POS terminals and self-checkout systems

Abstract

To provide a POS terminal and a self-checkout system capable of suppressing fraudulent registration of bundled products. [Solution] The POS terminal is equipped with a control device that determines whether or not fraudulent registration of a bundled product has occurred for a product registered by a user, and a display device that displays a confirmation screen for the user to confirm the fraudulent registration if it is determined that fraudulent registration has occurred. The control device determines whether or not the registered product is a bundle-compatible product, and if the registered product is a bundle-compatible product, determines whether or not a weight change value, which is the weight measured by the weight sensor after the registered product is placed on the placement section minus the weight measured by the weight sensor before the registered product is placed on the placement section, is greater than or equal to a threshold value based on the measurement results of a weight sensor provided on the placement section on which the registered product is placed, and determines that fraudulent registration has occurred if the weight change value is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a POS terminal and a self-checkout system used by users when shopping in a store. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, convenience stores, supermarkets, and other stores have increasingly introduced self-checkout systems that allow users to register the products they purchase and then make payments themselves. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a self-checkout system in which a mobile terminal carried by a customer reads identification information attached to a product for identifying the product, stores the information as purchased product data, and transmits the purchased product data to a cash register to make a payment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-070308 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In self-checkout systems, fraudulent accounting can occur when an inexperienced user fails to register a product, or when a user intentionally does not register a product. In addition, in the case of a bundled product in which multiple products are bundled, fraudulent registration can occur when a barcode for the bundled product is mistaken for a barcode for a single product, or when a barcode for a single product is intentionally registered despite being aware that the product is a bundle.

[0005] The present invention is made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a POS terminal and a self-checkout system that can prevent fraudulent registration of bundled products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The POS terminal according to the present invention comprises a control device which determines whether or not a fraudulent registration of a bundled product consisting of N products (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) has occurred with respect to a product registered by a user, and a display device which displays a confirmation screen for the user to confirm the fraudulent registration when the control device determines that a fraudulent registration has occurred. The control device determines whether or not the product registered by the user is a bundled product which is also sold as a bundled product, and if the registered product is a bundled product, determines whether or not a weight change value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the weight measured by the weight sensor before the registered product was placed on the placement section from the weight measured by the weight sensor after the registered product was placed on the placement section, is equal to or greater than a threshold value based on the measurement result of a weight sensor provided on a placement section on which the registered product is placed, and determines that a fraudulent registration has occurred when the weight change value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the threshold value being: For N=2, Twice the weight of the product is the value of , If N=3 or more The value must be greater than or equal to 2 times the weight of the product and less than or equal to (N-1) times the weight of the product.

[0007] A self-checkout system according to the present invention includes the above-mentioned POS terminal, a weight sensor, and a POS server that stores product information of products, where the product information includes the weight or a threshold value of the product. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the POS terminal and self-checkout system of the present invention, if the registered product is a bundled product, and the weight change value before and after registration of the product is equal to or greater than a threshold value that is twice the weight of the product, or a value that is more than twice but not more than (N-1) times the weight of the product, it is determined that fraudulent registration of a bundled product has occurred and a confirmation screen is displayed, thereby preventing fraudulent registration of bundled products. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-checkout system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a control block diagram of the self-checkout system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bundle product. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation of the self-checkout system of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation of the self-checkout system of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 13 is an example of a confirmation screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is an example of a guide screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-checkout system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a control block diagram of a self-checkout system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations of the self-checkout system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a self-checkout system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. In addition, the shape, size, arrangement, etc. of the configurations shown in each drawing may be changed as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-checkout system 100 according to a first embodiment. The self-checkout system 100 according to the present embodiment is used in a retail store such as a convenience store or a supermarket. As shown in FIG. 1, the self-checkout system 100 includes a POS terminal 1, a POS server 2, and a weight sensor 3. The POS terminal 1 and the POS server 2 are connected to each other via a network 200 such as a LAN or the Internet so as to be capable of wired or wireless communication. The POS terminal 1 and the weight sensor 3 are connected one-to-one to each other via a USB cable, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like so as to be capable of wired or wireless communication. Although one POS terminal 1, one weight sensor 3, and one POS server 2 are shown in FIG. 1, the number of the POS terminals 1, the weight sensors 3, and the POS servers 2 may be plural.

[0012] The POS terminal 1 is used by a user who comes to the store to shop and registers and settles for products by himself, and may be, for example, a dedicated POS terminal, a PC, a tablet, or a smartphone. The POS terminal 1 has a POS register function for registering, settling, and settling products purchased by the user. In the example of FIG. 1, the POS terminal 1 is a tablet terminal mounted on a shopping cart, and the user registers products while moving around the store using the POS terminal 1. The POS terminal 1 is not limited to a portable terminal such as a tablet mounted on a shopping cart or a smartphone, but may be a self-checkout device fixed in the checkout area.

[0013] The POS server 2 is a server that manages the POS systems in multiple stores in an integrated manner. The POS server 2 manages product information on products handled in multiple stores, user information on users who use each store, and payment information on payments made by users.

[0014] The weight sensor 3 is provided for each POS terminal 1, arranged on a placement section on which products are placed after registration by the POS terminal 1, and measures the weight (total weight) of all products placed on the placement section. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the POS terminal 1 is mounted on a shopping cart, the weight sensor 3 is provided on the placement section on which basket B of the shopping cart is placed. When the POS terminal 1 is a self-checkout device fixed to the checkout area, the weight sensor 3 is provided on a platform (placement section) on which products are placed after registration by the self-checkout device. The weight measured by the weight sensor 3 is transmitted to the POS terminal 1.

[0015] 2 is a control block diagram of the self-checkout system 100 according to the embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the POS terminal 1 includes a control device 11, a display device 12, an operation device 13, a reading device 14, and a communication device 15.

[0016] The control device 11 includes a processor, such as a CPU, and a memory. The control device 11 includes, as functional units, a product registration unit 111, a payment processing unit 112, a display control unit 113, and a fraud determination unit 114. Each functional unit of the control device 11 is realized by the processor executing a program stored in the memory. At least one of the functional units of the control device 11 may be realized by a processing circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

[0017] The product registration unit 111 registers the product read by the reading device 14 as a product to be purchased and settles the bill. The payment processing unit 112 performs payment processing for the product registered and settled by the product registration unit 111. The POS terminal 1 of this embodiment allows payment by cash, prepaid card, credit card, electronic money, or barcode. When the user selects payment by prepaid card, credit card, electronic money, or barcode, the payment processing unit 112 performs payment processing based on the input information of the prepaid card, credit card, electronic money, or barcode.

[0018] The display control unit 113 controls the display device 12 to display information about the product read by the reading device 14 and information about the clearance and settlement of the product. In addition, the display control unit 113 generates a confirmation screen and a guide screen about fraudulent registration according to the determination result of the fraud determination unit 114, and displays them on the display device 12.

[0019] When the product registered in the product registration unit 111 is a bundle product, the fraud determination unit 114 determines whether or not fraudulent registration of the bundle product has occurred. In this embodiment, a product that is also sold as a bundle product is called a "bundle product." FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a bundle product. As shown in FIG. 3, a bundle product PB is sold in a state where multiple products PU are bundled together with a bundling material BT such as a box, bag, or tape.

[0020] The bundled product shown in FIG. 3 is a six-can pack of beverages such as beer, but the bundled product is not limited to the example in FIG. 3 and may also include sale items sold in bulk, or shampoo and treatment sold as a set. The product PU included in the bundled product PB may be sold individually or as a bundled product, and such a product PU is referred to as a "bundled product" in this embodiment. In the following explanation, the product PU may be referred to as a "single item" to distinguish it from the bundled product PB. A bundled product refers to a single item that is also sold as a bundled product.

[0021] A barcode CB including product identification information of the bundled product PB is attached to the binding member BT of the bundled product PB. A barcode CU including product identification information of the single product PU is attached to the individual product PU. The fraudulent registration of a bundled product refers to the situation where, when registering the bundled product PB, the barcode CU of the single product PU is read erroneously or intentionally instead of the barcode CB of the bundled product PB. The fraud determination unit 114 determines whether or not a fraudulent registration of a bundled product has occurred based on the weight change before and after the registration of the product measured by the weight sensor 3 and a threshold value.

[0022] Returning to Figure 2, the display device 12 is, for example, an LCD display, and displays various screens including information about the product to be registered, information about the settlement and payment of the product, and a confirmation screen and guidance screen according to the judgment result of the fraud judgment unit 114.

[0023] The operation device 13 is, for example, a touch panel formed integrally with the display device 12. The operation device 13 is operated by a user to log in when starting to use the service, manually register products, give payment instructions, select a payment method, and input information for payment (such as a PIN number). Manual registration of products refers to the user operating the operation device 13 to register products without barcodes, such as vegetables, and products with barcodes, instead of reading the barcodes attached to the products. Information on manually registered products is transmitted to the control device 11.

[0024] The reading device 14 is a device that irradiates a laser scanning line onto a commodity to read a barcode attached to the commodity. The commodity information read by the reading device 14 is transmitted to the control device 11. The reading device 14 may also include a card reader that reads information on a prepaid card or credit card, a scanner that reads information on electronic money or a barcode, or a camera.

[0025] The communication device 15 is a network interface that transmits and receives data to and from the POS server 2 and the weight sensor 3. The communication device 15 transmits information input by a user via the POS terminal 1 to the POS server 2. In addition, the communication device 15 receives information transmitted from the POS server 2 and the weight sensor 3, and outputs the information to the control device 11.

[0026] The POS server 2 includes a control device 21, a communication device 22, and a storage device 23. The control device 21 manages information input to the POS terminal 1 and information provided to the POS terminal 1. The control device 21 is composed of a processor such as a CPU or DSP that executes a program stored in the storage device 23, a dedicated processing circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA, or both.

[0027] The communication device 22 is a network interface that transmits and receives data to and from the POS terminal 1. The communication device 22 outputs information received from the POS terminal 1 to the control device 21. In addition, the communication device 22 transmits product information extracted by the control device 21 to the POS terminal 1.

[0028] Storage device 23 is, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a flash memory, a volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, or a HDD. Storage device 23 includes a user information database 231 that stores user information, and a product information database 232 that stores product information. In Fig. 2, "database" is abbreviated as "DB." Storage device 23 may further include a payment information database that stores payment information.

[0029] The user information database 231 is a database that includes user information on users who use the POS terminal 1. The user information includes user identification information such as the user's name, age, and sex, product registration information of the user, payment information of the user, and past purchase history of the user.

[0030] The product information database 232 is a database that contains product information on products handled in the store. The product information includes product identification information for identifying the product, such as the product name and JAN, the product price, weight, and specific information indicating whether the product is a bundle-compatible product. The specific information is, for example, a flag that is "1" if the product is a bundle-compatible product and "0" if the product is not a bundle-compatible product.

[0031] Next, the operation of the self-checkout system 100 of the present embodiment will be described. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the operation flow of the self-checkout system 100 of Embodiment 1. The process of FIG. 5 is continuously performed after the process of FIG. 4. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the user logs in to the POS terminal 1 (S1). Then, the information input at the time of login is transmitted from the POS terminal 1 to the POS server 2 as user information (S2). Here, for example, the user reads a prepaid card with the card reader 14 of the POS terminal 1, and the prepaid card number is transmitted to the POS server 2 as user information.

[0032] Then, the products to be purchased are registered in the POS terminal 1 (S3), and the information of the products registered by the product registration unit 111 is transmitted to the POS server 2 as registration information (S4). The registration of products at the POS terminal 1 is performed by the user reading the barcode of the product with the card reader 14 or selecting the product by operating the operation device 13. The registered products are placed in the basket B of the shopping cart. As a result, the weight measured by the weight sensor 3 changes according to the weight of the registered products.

[0033] The control device 21 of the POS server 2 registers the registration information received from the POS terminal 1 in the user information database 231 as the user's product registration information (S5). Then, the control device 21 extracts the product information of the registered products (S6) and transmits it to the POS terminal 1 (S7). Here, the control device 21 of the POS server 2 extracts the product information from the product information database 232 based on the product identification information included in the registration information.

[0034] The fraud determination unit 114 of the POS terminal 1 determines whether the registered product is a bundle-corresponding product based on the product information received from the POS server 2 (S8). As described above, the bundle-corresponding product is a product that may be sold individually or as a bundle product. The fraud determination unit 114 determines whether the registered product is a bundle-corresponding product based on the specific information included in the product information.

[0035] If the registered product is not a bundle product (S8: NO), the process returns to step S3 and the user continues registering the product. On the other hand, if the registered product is a bundle product (S8: YES), the fraud determination unit 114 acquires the threshold value Wth based on the product information (S9). Here, the fraud determination unit 114 calculates the threshold value Wth based on the following formula (1). Threshold Wth = product weight W × α (1)

[0036] The product weight W is the weight per product and can be obtained from the product information. Normally, a bundle product is assumed to include three or more products, and the coefficient α is set to a value of 2 or more. In other words, the fraud determination unit 114 sets the threshold value Wth to a weight that is twice or more the product weight W.

[0037] Specifically, the coefficient α is set to any value within the range of "2≦α≦(N-1)". Here, N is the number of individual items in the bundled product. The coefficient α may be the same for all bundled products, or may vary depending on at least one of the product category, the product weight, and the number of individual items in the bundled product. When the coefficient α is set to a different value for each bundled product, the coefficient α may be set to (N-1), for example. Alternatively, when the coefficient α is set to a different value for each bundled product, the coefficient α may be set to 2 for products with a heavy weight (e.g., beverages, etc.), and the coefficient α may be set to (N-1) for products with a light weight (e.g., snacks, etc.). By setting the coefficient α according to the weight of the individual item in this way, it is possible to prevent a product from being erroneously determined to be an illegal registration due to measurement errors of the weight sensor 3 caused by the movement of the cart, etc., even when the weight of the individual item is light.

[0038] Next, the fraud determination unit 114 obtains a weight change value ΔW before and after the registration of the product from the measurement result of the weight sensor 3 (S10), and determines whether or not the weight change value ΔW is equal to or greater than a threshold value Wth (S11). The weight change value ΔW is a value obtained by subtracting the weight measured by the weight sensor 3 before the product was registered from the weight measured by the weight sensor 3 after the product was registered, and corresponds to the weight of the registered product. If the weight change value ΔW is less than the threshold value Wth (S11: NO), the process returns to step S3 to continue the registration of the product. In other words, if the weight change value ΔW is less than the threshold value Wth, it is determined that the product placed in basket B is a single bundle-compatible product, and no fraudulent registration of a bundle product has occurred.

[0039] On the other hand, if the weight change value ΔW is equal to or greater than the threshold value Wth (S11: YES), a confirmation screen is displayed on the display device 12 (S12). If the weight change value ΔW is equal to or greater than the threshold value Wth, the product placed in basket B is considered to be a bundled product, not a single bundled product. It is then determined that the user has mistakenly or intentionally read the barcode of the single product, not the barcode of the bundled product. Therefore, if the weight change value ΔW is equal to or greater than the threshold value Wth, the fraud determination unit 114 determines that fraudulent registration of the bundled product has occurred, and transmits the determination result to the display control unit 113. If the display control unit 113 receives the determination result from the fraud determination unit 114 that fraudulent registration of the bundled product has occurred, it causes the display device 12 to display a confirmation screen (S12).

[0040] Fig. 6 is an example of a confirmation screen in the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the confirmation screen includes a message inquiring whether or not the product is a bundled product, and a "Yes" button and a "No" button. In this way, when the weight change value ΔW is equal to or greater than the threshold value Wth, a confirmation screen inquiring whether or not the product is a bundled product is displayed, thereby notifying and warning the user that an unauthorized registration has occurred.

[0041] Next, as shown in Fig. 5, the display control unit 113 judges whether or not "Yes" has been selected by the user on the confirmation screen (S13). If "Yes" has been selected by the user on the confirmation screen (S13: YES), the display control unit 113 displays a guidance screen on the display device 12 (S14). Fig. 7 is an example of a guidance screen in the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, the guidance screen includes a message guiding the user to read the barcode of the pack (binding material) of the bundled product, and a "Back" button. By displaying the guidance screen in this manner, it is possible to guide the user who has mistakenly read the barcode of a single product on the correct operation.

[0042] Next, the product registration unit 111 judges whether or not a bundled product has been registered after the display of the guide screen (S15). If a bundled product has been registered (S15: YES), the product registration unit 111 instructs the POS server 2 to cancel the previously registered registration of the single product (S16). When the control device 21 of the POS server 2 receives the cancellation instruction from the POS terminal 1, it cancels the registration of the single product from the product registration information of the user (S17). The POS terminal 1 then returns to step S3 to continue the product registration, and the POS server 2 continues to register the product in the product registration information (S5) and to extract the product information (S6).

[0043] Furthermore, if the user does not select "Yes" on the confirmation screen (S13: NO), or if no bundled products are registered (S15: NO), the process returns to step S3 without canceling the registration of individual products, and product registration continues. Although not shown in Figures 4 and 5, once registration of all products to be purchased by the user is completed, payment processing is performed by the payment processing unit 112, and the transaction is completed.

[0044] As described above, in the self-checkout system 100 of this embodiment, when a registered product is a bundled product, it is possible to determine whether or not an unauthorized registration of the bundled product has occurred based on the measurement result of the weight sensor 3, and if an unauthorized registration has occurred, to warn the user on a confirmation screen. This makes it possible to prevent unauthorized registration of bundled products.

[0045] In addition, as a conventional technique, it has been proposed to suppress fraudulent accounting by users by comparing the weight of a product measured by a weight sensor with the weight of a registered product based on product information, and displaying an error screen if the comparison result is inappropriate. However, the weight of a product may be temporarily increased due to a season or a campaign. In this case, the weight of the product measured by the weight sensor will not match the weight of the registered product based on the product information, and an error will occur even if the weight is appropriate. In addition, changing the product information every season or campaign is not realistic because of the large burden of the change process. In contrast, in the self-checkout system 100 of this embodiment, the threshold value Wth is set to more than twice the weight of the product in order to detect fraudulent registration of bundled products. As a result, even if the weight of a product increases by less than twice due to a season or a campaign, it is possible to suppress erroneous determination that the registration is fraudulent without changing the product information, and to properly determine the occurrence of fraudulent registration of bundled products.

[0046] Furthermore, if the POS terminal 1 is installed in a shopping cart, the weight sensor 3 is loaded by the impact of the movement of the shopping cart, making it difficult to measure the weight accurately. In this case, the accuracy of the weight measurement for each item decreases, and erroneous judgment may occur. Furthermore, if the judgment of the fraudulent registration is made by waiting until the measured weight stabilizes, time may pass since the occurrence of fraud, and the notification may not be valid. In contrast, in the self-checkout system 100 of this embodiment, a threshold value Wth (more than twice the product weight) is set for bundled products to judge the fraudulent registration, so that even if an error of less than twice the weight occurs during movement, it is possible to prevent the registration from being erroneously judged as fraudulent and to appropriately judge the occurrence of the fraudulent registration of the bundled product.

[0047] Embodiment 2 Next, a self-checkout system 100A according to a second embodiment will be described. The self-checkout system 100A according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it includes an in-store management device 4 and in the processing performed after the confirmation screen is displayed. The other configurations and functions of the self-checkout system 100A are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0048] Fig. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-checkout system 100A according to embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 8, the self-checkout system 100A according to this embodiment includes a store management device 4 in addition to a POS terminal 1, a POS server 2, and a weight sensor 3. The store management device 4 is connected to the POS terminal 1 and the POS server 2 via a network 200 such as a LAN or the Internet so as to be capable of wireless communication.

[0049] The in-store management device 4 is an information terminal such as a tablet or a smartphone that is installed in the store and operated by the store employees. The employees use the in-store management device 4 to monitor and manage the POS terminals 1 in the store and manage the products in the store.

[0050] Fig. 9 is a control block diagram of a self-checkout system 100A according to the second embodiment. The configurations of the POS terminal 1, the POS server 2, and the weight sensor 3 in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 9, the in-store management device 4 includes a control device 41, a display device 42, an operation device 43, and a communication device 44. The control device 41 includes a processor such as a CPU, and a memory. Based on a notification from the POS terminal 1, the control device 41 implements measures against fraudulent registration of bundled products.

[0051] The display device 42 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays notifications and the like from the POS terminal 1. The operation device 43 is, for example, a touch panel formed integrally with the display device 42. An employee operates the operation device 43 to take measures against fraudulent registration of bundled products, and the like.

[0052] The communication device 44 is a network interface that transmits and receives data to and from the POS terminal 1 and the POS server 2. The communication device 44 receives a notification from the POS terminal 1 and transmits it to the control device 41.

[0053] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations of the self-checkout system 100A according to the embodiment 2. The operations of the POS server 2 in this embodiment are the same as those in the embodiment 1. Moreover, the processes of steps S1 to S16 of the POS terminal 1 in this embodiment are also the same as those in the embodiment 1.

[0054] In this embodiment, if the user does not select "Yes" on the confirmation screen (S13: NO) and if the bundled product is not registered (S15: NO), the fraud determination unit 114 of the POS terminal 1 notifies the in-store management device 4 that a fraudulent registration of a bundled product has occurred (S21). The notification includes identification information of the POS terminal 1 where the fraudulent registration occurred, identification information of the user, identification information of the fraudulently registered product, etc.

[0055] When the control device 41 of the in-store management device 4 receives a notification from the POS terminal 1 that a fraudulent registration of a bundled product has occurred, the control device 41 implements measures against the fraudulent registration (S22). As a measure in this case, for example, the control device 21 displays the identification information of the POS terminal 1, the identification information of the user, and the identification information of the fraudulently registered product, which are included in the notification from the POS terminal 1, on the display device 42 as a warning screen. This allows a store employee to monitor the POS terminal 1. Alternatively, when checking for missed product registrations at the POS terminal 1, the control device 21 may display the fraudulently registered product as a product requiring attention on the display device 42. This allows for efficient confirmation of missed product registrations by the user.

[0056] As described above, in the self-checkout system 100A of this embodiment, in addition to the effects of embodiment 1, if the fraudulent registration of a bundled product is not corrected even after a confirmation screen is displayed to the user, the in-store management device 4 is notified and countermeasures are implemented by the in-store management device 4, thereby further preventing fraudulent registration of bundled products.

[0057] The above is a description of the embodiment, but the above embodiment can be modified and combined. For example, all or part of the functions of the POS terminal 1, the POS server 2, and the in-store management device 4 may be provided in other devices or servers. As a specific example, in the above embodiment, the control device 11 of the POS terminal 1 has the fraud determination unit 114 that determines whether or not a bundled product has been fraudulently registered, but the control device 21 of the POS server 2 may have the fraud determination unit 114. In this case, the POS server 2 notifies the POS terminal 1 of the determination result, and a confirmation screen and a guide screen are displayed on the POS terminal 1. Furthermore, each database stored in the storage device 23 may be provided in a separate server.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the fraud determination unit 114 is configured to determine whether or not the registered product is a bundle-compatible product based on the specific information included in the product information, but the method of determining whether or not the product is a bundle-compatible product is not limited to this. For example, the fraud determination unit 114 may determine whether or not the registered product is a bundle-compatible product based on the category of the registered product. Specifically, the fraud determination unit 114 may determine that the registered product is a bundle-compatible product when the category of the registered product is beverage, detergent, processed meat such as ham or bacon, or bath salts, which are likely to be bundled products. Alternatively, a database including a list of bundle-compatible products is stored in the storage device 23 of the POS server 2, and the fraud determination unit 114 may determine that the registered product is a bundle-compatible product when the registered product is included in the database.

[0059] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the threshold value Wth used in determining whether a bundled product is fraudulent is determined from the product weight W and the coefficient α, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the threshold value Wth for each bundled product may be stored in the product information database 232 as product information in advance. Alternatively, a threshold database that stores the threshold value Wth for each bundled product or for each product category may be stored in the storage device 23 of the POS server 2. The fraud determination unit 114 then determines whether a bundled product is fraudulently registered by referring to the product information or the threshold database. In this case, too, the threshold value Wth that is twice or more the product weight is set and stored in advance. For example, in the case where a bundled product is a combination of different types of products to form a bundled product (e.g., shampoo and treatment), the threshold value Wth that is twice the weight of the lightest product is set in advance, so that the occurrence of fraudulent registration of a bundled product in which two different types of products are bundled together can be appropriately determined. In addition, when the threshold value Wth is set in advance, the product weight does not need to be stored in the product information database 232 as product information. In other words, even if the product weight is not stored individually, it is possible to determine whether a bundled product is fraudulently registered. This eliminates the need to update the stored product information even if the weight of the product changes due to product renewal or a limited-time event. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 POS terminal, 2 POS server, 3 weight sensor, 4 in-store management device, 11 control device, 12 display device, 13 operation device, 14 reading device, 15 communication device, 21 control device, 22 communication device, 23 storage device, 41 control device, 42 display device, 43 operation device, 44 communication device, 100, 100A self-checkout system, 111 product registration unit, 112 payment processing unit, 113 display control unit, 114 fraud determination unit, 200 network, 231 user information database, 232 product information database.

Claims

1. a control device that determines whether or not an unauthorized registration of a bundle product including N products (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) has occurred among products registered by a user; a display device that displays a confirmation screen for the user to confirm the unauthorized registration when the control device determines that the unauthorized registration has occurred; The control device includes: determining whether the product registered by the user is a bundle-compatible product that is also sold as a bundle product; If the registered product is a bundle-compatible product, a weight change value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the weight measured by the weight sensor before the registered product was placed on the placement section from the weight measured by the weight sensor after the registered product was placed on the placement section, is determined to be equal to or greater than a threshold value based on the measurement result of a weight sensor provided on a placement section on which the registered product is placed, If the weight change value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that the fraudulent registration has occurred. The threshold value is twice the weight of the product when N=2, and is greater than or equal to twice the weight of the product and less than or equal to (N-1) times the weight of the product when N=3 or more.

2. The POS terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the control device determines whether the product is a bundle-compatible product based on a registered category of the product.

3. 2. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value varies depending on at least one of the category of the product, the weight of the product, and N, which is the number of the products in a bundle product.

4. 2. The POS terminal according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays a guidance screen that prompts the user to read a bar code of a bundled product after displaying the confirmation screen.

5. A POS terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4; The weight sensor; a POS server that stores product information of the product; The product information includes the weight of the product or the threshold value.

6. The store management device further includes a store management device that manages the POS terminal. When the control device of the POS terminal determines that the fraudulent registration has occurred, the control device notifies the in-store management device, The self-checkout system according to claim 5 , wherein the in-store management device implements measures against the fraudulent registration when the in-store management device receives the notification from the POS terminal.

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