POS system and program

Abstract

To provide a POS system and a program which can be adopted even in an unmanned store and can perform age confirmation of a customer by a method in which spoofing by another person is difficult.SOLUTION: A POS system includes first acquisition means, second acquisition means, determination means, and permission means. The first acquisition means acquires a first face photograph of a customer and age information capable of specifying the age of the customer from an identification card of the customer. The second acquisition means acquires a second face photograph obtained by photographing the face of the customer by a camera. The determination means determines whether the first face photograph acquired from the identification card and the photographed second face photograph are face photographs of the same person. The permission means permits the purchase of the age-confirmed commodity when it is determined that the first face photograph and the second face photograph are the face photographs of the same person and when the age of the customer indicated by the age information is a prescribed age or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a POS system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, unmanned stores such as convenience stores have been opening one after another in urban areas. However, in these unmanned stores, it is not possible for store staff to verify the age of customers purchasing age-verification products such as alcohol and tobacco, making it impossible to sell age-verification products.

[0003] One method of age verification that can be used in unmanned stores is to read official identification cards that have an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip that stores age information, such as a My Number card. However, this method poses the risk that customers may fraudulently use someone else's identification card to verify their age. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a POS system and program that can be used in unmanned stores and can verify the age of customers using a method that makes it difficult for others to impersonate them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The POS system of the embodiment includes a first acquisition means, a second acquisition means, a determination means, and a permission means. The first acquisition means acquires a first facial photograph of the customer and age information capable of identifying the customer's age from the customer's identification card. The second acquisition means acquires a second facial photograph of the customer's face taken by a camera. The determination means determines whether the first facial photograph acquired from the identification card and the second facial photograph taken are facial photographs of the same person. The permission means permits the purchase of an age-verification product if it is determined that the first facial photograph and the second facial photograph are facial photographs of the same person and the customer's age indicated in the age information is equal to or greater than a specified age. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the appearance of a self-checkout POS device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the self-checkout POS device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the self-checkout POS device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error display according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of age verification processing according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the appearance of a self-service POS (Point of Sales) device 1 according to an embodiment. The self-service POS device 1 is installed in an unmanned store such as an unmanned convenience store, for example. The self-service POS device 1 is an example of a POS system according to this embodiment. The self-service POS device 1 performs product registration and transaction processing in response to operations by a customer who is a user.

[0009] The self-service POS device 1 has a function of selling age-verification products after verifying the age of the customer. The age verification method will be described in detail later.

[0010] Age verification products are products that have an age restriction for purchase and require the customer's age to be verified when sold at a store. Specifically, in Japan, drinking and smoking are prohibited by law for those under the age of 20, so stores must verify the customer's age when selling alcohol or tobacco. 20 years old is an example of the specified age in this embodiment.

[0011] 1, the self-checkout POS device 1 has, for example, a vertically elongated, approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a first housing 2 and a second housing 3. The first housing 2 is located on the lower side of the approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape and houses a deposit / withdrawal unit 4 inside.

[0012] The deposit / withdrawal unit 4 deposits money received from customers and dispenses change to be paid to customers under the control of a control unit described later.

[0013] The second housing 3 is located on the upper side of the approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape and houses a control unit (described later) inside. The second housing 3 also includes a code reading unit 5, a card reading unit 6, and a printing unit 7 as interfaces operated by the user.

[0014] The code reading unit 5 is a reading device that reads information stored in a code symbol such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code. The code reading unit 5 reads the code symbol through a reading window 51 formed in the second housing 3. For example, the code reading unit 5 reads a code symbol written on a product or a code symbol displayed on a user's mobile terminal, etc.

[0015] The card reading unit 6 is a reading device that reads information stored on a card-type medium. The card reading unit 6 reads information from a card medium inserted into the card insertion slot 61. The card reading unit 6 may also be capable of touch reading. In this case, the card reading unit 6 reads information from the card medium that is touched. The card reading unit 6 reads information related to electronic payment from, for example, an inserted or touched credit card or electronic money card.

[0016] Furthermore, the card reading unit 6 of this embodiment reads an official identification card having an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip that stores age information, such as a My Number card. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which a My Number card is used as an example of an official identification card.

[0017] The IC chip attached to the My Number Card stores the owner's address, name, date of birth, gender, and facial photograph as digital data. The card reading unit 6 reads the owner's date of birth and facial photograph from the My Number Card's IC chip. The facial photograph read from the My Number Card's IC chip is an example of a first facial photograph in this embodiment. Furthermore, if the customer's date of birth can be obtained, the customer's age can be determined from the current date. Therefore, the date of birth read from the My Number Card's IC chip is an example of age information that can determine the customer's age in this embodiment.

[0018] The printing unit 7 is a printing device such as a thermal printer. The printing unit 7 prints receipts for the products purchased by the user and outputs (issues) the printed receipts from a receipt issuing port 71 formed in the second housing 3.

[0019] The self-checkout POS device 1 also includes a display operation unit 8. The display operation unit 8 is provided on the top surface of the second housing 3 or the like. The display operation unit 8 is, for example, a touch screen having a display unit 81 configured with a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and an operation unit 82 configured with a touch panel or the like. The display unit 81 is an example of a display means in this embodiment. The display unit 81 displays various information and images under the control of a control unit described later.

[0020] The operation unit 82 is, for example, a touch panel provided so as to be superimposed on the display unit 81. The operation unit 82 outputs information based on the position on the display operation unit 8 that the user touches to the control unit.

[0021] Furthermore, a basket stand 21 is provided on one side or lateral side of the self-service POS device 1. The basket stand 21 is a stand for placing a basket, and is used, for example, when placing a basket containing products thereon.

[0022] The self-checkout POS device 1 also includes a camera 9. The camera 9 is installed in a position where it can photograph the face of a customer operating the self-checkout POS device 1. The photograph of the face of the customer operating the self-checkout POS device 1 photographed by the camera 9 is an example of a second facial photograph in this embodiment.

[0023] The configuration of the self-service POS device 1 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1. For example, the self-service POS device 1 may be provided with a bagging table or the like for bagging products after the code symbols have been read by the code reading unit 5. In this case, it is preferable that the bagging table be provided, for example, on the other side of the self-service POS device 1 (the opposite side to the basket placement unit 21). Furthermore, the self-service POS device 1 does not need to have all of the components shown in FIG. 1. For example, if the self-service POS device 1 is exclusively for cashless payments, the self-service POS device 1 does not need to have the deposit / withdrawal unit 4.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the self-checkout POS device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the self-checkout POS device 1 includes the above-mentioned cash deposit / withdrawal unit 4, code reading unit 5, card reading unit 6, printing unit 7, display unit 81, operation unit 82, camera 9, etc.

[0025] The self-checkout POS device 1 also includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage unit 14, an audio output unit 15, and a communication unit 16. The CPU 11 is connected to each of the hardware components shown in FIG. 2 via a bus or the like.

[0026] The CPU 11 is an example of a processor and controls all the components of the self-checkout POS device 1. The ROM 12 stores various programs. The RAM 13 is a workspace for storing programs and various data. The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 together constitute a control unit 100, which is an example of a computer.

[0027] The storage unit 14 has a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory, and maintains its stored contents even when power is cut off. The storage unit 14 stores various programs and various setting information that can be executed by the CPU 11. The storage unit 14 also stores an age verification product purchase enable flag 141.

[0028] The age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is a flag that indicates the result of a determination as to whether a customer is permitted to purchase an age verification product. For example, if the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is "0," this indicates that the customer involved in the transaction cannot purchase an age verification product. On the other hand, if the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is "1," this indicates that the customer involved in the transaction can purchase an age verification product. The age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is determined for each transaction, and therefore may be associated with a transaction ID that can identify each transaction. The initial setting of the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 may be "null" (no value) or "0" (not permitted).

[0029] The audio output unit 15 is an audio output device such as a speaker, etc. The audio output unit 15 outputs audio messages and the like under the control of the control unit 100.

[0030] The communication unit 16 is a communication interface that can be connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) (not shown). The communication unit 16 communicates with external devices such as a store server installed in a store and an electronic payment server that provides electronic payment services, for example, via the network.

[0031] Next, the functional configuration of the self-checkout POS device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the self-checkout POS device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the self-checkout POS device 1 includes a reception unit 101, a first acquisition unit 102, a second acquisition unit 103, a determination unit 104, a permission unit 105, a product registration unit 106, a transaction processing unit 107, and a display control unit 108 as its functional configuration.

[0032] Some or all of the functional configuration of the self-checkout POS device 1 may be a software configuration realized by cooperation between a processor (e.g., CPU 11) of the self-checkout POS device 1 and a program stored in a memory (e.g., ROM 12, storage unit 14). Also, some or all of the functional configuration of the self-checkout POS device 1 may be a hardware configuration realized by a dedicated circuit or the like mounted on the self-checkout POS device 1.

[0033] The reception unit 101 receives a user's operation via the operation unit 82 .

[0034] The first acquisition unit 102 acquires a facial photograph and a date of birth of the customer from the IC chip of the customer's My Number card via the card reading unit 6. The first acquisition unit 102 is an example of a first acquisition means in this embodiment.

[0035] The second acquisition unit 103 acquires, from the camera 9, a facial photograph of the customer's face taken by the camera 9. The second acquisition unit 103 is an example of a second acquisition means in this embodiment.

[0036] The determination unit 104 determines whether the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person. The determination unit 104 is an example of a determination means in this embodiment. Note that cases where it is not determined that the facial photographs are of the same person include cases where it is determined that the facial photographs are of different people, and cases where it is not possible to determine whether the facial photographs are of the same person. The determination unit 104 sends the determination result to the permission unit 105.

[0037] As a method for determining whether the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person, for example, known image recognition or face authentication technology can be adopted. Furthermore, the determination unit 104 may extract features from the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9, and determine whether the facial photographs are of the same person by comparing the features.

[0038] The age verification process is performed, for example, at the start of the transaction. In this case, the determination unit 104 performs a process at the start of the transaction to determine whether the facial photograph obtained from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are photographs of the same person. The start of the transaction occurs after the product to be purchased has been registered, but before payment is accepted and settlement is performed by the transaction processing unit 107 (described below).

[0039] The permission unit 105 permits the purchase of an age verification product when it is determined that the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person and when the age of the customer identified by the date of birth acquired from the My Number card is equal to or greater than a specified age. The permission unit 105 is an example of a permission means in this embodiment.

[0040] More specifically, the permission unit 105 calculates the age of the customer who owns the My Number card based on the date of birth obtained from the My Number card and the current date. Then, if it is determined that the facial photograph obtained from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are facial photographs of the same person, and if the customer's age based on the date of birth obtained from the My Number card is equal to or greater than a specified age, the permission unit 105 sets "1" to the age verification product purchase enable flag 141.

[0041] Furthermore, if the customer's age based on the date of birth acquired from the My Number card is below the specified age, the permission unit 105 sets the age verification product purchase permission flag 141 to "0."

[0042] In addition, if the determination unit 104 does not determine that the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are facial photographs of the same person, the permission unit 105 sets the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 to "0".

[0043] If the age verification product purchase enable flag 141 stored in the memory unit 14 is set to "0" as an initial setting, the permission unit 105 may update the age verification product purchase enable flag 141 only when setting it to "1." In this case, if the determination unit 104 does not determine that the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are facial photographs of the same person, or if the customer's age is below the specified age, the permission unit 105 will not update the age verification product purchase enable flag 141 stored in the memory unit 14 and will leave it at the initial setting of "0."

[0044] The product registration unit 106 registers the product to be purchased by the customer. More specifically, the product registration unit 106 acquires the product code read by the code reading unit 5 from the code symbol attached to the product, and registers the product code in the storage unit 14 or the like as the product code of the product to be purchased.

[0045] The accounting processor 107 performs accounting for products to be purchased by customers. More specifically, the accounting processor 107 accepts payments and settles accounts when customers purchase products registered as purchase items by the product registration unit 106. The accounting processor 107 is an example of an accounting processor in this embodiment.

[0046] If the items being purchased include an age verification item, but the purchase of the age verification item is not permitted, the transaction processing unit 107 will not process the age verification item. In this case, if the customer excludes the age verification item from the items being purchased, the transaction processing unit 107 may process the transaction for other items (items other than the age verification item). Note that the purchase of an age verification item is not permitted when the age verification item purchase availability flag 141 is set to "0."

[0047] The display control unit 108 controls the display unit 81 to display various screens. More specifically, when the display control unit 108 does not permit the customer to purchase an age verification product, the display control unit 108 displays on the screen of the display unit 81 a message indicating that the purchase of the age verification product is not permitted.

[0048] 4 is a diagram showing an example of an error display according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, when the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is set to "0," the display control unit 108 displays an error message 810 on the display unit 81 as a pop-up message indicating that the product requiring age verification cannot be purchased. Note that the content of the error display is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4. For example, the error message 810 may include the name of the product that requires age verification among the products registered as purchase targets for the customer.

[0049] In addition, if the purchase of an age verification product is permitted, i.e., if the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is set to "1", the display control unit 108 may display on the display unit 81 that the purchase of the age verification product is permitted.

[0050] In addition, the display control unit 108 may cause the display unit 81 to display a screen instructing the customer to have their My Number card read by the card reading unit 6, or a screen notifying the customer that a facial photograph will begin to be taken by the camera 9.

[0051] Next, the flow of the age verification process executed by the self-checkout POS device 1 configured as above will be described.

[0052] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of age verification processing according to the embodiment. This processing is executed, for example, after the registration of the product to be purchased is completed.

[0053] For example, when the reception unit 101 receives an operation from a customer to start the transaction process (S1 "Yes"), the display control unit 108 causes the display unit 81 to display a screen instructing the customer to have their My Number card read by the card reading unit 6 (S2). The display control unit 108 may also cause the display unit 81 to display a screen informing the customer that the camera 9 will start taking a facial photograph.

[0054] The operation to start the transaction may also serve as an operation to complete the registration of the product to be purchased. If the reception unit 101 has not received the customer's operation to start the transaction (S1 "No"), the self-checkout POS device 1 waits for the customer to start the transaction.

[0055] After the process of S2, the card reading unit 6 reads the customer's facial photograph and date of birth from the IC chip of the customer's My Number card (S3). The first acquisition unit 102 acquires the customer's facial photograph and date of birth from the IC chip of the customer's My Number card from the card reading unit 6.

[0056] Then, the camera 9 takes an image (face photo) of the customer himself / herself (S4). The second acquisition unit 103 acquires the face photo taken from the camera 9.

[0057] Then, the determination unit 104 determines whether the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person (S5).

[0058] If the determination unit 104 does not determine that the facial photograph obtained from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person (S5 "No"), the permission unit 105 sets the age verification product purchase flag 141 to "0" (S6).

[0059] Furthermore, if the determination unit 104 determines that the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person (S5 "Yes"), the permission unit 105 calculates the customer's age based on the date of birth acquired from the My Number card and the current date. If the customer's age based on the date of birth acquired from the My Number card is equal to or greater than a specified age (e.g., 20 years old) (S7 "Yes"), the permission unit 105 sets "1" to the age verification product purchase enable flag 141 (S8).

[0060] Furthermore, if the customer's age based on the date of birth obtained from the My Number card is less than the specified age (e.g., 20 years old) (S7 "No"), the permission unit 105 sets the age verification product purchase flag 141 to "0" (S9).

[0061] If the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is set to "1" (S10 "Yes"), the customer is eligible to purchase age verification products, and the transaction processing unit 107 will proceed with the transaction in the same way as for regular products, even if the products registered for purchase include age verification products. In this case, the display control unit 108 may display on the display unit 81 that the purchase of age verification products is permitted.

[0062] Furthermore, if the age verification product purchase availability flag 141 is set to "0" (S10 "No"), the display control unit 108 outputs an error indicating that the product requiring age verification cannot be purchased (S12). Furthermore, if the products registered as eligible for purchase include an age verification product, the transaction processing unit 107 does not process the age verification product. At this point, the processing of this flowchart ends.

[0063] In this way, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment determines whether the facial photograph acquired from the customer's My Number card and the facial photograph of the customer captured by the camera 9 are of the same person. If it determines that the two facial photographs are of the same person and the age information acquired from the customer's My Number card is above a specified age, the self-service POS device 1 permits the purchase of an age-verification product. That is, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment automatically verifies whether the My Number card presented by the customer belongs to the customer and then verifies the customer's age using the age information stored on the My Number card. Therefore, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment can verify the customer's age without requiring a store clerk to perform the age verification process. This makes it possible to use the device in unmanned stores and verify the customer's age using a method that makes it difficult for others to impersonate the customer.

[0064] Furthermore, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment acquires a customer's facial photograph and age information from an IC chip mounted on the My Number card. The method of acquiring data by reading the IC chip is more accurate and more difficult to commit fraud such as counterfeiting than, for example, reading characters displayed on the card using technology such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition / Reader). Therefore, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment can verify the customer's age with high accuracy.

[0065] Furthermore, when the self-checkout POS device 1 of this embodiment does not permit the purchase of an age verification product, it displays on the screen a message indicating that the purchase of the age verification product is not permitted. Therefore, the self-checkout POS device 1 of this embodiment allows the customer to take action such as returning only the age verification product, out of the products registered as purchase targets, to the store shelves.

[0066] Furthermore, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment performs age verification processing at the start of a transaction, and if the purchase of an age-verification item is not permitted, the age-verification item is not included in the transaction. Therefore, the self-service POS device 1 of this embodiment can automatically prevent customers under the specified age from purchasing age-verification items.

[0067] (Variation 1) In the above-described embodiment, the judgment unit 104 of the self-service POS device 1 judges whether the facial photograph obtained from the customer's My Number card and the facial photograph of the customer taken by the camera 9 are photographs of the same person.

[0068] However, because the expiration date of the My Number Card is 10 years, there is a possibility that the facial photograph stored in the IC chip of the customer's My Number Card and the customer's current appearance may differ due to aging. For this reason, the determination unit 104 may predict the customer's aging over the time elapsed since the photograph recorded on the My Number Card was taken to the present using machine learning. The determination unit 104 then determines whether the facial photograph reflecting the predicted aging and the facial photograph of the customer taken by the camera 9 are of the same person. The facial photograph reflecting the aging prediction made by the determination unit 104 is an example of a third facial photograph.

[0069] Machine learning technology that predicts the aging of a customer's face depicted in a facial photograph may, for example, use a trained model that has been trained by matching a person's past facial photograph with a facial photograph of that person taken several years to several decades in the future.

[0070] According to the self-checkout POS device 1 of this embodiment, the facial photograph is checked taking into account the aging of the customer, so that it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the My Number card belongs to the customer.

[0071] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment, if the age verification product purchase flag 141 is "0" at S10 in the flowchart of the age verification process shown in Fig. 5, the age verification product purchase ends with an error. However, even if the My Number card actually belongs to the customer, there is a possibility that the photograph may not be determined to be of the same person if the photograph is unclear, etc.

[0072] Therefore, if the age of the customer identified by the age information acquired from the My Number card is equal to or greater than a specified age, the self-service POS device 1 may take a photograph of the customer's face again using the camera 9 and determine whether the newly taken facial photograph and the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card are of the same person. If the determination unit 104 of the self-service POS device 1 determines that the newly taken facial photograph and the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card are of the same person, it sets the age verification product purchase enable flag 141 to "1."

[0073] Furthermore, when the determination unit 104 is unable to determine whether the facial photograph acquired from the My Number card and the facial photograph taken by the camera 9 are of the same person, the determination unit 104 may specify the reason for the inability to determine. In this case, the display control unit 108 may cause the display unit 81 to display the reason and a message indicating that the photograph should be retaken. Examples of reasons for the inability to determine whether the facial photograph is correct include when the customer moved during the photographing process, resulting in a blurred photograph, or when the customer's entire face is not captured due to the wearing of a mask or the angle of the face.

[0074] (Variation 3) In the above embodiment, the timing for executing the age verification process is set to the start of the transaction, but this is not limited to this. For example, the self-checkout POS device 1 may execute the age verification process before the customer registers a product. Alternatively, if the store where the self-checkout POS device 1 is installed is a store that performs identity verification upon entry, the age verification process may be executed during identity verification.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the age verification process was performed regardless of whether the product to be purchased included an age verification product, but the age verification process may also be performed if the product to be purchased includes an age verification product.

[0076] (Variation 4) In the above embodiment, the self-checkout POS device 1 is provided with the camera 9 as an example, but the camera 9 may be a peripheral device attached externally to the self-checkout POS device 1. In this case, the self-checkout POS device 1 is connected to the camera 9 via a wired or wireless connection so that they can communicate with each other. The code reading unit 5, card reading unit 6, and printing unit 7 may also be peripheral devices attached externally to the self-checkout POS device 1.

[0077] (Variation 5) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the card reading unit 6 that reads credit cards and electronic money cards also serves as a reading device for My Number cards, but the self-service POS device 1 may also be equipped with a reading device dedicated to My Number cards.

[0078] (Variation 5) In the above embodiment, 20 years old is used as an example of the predetermined age, but the predetermined age may be set in accordance with the laws of the country in which the self-service POS device 1 is installed. The self-service POS device 1 may further include a function that allows a store employee or manager to set the predetermined age. Furthermore, if the purchase age varies depending on the type of product, a predetermined age may be set for each type of product. For example, the storage unit 14 may store a database that associates the type of product or product code with the predetermined age.

[0079] (Variation 6) In the above embodiment, the self-service POS device 1 is installed in an unmanned store as an example, but the self-service POS device 1 may be installed as a self-checkout register not only in an unmanned store but also in a store where a store clerk is on duty.

[0080] (Variation 7) In the above-described embodiment, the display unit 81 is an example of a display means, but the display control unit 108 may be an example of a display means. Also, in the above-described embodiment, the first acquisition unit 102 is an example of a first acquisition means, but the card reading unit 6 may be an example of a first acquisition means. Also, in the above-described embodiment, the second acquisition unit 103 is an example of a second acquisition means, but if the camera 9 is included in the self-service POS device 1, the camera 9 may be an example of a second acquisition means.

[0081] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1. Self-service POS device 2. First enclosure 3 Second enclosure 4. Deposit and Withdrawal Section 5 Code reader 6 Card reader 7 Printing section 8 Display operation section 9 Camera 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 Storage section 15 Audio output section 16 Communications Department 21 Basket stand 61 Card slot 71 Receipt issuing port 81 Display section 82 Control section 100 control section 101 Reception 102 First Acquisition Section 103 Second Acquisition Section 104 Judgment section 105 Permit Department 106 Product Registration Department 107 Accounting Department 108 Display control unit 141 Age Verification Product Purchase Flag 810 Error Message [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0083] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2023-154215

Claims

1. a first acquiring means for acquiring a first facial photograph of the customer and age information capable of identifying the age of the customer from an identification card of the customer; a second acquisition means for acquiring a second facial photograph of the customer's face taken by a camera; a determination means for determining whether the first facial photograph obtained from the identification card and the second facial photograph taken are facial photographs of the same person; a permission means for permitting the purchase of an age verification product when it is determined that the first facial photograph and the second facial photograph are facial photographs of the same person and the age of the customer indicated in the age information is equal to or greater than a specified age; POS system including:

2. the first acquiring means acquires the first facial photograph and the age information from an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip mounted on the identification card; The POS system according to claim 1 .

3. The device further comprises a display means for displaying on a screen a message indicating that the purchase of the age verification product is not permitted if the purchase of the age verification product is not permitted. The POS system according to claim 1 .

4. the determination means generates a third facial photograph by predicting, by machine learning, the aging of the customer over the time elapsed since the first facial photograph printed on the identification card was taken until the present time, and determines whether the third facial photograph and the second facial photograph are facial photographs of the same person; The POS system according to claim 1 .

5. The system further comprises a transaction processing means for performing transaction processing for the merchandise to be purchased by the customer, the determination means determines whether the first facial photograph and the second facial photograph taken at the start of the transaction are facial photographs of the same person; When the age verification product is included in the products to be purchased and the permission means does not permit the purchase of the age verification product, the transaction processing means does not subject the age verification product to the transaction processing. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. a first acquiring step of acquiring a first facial photograph and age information from a customer's identification card; a second acquisition step of acquiring a second facial photograph of the customer's face taken by a camera; a determining step of determining whether the first facial photograph obtained from the identification card and the second facial photograph taken are photographs of the same person; an authorization step of authorizing the purchase of an age verification product when the first facial photograph and the second facial photograph are photographs of the same person and the age indicated by the age information is equal to or greater than a specified age; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images