Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-10
2001-11-06
Olszewski, Robert P. (Department: 2167)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register
C340S286060
Reexamination Certificate
active
06314407
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal unit provided with a customer approach notification function which is suitable for use as the POS for notification of the presence of a customer waiting to make a purchase when the operator is absent.
2. Background Art
Recently, POS (Point Of Sales) terminal units have become widely distributed, and the performances of the POS terminals have been remarkably improved, including convenient serviceability.
However, a problem is often encountered in how to notify a salesclerk of the shop that a customer is waiting for making a purchase when a salesclerk is absent. That is, in a small shop like a convenience store, where only a few salesclerk work, the sales clerk often leaves the POS terminal unit, when they are working at a display case or outside the store area (a storage space or the office in the back of the shop). In such a circumstance, when a customer wishes to settle the account, the customer must call the salesclerk by himself.
In the field of a cash transaction by ATM, usually a sensor such as an infrared sensor is provided near the terminal unit for sensing the presence of a human being in order to conduct an automatic transaction or to warn that a card or change has been left behind using voice or image by sensing approach or departure of a customer through the sensor, and in order to prevent crimes by using outside of regular business hours for customer's benefit and for monitoring the transactions.
However, in the POS terminal units provided in convenience stores, there is no way to provide notification of the presence of the customer waiting for making a purchase or to call the salesclerk's attention to the presence of a customer. This entails the customer waiting meaninglessly or calling the salesclerk, so that such a conventional POS unit causes a lowering of the service and allow burglary to occur in the extreme case.
The present invention is carried out to solve the above described problems. It is therefor objects of the present invention to provide a POS terminal units, which, when the operator is absent from the POS terminal unit, it is possible to notify the operator the presence of a customer waiting for the account by an warning sound, and, even when the operator is away from the POS terminal unit, it is also possible to prevent an obstrusive sound when a warning is unnecessary due to previously identifying the presence of the customer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A POS terminal unit provided with a customer's approach notification function according to the present invention comprises: a first detecting device for detecting a presence of a customer near the POS terminal unit; a control device for identifying the presence of the customer near the POS terminal unit by detecting continuously the presence of the customer for a period of time; and an output device for notifying an operator the presence of the customer near the POS terminal unit. The POS terminal unit comprises: a first detecting device for detecting the presence of the customer by a wireless devices, and for sending data to a control device when detecting the customer for more than a time period predetermined by the time information setting portion, a second detecting device for detecting the presence of the operator near the POS terminal unit, wherein the control device annuls the notification to the operator by the output device, when the operator is present near the POS terminal unit.
In the above structure of the POS terminal unit, when the approach sensor detects the approach of a customer towards the POS terminal unit, the control device or the control portion operates an output device such as a buzzer by receiving the data from the first detecting portion. The present POS terminal unit can recognize the presence of the customer even when the operator is apart from the POS terminal unit. The first detecting portion is constituted by a non-contact type ID card identification sensor or the like, and is capable of receiving the data of the ID card located within a predetermined space range. The ID card identification sensor reads the data of the ID card possessed by the operator and outputs the data of the ID card to the second detecting device or portion. The second detecting portion sends the data to the control portion after confirming that the received data agrees with the data stored in the ID information registration portion. The control portion does not drive the output device such as a buzzer
7
even when the control portion receives data on a customer's approach from the first detecting portion
3
, if the operator is present near the POS terminal unit. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the sound of buzzer in an unnecessary situation such as when the operator is present.
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Cuff Michael
NEC Corporation
Olszewski Robert P.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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