devices 50 arranged in the store may be one or a plurality.

[0023] (Mobile Terminal 60) The mobile terminal 60 is an example of a mobile communication terminal. The mobile communication terminal includes a mobile terminal 60 (customer terminal) owned by a customer and a lending terminal owned by the store St. Hereinafter, mainly the mobile terminal 60 will be described as the mobile communication terminal. The mobile terminal 60 is a portable computer device such as a smartphone, a tablet device, or a mobile phone, for example. The mobile terminal 60 is provided with a communication unit, a camera (imaging unit), a touch panel display unit, etc., and is operated by a customer. The mobile terminal 60 is detachably attached to the shopping cart.

[0024] Note that when not in use, the lending terminal may be connected to a charger installed at the entrance of the store St or the like for charging. The charging method of the lending terminal may be a contact charging method (cord charging) or a non-contact charging method (wireless charging). Also, the lending terminal may be installed in the shopping cart, that is, it may be non-detachably attached to the shopping cart.

[0025] An application software (hereinafter referred to as "shopping app") for receiving the use of the service related to the sales system 1 is installed in the mobile terminal 60. By starting the shopping app, the mobile terminal 60 accepts the registration of products or the start of settlement. Specifically, the mobile terminal 60 accepts the registration of a product by scanning (reading) the product code (barcode) attached to the product. When the mobile terminal 60 reads the product code, it transmits the read code information together with the transaction identification information to the cloud server 20. Thereby, the product information corresponding to the product code is registered in the cloud server 20.

[0026] Also, when the mobile terminal 60 receives an operation to start payment, it displays a payment code obtained by encoding transaction identification information. The payment code is represented by, for example, a two-dimensional code (or barcode). The customer causes the payment device 50 to read the payment code. When the payment device 50 reads the payment code, it makes a transmission request for transaction information (registration information) including the transaction identification information to the cloud server 20. The payment device 50 can receive the transaction information from the cloud server 20 in response to the transmission request and perform payment.

[0027] (Hardware Configuration of Mobile Terminal 60) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 60. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 60 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a communication I / F (interface) 203, a storage medium I / F 204, an input device 205, a display 206, and a camera 207. Each part is connected by a bus 220.

[0028] The CPU 201 controls the entire mobile terminal 60. The memory 202 is, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The memory 202 stores various programs. The various programs include a shopping app. The shopping app includes the announcement notification program according to the present embodiment. The RAM is used as a work area for the CPU 201. The programs stored in the memory 202 are loaded into the CPU 201 to cause the CPU 201 to execute the coded processing.

[0029] The communication I / F 203 is connected to a network such as the Internet through a communication line and is connected to other devices (such as the cloud server 20 and the cart device 70) via the network. Also, the communication I / F 203 serves as an interface between the network and the inside of the device itself and controls the input and output of data from other devices. The communication I / F 203 is a general term for one or more various communication members. The various communication members are, for example, 5G (the fifth-generation mobile communication system), wireless LAN, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.

[0030] The memory medium I / F 204 controls the reading and writing of data to a memory medium (not shown) such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk according to the control of the CPU 201. The input device 205 includes a touch panel and operation buttons. Note that the input device 205 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, etc. The display 206 is a touch panel display unit that displays images.

[0031] The camera 207 captures a moving image or a still image. A CCD (charge coupled device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera is used for the camera 207. The camera 207 reads the product code attached to the product. When reading the product code, the captured image is displayed on the display 206.

[0032] Note that the mobile terminal 60 may be provided with a scanner instead of or in addition to the camera 207. The scanner is provided, for example, at the upper end of the housing of the mobile terminal 60. For the reading method of the scanner, for example, a laser method or a CCD method can be adopted. The scanner reads, for example, the product code (barcode) attached to the product.

[0033] In addition to the display 206 and the camera 207, the mobile terminal 60 also includes, as output devices, a speaker, a position detection unit, various sensors, etc. The speaker outputs sound. The position detection unit receives position information from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, beacons, etc., and detects the current location of the mobile terminal 60 on the map data. The various sensors include, for example, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a distance sensor, etc. The mobile terminal 60 can detect, for example, the tilt of the mobile terminal 60 based on the detection results of the various sensors.

[0034] (Cart device 70) Inside the store, there is a shopping cart prepared by the store (hereinafter referred to as the "cart device 70"). The cart device 70 has a function of communicating with the mobile terminal 60 and a function of weighing the goods in the cart. The cart device 70 places and transports the goods registered by the mobile terminal 60. Specifically, the mobile terminal 60 can be attached (set) to the cart device 70. The mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 can communicate wirelessly (for example, by NFC (Near Field Communication) such as RFID (Radio frequency identification), Bluetooth (registered trademark)). In FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 60 shown inside the cart device 70 shows the mobile terminal 60 in a state attached to the cart device 70.

[0035] The cart device 70 may also be able to communicate directly with the cloud server 20, the store controller 30, the transaction status management device 40, etc. In this case, the cart device 70 can obtain various information such as the identification number of the cart device 70, the status information of the cart device 70 (battery status, usage times, scale status), the identification number of the connected mobile terminal 60, and the transaction identification information stored in the mobile terminal 60, and transmit it to the cloud server 20.

[0036] In a mode where the cart device 70 and the cloud server 20 can be connected, if the cart device 70 and the cloud server 20 cannot be connected, the mobile terminal 60 may acquire the above various information from the cart device 70 and transmit the acquired various information to the cloud server 20. The various information includes the identification number of the cart device 70, the status information of the cart device 70 (for example, battery status, number of uses, scale status), etc. The mobile terminal 60 may transmit transaction information including these various information to the cloud server 20. The cloud server 20 manages the transaction information including the various information. Thereby, the cloud server 20 can manage (monitor) the cart device 70 on the system.

[0037] Note that the mobile terminal 60 registers products based on the operation (action) of the customer in a state where it can communicate with one cart device 70. As long as the mobile terminal 60 can communicate with one cart device 70, it can register products based on the operation of the customer whether it is attached to the cart device 70 or removed from the cart device 70 (for example, the state where the customer is holding and operating it).

[0038] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the cart device 70. As shown in FIG. 3, the cart device 70 includes a placement part (placement table) 71, a weighing device (substrate BOX) 72, a cart charging part 73, a holder part 74, a mobile terminal charging part 75, a battery (not shown), a connection cord 78, and an NFC tag 79 (IC tag).

[0039] The placement part 71 is a member on which a shopping basket or the like can be placed. The weighing device 72 is realized by one or more substrates. The weighing device 72 includes a weighing part and a cart communication part, and transmits the weighing result to the mobile terminal 60. Details of the weighing part and the cart communication part will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0040] The cart charging part 73 includes contact terminals that can be detached from a power supply cable (not shown). A charging terminal of the battery is connected to the tip of the contact terminals. The battery stores the power supplied to the weighing device 72.

[0041] The holder part 74 is a member for setting the mobile terminal 60. The holder part 74 is provided with an opening. The opening is formed at a position corresponding to the camera 207 (lens) of the set mobile terminal 60. The mobile terminal charging part 75 stores the power to be supplied to the mobile terminal 60 set in the holder part 74.

[0042] The connection cord 78 is attached to the mobile terminal charging part 75. The connection cord 78 encodes connection information (device identification information) for connecting the own device (the cart device 70) and the mobile terminal 60 in a two-dimensional code.

[0043] The NFC tag 79 is attached to the holder part 74. The NFC tag 79 includes a storage part and an IC tag communication part. The storage part stores connection information (device identification information) for connecting the own device (the cart device 70) and the mobile terminal 60. The IC tag communication part transmits the connection information stored in the storage part to the outside (for example, the mobile terminal 60).

[0044] In FIG. 3, an example is shown where a shopping basket is not placed on the placement part 71 and the mobile terminal 60 is not attached to the holder part 74. When a customer comes to the store, the customer places a shopping basket on the placement part 71 and attaches the mobile terminal 60 to the holder part 74. The customer connects the mobile terminal 60 to a cable (not shown) of the mobile terminal charging part 75 as needed. Thereby, even when the battery level of the mobile terminal 60 is low, the customer can shop while charging the mobile terminal 60.

[0045] (Hardware Configuration of Cart Device 70) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the cart device 70 (weighing device 72). As shown in FIG. 4, the cart device 70 includes a CPU 301, a memory 302, a weighing part 303, and a cart communication part 304. Each part is connected by a bus 320.

[0046] The CPU 301 controls the overall operation of the cart device 70 (weighing device 72). The memory 202 includes, for example, ROM, RAM, hard disk, SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The memory 202 stores various programs. The RAM is used as the work area of the CPU 301. The program stored in the memory 302 is loaded into the CPU 301 to cause the CPU 301 to execute the coded processing.

[0047] The weighing unit 303 weighs the articles placed on the placement unit 71. The articles include, for example, a shopping basket, the goods in the shopping basket, and the customer's luggage in the shopping basket. The cart communication unit 304 is connected to other devices (such as the mobile terminal 60 and the cloud server 20) through a communication line. The cart communication unit 304 transmits, for example, a beacon. Also, the cart communication unit 304 periodically transmits the weighing result measured by the weighing unit 303 to the mobile terminal 60 at a predetermined control cycle.

[0048] (Regarding the notification of various announcements) The mobile terminal 60 can notify various announcements during the customer's shopping. The various announcements include, for example, an illegal input announcement and a product removal announcement. The illegal input announcement is an announcement notified when the weighing result increases while the product is not registered. The product removal announcement is an announcement notified when the weighing result decreases without a product cancellation operation. The illegal input announcement is provided with the intention of making the customer remember the correct registration order of registering the product and then putting it into the shopping basket. The illegal input announcement aims to prevent the store's sales loss. Also, the product removal announcement is provided with the intention of making the customer remember the correct cancellation order of canceling the product and then taking the product out of the shopping basket. The product removal announcement aims to prevent the customer from overpaying and, ultimately, prevent the store's loss of trust.

[0049] Here, if a customer inadvertently puts an unregistered product into the shopping cart, an incorrect input announcement is notified due to an increase in the weighing result. After that, assume that the customer notices the un-scanned product and takes the product out of the shopping cart to register the product. In such a case, since the customer is aware that the product is unregistered, if a product removal announcement is notified, it may result in excessive notification and may interfere with comfortable shopping. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is suppressed that the announcement notification interferes with comfortable shopping. Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 60 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0050] (Functional Configuration of Mobile Terminal 60) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 60 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the mobile terminal 60 includes a reading result acquisition unit 501, a registration unit 502, a detection result acquisition unit 503, a motion detection unit 504, a notification unit 505, a mode setting unit 506, and a cancellation unit 507. Each unit is realized by the CPU 201. That is, the CPU 201 executes a shopping application (including an announcement notification program) stored in the memory to realize the functions of each unit.

[0051] (Reading Result Acquisition Unit 501) The camera 207 reads a product code (product identification information) attached to a product put into the shopping cart in response to a customer's operation. The camera 207 outputs the reading result to the reading result acquisition unit 501. The reading result acquisition unit 501 acquires the reading result of the product code from the camera 207.

[0052] (Registration Unit 502) The registration unit 502 registers products based on the reading results obtained by the reading result acquisition unit 501. Specifically, the registration unit 502 transmits the product code obtained by the reading result acquisition unit 501 to the cloud server 20. The cloud server 20 registers the product (product name, unit price, etc.) corresponding to the product code received from the mobile terminal 60 in the virtual cart, and transmits registration information indicating that the product has been registered to the mobile terminal 60. The registration unit 502 acquires the registration information (product name, unit price, etc.) received from the cloud server 20, and causes the acquired registration information to be displayed on the display 206.

[0053] (Detection result acquisition unit 503) The detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires detection results based on the measurement results of the weighing unit 303. The detection results include an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping cart. The input detection result is a detection result indicating that the measurement result has increased. The removal detection result is a detection result indicating that the measurement result has decreased. The determination of whether the measurement result has increased or decreased, in other words, the determination of whether it is an input detection result or a removal detection result, is made by a determination unit (not shown) provided in the mobile terminal 60. Therefore, the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires the detection results from the determination unit.

[0054] Note that the determination of whether it is an input detection result or a removal detection result is not limited to being made based on the measurement results of the weighing unit 303. These determinations may be made based on the imaging results of the camera 207. For example, the determination unit may determine that it is an input detection result when the products in the shopping cart increase based on the analysis result of the image captured by the camera 207, and determine that it is a removal detection result when the products in the shopping cart decrease.

[0055] Also, the determination unit may be provided in the cart device 70. That is, the cart device 70 (weighing device 72) may determine whether it is an input detection result or a removal detection result based on the measurement results of the weighing unit 303.

[0056] (Motion detection unit 504) The operation detection unit 504 detects an unregistered input operation. When the input detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition unit 503, the operation detection unit 504 detects the case where there is no product registration by the registration unit 502 as an unregistered input operation. In other words, the unregistered input operation is an operation in which a product is put into the shopping basket without being registered. Specifically, the unregistered input operation is an operation in which a product is put into the shopping basket without the product code being scanned. That is, the unregistered input operation is an operation indicating that the product code has not been read by the reading result acquisition unit 501 and the input detection result has been obtained by the detection result acquisition unit 503. Hereinafter, the unregistered input operation is referred to as an "unscanned input operation".

[0057] An example of the unscanned input operation is listed below. · An operation of putting a product into the cart device 70 (shopping basket placed on the placement unit 71) without performing a scanning operation. · An operation of intentionally performing an inappropriate scanning operation so as not to read the barcode of a product and putting the product into the cart device 70. · An operation of unconsciously or intentionally reading the barcode of a single item (one can of beer) instead of the barcode of a set product (for example, a 6-pack of canned beer) and putting the set product into the cart device 70. · An operation of putting a product into the cart device 70 without noticing that, although not intentional, the scanning operation has simply failed (scanning error).

[0058] (Illegal Input Announcement) When the operation detection unit 504 detects an unscanned input operation, the notification unit 505 notifies an illegal input announcement indicating that fact. Specifically, the illegal input announcement is, for example, a notification such as "The product has not been scanned." or "Please scan the product." The illegal input announcement is notified for a preset period (for example, 10 seconds) after the unscanned input operation is detected. The said period may be a period that can be changed by setting. In the case of an illegal input announcement, there is a risk of shoplifting etc., so there is a risk that the store may suffer losses.

[0059] (Employee Call by Illegal Input Announcement) When the mobile terminal 60 receives an illegal input announcement, it turns on the employee call flag. When the employee call flag is turned on, the mobile terminal 60 transmits flag information indicating that the employee call flag is on to the cloud server 20. When the cloud server 20 receives the flag information from the mobile terminal 60, it stores the flag information in the transaction information. When performing settlement, the settlement device 50 acquires the transaction information from the cloud server 20. If the flag information is included in the transaction information, the settlement device 50 makes an employee call. Specifically, the settlement device 50 makes an employee call by setting the display or sign pole provided in its own device to the display mode of the employee call. Note that the flag information may be included in the settlement code. In this case, the settlement device 50 may make an employee call when the flag information is included in the read settlement code.

[0060] In order to facilitate verification by the employee, the mobile terminal 60 may store captured images for each product (captured images from each direction) and detect whether the image of the scanned product matches the object newly placed in the cart device 70 by image recognition. Also, the mobile terminal 60 may transmit the captured image and the detection result to the cloud server 20. Further, the settlement device 50 may acquire the captured image from the cloud server 20 at the time of settlement and display it on the display of its own device.

[0061] (Product Removal Announcement) When the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires a removal detection result, the notification unit 505 notifies a product removal announcement indicating that fact. Specifically, the notification unit 505 notifies a product removal announcement when the product is removed without being canceled by the cancellation unit 507. In other words, the notification unit 505 does not notify a product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit 503 within a predetermined period (for example, within 10 seconds) after the product is canceled by the cancellation unit 507.

[0062] The product removal announcement is a notification such as "The product has been removed.", "Please return the product to the shopping basket.", "Please cancel the product.", etc. The notification by the notification unit 505 is performed by the display on the display 206 or the voice from the speaker. The product removal announcement is notified for a preset period (for example, 3 seconds) after the removal detection result is acquired. The said period may be a period whose setting can be changed. In the case of the product removal announcement, since it is not expected to be disadvantageous to the store, the clerk call is not performed at the time of settlement. That is, when the mobile terminal 60 notifies the product removal announcement, the clerk call flag is not turned on.

[0063] In this way, in the case of the illegal input announcement that is highly likely to cause disadvantages to the store, the clerk is called, and in the case of the product removal announcement that is less likely to cause disadvantages to the store, the clerk is not called. Thereby, even when the number of clerks in the store is small, the efficiency of store operation can be realized. Also, when the number of clerks in the store is equal to or more than a certain number, the clerk call flag may be turned on so that the clerk call is also performed at the time of settlement for the transaction for which the product removal announcement has been made.

[0064] (Regarding the case where the product removal announcement is not notified) In particular, in the present embodiment, the notification unit 505 may not notify the product removal announcement even when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit 503. Specifically, even if the customer accidentally puts the unscanned product into the shopping basket, if the customer notices the unscanned product and takes out the product from the shopping basket to register the product, the product removal announcement is not notified. In other words, if it is within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds) after the unscanned input operation is detected by the operation detection unit 504, the notification unit 505 does not notify the product removal announcement even when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit 503.

[0065] For example, when the operation detection unit 504 detects an un-scanned input operation, the notification unit 505 notifies an illegal input announcement. By the illegal input announcement, the customer becomes aware that the item is un-scanned and takes the item out of the shopping basket. If the item is taken out of the shopping basket within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds) after the notification unit 505 notifies the illegal input announcement, the notification unit 505 does not notify a product removal announcement. Also, in this case, the notification unit 505 forcibly terminates the illegal input announcement as well. Also, in this case, the mobile terminal 60 turns off the clerk call flag that was turned on based on the detection of the illegal input. That is, at the time of settlement, the clerk is not called.

[0066] (Regarding the case where the illegal input announcement is not notified) Even when the operation detection unit 504 detects an un-scanned input operation, the notification unit 505 may not notify an illegal input announcement. For example, during shopping, a customer may rearrange the items in the shopping basket. In this rearrangement, the customer may take an item out of the shopping basket and then re-insert it into the shopping basket. In this case, the notification unit 505 does not notify an illegal input announcement. In other words, if the operation detection unit 504 detects an un-scanned input operation within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds) after the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires a removal detection result, the notification unit 505 does not notify an illegal input announcement.

[0067] For example, when the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires a removal detection result, the notification unit 505 notifies a product removal announcement. If it is a rearrangement of the items in the shopping basket, the customer immediately returns the taken-out item to the shopping basket. If the item is returned to the shopping basket within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds) after the notification unit 505 notifies the product removal announcement, the notification unit 505 does not notify an illegal input announcement. Also, in this case, the notification unit 505 forcibly terminates the product removal announcement as well. Since the illegal input announcement is not notified, the mobile terminal 60 does not turn on the clerk call flag. That is, at the time of settlement, the clerk is not called.

[0068] In the control not to notify the product removal announcement and the control not to notify the unauthorized input announcement, the weight of the removed product may be memorized, the memorized weight may be compared with the weight of the product re-input, and if the comparison result is within a predetermined range, each announcement may not be notified. In other words, for example, when the comparison result of the weight between the removed product and the input product is not within the predetermined range, the notification unit 505 notifies the unauthorized input announcement, sets the clerk call flag to ON, and may call the clerk at the time of settlement.

[0069] (Cancellation of Product) When the cancellation unit 507 receives an operation of a predetermined button (cancellation start button) displayed on the display 206, it displays a cancellation screen. The cancellation unit 507 cancels the registered product by receiving a selection of a cancellation target from among the products listed in the cancellation screen. Note that the cancellation of the registered product is not limited to the selection from the cancellation screen. For example, when the cancellation unit 507 receives an operation of the cancellation start button displayed on the display 206, it may cancel the registered product by reading the product code of the cancellation target with the camera 207.

[0070] The mobile terminal 60 determines whether the product to be cancelled has been taken out of the cart device 70. For example, if the weight of the cart device 70 does not decrease within a predetermined period after the product has been cancelled, the mobile terminal 60 may determine that the product to be cancelled has not been taken out of the cart device 70. Note that after receiving the cancellation operation, if the product has not been taken out even after a certain period of time, the mobile terminal 60 may notify a guidance such as "Please return the product to the shelf".

[0071] (Switching from Registration Mode to Cancellation Mode) The mode setting unit 506 sets one mode among a plurality of modes including a registration mode and a cancellation mode. The registration mode is a mode in which a product is registered by the registration unit 502. The cancellation mode is a mode in which the cancellation unit 507 cancels the product registered by the registration unit 502. The switching between the registration mode and the cancellation mode is performed, for example, by accepting the pressing of a predetermined button (registration button, cancellation start button).

[0072] On the screen of the mobile terminal 60, in either the registration mode or the cancellation mode, for example, the upper half is a display area for an imaging image by the camera (for example, the imaging image display area 641 in FIG. 6(E)), and the lower half is a display area for registration details (for example, the registration information display area 642 in FIG. 6(E)). Therefore, there are cases where it is difficult for the customer to immediately grasp the current mode at a glance. For this reason, an icon indicating the current mode (for example, an icon indicating characters) may be displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 60, or the background color indicating the current mode may be used. In this way, the customer can easily grasp the current mode.

[0073] Also, the mobile terminal 60 operates in the registration mode almost all the time while the shopping app is running. In other words, the cancellation mode indicates an irregular state that is used occasionally. Therefore, in the registration mode, a display mode indicating the mode (icon display or special background color) may be used only in the cancellation mode, which is an irregular state, without particularly indicating the mode. Even in this way, the customer can easily grasp that the current mode is a special mode (cancellation mode) other than the registration mode.

[0074] When a customer takes out a product from the shopping basket during shopping, in addition to organizing the inside of the shopping basket, it is expected that the product will be returned to the display shelf (cancellation of registration). Therefore, when the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires the take-out detection result, the mode setting unit 506 switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode. That is, without receiving an operation of the cancellation start button, the mode setting unit 506 displays a cancellation screen as the cancellation mode and prompts the cancellation of the product. Note that the mode setting unit 506 may prompt the camera 207 to read the product code to be cancelled as the cancellation mode without receiving an operation of the cancellation start button.

[0075] Specifically, when the take-out detection result is acquired, the mode setting unit 506 determines whether the product has been cancelled before that. For example, although the mode setting unit 506 determines that the product has been taken out from the cart device 70 based on the weighing result received from the cart device 70, if the product has not been cancelled by the cancellation unit 507 before that (for example, within a predetermined period retroactively from the time of the determination), it is determined that the taken-out product has not been cancelled, and the mode is switched to the cancellation mode. In other words, if the take-out detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit 503 within a predetermined period after the product has been cancelled by the cancellation unit 507, the mode setting unit 506 does not switch from the registration mode to the cancellation mode and continues the registration mode.

[0076] When switching to the cancellation mode, the notification unit 505 may notify that the taken-out product has not been cancelled. The notification is, for example, a message such as "Please read the barcode of the taken-out product. Cancellation will be performed." Also, when the mobile terminal 60 determines that the taken-out product has not been cancelled, it may set a store clerk call flag (which may be a dedicated store clerk call flag indicating that the taken-out product has not been cancelled) in the transaction information of the transaction. The settlement device 50 may acquire flag information indicating that the store clerk call flag is ON at the time of settlement and call the store clerk (perform store clerk confirmation).

[0077] (Automatic switching from cancellation mode to registration mode) When the removal of an item can be regarded as the sorting within the shopping basket, the mode setting unit 506 switches from the cancellation mode to the registration mode. Specifically, after the mode setting unit 506 switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode, if an unseanned insertion operation is detected by the motion detection unit 504 within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds), the mode setting unit 506 switches from the cancellation mode to the registration mode. The mode setting unit 506 displays a registration screen without accepting an operation of the registration button. Note that the mobile terminal 60 may store the weight of the removed item, compare the stored weight with the weight of the item reinserted, and switch from the cancellation mode to the registration mode when the comparison result is within a predetermined range.

[0078] Note that the automatic switching from the cancellation mode to the registration mode is not limited to the above case. For example, when a predetermined number (for example, one item) of product codes are scanned in the cancellation mode, the mode setting unit 506 may also automatically end the cancellation mode and return to the registration mode. The scan is a scan indicating the registration of an item. However, the scan may also be a scan indicating the cancellation of an item. Also, the predetermined number of scan targets may be changeable.

[0079] (Other announcements) In addition to the above-described illegal insertion announcement and the product removal announcement, various announcements include other announcements such as a forgotten removal announcement, a forgotten insertion announcement, and a forgotten cancellation announcement. Other announcements will be described below.

[0080] (Forgotten removal announcement: Notification when there is no removal after the cancellation of an item) If the mobile terminal 60 determines that the item has been forgotten to be taken out when the item has been canceled but not taken out from the shopping basket (when the measured value does not decrease), it is considered a forgetting to take out. If the item has not been taken out within a predetermined period (for example, within 10 seconds) after the cancellation, the notification unit 505 determines that it is a forgetting to take out, and then notifies a forgetting-to-take-out announcement. The forgetting-to-take-out announcement is, for example, to perform a predetermined display for the item in the registration information display area 642 (Fig. 6(E)). The predetermined display is, for example, a display such as "Weight NG", "Needs confirmation", "Needs confirmation (not taken out)". In addition, instead of or in addition to displaying "Weight NG" or the like for the item to be canceled, the notification unit 505 may display a message such as "Please return the canceled item to the shelf." Note that the notification unit 505 may notify the forgetting-to-take-out announcement without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined period after the cancellation.

[0081] In addition, when the mobile terminal 60 determines that it is a forgetting to take out, instead of or in addition to the forgetting-to-take-out announcement, it may set a clerk call flag (which may be a dedicated clerk call flag indicating that the canceled item has not been taken out) in the transaction information of the transaction. The settlement device 50 may obtain flag information indicating that the clerk call flag is ON at the time of settlement and call the clerk (perform clerk confirmation). Note that since forgetting to take out is not fraud (fraud that causes the store to suffer losses), it is not necessary to set the clerk call flag.

[0082] (Forgot-to-insert announcement: Notification when the measured value does not change after registering the item) If the merchandise has been registered but no merchandise has been placed in the shopping basket (i.e., the measured value does not increase), the mobile terminal 60 determines that it has been forgotten to be placed. For example, if no merchandise has been placed in the shopping basket within a predetermined period (e.g., within 10 seconds) after merchandise registration, the notification unit 505 determines that it has been forgotten to be placed and then notifies a forgotten placement announcement. In other words, the forgotten placement announcement is not made if merchandise has been placed in the shopping basket within the predetermined period after merchandise registration. By notifying the forgotten placement announcement, it is possible to prevent the customer from suffering disadvantages. Note that the notification unit 505 may notify the forgotten placement announcement without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined period after merchandise registration.

[0083] The forgotten placement announcement may, for example, display "Weight NG", "Requires confirmation", or "Requires confirmation (not placed)" for the scanned merchandise, or may be a message display such as "Please place the registered merchandise in the shopping basket." Also, when it is determined that it has been forgotten to be placed, instead of or in addition to notifying the forgotten placement announcement, a clerk call flag (which may be a dedicated clerk call flag indicating that the scanned merchandise has not been placed) may be set in the transaction information of the transaction. The settlement device 50 may acquire flag information indicating that the clerk call flag is ON at the time of settlement and call the clerk (perform clerk confirmation). Note that since forgetting to place is not fraud (fraud that causes disadvantage to the store), it is not necessary to set the clerk call flag.

[0084] (Forgotten cancellation announcement: Notification when there is no cancellation after taking out the merchandise) If there is no cancellation operation even though a product has been taken out, the mobile terminal 60 determines that it is an oversight in cancellation. For example, if the product is not cancelled by the cancellation unit 507 within a predetermined period (e.g., within 10 seconds) after the product has been taken out, the notification unit 505 determines that it is an oversight in cancellation, and then notifies an oversight-in-cancellation announcement. In other words, the oversight-in-cancellation announcement is not made if the product is cancelled within the predetermined period after the product has been taken out. By notifying the oversight-in-cancellation announcement, it is possible to prevent the customer from suffering disadvantages. Note that the notification unit 505 may notify the oversight-in-cancellation announcement without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined period after the product has been taken out.

[0085] The oversight-in-cancellation announcement may be, for example, a message display such as "Please cancel the taken-out product." Also, when it is determined that there is an oversight in cancellation, instead of or in addition to the notification of the oversight-in-cancellation announcement, a clerk call flag (which may be a dedicated clerk call flag indicating that the scanned product has not been input) may be set in the transaction information of the transaction. When performing settlement, the settlement device 50 may acquire flag information indicating that the clerk call flag is ON and call a clerk (perform clerk confirmation). Note that since an oversight in cancellation is not fraud (fraud that causes the store to suffer disadvantages), it is not necessary to set the clerk call flag.

[0086] Note that the oversight-in-cancellation announcement may be controlled differently from the above control. For example, in a state where only one product is registered in the registration details, if the taking-out of the product is detected and there is no cancellation operation, it is presumed that the taken-out product is the only product registered in the registration details. Therefore, in this case, the mobile terminal 60 can identify the taken-out product. Thus, the mobile terminal 60 may identify and present the name of the product. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may make a presentation such as "Is the taken-out product XX?" Also, instead of or in addition to the presentation, the mobile terminal 60 may automatically delete the identified product. When automatically deleting the product, the mobile terminal 60 may notify to that effect.

[0087] (Connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70) The mobile terminal 60 is connected to a single cart device 70 via Bluetooth (Bluetooth connection). When the mobile terminal 60 is connected to a single cart device 70, the device identification information (e.g., Bluetooth address) of the cart device 70 is required as pairing information. The mobile terminal 60 can acquire the device identification information of each cart device 70 from the beacon transmitted by each cart device 70.

[0088] The mobile terminal 60 can acquire the connection information of each cart device 70 from the beacon transmitted by each cart device 70, but can also acquire the connection information of each cart device 70 from the connection code 78 attached to each cart device 70.

[0089] The mobile terminal 60 reads the connection code 78 attached to each cart device 70 based on the customer's operation. Thereby, the mobile terminal 60 acquires the connection information of a single cart device 70 (the cart device 70 to be used by the customer). That is, the mobile terminal 60 recognizes the connection code 78 of the captured image by the object recognition function, reads the recognized connection code 78, and acquires the connection information. The mobile terminal 60 uses the acquired connection information to connect to the cart device 70, and becomes in a state where communication (Bluetooth communication) with the cart device 70 is possible.

[0090] (Example of a screen displayed on the display 206 of the mobile terminal 60) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display 206 of the mobile terminal 60. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the mobile terminal 60 is connected to the cart device 70 using the connection code 78. It is assumed that a shopping app is already installed in the mobile terminal 60.

[0091] (Initial screen 610) FIG. 6(A) shows the initial screen 610 of the mobile terminal 60. The initial screen 610 is a standby screen. Specifically, the initial screen 610 shows a screen in a state where various applications are not executed. On the initial screen 610, an icon 611 of the shopping application is displayed. When the icon 611 is pressed, the menu screen 620 shown in FIG. 6(B) is transitioned to.

[0092] (Menu screen 620) FIG. 6(B) shows the menu screen 620 (start screen) displayed immediately after the shopping application is launched. The menu screen 620 includes a shopping start button 621 (621a, 621b) and a related information display area 622. The first shopping start button 621a is a button that accepts the start of shopping in a mode using the cart device 70. The second shopping start button 621b is a button that accepts the start of shopping in a mode not using the cart device 70. When the second shopping start button 621b is pressed, shopping is started in a mode where product registration and settlement are performed in the registration settlement device. On the other hand, when the first shopping start button 621a is pressed, the connection instruction screen 630 in FIG. 6(C) is transitioned to. Note that the related information display area 622 includes buttons for accepting various functions for supporting shopping.

[0093] (Connection instruction screen 630) FIG. 6(C) shows the connection instruction screen 630. The connection instruction screen 630 includes a message 631 and an explanatory image 632. The message 631 indicates to prompt the reading of the connection code 78. The explanatory image 632 shows an image explaining the method of reading the connection code 78. On the connection instruction screen 630, when a predetermined time elapses or a predetermined operation (for example, pressing the screen) is accepted, the screen is switched to an imaging screen (not shown), and the mobile terminal 60 reads the connection code by the customer's operation. When the connection code 78 (device identification information) is read, the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 is completed, and the initial registration screen 640 in FIG. 6(D) is transitioned to.

[0094] (Initial registration screen 640) FIG. 6(D) shows the initial registration screen 640. The initial registration screen 640 includes an imaging image display area 641 and a registration information display area 642. The imaging image display area 641 will display the imaging image. The central part of the imaging image display area 641 is a barcode reading area suitable for barcode reading. The barcode reading area is a rectangular area where a message "Please hold the barcode" is displayed. The registration information display area 642 is an area mainly for displaying product registration information and total information. An explanatory image 643 is displayed in the registration information display area 642. The explanatory image 643 is an image explaining the product registration method. Note that the explanatory image 643 may not be displayed from the next time onwards according to the settings.

[0095] Also, the initial registration screen 640 includes a cart image 644. The cart image 644 indicates that it is connected to (communicable with) the cart device 70. The cart image 644 is always displayed as long as it is connected to the cart device 70.

[0096] Note that the imaging image in the direction looking down from the position of the holder part 74 towards the shopping basket side also includes the shopping basket and the products put into the shopping basket. However, for simplicity of illustration, these are omitted in FIG. 6.

[0097] (Registration screen 650) FIG. 6(E) shows the registration screen 650 after registering a product. On the registration screen 650, the registration information display area 642 indicates that ○○ food bread has been registered as one item of product and ○○ oolong tea has been registered as the second item of product.

[0098] Specifically, ○○ oolong tea is displayed (imaged) in the imaging image display area 641 of the registration screen 650. That is, the registration screen 650 shows the scene immediately after registering ○○ oolong tea (right after scanning) and before ○○ oolong tea is put into the cart device 70 (shopping basket).

[0099] In the registration information display area 642, information about the registered products (product name, quantity, price) is displayed. Specifically, in the registration information display area 642, "〇〇 Food Bread, 1 piece, ¥220" is displayed as one item of the product. Also, in the registration information display area 642, "〇〇 Oolong Tea, 1 piece, ¥150" is displayed as the second item of the product.

[0100] Note that the mobile terminal 60 acquires product information by querying the product information based on the product code obtained by scanning the barcode of the product. The query destination of the product information is a device that stores the product master. The device that stores the product master may be another device (for example, the cloud server 20), or it may be the self-terminal if the product master is stored in the storage unit of the self-terminal.

[0101] In the registration information display area 642, "Weight OK" is displayed in the column of 〇〇 Food Bread. This indicates that after scanning the product code of 〇〇 Bread and putting 〇〇 Bread into the shopping cart, the weight has increased. On the other hand, since 〇〇 Oolong Tea has not been put into the cart device 70, "Weight OK" is not displayed in the column of 〇〇 Oolong Tea. Note that when 〇〇 Oolong Tea is put into the cart device 70, "Weight OK" will be displayed in the column of 〇〇 Oolong Tea. That is, when the mobile terminal 60 receives a weighing result indicating an increase in weight from the cart device 70 within a predetermined period (for example, within 10 seconds) after scanning the product, "Weight OK" is displayed. On the other hand, if a weighing result indicating an increase in weight is not received within the predetermined period, "Weight NG" is displayed.

[0102] After registering one item of the product, the mobile terminal 60 can end the product registration and proceed to settlement. For this reason, on the registration screen 650, a settlement start button 651 and a message 652 are displayed. The settlement start button 651 is a button that accepts the start of settlement (the end of product registration). The message 652 is a notification indicating that settlement can proceed when the settlement start button 651 is pressed.

[0103] (Illegitimate Input Announcement Screen 660) Figure 6(F) shows the illegitimate input announcement screen 660. The illegitimate input announcement screen 660 includes a message 661 and a notification end button 662. The message 661 indicates that it is an illegitimate input announcement. Specifically, the message 661 indicates a notification prompting the scanning of a product code. The notification end button 662 accepts the termination of the illegitimate input announcement screen 660 and returns to the registration screen. When the notification end button 662 is pressed, the product code of the target product is scanned, and the product is put into the shopping cart, the registration of the product is completed.

[0104] (Product Retrieval Announcement Screen 670) Figure 6(G) shows the product retrieval announcement screen 670. The product retrieval announcement screen 670 includes a message 671 and a notification end button 672. The message 671 indicates that it is a product retrieval announcement. Specifically, the message 671 indicates a notification prompting the return of the product to the shopping cart or the cancellation of the product. The notification end button 672 accepts the termination of the product retrieval announcement screen 670 and returns to the registration screen. When the notification end button 672 is pressed, when the product is returned to the shopping cart, or when the cancellation of the product is accepted, it returns to the registration screen.

[0105] (Settlement Code Display Screen 680) Figure 6(H) is the settlement code display screen 680 displayed after the settlement start button 651 (Figure 6(E)) is pressed. The settlement code display screen 680 includes a settlement code 681, a message 682, an explanatory image 683, and a return button 684. The settlement code 681 is a code that causes the scanner unit of the settlement device 50 to start settlement by being read. The message 682 is a notification indicating that the settlement device 50 should read the settlement code 681. The explanatory image 683 shows a guiding image when the settlement device 50 reads the settlement code 681. The return button 684 accepts the return to the registration screen before the settlement start button 651 is pressed.

[0106] The settlement code 681 is a two-dimensional coding of transaction identification information that identifies the transaction information of the relevant transaction from among a plurality of transaction information (including weight OK / weight NG information) stored in the cloud server 20. That is, the settlement code 681 displayed on a certain mobile terminal 60 indicates information that can also identify the transaction information of the mobile terminal 60 among the plurality of transaction information stored in the cloud server 20. When the settlement device 50 reads the settlement code 681, it sends a request to the cloud server 20 to transmit the transaction information including the transaction identification information, and acquires (receives) the transaction information of the mobile terminal 60 from the cloud server 20. Note that the settlement code 681 may be a two-dimensional coding of the location information of the transaction information of the mobile terminal 60 (storage location in the sales system 1. URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), etc.).

[0107] (An example of the operation of the mobile terminal 60) FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the mobile terminal 60. The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows the flow from when a customer comes to the store with the mobile terminal 60 and the mobile terminal 60 connects to the cart device 70 using the connection code 78 until the settlement code display screen 680 (FIG. 6(H)) is displayed. Note that at the start of this flowchart (when coming to the store), it is assumed that the mobile terminal 60 is displaying the initial screen 610 (FIG. 6(A)).

[0108] Step S1: The mobile terminal 60 receives an operation to start the shopping app. For example, the mobile terminal 60 receives an operation on the shopping app icon 611 on the initial screen 610 (FIG. 6(A)). Step S2: The mobile terminal 60 displays the menu screen 620 (FIG. 6(B)). Step S3: The mobile terminal 60 receives a shopping start operation for shopping using the cart device 70. For example, the mobile terminal 60 receives an operation on the first shopping start button 621a on the menu screen 620. Step S4: The mobile terminal 60 displays the connection instruction screen 630 (FIG. 6(C)).

[0109] Step S5: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has acquired connection information (device identification information of the cart device 70) for connecting to the cart device 70. For example, when the mobile terminal 60 reads the connection code 78 attached to the cart device 70 based on the customer's operation, the mobile terminal 60 acquires the connection information of the cart device 70 from the connection code 78. If the connection information is acquired (Step S5: YES), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S6. If the connection information has not been acquired (Step S5: NO), the mobile terminal 60 repeats Step S5.

[0110] Step S6: The mobile terminal 60 pairs with and connects to the cart device 70. Step S7: The mobile terminal 60 transmits the tare indication information to the cart device 70.

[0111] (Tare) The tare is an item placed on the placement unit 71 in the initial state before the start of shopping (more specifically, the state before an item of merchandise is placed). The weight of the tare is the measured value in the initial state before the start of shopping. The tare may include, in addition to the shopping basket, the customer's carry-on items (wallet, bag, etc.). For example, when an empty shopping basket is placed on the placement unit 71 as the initial state before the start of shopping, the tare is the shopping basket, and the tare weight is the weight of the shopping basket. Also, for example, when a shopping basket containing a wallet is placed on the placement unit 71 as the initial state before the start of shopping, the tare is the shopping basket and the wallet, and the tare weight is the sum of the weight of the shopping basket and the weight of the carry-on item.

[0112] The windbag removal instruction information indicates an instruction to cause the cart device 70 to start weighing excluding the current windbag weight. When the cart device 70 receives the windbag removal instruction information, it starts weighing considering the weight at the time of reception as 0 g. For example, when the weighing value in the unloaded state is 0 g and the weight of the shopping basket is 500 g (known), if the weighing value at the time of receiving the windbag removal instruction information is 500 g, the windbag weight is 500 g (the windbag is only the shopping basket). Also, for example, in the above case, if the weighing value at the time of receiving the windbag removal instruction information is 3000 g, the windbag weight is 3000 g (shopping basket weight: 500 g, luggage weight: 2500 g) (the windbag is the sum of the shopping basket and the customer's luggage).

[0113] When the cart device 70 receives the windbag removal instruction information from the mobile terminal 60, it determines the weighing value at the time of reception as the weighing value (initial value) in the initial state before the start of shopping. That is, the cart device 70 stores the weighing value in the unloaded state, and after the shopping basket or the customer's luggage is placed from the unloaded state and the windbag removal instruction information is received, it sets the weighing value in the state where the shopping basket or the customer's luggage is placed as the initial value. When the cart device 70 receives an instruction to remove the windbag from the mobile terminal 60 while the weighing unit 303 is measuring 3000 g, it notifies the mobile terminal 60 with "0 g" by setting "3000 g" as "0 g". In this case, the mobile terminal 60 may proceed with the process assuming the reference weight at the start of shopping is 0 g.

[0114] Note that when the cart device 70 receives an instruction to remove the windbag from the mobile terminal 60 while the weighing unit 303 is measuring 3000 g, it may also notify the mobile terminal 60 with the "3000 g". In this case, the mobile terminal 60 may proceed with the process assuming the reference weight at the start of shopping is 3000 g.

[0115] Since the weight of the shopping basket is known, it is possible to calculate the weight of the customer's luggage as a result. For example, if the measured value in the unloaded state is 0 g, the weight of the shopping basket is 500 g (known), and the measured value when receiving tare instruction information is 3000 g, the weight of the luggage is 2500 g. In this case, the weight of 2500 g for the luggage may be stored. Thereby, when the measured value decreases by 2500 g during shopping, it can be determined that the luggage has been taken out. That is, it is possible to prevent the system from determining that an item has been taken out when the luggage is taken out from the shopping basket, and it is also possible to prevent the system from determining that there is a mistake in canceling the item to be taken out.

[0116] The mobile terminal 60 may transmit the tare instruction information to the cart device 70 at least before the input of at least one item of merchandise. For example, the mobile terminal 60 transmits the tare instruction information to the cart device 70 immediately after the connection with the cart device 70 is completed. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may transmit the information to the cart device 70 while the initial registration screen 640 (FIG. 6(D)) is being displayed.

[0117] Note that the mobile terminal 60 may transmit the tare instruction information to the cart device 70 after registering (scanning) one item of merchandise and before putting the merchandise into the shopping basket. The timing of executing the tare can improve the accuracy of detecting fraud the closer it is to the timing of merchandise input (the closer to the merchandise input timing).

[0118] Suppose that the transmission timing of the tare instruction information is set to be earlier than, for example, the timing of placing the shopping basket (assuming the order of transmitting the tare instruction information → placing the shopping basket on the placing unit 71). In this case, the placement of the shopping basket on the placing unit 71 may be erroneously detected as an improper (unscanned input). If an improper input that is not actually an unscanned input is erroneously detected as an unscanned input, it will give a bad impression to the customer and also require unnecessary confirmation work for the store clerk (store).

[0119] Therefore, the transmission timing of the tare indication information is preferably as late as possible, i.e., immediately after the registration of a single-item product, just before the single-item product is put in. If the placement timing of the shopping cart is earlier than the transmission timing of the tare indication information (if the order is the placement of the shopping cart on the placement unit 71 → the transmission of the tare indication information), it is possible to prevent the placement of the shopping cart on the placement unit 71 from being detected as an un-scanned input.

[0120] In addition, when the connection with the mobile terminal 60 is completed, the cart device 70 periodically (constantly according to the control cycle) transmits the measurement result measured constantly according to the control cycle to the mobile terminal 60. However, the measurement result is not limited to being transmitted constantly, and it may be transmitted only when there is an increase or decrease in the measurement result. Further, the information transmitted from the cart device 70 to the mobile terminal 60 is not limited to the measurement result, and may be a judgment result indicating that a product has been put in or taken out. In other words, the cart device 70 may judge the putting in or taking out of a product. Specifically, when the cart device 70 detects an increase in weight, it may judge that a product has been put in, and when it detects a decrease in weight, it may judge that a product has been taken out. In this case, when the cart device 70 judges that a product has been put in or taken out, it may transmit the judgment result to the mobile terminal 60.

[0121] Note that the cart device 70 may transmit the weight of all articles including the tare weight to the mobile terminal 60 as the latest measurement value, or may transmit the weight value of all products excluding the tare weight (the tare weight is stored) to the mobile terminal 60.

[0122] Step S8: The mobile terminal 60 transmits various information including information about the cart device 70 to the cloud server 20. The various information is received from the cart device 70. The various information includes, for example, the serial number of the cart device 70 (which cart it is), the status of the battery, etc., and various announcement information. The cloud server 20 transmits the various information of the cart device 70 to the transaction status management device 40. Thereby, the transaction status management device 40 can receive and display the various information of the cart device 70 from the cloud server 20. Also, the monitoring staff who monitors in the transaction status management device 40 can appropriately perform the necessary maintenance on the cart device 70. Step S9: The mobile terminal 60 displays the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)).

[0123] Note that in step S8, the information about the cart device 70 transmitted from the cart device 70 is transmitted from the mobile terminal 60 to the cloud server 20. For this reason, the cart device 70 does not need to have a function of communicating with the cloud server 20. Therefore, in the sales system 1, an inexpensive cart device 70 that does not have the communication function can be used.

[0124] Note that the mobile terminal 60 acquires connection information from the connection code 78 (step S5: YES) and stores it. Even if the connection to the cart device 70 fails for some reason, the mobile terminal 60 can uniquely identify the cart device 70 from the connection information. For this reason, the mobile terminal 60 may transmit connection failure information indicating that the connection has failed to the cloud server 20 as information about the cart device 70. Thereby, the cloud server 20 can also manage the connection failure information. Also, the monitoring staff can perform maintenance on the cart device 70 based on the connection failure information. Also, instead of or in addition to transmitting the connection failure information to the cloud server 20, the mobile terminal 60 may output (display on the screen, voice output) a message such as "There may be a problem with the cart. Please use another cart."

[0125] Note that the mobile terminal 60 may perform the processes of steps S7 to S9 in any order. That is, after the mobile terminal 60 is connected to the cart device 70 (step S6), for the transmission of the invoice instruction information to the cart device 70 (step S7), the transmission of the information regarding the cart device 70 to the cloud server 20 (step S8), and the display of the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)) (step S9), they may be performed in any order.

[0126] Step S11: The mobile terminal 60 performs the in-process product registration process (Fig. 8).

[0127] Step S12: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether to end the product registration. For example, when the settlement start button 651 (Fig. 6(E)) is pressed, the mobile terminal 60 determines to end the product registration. If the product registration is to be ended (step S12: YES), it proceeds to step S13. If the product registration is not to be ended (step S12: NO), the mobile terminal 60 returns to step S10.

[0128] Step S13: The mobile terminal 60 disconnects the connection with the cart device 70 and cancels the pairing. Step S14: The mobile terminal 60 displays the settlement code display screen 680 (Fig. 6(H)). Note that when the clerk call flag is ON, the settlement code 681 includes an instruction to make a clerk call.

[0129] (An example of the in-process product registration process performed by the mobile terminal 60) Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the in-process product registration process performed by the mobile terminal 60. Step S800: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether a product code (barcode) has been scanned by the customer's scanning operation. When the mobile terminal 60 has scanned the product code (step S800: YES), it proceeds to step S801. On the other hand, when the product code has not been scanned (step S800: NO), it proceeds to step S802.

[0130] Step S801: The mobile terminal 60 registers the item (the item whose barcode was read in step S10). The mobile terminal 60 displays (adds) the information of the item (item name, quantity, price) in the registration information display area 642 of the registration screen and updates the total information.

[0131] Step S802: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether the weighing result (weight value) received from the cart device 70 has increased. Note that when the item (the item registered in step S801) is put into the shopping cart, the cart device 70 transmits the weighing result indicating an increase in the quantity of the item to the mobile terminal 60. In step S802, if the mobile terminal 60 determines that the weighing result has not increased (step S802: NO), it proceeds to step S807. On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 60 determines that the weighing result has increased (step S802: YES), that is, when it has obtained the input detection result, the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to step S803.

[0132] Step S803: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it is within the valid period (for example, within 10 seconds) after the scanning of the product code in step S10. If it is within the valid period (step S803: YES), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to step S804. On the other hand, if it is not within the valid period (step S803: NO), that is, when an unscreened input operation is detected, the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to step S805.

[0133] Step S804: The mobile terminal 60 displays the weighing result (for example, "Weight OK") in the registration information display area 642 (the column of the item) of the registration screen. Step S805: The mobile terminal 60 displays the unauthorized input announcement screen 660 (Fig. 6(F)) and notifies the unauthorized input announcement. Step S806: The mobile terminal 60 turns on the store clerk call flag.

[0134] Step S807: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has received a cancellation operation for the product. If the mobile terminal 60 has not received a cancellation operation for the product (Step S807: NO), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S809. On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 60 has received a cancellation operation for the product (Step S807: YES), the target product is cancelled (Step S808).

[0135] Step S809: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether the weighing result (weight value) received from the cart device 70 has decreased. Note that when a product is taken out of the shopping cart, the cart device 70 transmits a weighing result in which the weight corresponding to the taken-out product has decreased to the mobile terminal 60. In Step S809, if the mobile terminal 60 determines that the weighing result has not decreased (Step S809: NO), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S12 (Fig. 7). On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 60 determines that the weighing result has decreased (Step S809: YES), that is, when the take-out detection result is obtained, the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S810.

[0136] Step S810: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it is within the valid period (for example, within 10 seconds) after the cancellation of the product in Step S808. If it is within the valid period (Step S810: YES), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S12 (Fig. 7). On the other hand, if it is not within the valid period (Step S810: NO), that is, for example, when a product is taken out of the shopping cart without cancelling the product, the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S811.

[0137] Step S811: The mobile terminal 60 displays the product take-out announcement screen 670 (Fig. 6(G)) and notifies the product take-out announcement. Step S812: The mobile terminal 60 switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode and prompts for the cancellation of the product.

[0138] Although not shown in the figure, if the mobile terminal 60 does not receive the weighing result from the cart device 70 within the valid period after product registration (scanning), the mobile terminal 60 will display "Weight NG" in the column of the product in the registration information display area 642 (Fig. 6(E)). Also, in this case, the mobile terminal 60 will notify of the forgetting to put in announcement. Furthermore, if no product is taken out within the valid period after the cancellation operation, the mobile terminal 60 will notify of the forgetting to take out announcement. Also, if the cancellation of the product is not accepted within the valid period after taking out, the mobile terminal 60 will notify of the forgetting to cancel announcement.

[0139] (An example of the processing during the illegal input announcement performed by the mobile terminal 60) Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing during the illegal input announcement performed by the mobile terminal 60. Note that the processing shown in Fig. 9 is the processing performed during the notification of the illegal input announcement. Step S901: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has received the pressing of the notification end button 662 (Fig. 6(F)). If it has received the pressing of the notification end button 662 (Step S901: YES), it proceeds to Step S905. If it has not received the pressing of the notification end button 662 (Step S901: NO), it proceeds to Step S902.

[0140] Step S902: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether the weighing result (weighing value) received from the cart device 70 has decreased. If the weighing result has not decreased (Step S902: NO), it proceeds to Step S903. On the other hand, if the weighing result has decreased (Step S902: YES), that is, if the removal detection result is obtained during the notification of the illegal input announcement, in other words, if the customer notices the un-scanned item and takes it out of the shopping cart, the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to Step S904.

[0141] Step S903: The mobile terminal 60 continues the illegal input announcement as it is and returns to Step S901. Step S904: The mobile terminal 60 turns off the store clerk call flag. Step S905: The mobile terminal 60 ends the illegal insertion announcement and terminates the series of processes. Note that if the mobile terminal 60 determines in step S902 that the measurement result has decreased (step S902: YES), but ends the illegal insertion announcement without receiving the pressing of the notification end button 662, the product removal announcement is not made.

[0142] (An example of the processing during the product removal announcement performed by the mobile terminal 60) FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing during the product removal announcement performed by the mobile terminal 60. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 10 is the processing performed during the notification of the product removal announcement. Step S1001: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has received the pressing of the notification end button 672 (FIG. 6(G)). If it has received the pressing of the notification end button 672 (step S1001: YES), it proceeds to step S1007. If it has not received the pressing of the notification end button 672 (step S1001: NO), it proceeds to step S1002.

[0143] Step S1002: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has detected an un-scanned insertion operation. If it has not detected an un-scanned insertion operation (step S1002: NO), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to step S1003. If it has detected an un-scanned insertion operation (step S1002: YES), the mobile terminal 60 proceeds to step S1004.

[0144] Step S1003: The mobile terminal 60 continues the product removal announcement and returns to step S1001. Step S1004: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it is within a predetermined period (for example, within 5 seconds) after transitioning to the cancellation mode (after the start of the product removal announcement). If it is within the predetermined period after transitioning to the cancellation mode (Step S1004: YES), in other words, if the customer has sorted the products in the shopping basket (removed the products from the shopping basket and then put them back into the shopping basket), the process proceeds to Step S1007. If it is not within the predetermined period after transitioning to the cancellation mode (Step S1004: NO), in other words, if the customer cannot be considered to have sorted the products in the shopping basket, the process proceeds to Step S1005.

[0145] Step S1005: The mobile terminal 60 displays the illegal insertion announcement screen 660 (Fig. 6(F)) and notifies the illegal insertion announcement. Step S1006: The mobile terminal 60 turns on the store clerk call flag and proceeds to the process during the illegal insertion announcement performed by the mobile terminal 60 in Fig. 9. Note that in the case of Step S1004: NO, the process of Step S1003 (continuing the product removal announcement) may be advanced without performing the process of Step S1005 (notifying the illegal insertion announcement).

[0146] Step S1007: The mobile terminal 60 ends the product removal announcement. Note that even if the mobile terminal 60 has determined in Step S1002 that an unsampled insertion operation has been detected (Step S1002: YES), if the product removal announcement screen 670 (Fig. 6(G)) is ended without accepting the pressing of the notification end button 672, no illegal insertion announcement is made. Step S1008: The mobile terminal 60 switches from the cancellation mode to the registration mode and ends the series of processes.

[0147] (Regarding the screen example of the settlement device 50, etc.) Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the settlement device 50, etc. Fig. 11(A) shows the settlement screen 1110 when there is no product with NG weight. Specifically, the settlement screen 1110 shows the screen that has progressed from a scene such as Fig. 6(E) (for example, when both the ○○ food bread and the ○○ oolong tea have OK weight).

[0148] Figure 11(B) shows the settlement screen 1120 when there is a product with non-conforming weight. Specifically, the settlement screen 1120 shows a screen that progresses from a scenario where the ○○ bread has conforming weight and the ○○ oolong tea has non-conforming weight. The settlement screens 1110 and 1120 are displayed when the customer operates the settlement start button 651 (Fig. 6(E)) and causes the settlement device 50 (the scanner unit of the settlement device 50) to read the settlement code 681 (Fig. 6(H)) displayed on the mobile terminal 60 by this operation.

[0149] The flow from the reading of the settlement code 681 to the display of the product list screen is, for example, as follows. (1) The settlement device 50 that has read the settlement code 681 displayed on the mobile terminal 60 transmits request information including transaction identification information (information for identifying the transaction information of the mobile terminal 60) obtained from the settlement code 681 to the cloud server 20. (2) The cloud server 20 that has received the request information from the settlement device 50 generates the settlement screens 1110 and 1120 that reflect the content of the transaction information identified by the transaction identification information included in the request information, and transmits the screen information of the settlement screens 1110 and 1120 to the settlement device 50. The settlement screens 1110 and 1120 are screens that list and display the transaction information (including "conforming weight" and "non-conforming weight") registered by the mobile terminal 60. (3) The settlement device 50 that has received the screen information from the cloud server 20 displays the product list screen on the display unit based on the screen information.

[0150] Note that the cloud server 20 only needs to store transaction information regarding all the products registered by the mobile terminal 60 at the timing of receiving the request information from the settlement device 50. In other words, each time a product is registered by the mobile terminal 60, the cloud server 20 may receive information regarding the product (information regarding the measurement result) from the mobile terminal 60, or may receive, from the mobile terminal 60, information regarding all the products registered up to that point in a consolidated manner based on the operation of the settlement start button 651 (when displaying the settlement code 681).

[0151] In addition, the settlement device 50 determines whether the transaction information includes flag information indicating that the clerk call flag is ON. If the flag information is included, the settlement device 50 sends a clerk call notification to the transaction status management device 40. The clerk call notification includes the device identification information of the own device and information indicating a clerk call. The monitoring staff arranged in the transaction status management device 40 goes to the corresponding settlement device 50, checks the details of fraud or the like within the transaction, and takes necessary measures. The necessary measures are, for example, registering un-scanned products. The registration is performed on a maintenance screen for clerks or a screen transitioned from the maintenance screen.

[0152] Note that the determination of the presence or absence of the flag information may be made by the cloud server 20 instead of the settlement device 50. In this case, if the cloud server 20 determines that the flag information is included in the transaction information, the cloud server 20 may send a clerk call notification to the transaction status management device 40.

[0153] If the transaction information includes the flag information, the settlement device 50 may be configured not to complete the settlement process until the cause of fraud or the like is identified and the fraud or the like situation is resolved. For example, the settlement device 50 may be configured not to accept the operation of the accounting button 1111 (the button for accepting the issuance of a receipt).

[0154] Also, when identifying the cause of irregularities or the like and eliminating the situation of irregularities, the store clerk checks the information such as "Weight NG" displayed on the settlement device 50. Further, as information to assist the store clerk, when the transaction information includes flag information, the settlement device 50 may display the captured image on a maintenance screen or the like for a certain period of time. The captured image is, for example, three still images (or a moving image including the product input timing) before, during, and after the un-scanned product is put into the cart. Also, the captured image may be two still images (or a moving image including the product cancellation timing) before and after the cancellation of the product (5 seconds after the product cancellation).

[0155] Thereby, the store clerk can easily find the corresponding product (for example, the un-scanned product to be registered, the cancelled product to be removed) from the shopping cart. Also, the store clerk compares the number of products with the number of the product registered in the transaction details, and if there is a discrepancy, performs an operation of registering (increasing the quantity) or cancelling (decreasing the quantity) the product to match the content of the transaction details with the content of the shopping cart, and may eliminate the situation of irregularities or the like. Note that the still images and moving images described above are captured images captured by the mobile terminal 60, transmitted from the mobile terminal 60 to the cloud server 20, and further transmitted from the cloud server 20 to the settlement device 50.

[0156] (When the connection to the cart device 70 is disconnected during the registration of the product) During the registration of the product (after the operation of the first shopping start button 621a and before the operation of the settlement start button 651), the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 may be disconnected. The disconnection may occur, for example, when the mobile terminal 60 is removed from the cart device 70 and separated from the cart device 70 to some extent. Also, the disconnection may include, among other things, the case where Bluetooth is deactivated in the settings of the mobile terminal 60, or the case where the mobile terminal 60 or the cart device 70 malfunctions or the power is turned off. Even if it is disconnected, the mobile terminal 60 attempts to reconnect in the background, so it will be reconnected if the distance to the cart device 70 becomes close.

[0157] Specifically, even if the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 is disconnected during the registration of a product, the product registration can be continued. For example, even if the connection with the cart device 70 is disconnected after registering one item of ○○ food bread, as shown in FIGS. 11(C) and 11(D), it is possible to register two items of ○○ oolong tea. Note that FIG. 11(C) shows the scene immediately after registering ○○ oolong tea (immediately after scanning the barcode of ○○ oolong tea) (the scene before ○○ oolong tea is put into the cart device 70). FIG. 11(D) shows the scene after ○○ oolong tea has been put into the cart device 70.

[0158] On the registration screens 1130 and 1140 shown in FIGS. 11(C) and 11(D), the cart image 644 (FIG. 6(D)) indicating that it is connected to the cart device 70 is not displayed. Also, in the column for ○○ oolong tea, it is indicated that it is not connected to the cart device 70 (the text "not connected"). Note that instead of or in addition to indicating that it is not connected to the cart device 70, the mobile terminal 60 may display that there is no check by weighing (for example, the text "no weight check" or the text "no check").

[0159] Note that the information during disconnection (not connected, no weight check, no check) is also transmitted as transaction information to the cloud server 20 and the settlement device 50. FIG. 11(E) shows the settlement screen 1150 that has progressed from the scene in FIG. 11(D). On the settlement screen 1150, "not connected" is displayed in the column for ○○ oolong tea.

[0160] As described above, in the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the portable terminal 60 detects the removal of a product after detecting an un-scanned insertion operation (for example, during an announcement of illegal insertion), it does not make a product removal announcement. Thereby, even if a customer accidentally puts an un-scanned product into the shopping basket and then takes it out of the shopping basket to register the product, it is possible to prevent a product removal announcement corresponding to the removal from being made. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, suppress excessive notifications of product removal announcements, and notify appropriate product removal announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the announcement of product removal hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0161] Also, in the present embodiment, when the portable terminal 60 detects an un-scanned insertion operation within a predetermined period after detecting the removal of a product (for example, during a product removal announcement), it does not notify an illegal insertion announcement. Thereby, even if a customer reorganizes the products in the shopping basket (takes out a product from the shopping basket and inserts it into the shopping basket again), it is possible to prevent an illegal insertion announcement corresponding to the insertion of the product from being made. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of illegal insertion announcements, that is, suppress excessive notifications of illegal insertion announcements, and notify appropriate illegal insertion announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the announcement of illegal insertion hinders comfortable shopping.

[0162] Also, in the present embodiment, when the portable terminal 60 detects the removal of a product in the registration mode, it switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode. Thereby, when the portable terminal 60 detects the removal of a product, it can allow the customer to cancel the product quickly and easily.

[0163] Also, in this embodiment, after the mobile terminal 60 switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode, if an un-scanned input operation is detected within a predetermined period, it switches from the cancellation mode to the registration mode. As a result, when a customer arranges the products in the shopping cart (takes out the products from the shopping cart and then puts them back into the shopping cart again), even if the customer enters the cancellation mode due to taking out the products, the customer can return to the registration mode by putting the products into the shopping cart. Therefore, when the products in the shopping cart are arranged, the products can be registered as they are after the arrangement. Therefore, appropriate shopping can be supported.

[0164] (Modifications of the Embodiment) Next, modifications of the embodiment will be described. In the following description, the content described in the above-described embodiment will be omitted as appropriate. Also, it is possible to combine each of the following modifications and the above-described embodiment.

[0165] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the mobile terminal 60 acquires connection information from the connection cord 78 when connecting to the cart device 70 has been described. In a modification of the embodiment, instead of or in addition to such a configuration, an example in which the mobile terminal 60 acquires connection information from the NFC tag 79 when making the connection will be described.

[0166] In the modification, the mobile terminal 60 acquires (receives) connection information from the NFC tag 79 attached to each cart device 70. For example, when the mobile terminal 60 is set in the holder portion 74 of the cart device 70 by the customer, the mobile terminal 60 receives the connection information of the cart device 70 from the NFC tag 79 attached to the holder portion 74.

[0167] (An Example of the Operation of the Mobile Terminal 60 According to the Modification of the Embodiment) FIG. 12A is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the mobile terminal 60 according to a modified form of the embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 12A shows the flow from when a customer comes to the store with the mobile terminal 60 until the payment code display screen 680 (FIG. 6(H)) is displayed after the mobile terminal 60 is connected to the cart device 70 using the NFC tag 79. Note that at the start of this flowchart (when coming to the store), it is assumed that the mobile terminal 60 is displaying the initial screen 610 (FIG. 6(A)).

[0168] Step S31: The mobile terminal 60 determines whether it has received connection information (device identification information of the cart device 70) for connecting to the cart device 70. For example, when the customer sets the mobile terminal 60 on the cart device 70 (holder unit 74), the connection information of the cart device 70 (the set cart device 70) is received from the NFC tag 79 (IC tag communication unit) attached to the holder unit 74. If the connection information is received (Step S31: YES), the process proceeds to Step S32. If the connection information has not been received (Step S31: NO), Step S31 is repeated.

[0169] Step S32: The mobile terminal 60 pairs with and connects to the cart device 70. Step S33: The mobile terminal 60 transmits information regarding the cart device 70 to the cloud server 20. Thereby, the administrator can, for example, monitor the information of the cart device 70 in the transaction status management device 40 and appropriately perform maintenance on the cart device 70.

[0170] Note that even if the mobile terminal 60 has received the connection information from the cart device 70 (Step S31: YES) but fails to connect to the cart device 70, the cart device 70 can be uniquely identified from the connection information. Therefore, the mobile terminal 60 may transmit connection failure information indicating that the connection has failed to the cloud server 20.

[0171] Step S34: When the connection is completed, the mobile terminal 60 displays a connection completion screen (not shown) indicating that. Step S35: The mobile terminal 60 receives a shopping app startup operation on the connection completion screen.

[0172] Step S36: The mobile terminal 60 displays the menu screen 620 (Fig. 6(B)). Step S37: The mobile terminal 60 receives an operation on the first shopping start button 621a on the menu screen 620. Note that in the modified form, since it is obvious that shopping is performed in a mode using the cart device 70, the second shopping start button 621b may not be displayed on the menu screen 620 according to the modified form.

[0173] Step S38: The mobile terminal 60 transmits the tax invoice instruction information to the cart device 70. Step S39: The mobile terminal 60 displays the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)).

[0174] Hereinafter, since Steps S11 to S14 in Fig. 12A are the same as Steps S11 to S14 in Fig. 7, the description is omitted.

[0175] According to the modified form of the embodiment, the customer can connect the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 simply by setting the mobile terminal 60 on the cart device 70 (holder unit 74) without performing a reading operation of the connection code 78. Therefore, the customer can more easily connect the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70.

[0176] (Modification example, etc.) As described above, although each embodiment has been described, the configuration of the device, the configuration of the data, the processing flow, the display and output modes, etc. can be appropriately changed as shown in, for example, the following (1) to (30). Also, the following (1) to (30) can be appropriately combined with each other.

[0177] (1) Product registration from the product preset button. In the above embodiment, an example where product registration is performed by reading a barcode with the camera 207 has been described, but it is not limited to this. For example, product registration may be performed by displaying buttons (product preset buttons) corresponding to individual products on the display 206 and accepting the pressing of the buttons, instead of or in addition to reading the barcode. It should be noted that adding the quantity can also be regarded as product registration for the same product. Adding the quantity is performed by accepting the pressing of a quantity change button for the already registered product (for example, the "×1" part shown in FIG. 6(E) etc.).

[0178] (2) Other examples of the display position of the cart image 644. In the above embodiment, an example where the cart image 644 (FIG. 6(D)) indicating that it is connected to the cart device 70 (communicable) is displayed in the upper right of the captured image display area 641 has been described, but it is not limited to this. The cart image 644 may be displayed, for example, at a position where it does not get in the way more during the display of the captured image (visual recognition of the captured image). For example, the cart image 644 may be displayed in the related information display area 622 (FIG. 6(B)) at the bottom of the screen.

[0179] (3) Other examples of notifying that it is connected to the cart device 70. In the above embodiment, an example where the fact that it is connected to the cart device 70 is actively notified to the customer by the cart image 644 has been described, but it does not have to be actively notified. For example, the fact that it is connected to the cart device 70 may be notified by changing the display color (background color etc.) of part or all of the related information display area 622. That is, the customer may not be made aware of whether the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 are connected or not.

[0180] (4) Other examples related to the affixing of the connection code 78. In the above-described embodiment, the connection cord 78 has been described as an example of being attached to the mobile terminal charging unit 75, but it is not limited to this. The connection cord 78 may be attached at a location different from the mobile terminal charging unit 75. For example, one or more connection cords 78 may be attached at a location other than the mobile terminal charging unit 75 of the cart device 70, or may be attached on (overlapping) the NFC tag 79.

[0181] (5) Another example related to the attachment of the NFC tag 79. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which one NFC tag 79 is attached to the holder portion 74 has been described, but it is not limited to this. Two or more NFC tags 79 may be attached to the holder portion 74. Also, one or more NFC tags 79 may be attached at a location other than the holder portion 74 of the cart device 70.

[0182] Also, in relation to the above (4) and (5), it is sufficient that at least one of the connection cord 78 and the NFC tag 79 is attached. For example, when the mobile terminal 60 is connected to the cart device 70 using the connection cord 78, in other words, when the mobile terminal 60 does not use the NFC tag 79, the NFC tag 79 does not have to be attached to the cart device 70. Also, when the mobile terminal 60 is connected to the cart device 70 using the NFC tag 79, in other words, when the mobile terminal 60 does not use the connection cord 78, the connection cord 78 does not have to be attached to the cart device 70.

[0183] (6) Display of the menu screen 620 considering location information and the like. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the menu screen 620 (FIG. 6(B)) is displayed by operating the shopping app icon 611 (FIG. 6(A)) has been described, but in addition to this, it may be displayed in consideration of location information. Specifically, when the mobile terminal 60 compares the location information (GPS information) of its own terminal with the location information of the target store (the store visited) at the time of starting the shopping app and determines that it is within the store entry range, the menu screen 620 may be displayed. The determination of whether it is within the store entry range may be made by receiving the beacon (such as a wireless LAN) of the target store (the store visited).

[0184] (7) Omission of the connection completion screen (S34 in FIG. 12A). In the modified form of the above embodiment, when connecting to the cart device 70 using the NFC tag 79, an example of displaying the connection completion screen (S34 in FIG. 12A) has been described, but this screen may be omitted. Specifically, in the above modified form, an example of the transition of the initial screen 610 (FIG. 6(A)) → connection completion screen (S34 in FIG. 12A) → menu screen 620 (S36 in FIG. 12A) has been described, but it is not limited to this. Instead, the transition may be from the initial screen 610 → menu screen 620. That is, when the mobile terminal 60 connects to the cart device 70, the menu screen 620 may be displayed as it is.

[0185] (8) Other output examples of information regarding the weighing result and information regarding the connection. In the above embodiment, examples of information regarding the weighing result ("weight OK", "weight NG", "no weight confirmation", "no check", etc.) and information regarding the connection to the cart device 70 at the time of registration ("not connected") being displayed on the display 206 of the mobile terminal 60 and the display of the settlement device 50 have been described, but it is not limited to this. Information regarding the weighing result and information regarding the connection may be displayed on the receipt. The receipt includes a paper receipt and an electronic receipt. Also, information regarding the weighing result and information regarding the connection may be recorded in the transaction history (log) or the electronic journal.

[0186] Also, the judgment result based on the captured image may also be stored in the transaction history or the electronic journal. The judgment result based on the captured image includes, for example, a judgment result indicating the input of an unscanned item into the cart device 70, a judgment result indicating the non-cancellation of an item taken out from the cart device 70, a judgment result indicating the non-removal of a cancellation target item from the cart device 70, and a judgment result indicating the non-input of a scanned item into the cart device 70. In this way, by storing various judgment results as transaction histories, etc., fraud detection based on weighing and fraud detection based on images can be aggregated at various cut-off points such as by customer layer, day, month, year, store, etc., and thus can also be used as an indicator for store operation.

[0187] Another example of the information to be displayed. In the above embodiment, an example of displaying information regarding the weighing result and connection information for each product has been described, but it is not limited to this. For example, when a specific condition is satisfied, a message to that effect may be displayed at a specific location (e.g., the upper part) of a predetermined screen. The specific condition is, for example, a condition that the registered quantity of a specific product is equal to or more than a predetermined quantity. The specific product is, for example, a product that requires confirmation such as an un-scanned input product, an un-cancelled taken-out product (a product with a store clerk call flag set), or a product with "not connected (no weight confirmation, no check)". Note that the specific product may be limited to a product that causes a disadvantage to the store. In other words, for example, a product forgotten to be input after product registration or a product forgotten to be taken out after product cancellation may be excluded from the specific products. The predetermined screen is, for example, the registration screen 650 (Fig. 6(E)) of the mobile terminal 60, the settlement code display screen 680 (Fig. 6(H)) of the mobile terminal 60, or the settlement screen 1110 (Fig. 11(A)) of the settlement device 50.

[0188] Note that the specific condition may be a condition that the total amount of a specific product is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. Also, the specific condition may be a condition that the ratio (quantity ratio or amount ratio) of a specific product to all products is equal to or more than a predetermined ratio. The fact that the specific condition is satisfied is not limited to being displayed on a predetermined screen, and may be recorded in a transaction history or an electronic journal.

[0189] Also, when the specific condition is satisfied, the settlement device 50 may cause the sign pole to emit light in a manner of notifying that fact, or may transmit a notification indicating that fact to the transaction status management device 40 or the store clerk's mobile terminal. Further, the settlement device 50 may display the fact that the specific condition is satisfied on the receipt. The receipt includes a paper receipt and an electronic receipt.

[0190] Also, in the sales system 1 equipped with an exit gate device arranged in the store, when a specific condition is satisfied, the exit gate device may notify that fact by sound or light, or may restrict the passage of customers. The exit gate device can also be configured to permit exit by reading an exit code (barcode or two-dimensional code) displayed on a medium indicating the completion of settlement (for example, a receipt or the mobile terminal 60). In such a configuration, the exit gate device may notify that a specific condition is satisfied by reading the exit code.

[0191] Whether to notify that a specific condition is satisfied may be managed or controlled for each time period or for each customer. Such notification may be, for example, a screen display on the mobile terminal 60 or the settlement device 50, the emission of light from a signpost, a screen display on the transaction status management device 40 or the store clerk's mobile terminal, or a notification on the exit gate device.

[0192] (10) Example of weight check. The weight check may be performed, for example, as follows.

[0193] (Weight check method 1: Weight excluding tare weight) In the case where the weight of all products excluding the tare weight is transmitted from the cart device 70 to the mobile terminal 60 as a measurement result, the mobile terminal 60 stores the weight received from the cart device 70 last time (for example, the weight of ○○ food bread). The mobile terminal 60 calculates the difference between the weight received last time and the weight received this time (for example, the weight of ○○ food bread + ○○ oolong tea), compares the difference weight with the product weight of ○○ oolong tea, and displays the comparison result. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may determine whether the difference between the difference weight and the product weight is within a predetermined range, and if it is within the predetermined range, display normal, and if it is not within the predetermined range, display abnormal. The same applies to the following weight check methods 2 and 3.

[0194] Note that the mobile terminal 60 may obtain the product weight by querying the device that stores the product weight master. The product weight master is a file that associates the product code with the product weight and may be a part of the product master. The device that stores the product weight master may be the cloud server 20 or the device itself. The same applies to the following weight check methods 2 and 3.

[0195] Also, the calculation of the differential weight and the comparison of the product weight may be performed by the cart device 70. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may send the product weight (weight on the master) registered this time to the cart device 70, and the cart device 70 may compare the differential weight calculated by itself with the product weight received from the mobile terminal 60. The same applies to the calculation of the differential weight in weight check method 2, the comparison with the product weight, and the comparison of the product weight in weight check method 3.

[0196] (Weight check method 2: Weight including tare weight) When the weight of all products including the tare weight is transmitted from the cart device 70 to the mobile terminal 60 as the measurement result, the mobile terminal 60 stores the weight received from the cart device 70 last time (for example, the weight of the tare + ○○ sliced bread). The mobile terminal 60 calculates the difference between the weight received last time and the weight received this time (for example, the weight of the tare + ○○ sliced bread + ○○ oolong tea), compares the differential weight with the product weight of ○○ oolong tea, and displays the comparison result.

[0197] (Weight check method 3: Increase or decrease value of weight) When the increase or decrease value of the weight of all products is transmitted from the cart device 70 to the mobile terminal 60 as the measurement result, the mobile terminal 60 compares the weight received this time with the product weight of ○○ oolong tea and displays the comparison result.

[0198] (11) Conditions for disconnecting the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70. In the above embodiment, the disconnection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 has been described by taking as an example the case where the disconnection is performed by accepting an operation of the settlement start button 651, but the present invention is not limited to this. The disconnection may be conditioned on any of the following a to e, for example. a: The settlement device 50 reads the settlement code 681. Note that the fact that the settlement device 50 has read the settlement code 681 may be transmitted from the settlement device 50 → the cloud server 20 → the mobile terminal 60. Specifically, when the settlement device 50 reads the settlement code 681, it transmits predetermined request information to the cloud server 20. When the cloud server 20 receives the request information, it transmits a disconnection notification indicating that the settlement device 50 has read the settlement code 681 to the mobile terminal 60. When the mobile terminal 60 receives the disconnection notification, it disconnects the connection to the cart device 70. b: Settlement is completed in the settlement device 50. Note that the fact that settlement has been completed in the settlement device 50 may be transmitted from the settlement device 50 → the cloud server 20 → the mobile terminal 60. Specifically, when the settlement device 50 reads the settlement code 681, it transmits predetermined request information to the cloud server 20. When the cloud server 20 receives the request information, it transmits a disconnection notification indicating that settlement has been completed to the mobile terminal 60. c: When a store exit gate device is installed in the store, the customer passes through the store exit gate device. Note that the fact that the customer has passed through the store exit gate device may be transmitted from the store exit gate device → the cloud server 20 → the mobile terminal 60. The store exit gate device may recognize that each customer has passed through, for example, by reading the exit code displayed on the medium (for example, a receipt or the mobile terminal 60) in (9) above. d: The cart device 70 has been returned to the cart collection area. The return may be determined by the mobile terminal 60 based on location information (for example, GPS or beacon), or may be determined by the cart device 70. For example, when charging is started at the cart collection area, the cart device 70 may determine that it has been returned and transmit a disconnection notification indicating that to the mobile terminal 60. e: Having left the store. The mobile terminal 60 can determine that the user has left the store based on location information (for example, GPS or beacon).

[0199] When disconnection control for disconnecting the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 is performed by operating the actuarial start button 651 or by any of a to e above, the retry control for the connection is stopped. In other words, until the disconnection control is executed, the status requires a BT connection. Therefore, for example, if the connection is interrupted, such as by removing the cart device 70 and reading the barcode of the shelf label, the mobile terminal 60 executes retry control (reconnection) with the cart device 70 based on the connection information.

[0200] Since retry control generally consumes a large amount of power, it is necessary to limit its execution as much as possible. In that regard, performing disconnection control clarifies the timing when the BT connection becomes unnecessary. As a result, unnecessary retry control can be suppressed, and the battery consumption can be reduced.

[0201] (12) Example of using the cart device 70 that has failed to connect. In the above embodiment, an example of outputting a message such as "The cart may be malfunctioning. Please use another cart" when the connection to the cart device 70 fails has been described, but it is not limited to this. For example, although related to (11) above and (13) below, the cart device 70 that has failed to connect may be used.

[0202] Although the metering function of the cart device 70 aims to improve security such as detecting fraud, it does not mean that shopping cannot be done. That is, even if it is determined that the connection is impossible as a result of repeatedly requesting a connection between the cart device 70 and the mobile terminal 60, the customer may be able to use the cart device 70. For example, even if the connection cannot be made, the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)) may be transitioned to.

[0203] However, the mobile terminal 60 (shopping app) may continuously and periodically retry connection requests in the background. Since it is an operation in the background, there is no difference in the external behavior compared to the case of connection establishment. That is, even if the connection to the cart device 70 fails, i.e., even if the weighing function of the cart device 70 cannot be used, customers are not forced to perform any special operations.

[0204] (13) Example of accepting product registration even when not connected to the cart device 70. In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the mobile terminal 60 starts product registration after connecting to the cart device 70. In other words, product registration was prohibited before connecting to the cart device 70, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0205] The mobile terminal 60 may be configured to start product registration even when not connected to the cart device 70. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may be configured to start product registration even when not connected in response to a customer's operation. Specifically, when the connection to the cart device 70 fails, a small screen with a "Do not connect" button arranged on the front of the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)) may be displayed, and when there is an operation of the "Do not connect" button, product registration may be started.

[0206] Alternatively, the mobile terminal 60 may be configured to start product registration without displaying the above small screen. The above small screen may be displayed according to the date and time (time zone). Specifically, the mobile terminal 60 may control whether to start product registration based on the operation of the "Do not connect" button by displaying the small screen or to start product registration without displaying the small screen according to the date and time (time zone).

[0207] Further, the small screen may be displayed according to the settings of the store. Specifically, when the connection to the cart device 70 fails, the mobile terminal 60 may control, according to the store settings, whether to (a) prohibit the registration of products, (b) display the small screen and enable the start of product registration based on the operation of the "Do not connect" button, or (c) enable the start of product registration without displaying the small screen. The above (a) to (c) may be set for each date and time (time zone) or for each customer.

[0208] When the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 is disconnected during product registration, the mobile terminal 60 may prohibit product registration or prohibit the input of products into the cart device 70. When the connection between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 is disconnected during product registration, according to the store settings, it may be controlled whether to (a) enable continuous product registration, (b) prohibit product registration, or (c) prohibit the input of products into the cart device 70. The above (a) to (c) may be set for each date and time (time zone) or for each customer.

[0209] In the above (9), an example of notifying that a specific condition is satisfied (that the number of products is equal to or more than a predetermined number, that the total amount of a specific product is equal to or more than a predetermined amount, or that the ratio of a specific product to all products is equal to or more than a predetermined ratio) has been described. Instead of or in addition to this, a notification regarding non-connection may be made. The notification regarding non-connection includes, for example, that the non-connection time is equal to or more than a predetermined time, that the ratio of the non-connection time to the total shopping time is equal to or more than a predetermined ratio, or that registration has been started while remaining non-connected. Whether to make a notification regarding non-connection may be managed (set) and controlled for each time zone and for each customer.

[0210] (14) Shortening the time until the initial registration screen 640 is displayed. In the above-described embodiment, the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)) has been described as an example that is displayed on the condition that the connection to the cart device 70 is completed (or when not connected), but it is not limited to this. The initial registration screen 640 may be displayed on the condition that the connection code 78 has been read (at the time when the connection code has been read). Thereby, the time until the initial registration screen 640 is displayed can be shortened.

[0211] Note that when the mobile terminal 60 (shopping app) connects to the cart device 70, a connection request is made to the cart device 70. If the connection to the cart device 70 cannot be established with a single connection request, a retry of the connection request is performed. In one retry within the retry period in which multiple retries are performed, the connection may be completed, or the connection may not be possible after the retry period has ended. If the specification is such that the registration screen is transitioned after the retry period has elapsed, there is a risk that product registration cannot be started quickly. That is, the operability is poor and inconvenient. Therefore, the mobile terminal 60 is configured to transition to the registration screen on the condition that the connection code has been read, rather than waiting for the actual establishment of the connection after reading the connection code. Thereby, since the transition to the registration screen is immediate, product registration can be started quickly.

[0212] Also, when the connection to the cart device 70 cannot be established due to an abnormality of the cart device 70 (for example, a failure of the cart communication unit, power OFF, etc.), similarly, if the determination of connection establishment or connection failure after the retry period ends is made a condition for product registration, the customer needs to wait for product registration until it is determined that the connection is impossible after the retry period. On the other hand, if reading the connection code is made a condition for product registration, the wasted waiting time until it is determined that the connection is impossible after the retry period is eliminated.

[0213] (15) Combined use of scale without cart. The cart device 70 is expensive. Specifically, since the cart device 70 includes a weighing unit (measurement unit 303), a communication unit with the mobile terminal 60 (cart communication unit 304), a power supply unit, a control unit, etc., it is more expensive than a general shopping cart. Many stores such as supermarkets need to prepare a large number of shopping carts in the sales floor so as not to be insufficient even when there are many customers. However, it is a heavy burden for the store to install the weighing unit 303 in all shopping carts. Therefore, it is conceivable that there are cases where shopping carts equipped with the weighing unit 303 (hereinafter referred to as "weighing carts") and shopping carts not equipped with the weighing unit (hereinafter referred to as "non - weighing carts") are mixed. In a sales floor where weighing carts and non - weighing carts are mixed, the operation start method of the mobile terminal 60 will be different.

[0214] The shopping app cannot proceed with the status (for example, cannot transition the screen) without reading the connection code 78. Therefore, in the non - weighing cart, shopping using the app cannot be performed. Here, a method can be considered where the appearance of the non - weighing cart and the weighing cart is made different so that customers can distinguish them, and the customer discriminates the cart and the shopping app accepts a selection operation for the non - weighing cart or the weighing cart. However, this method is inconvenient and unacceptable in terms of operation. As a method to solve this, it may be used as a start condition for the non - weighing cart to attach a two - dimensional code in the same way as the weighing cart and let the two - dimensional code be read. Thereby, even when using a non - weighing cart, the same operation as that of a weighing cart becomes possible.

[0215] Note that the two - dimensional code attached to the non - weighing cart is a disconnection code, not the connection code 78. When the mobile terminal 60 (shopping app) reads the disconnection code in a state where it is not connected to the weighing cart, it transitions to the initial registration screen 640 (Fig. 6(D)), and the shopping becomes possible.

[0216] Also, assume that while connected to a cart with a scale, the shopping app reads the cutting code attached to the cart without a scale. In this case, the connection with the cart with a scale may be terminated (disconnected), and the shopping-enabled state may be maintained as it is. By enabling the shopping app to read the cutting code while connected to a cart with a scale in this way, it is possible to suitably handle customers who exchange shopping carts during shopping. Examples of reasons for exchanging the shopping cart include various reasons such as the caster or handle of the shopping cart being in poor condition and unable to be transported (moved). Even in such a case, the customer can transfer the shopping basket from the cart with a scale to the cart without a scale and change the shopping cart during shopping. However, if the connection state with the cart with a scale before the change is maintained, various problems may occur. Therefore, the mobile terminal 60 and the cart with a scale are disconnected by reading the cutting code.

[0217] In addition, assume that while the cart without a scale is being used, the shopping app reads the connection code attached to the cart with a scale. In this case, the app may connect to the cart with a scale and maintain the shopping-enabled state as it is.

[0218] (16) Inquiry about the presence or absence of a cart with a scale. In relation to the above (15), the operation of the shopping app may be varied based on whether a cart with a scale (cart device 70) exists in the target store (the store visited). For example, when the shopping app receives an activation operation of the icon 611 (Fig. 6(A)), it inquires of the cloud server 20 whether a cart with a scale exists in the store visited (the target store). When a cart with a scale exists in the target store, the shopping app displays a menu screen (e.g., the menu screen 620 in Fig. 6(B)) where the connection with the cart with a scale can be selected. On the other hand, when no cart with a scale exists in the target store, the shopping app may display a menu screen (not shown) where the connection with the cart with a scale cannot be selected.

[0219] Alternatively, after the startup operation, the shopping app determines whether it is within the entry range of the target store (as described in (6) above). When it is within the entry range of the target store and there is a scale-equipped cart at the target store, a menu screen that allows selection of connection to the scale-equipped cart is displayed. When it is within the entry range of the target store but there is no scale-equipped cart at the target store, a menu screen that does not allow selection of connection to the scale-equipped cart may be displayed. When the shopping app displays a menu screen that does not allow selection of connection to the scale-equipped cart, subsequent control related to connection to the scale-equipped cart (such as Bluetooth control) is not performed.

[0220] (17) Detection of movement of the cart device 70 by utilization of an acceleration sensor or the like. As described above, since the mobile terminal 60 is equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, it is possible to determine whether the mobile terminal 60 itself or the cart device 70 on which the own terminal is set is in motion or at rest. Note that instead of or in addition to the mobile terminal 60, the cart device 70 itself may be equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor to determine whether it is in motion or at rest. That is, the mobile terminal 60 may acquire the sensing results of the acceleration sensor and the gyro sensor and determine whether the cart device 70 is in motion or at rest.

[0221] By determining whether the cart device 70 is in motion (moving state) or stationary (stationary state), it is possible to suppress misjudgments that, for example, misjudge something as being improper when it is actually not, and improve the accuracy (validity, reliability) of the judgment. For example, even though no product is actually being put in, if there is a sudden acceleration or deceleration (including starting and stopping of movement), or if the vibration becomes large due to reasons such as a bad caster condition, the measured value of the weighing unit 303 may change, and there is a possibility of misjudging that a product has been put into the cart device 70. That is, there is a possibility of misjudging that a product has been put into the cart device 70 that has not been scanned yet. In contrast, by using the above sensing result, the cart device 70 can be judged to be in motion, that is, it can be judged that the change in the measured value is due to vibration during movement, and the change in the measured value can be ignored (hereinafter referred to as "ignore control").

[0222] By means of ignore control, in order not to become a breeding ground for fraud instead, the measured value before the start of movement may be memorized, compared with the measured value after the end of movement (when stationary), and the presence or absence of improper input during movement (from the start of movement to the end of movement) may be monitored. This monitoring may be performed by the mobile terminal 60 or by the cart device 70. When the measured value increases during movement, the mobile terminal 60 may display a message such as, for example, "Was the product registered correctly? If the registration could not be done correctly, please read the barcode again." Also, when the measured value increases during movement and there is no product registration during movement, the mobile terminal 60 may display a message such as, for example, "Since the registration could not be done correctly, please read the barcode again." Or a clerk call flag (which may be a dedicated clerk call flag indicating that a scanned product has not been put in) may be set in the transaction information of the transaction. Also, the mobile terminal 60 may prompt for product registration after coming to a stop during movement. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may display a message such as, for example, "Moving. Please register the product after stopping the cart" during movement.

[0223] (18) Ignore control by accepting a declaration of basket sorting. Although related to the above (17), the measured value may also change when the contents of the shopping basket are organized (such as changing the position of each item in the shopping basket) or when the contents of the shopping basket are checked (such as checking whether an item has been purchased or not). In order to prevent it from being determined that it is just the input of scanned goods to the cart device 70 when only organizing the contents of the shopping basket, etc., buttons for accepting a declaration of basket organization (a basket organization start button, a basket organization end button) are arranged on the screen of the mobile terminal 60 (for example, the registration screen), and during the declaration of basket organization (from the operation of the basket organization start button to the operation of the basket organization end button), the customer may be allowed to organize the basket, etc. The mobile terminal 60 executes ignore control during the declaration of basket organization. Also, similar to the case of movement, the measured value before the start of basket organization (when operating the basket organization start button) is stored, compared with the measured value after the end of basket organization (when operating the basket organization end button), and the presence or absence of illegal input during the declaration of basket organization may be monitored.

[0224] (19) In-air settlement. When registering goods using the cart device 70, settlement without using the checkout device 50 (for example, so-called in-air settlement using a credit card, etc.) may be permitted. Also, when registering goods without using the cart device 70, only settlement using the checkout device 50 may be recognized. Depending on the number or ratio of specific goods in the above (9), the unconnected time, and whether registration was started while unconnected, it may be determined (decided) whether to permit settlement without using the checkout device 50.

[0225] Note that even when not using the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70, operations on the icon 611 of the shopping app are accepted from the initial screen 610 (Fig. 6(A)). Then, when the mobile terminal 60 accepts an operation on the icon 611, it displays the menu screen 620 (Fig. 6(B)). Since it is not connected to the cart device 70, the cart image 644 is not displayed on the menu screen 620 (and the same applies to the registration screen 650 that transitions from the menu screen 620, etc.) displayed by the operation of the icon 611.

[0226] (20) Use of the cart device 70 for full self-checkout. The cart device 70 may be used as a scale for a so-called full self-checkout register (for example, a registration settlement device, a full self-checkout mode registration settlement device). The cart device 70 is connected to the full self-checkout register and measures the products registered at the full self-checkout register. Note that in the mode where the cart device 70 is used as a so-called full self-checkout register, the mobile terminal 60 is not used, that is, the cart device 70 and the mobile terminal 60 are not connected.

[0227] (21) Example where the cart device 70 includes a display unit. The cart device 70 may not include the weighing unit 303. That is, the cart device 70 may be a cart without a scale as described in (15) above. Further, the cart device 70 may include a display unit instead of or in addition to the weighing unit 303. Information regarding products etc. registered by the connected mobile terminal 60 (for example, additional information of the registered products, recommended product information related to the registered products, etc.) and information corresponding to the position of the connected mobile terminal 60 (recommended product information in the product display area) etc. may be displayed on the display unit of the cart device 70. That is, the details of the scanned and registered products may be displayed (notified) on the mobile terminal 60 (shopping app), and supplementary information and advertising information may be displayed on the display mounted on the cart device 70. Further, information indicating that the cart device 70 is connected to the mobile terminal 60 (for example, an image etc.) may be displayed on the display unit of the cart device 70. Further, the display unit of the cart device 70 may notify various announcements.

[0228] (22) Example where the cart device 70 is connected to the LAN 19. The cart device 70 may be connectable to a network (for example, LAN 19) by, for example, a wireless LAN.

[0229] (23) Rental terminal. In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal 60 has been described as the customer's possession, but it is not limited to this. The mobile terminal 60 may be a terminal prepared by the store (rental terminal). The rental terminal is prepared as a dedicated terminal in a state where only the shopping app can be executed. In a configuration where it is connected to the cart device 70 using the connection code 78, the rental terminal displays the menu screen 620 from the beginning without accepting the operation of the shopping app icon 611 (FIG. 6(A)).

[0230] Also, the rental terminal may not be separate from the cart device 70 and may be a part of the cart device 70. In other words, the cart device 70 may include the mobile terminal 60 (rental terminal). Regardless of whether the mobile terminal 60 is separate from or a part of the cart device 70, the operation after connection (for example, monitoring for fraud, etc.) is the same. That is, although the part related to BT control (BT connection, BT communication) is different, other parts are common regardless of whether the mobile terminal 60 is separate from or a part of the cart device 70.

[0231] (24) Communication without encryption. The state of establishing communication between the mobile terminal 60 using Bluetooth and the cart device 70 has been expressed as pairing, but it is not limited to encrypted communication and may be communication without encryption. Also, it may be so-called bonding in which a key exchange protocol for encryption is executed and the key is saved for communication. That is, the pairing referred to in the present application refers to a state where Bluetooth communication is established, and its detailed mode is not questioned.

[0232] (25) Example where the functional parts of each device are provided in other devices. Some or all of the functions (input / output, storage, processing (including determination)) in each device (e.g., the transaction status management device 40, the settlement device 50, the mobile terminal 60, etc.) may be realized in another device different from the device described as the execution entity of the function. For example, each device may function as a so-called thin client specialized in an interface for input / output or the like. As an example, a program for controlling the operation of each device may be executed by a cloud server (which may be the same as the cloud server 20 or another cloud server), and each device may display a screen or the like by means of a browsing function. As an example, the cloud server 20 may control the display of the screen (such as FIG. 6) and the operation (such as FIG. 7) of the mobile terminal 60. That is, a program (shopping app) for controlling the operation related to the service of the mobile terminal 60 may operate on the CPU of the mobile terminal 60 or on the CPU of the cloud server 20. In other words, the shopping app may be a web application used using a browser.

[0233] Here, as an example of an information processing device, the cloud server 20 will be described. The cloud server 20 includes a reading result acquisition unit 501, a registration unit 502, a detection result acquisition unit 503, an operation detection unit 504, a notification unit 505, a mode setting unit 506, and a cancellation unit 507. Each unit is realized by a CPU included in the cloud server 20. That is, by the CPU executing a predetermined program (announcement notification program) stored in the memory, the functions of each unit are realized.

[0234] The reading result acquisition unit 501 acquires (receives) the reading result of the product code from the mobile terminal 60 (camera 207). The registration unit 502 registers the product based on the reading result acquired by the reading result acquisition unit 501. The detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires the detection results (input detection result and removal detection result) based on the weighing result of the weighing unit 303 (cart device 70). The determination as to whether it is an input detection result or a removal detection result is made, for example, by a determination unit (not shown) provided in the cloud server 20. Therefore, the detection result acquisition unit 503 acquires the detection result from the determination unit. The operation detection unit 504 detects, as an unregistered input operation, the case where there is no product registration by the registration unit 502 when the input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit 503. The notification unit 505 notifies the mobile terminal 60 of an illegal input announcement or a product removal announcement. The mobile terminal 60 outputs a display or voice based on the notification from the notification unit 505.

[0235] (26) Example in which the cart device 70 makes determinations such as various announcements. In the above embodiment, the example in which various announcements are determined by the mobile terminal 60 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The determination of various announcements and the detection of operations may be performed by the cart device 70.

[0236] (Detection of un-scanned input operation by cart device 70) The cart device 70 may detect an un-scanned input operation. In this case, each time the mobile terminal 60 registers a product, the mobile terminal 60 transmits a registration notification indicating that the product has been registered to the cart device 70. When the cart device 70 detects an increase in weight and determines that a product or the like has been input, if it has not received a registration notification from the mobile terminal 60 before the detection of the increase in weight (for example, within a predetermined time retroactively from the detection time point), the cart device 70 detects an un-scanned input operation.

[0237] When the cart device 70 detects an un-scanned input operation, the cart device 70 transmits the detection result to the mobile terminal 60 (notification unit 505). When the notification unit 505 receives from the cart device 70 that an un-scanned input operation has been detected, the notification unit 505 notifies of an illegal input announcement.

[0238] (Determination of product removal announcement by cart device 70) The cart device 70 may determine whether a product or the like has been removed. In this case, when the mobile terminal 60 receives a cancellation of a product, it transmits a cancellation notice indicating that the product has been cancelled to the cart device 70. When the cart device 70 detects a weight reduction and determines that a product has been removed, if it has not received a cancellation notice from the mobile terminal 60 before the detection of the weight reduction (for example, within a predetermined time retroactively from the detection time), it determines that it is a product removal announcement.

[0239] When the cart device 70 determines that it is a product removal announcement, it transmits an announcement notice to the mobile terminal 60 (notification unit 505). When the notification unit 505 receives the announcement notice from the cart device 70, it notifies the product removal announcement.

[0240] (Determination of forgotten removal announcement by cart device 70) The cart device 70 may determine that a cancelled product has not been removed (forgotten removal announcement). In this case, each time the mobile terminal 60 cancels a product, it transmits a cancellation notice indicating that the product has been cancelled to the cart device 70. When the cart device 70 receives a cancellation notice from the mobile terminal 60, if it does not determine that a product or the like has not been removed (if it does not detect a weight reduction) after the reception (for example, within a predetermined time from the reception time), it determines that it is a forgotten removal announcement.

[0241] When the cart device 70 determines that it is a forgotten removal announcement, it transmits a notice indicating that to the mobile terminal 60 (notification unit 505). When the notification unit 505 receives the notice from the cart device 70, it notifies the forgotten removal announcement.

[0242] (Determination of forgotten cancellation announcement by cart device 70) The cart device 70 may determine that the canceled item has not been taken out (cancellation omission announcement). In this case, when the mobile terminal 60 receives the cancellation of the item, it transmits a cancellation notice indicating that the item has been canceled to the cart device 70. When the cart device 70 detects a weight reduction and determines that an item has been taken out, if it does not receive a cancellation notice from the mobile terminal 60 within a predetermined period (for example, within 10 seconds) after the detection of the weight reduction, it determines that it is a cancellation omission announcement.

[0243] When the cart device 70 determines that it is a cancellation omission announcement, it transmits a notice indicating the same to the mobile terminal 60 (notification unit 505). When the notification unit 505 receives the notice from the cart device 70, it notifies the cancellation omission announcement.

[0244] Also, the notification unit 505 may be provided in the cart device 70. That is, the cart device 70 may notify various announcements.

[0245] (27) Example of detecting the input and output of an item from a captured image. In the above embodiment, the input detection result and the output detection result have been described as an example detected based on the measurement result of the weighing unit 303. However, instead of or in addition to such a configuration, it is also possible to detect based on the imaging result of the camera 207. The mobile terminal 60 (judgment unit) can judge from the analysis result of the image captured by the camera 207 that it is an input detection result when the items in the shopping basket increase, and judge that it is an output detection result when the items in the shopping basket decrease. For example, when the motion detection unit 504 obtains an input detection result from the imaging result without registering an item, it detects an un-scanned input operation.

[0246] In addition, the operation detection unit 504 can also detect an unsampled input operation based on both the measurement result of the measurement unit 303 and the imaging result of the camera 207. In this case, the notification unit 505 notifies an illegal input announcement based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 303 (hereinafter referred to as the "first illegal input announcement"). For example, the first illegal input announcement is a notification such as "scale basket removal" or "measurement failure". In addition, the notification unit 505 notifies an illegal input announcement based on the imaging result of the camera 207 (hereinafter referred to as the "second illegal input announcement"). The second illegal input announcement is, for example, a notification such as "image basket removal" or "imaging failure".

[0247] There may be a case where an unsampled input operation is detected simultaneously. Specifically, there may be a case where an unsampled input operation based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 303 and an unsampled input operation based on the imaging result of the camera 207 are detected simultaneously. In this case, if the first illegal input announcement and the second illegal input announcement are notified, it will be troublesome for the customer. Therefore, in this case, the notification unit 505 preferentially notifies either the first illegal input announcement or the second illegal input announcement. For example, the notification unit 505 preferentially notifies the first illegal input announcement. That is, when an unsampled input operation is detected based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 303 and an unsampled input operation is detected based on the imaging result of the camera 207, the notification unit 505 preferentially notifies the first illegal input announcement. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the same announcement from being made repeatedly, that is, it is possible to suppress excessive notifications.

[0248] (28) Example where the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 do not communicate directly. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 communicate directly has been described. However, instead of or in addition to such a configuration, they do not necessarily need to communicate directly. For example, the cloud server 20 may manage the paired mobile terminal 60 and cart device 70, the mobile terminal 60 may be connected to the cloud server 20, and the cart device 70 may be connected to the cloud server 20. The transmission and reception of information between the mobile terminal 60 and the cart device 70 may be performed via the cloud server 20. For example, the mobile terminal 60 may receive the weighing result from the cart device 70 via the cloud server 20.

[0249] (29) Another example of the cart device. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the cart device 70 weighs the weight of the merchandise placed on one placement unit 71 (FIG. 3) has been described. However, instead of or in addition to such a configuration, it is also possible to weigh the weight of the merchandise placed on a plurality of placement units.

[0250] FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the cart device. As shown in FIG. 12B(A), the cart device 1200 includes an upper placement unit 71a, a lower placement unit 71b, a weighing device 72, and a holder unit 74. The upper placement unit 71a and the lower placement unit 71b can each place a shopping basket. The weighing device 72 weighs the weight of the articles (shopping basket and merchandise) placed on the upper placement unit 71a and the lower placement unit 71b.

[0251] In particular, as shown in FIG. 12B(B), the cart device 1200 includes a placement unit 1210. The placement unit 1210 integrally forms an upper placement portion 71a and a lower placement portion 71b. Also, the placement unit 1210 is configured to contact only the weighing device 72. Therefore, the weighing device 72 can detect a change in weight occurring in the upper placement portion 71a and the lower placement portion 71b and output it as a weighing result. However, since the upper placement portion 71a and the lower placement portion 71b are integrally formed by the placement unit 1210, when the weighing device 72 detects a change in weight, it cannot specify whether the change in weight is in the upper placement portion 71a or the lower placement portion 71b.

[0252] That is, when there is a change in the weight ratio, it is impossible to determine which of the upper and lower placement portions 71 (71a, 71b) has a change in weight. For this reason, the cart device 1200 cannot manage the weights of the placement portions 71 (71a, 71b) separately.

[0253] However, by using the image of the camera 207 provided in the mobile terminal 60, it is possible to determine which of the upper and lower placement portions 71 (71a, 71b) has a change in weight. Specifically, it is possible to perform the determination by using two elements: a change in weight and a change in the image.

[0254] For example, the usage status (such as illegal input, product removal, basket arrangement, etc.) of the upper placement portion 71a can be obtained from the image of the camera 207. Therefore, if the condition that both a change in weight and a change in the image are detected is satisfied, it can be determined that there is an incoming and outgoing of products in the upper placement portion 71a.

[0255] On the other hand, the lower placement portion 71b is below the upper placement portion 71a. Therefore, the usage status of the lower placement portion 71b is not imaged by the camera 207. Thus, if the condition that no change in the image is detected when a change in weight is detected is satisfied, it can be determined that there is an incoming and outgoing of products in the lower placement portion 71b.

[0256] By using such control, it becomes possible to distinguish and manage the products in the shopping basket on the upper placement part 71a and the products in the shopping basket on the lower placement part 71b. Specifically, the mobile terminal 60 can display and store the products in the shopping basket on the upper placement part 71a and the products in the shopping basket on the lower placement part 71b separately in the registration details.

[0257] For example, the mobile terminal 60 displays the products in the shopping basket on the upper placement part 71a and the products in the shopping basket on the lower placement part 71b separately. Separately displaying means, for example, attaching different characters (the character "upper" for the products on the upper placement part 71a and the character "lower" for the products on the lower placement part 71b), using different display colors, or displaying on different pages for the products on the upper placement part 71a and the products on the lower placement part 71b.

[0258] Thereby, when the customer checks for omissions in their shopping, the customer can easily identify from the registration details displayed on the mobile terminal 60 whether the products were placed in the shopping basket on the upper or lower part. Also, it becomes possible to easily check whether the target product is in the identified shopping basket.

[0259] Note that distinguishing and displaying the upper or lower part is also effective when calling the clerk at the time of settlement. For example, it is possible to determine whether the product targeted for clerk call is a product on the upper placement part 71a or a product on the lower placement part 71b. Therefore, it is possible to set the clerk call flag separately by type into a flag for the upper placement part 71a and a flag for the lower placement part 71b. The transaction status management device 40 and the settlement device 50 perform clerk calls according to the type of the flag. Thereby, when the clerk arrives, the clerk can easily identify whether the product to be confirmed is on the upper placement part 71a or the lower placement part 71b and perform the confirmation work efficiently. Note that distinguishing the upper or lower part is not limited to the display mode. For example, instead of or in addition to the display mode, it may include the lighting mode of the signpost or the voice mode.

[0260] In this way, in the cart device 1200, it is possible to grasp the transaction state even when the lower placement unit 71b is in use. Therefore, compared with the case where only the upper placement unit 71a is weighed (cart device 70), it is possible to guide the customer to a more detailed operation method and the contents of the placement unit 71 (71a, 71b).

[0261] (30) An example of a quantity change screen. Next, an example of the quantity change screen displayed on the mobile terminal 60 will be described. The quantity change screen is a screen for accepting changes in the quantity of registered products. The quantity change screen is, for example, a screen on which a pop-up for accepting quantity changes is displayed when a column with a product name is touched in the registration information display area 642 on the registration details screen (for example, the registration screen 650 in FIG. 6(E)). The pop-up includes operators for accepting increases and decreases in quantity (+ button and - button) and an operator for accepting deletion of products. Also, when displaying the pop-up, other displays (for example, the imaging image display area 641 and the registration information display area 642 on the registration screen 650) are displayed in gray scale so that the customer's attention is directed to the pop-up.

[0262] By displaying such a pop-up, the customer can easily change the quantity or delete the registered products.

[0263] Hereinafter, a summary of the embodiments will be described. [Title of the Invention] Program, System, Mobile Communication Terminal, and Information Processing Apparatus [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a program, a system, a mobile communication terminal, and an information processing apparatus. [Background Art] Conventionally, various techniques for wirelessly connecting a plurality of communication devices have been known. For example, an information communication terminal that reads the MAC address of a device from an NFC tag attached to the device and transmits data with the IP address corresponding to the read MAC address as the destination is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, a system in which a customer registers products by himself / herself in a product display area using a shopping cart is known. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6375732 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the prior art, there has been a problem that announcements regarding the loading and unloading of products into and from the shopping cart may not be properly notified, which may impede comfortable shopping. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technology capable of supporting comfortable shopping.

[0264] [Means for Solving the Problems] (1) In order to solve the above-described problems, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, the program causing the computer to function as: a registration means for registering products loaded into the shopping cart; a detection result acquisition means for acquiring a loading detection result indicating the loading of a product into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping cart; an operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered loading operation, a case where no product registration by the registration means is performed when a loading detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; a notification means for notifying an improper loading announcement indicating that the unregistered loading operation has been detected by the operation detection means, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that a removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition means, wherein the notification means does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered loading operation has been detected by the operation detection means. A program characterized by that. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping basket and then takes it out of the basket to register the item, it is possible not to make a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking-out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, to suppress excessive notifications of product removal announcements, and to notify appropriate product removal announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the product removal announcement hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0265] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, the notification means may be configured not to notify the improper insertion announcement when the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means within a predetermined period after the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means. According to the above configuration, even if a customer reorganizes the products in the shopping basket (takes out the product from the shopping basket and then puts it back into the shopping basket), it is possible not to make an improper insertion announcement corresponding to the insertion of the product. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of improper insertion announcements, that is, to suppress excessive notifications of improper insertion announcements, and to notify appropriate improper insertion announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the improper insertion announcement hinders comfortable shopping.

[0266] (3) In the configuration of (1) or (2) above, the computer may function as a mode setting means for setting one of a plurality of modes including a registration mode in which a product is registered by the registration means and a cancellation mode in which the product information registered by the registration means is cancelled, and when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, the mode setting means may switch from the registration mode to the cancellation mode. According to the above configuration, when the removal of a product is detected, the mobile terminal 60 can enable the customer to quickly and easily cancel the product.

[0267] (4) In the configuration of (3) above, after the mode setting means switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode, if the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means within a predetermined period, the mode setting means may switch from the cancellation mode to the registration mode. According to the above configuration, when a customer sorts the products in the shopping basket (takes out the products from the shopping basket and then inserts them back into the shopping basket), even if the customer enters the cancellation mode by taking out the products, the customer can return to the registration mode by inserting the products into the shopping basket. Therefore, when the products in the shopping basket are sorted, the products can be registered as they are after the sorting. Therefore, appropriate shopping can be supported.

[0268] (5) To solve the above-described problems, a system according to another aspect of the present invention is a system including a mobile communication terminal that registers products and a detection device that detects products in a shopping basket, where the mobile communication terminal includes: a registration means for registering products inserted into the shopping basket; a detection result acquisition means for acquiring, from the detection device, an insertion detection result indicating insertion of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating removal of a product from the shopping basket; an operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered insertion operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an insertion detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; and a notification means for notifying an unauthorized insertion announcement indicating that the unregistered insertion operation has been detected by the operation detection means and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that a removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition means, wherein the notification means does not notify the product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered insertion operation has been detected by the operation detection means. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping cart and then takes it out of the cart to register the item, it is possible not to perform a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking-out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, to suppress excessive notifications of product removal announcements, and to notify appropriate product removal announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the product removal announcement hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0269] (6) In order to solve the above-described problems, a mobile communication terminal according to another aspect of the present invention is a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, and includes a registration unit that registers a product put into a shopping cart, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping cart, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where no product registration is performed by the registration unit when the input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an improper input announcement indicating that the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection unit and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that the removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit. The mobile communication terminal is characterized by the above. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping cart and then takes it out of the cart to register the item, it is possible not to make a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, to suppress the excessive notification of product removal announcements, and to notify an appropriate product removal announcement according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the product removal announcement hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0270] (7) In order to solve the above-described problems, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to function as a system including a mobile communication terminal for registering an item and a detection device for detecting an item in a shopping cart, and causes the computer to function as a registration unit for registering an item put into the shopping cart, a detection result acquisition unit for acquiring from the detection device an input detection result indicating the input of an item into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of an item from the shopping cart, an operation detection unit for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, a case where no item registration is performed by the registration unit when the input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, a notification unit for notifying an unauthorized input announcement indicating that the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection unit and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that the removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and the notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection unit. A program characterized by that. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping cart and then takes it out of the shopping cart to register the item, it is possible not to make a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking-out. Therefore, the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements can be suppressed, that is, excessive notifications of product removal announcements can be suppressed, and appropriate product removal announcements can be notified according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the product removal announcement hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, appropriate shopping can be supported.

[0271] (8) In order to solve the above-described problems, an information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that connects to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, and includes a registration unit that registers products put into a shopping cart, a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping cart, an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where no product registration is performed by the registration unit when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit, and a notification unit that notifies an improper input announcement indicating that the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection unit and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that a removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition unit. The notification unit is characterized in that when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection unit, the product removal announcement is not notified. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping cart and then takes it out of the shopping cart to register the item, it is possible not to make a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, to suppress the excessive notification of product removal announcements, and to notify an appropriate product removal announcement according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the product removal announcement from interfering with comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0272] (9) In order to solve the above-described problems, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device connected to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, the computer comprising: a registration unit that registers products put into a shopping cart; a detection result acquisition unit that acquires an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping cart and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping cart; an operation detection unit that detects, as an unregistered input operation, a case where no product registration is performed by the registration unit when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition unit; a notification unit that notifies an improper input announcement indicating that the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection unit, and notifies a product removal announcement indicating that a removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition unit when the detection result acquisition unit acquires the removal detection result, wherein the notification unit does not notify the product removal announcement when the detection result acquisition unit acquires the removal detection result after the operation detection unit detects the unregistered input operation. According to the above configuration, even if a customer accidentally puts an unscanned item into the shopping cart and then takes it out of the cart to register the item, it is possible not to make a product removal announcement corresponding to the taking-out. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the frequent occurrence of product removal announcements, that is, to suppress excessive notifications of product removal announcements, and to notify appropriate product removal announcements according to the situation. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the situation where the notification of the product removal announcement hinders comfortable shopping. Therefore, according to the sales system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support appropriate shopping.

[0273] In addition, all or part of each function (input / output, storage, processing (including judgment)) in the sales system 1 (portable terminal 60, cart device 70) described above may be realized in another device different from the device described as the execution subject of the function.

[0274] Specifically, in the above description, the configuration in which the portable terminal 60 includes each functional unit shown in FIG. 5 has been described. All or part of each functional unit may be provided in another computer device. For example, all or part of each functional unit may be provided in the store controller 30, may be provided in the cloud server 20, or may be provided in a computer device other than these. Also, the computer device in which each functional unit is provided is not limited to a plurality of units, and may be one unit. For example, one computer device may include all of the functional units.

[0275] Specifically, for example, instead of the portable terminal 60, when the store controller 30 or the cloud server 20 detects the removal of a product within a predetermined period (for example, during the illegal input announcement) after detecting the unregistered input operation, an instruction not to make a product removal announcement may be given.

[0276] In relation to the above, the mobile terminal 60 may function as a so-called sink client specialized for the input / output interface part regarding various displays and the like. That is, the mobile terminal 60 receives various inputs (operations of the operator and detections of devices), transmits input information (operation information, detection information, etc.) to the cloud server 20, receives the processing results of the cloud server 20 based on the input information (updated screen information, device control information, etc.), and may perform various outputs (display on the display unit, control of the device).

[0277] Note that a program for realizing the above-described sales system 1 (mobile terminal 60 and cart device 70) may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and the program may be read into a computer system and executed. Here, the "computer system" is assumed to include hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Also, the "computer-readable storage medium" refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, magneto-optical disk, ROM, CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. Further, the "computer-readable storage medium" also includes a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and holds the program for a certain period of time. Also, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. Also, the above program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions. Further, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0278] 1... Sales system, 10... Head office server, 20... Cloud server, 30... Store controller, 40... Transaction status management device, 50... Settlement device, 60... Mobile terminal, 70... Cart device, 501... Reading result acquisition unit, 502... Registration unit, 503... Detection result acquisition unit, 504... Motion detection unit, 505... Notification unit, 506... Mode setting unit, 507... Cancellation unit, 1200... Cart device

Claims

1. A program for causing a computer to function as a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, wherein the computer is caused to serve as a registration means for registering products placed in a shopping basket, serve as a detection result acquisition means for acquiring an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, serve as an operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, a case where no product registration is performed by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, serve as a notification means for notifying an improper input announcement indicating that the unregistered input operation has been detected when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that a removal detection result has been acquired when the removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, and the notification means does not notify the product removal announcement when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered input operation has been detected by the operation detection means, characterized in that it is a program.

2. The notification means does not notify the improper input announcement when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means within a predetermined period after a removal detection result has been acquired by the detection result acquisition means, characterized in that it is the program according to Claim 1.

3. The computer is caused to function as a mode setting means for setting one mode among a plurality of modes including a registration mode in which products are registered by the registration means and a cancellation mode for canceling product information registered by the registration means, and when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, the mode setting means switches from the registration mode to the cancellation mode, characterized in that it is the program according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. After switching from the registration mode to the cancellation mode, when the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means within a predetermined period, the mode setting means switches from the cancellation mode to the registration mode, characterized in that it is the program according to Claim 3.

5. A system comprising a mobile communication terminal for registering products and a detection device for detecting products in a shopping basket, wherein the mobile communication terminal has a registration means for registering products placed in the shopping basket, Detection result acquisition means for acquiring, from the detection device, an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket; Operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, the case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; Notification means for notifying an unauthorized input announcement indicating that when the operation detection means detects the unregistered input operation, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; Comprising; The notification means; After the operation detection means detects the unregistered input operation, if a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, does not notify the product removal announcement; A system characterized by this.

6. A mobile communication terminal that can be used for product registration, Registration means for registering a product put into a shopping basket; Detection result acquisition means for acquiring an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket; Operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, the case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; Notification means for notifying an unauthorized input announcement indicating that when the operation detection means detects the unregistered input operation, and for notifying a product removal announcement indicating that when a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means; Comprising; The notification means; After the operation detection means detects the unregistered input operation, if a removal detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, does not notify the product removal announcement; A mobile communication terminal characterized by this.

7. A program that causes a computer to function as a system comprising a mobile communication terminal for registering a product and a detection device for detecting products in a shopping basket, The computer is caused to function as: Registration means for registering a product put into the shopping basket, Detection result acquisition means for acquiring, from the detection device, an input detection result indicating the input of a product into the shopping basket and a removal detection result indicating the removal of a product from the shopping basket, Operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered input operation, the case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an input detection result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means, When the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means, a notification means for notifying an illegal insertion announcement indicating that fact, and when a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, a product take-out announcement indicating that fact is notified. Function as The notification means After the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means, when a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, the product take-out announcement is not notified. A program characterized by the above.

8. An information processing apparatus connected to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, A registration means for registering products put into a shopping basket, A detection result acquisition means for acquiring an insertion detection result indicating the insertion of a product into the shopping basket and a take-out detection result indicating the take-out of a product from the shopping basket, An operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered insertion operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an insertion detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, A notification means for notifying an illegal insertion announcement indicating that fact when the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means, and a product take-out announcement indicating that fact when a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, Comprising The notification means After the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means, when a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, the product take-out announcement is not notified. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above.

9. A program that causes a computer to function as an information processing apparatus connected to a mobile communication terminal that can be used for registering products, The computer is A registration means for registering products put into a shopping basket, A detection result acquisition means for acquiring an insertion detection result indicating the insertion of a product into the shopping basket and a take-out detection result indicating the take-out of a product from the shopping basket, An operation detection means for detecting, as an unregistered insertion operation, a case where there is no product registration by the registration means when an insertion detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, A notification means for notifying an illegal insertion announcement indicating that fact when the unregistered insertion operation is detected by the operation detection means, and a product take-out announcement indicating that fact when a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means, Function as The notification means When a take-out detection result is obtained by the detection result acquisition means after the unregistered input operation is detected by the operation detection means, the product take-out announcement is not notified. A program characterized by the above.

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