DE102008034719B4 - payment machine - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for identifying a shopping basket recorded at a goods recording unit and having a shopping basket identifier at a payment machine with a housing in which a money deposit and dispensing module and/or a card reading module and in which a receipt recording unit for recording the shopping basket identifier identifying the customer's shopping basket comprising at least one product are arranged, wherein the shopping basket identifier is integrated in a recording receipt issued by the goods recording unit, with a receipt placement element facing the receipt recording unit on the customer side, which is at least partially transparent and has a recording area, and with a display unit for displaying a price to be paid by the customer for the shopping basket, wherein,
- the document detection unit (5) comprises at least one lighting element (14) for illuminating the detection area (17) of the document placement element (15) and a camera (13) for optically detecting the detection area (17) of the document placement element (15), and
- the at least one lighting element (14) and the camera (13) are arranged on a side of the receipt placement element (15) facing away from the customer, and
- a registration document (11) provided by the goods registration unit (9) can be placed flat on the document placement element (15), and
- the recording document (11) can be recorded by means of the camera (13), wherein the shopping basket comprises goods with a goods identification and at least one information carrier with an identification field containing identification information is placed on the recording area of the document placement element of the document recording unit, characterized in that
- individual images of the detection area (17) of the document placement element (15) are continuously captured by the camera (13) as an image sequence,
- the image sequence is further processed in such a way that an individual image having an identification field (22) of an information carrier is separated, and
- the separated individual image is processed in such a way that the identification information of the information carrier is read out in order to assign the information carrier to the shopping basket recorded on the goods recording unit (9).

Description

The invention relates to a payment machine with a housing in which a money deposit and dispensing module and/or a card reading module and in which a receipt recording unit for recording a shopping cart identifier identifying the customer's shopping cart comprising at least one item are arranged, wherein the shopping cart identifier is integrated in a recording receipt issued by a goods recording unit, with a receipt placement element facing the receipt recording unit on the customer side, which is at least partially transparent and has a recording area, and with a display unit for displaying a price to be paid by the customer for the shopping cart.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for identifying a shopping basket recorded on a goods recording unit and having a shopping basket identifier at a payment machine, wherein the shopping basket comprises goods with a goods identifier and at least one information carrier with an identification field containing identification information is placed on a detection area of a receipt placement element of a receipt recording unit.

There is a noticeable trend among various retail companies to do away with traditional cash register systems and the cashiers who operate them in favor of self-service checkouts. Here, the customer registers his or her goods independently. The customer pays at a payment machine that has the option of paying in cash, including the option of returning money and/or card payment facilities.

The customer's goods can be recorded during shopping using a mobile handheld scanner, a scanner attached to the shopping cart or a goods recording unit, such as that sold by the applicant under the name "Scan Tower". The goods recording unit is typically provided in a checkout zone downstream of the sales area. The goods selected by the customer are recorded here, for example, using a classic barcode reader. After the goods have been fully recorded, the customer receives a recording receipt. The recording receipt can be in the form of a paper receipt. It contains the price of the goods and a machine-readable shopping cart identifier, which is also in the form of a machine-readable barcode.

After the customer's goods have been recorded, the customer pays for their purchase at a payment machine. The payment machine, which the applicant sells under the name "Pay Tower", for example, can be located separately from the goods recording unit. At the payment machine, the recording receipt is read by a scanner and used to identify the customer and their shopping cart.

The shopping cart recognition serves as a key for assigning a previously recorded shopping cart to the customer. The purchase data is available electronically at the payment machine. For this purpose, the payment machine is linked to the goods registration unit via data technology. The customer pays for his purchase in cash or by card and then receives a purchase receipt that contains the type and quantity of the goods purchased, the individual prices, the total price and any other information required under tax law. The disadvantage here is that scanning the registration receipts at the payment machine regularly causes problems. Correctly positioning the registration receipt with its computer-readable shopping cart identification in front of the scanning unit is difficult for inexperienced users. At the same time, it often happens that the registration receipt becomes crumpled or bent during transfer from the goods registration unit to the payment machine. In this case, reading the registration receipt at the payment machine is even more difficult.

As an example, a company brochure shows a payment machine with a cash input and output module, a card reader module and a receipt capture unit ( Wincor Nixdorf: BEETLE/iSCAN Pay Tower 200R; Important Notes, Site Preparation and Commissioning; November 2007 ). DE 10254060 A1 shows an image recording device with an image recording unit and an image attachment surface. DE 20221591 U1 shows a checkout system that can be used in a supermarket. EP 0403670 A1 shows a goods recording and accounting system for sales transactions.

The object of the present invention is therefore to further develop a payment machine with a receipt recording unit for recording a shopping cart identifier and a method for identifying a shopping cart recorded on a goods recording unit and having a shopping cart identifier in such a way that the functional reliability is further increased and error-free operation is possible in a simple manner even by inexperienced persons.

Such a payment machine is characterized in that the receipt detection unit has at least one lighting element for illuminating the detection area of the receipt placement element and a camera for optical detection of the detection area of the receipt placement element comprises that at least one lighting element and the camera are arranged on a side of the receipt placement element facing away from the customer, a registration receipt provided by the goods registration unit can be placed flat on the receipt placement element and the registration receipt can be recorded by means of the camera.

The particular advantage of the invention is that it eliminates the need for a traditional goods scanner and instead optically records the receipt using a camera. The shopping cart identification provided on the receipt is determined using an image processing routine. By eliminating the error-prone scanner process, reading the receipt is made significantly safer and easier, even for inexperienced people, such as older people or occasional shoppers.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dimensions of the recording document correspond to the dimensions of the document placement element. This defines a defined placement surface and in particular an area of minimal size to be recorded by the camera. The camera can now be selected so that the recording document can be reliably recorded and processed in the downstream evaluation routine without an unnecessarily large recording and, as a result, an unnecessarily high and expensive camera resolution being necessary.

According to a further development of the invention, the receipt placement element is arranged in a recess provided in the housing in such a way that the detection area of the receipt placement element has a stop at least in sections on the edge. This ensures that the detection document is correctly positioned on the receipt placement element and can therefore be read out easily and without errors. At the same time, the stop serves as user guidance, so that usability is further increased.

According to a further development of the invention, the receipt support element is designed as a receipt support plate that extends in a horizontal direction or in a direction that is slightly inclined to the horizontal. This ensures that the receipt remains on the receipt support element "by itself" and does not have to be secured against slipping or falling. This gives the user freedom of movement during the payment process and makes it unnecessary to remove and stow the receipt before paying. This is perceived as a convenience gain, particularly in view of the goods that have just been scanned and now have to be carried or supervised by the customer.

According to a further development of the invention, the camera is designed as a digital camera. The design of the camera as a digital camera is particularly inexpensive and robust. At the same time, the recording data is available electronically, so that analog-digital conversion is not necessary for post-processing.

According to a further development of the invention, the receipt recording unit has two lighting elements arranged at a distance and assigned to opposite sides of the camera. This advantageously ensures uniform illumination of the recording area of the receipt recording unit, which facilitates the optical recording of the shopping cart identification.

To solve this problem, a method for identifying a shopping basket recorded on a goods recording unit and having a shopping basket identifier at a payment machine is characterized in that individual images of the detection area of the receipt placement element are continuously recorded by a camera as an image sequence, the image sequence is further processed in such a way that an individual image having an identification field of an information carrier is separated, and
the separated individual image is processed in such a way that the identification information of the information carrier is read out in order to assign the information carrier to the shopping basket recorded on the recording unit.

The particular advantage of the invention is that the customer's shopping cart is identified using electronic image processing routines. Reading an identification code or the like can thus be very robust and largely error-free.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a receipt created at the goods registration station is read out as the information carrier. In this way, the customer's purchase can be fully identified and the payment and receipt process initiated simply by reading out the receipt. This method is particularly time-efficient, customer-friendly and less prone to errors.

According to a further development of the invention, the product identifier of at least one product from the shopping basket is read as the information carrier. If the registration document is lost or becomes unreadable on the way from the product registration unit to the payment machine, a characteristic article can be removed from the customer's shopping basket and recorded again using the receipt recording unit. If the article is only present in one shopping basket to be paid for at this time, the recording receipt is also clearly identified. Otherwise, a second or third article from the customer is recorded again until the paying shopping basket is identified. A completely new scanning of the purchased goods can be omitted.

According to a further development of the invention, the separated individual image is displayed on a monitor when an error signal is present, which is generated when the identification information of the entry receipt does not match any of the shopping cart identifiers pending payment. By displaying the image of the unreadable entry receipt to the customer on the monitor, it is made very clear to the customer what needs to be done so that the entry receipt can be read. For example, a crumpled receipt needs to be smoothed out, a "dog-ear" needs to be removed, or a twisted receipt needs to be repositioned. This increases the ease of use and manageability.

According to a further development of the invention, the identification information is applied to the information carrier as a barcode. The barcode is a long-used, tried and tested and reliable information carrier that has been used successfully in retail for many years. It is easy to use, safe and standardized. When using a barcode, the product identifier provided by the manufacturer on the product can be used and there is no need to attach a separate product identifier. This makes the use of a barcode attractive, especially from an economic point of view.

Further advantages of the invention emerge from the further subclaims.

Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

• 1 eine schematische Darstellung eines Bezahlautomaten im Zusammenwirken mit einer Warenerfassungseinheit,
• 2 eine Seitendarstellung einer Belegerfassungseinheit und ihre Integration in den Bezahlautomaten gemäß 1,
• 3 eine Draufsicht auf eine Belegerfassungseinheit und ihre Integration in einen Bezahlautomaten nach einer zweiten Ausführungsform,
• 4a den ersten Teil eines Ablaufdiagramms zu Identifikation eines Erfassungsbelegs an einem Bezahlautomaten und
• 4b den zweiten Teil eines Ablaufdiagramms zu Identifikation eines Erfassungsbelegs an einem Bezahlautomaten.

They show:

• 1 a schematic representation of a payment machine in interaction with a goods registration unit,
• 2 a side view of a receipt capture unit and its integration into the payment machine according to 1 ,
• 3 a plan view of a receipt recording unit and its integration into a payment machine according to a second embodiment,
• 4a the first part of a flow chart for identifying a receipt at a payment machine and
• 4b the second part of a flow chart for identifying a receipt at a payment machine.

The payment machine 1 according to the invention has as essential components according to the 1 and 2 a housing 2, a money deposit and dispensing module 3, a card reading module 4, a receipt recording unit 5 and a display unit 6. The payment machine 1 is connected to a goods recording unit 9 via a data line 7, 7' and a company network 8. The goods recording unit 9 comprises a receipt output unit 10 (for example a receipt printer) for creating and issuing a recording receipt 11 and a goods scanner 12 for identifying purchased goods.

The payment machine 1 and the goods registration unit 9 can be spatially separated from one another or designed as a common functional unit or spatially integrated. The data connection of the goods registration unit 9 and the payment machine 1 can be wired or wireless, for example in the form of 1:1 cabling, without the need for the company network. Furthermore, a payment machine 1 can be connected to a plurality of goods registration units 9; likewise, a goods registration unit 9 can interact with a plurality of payment machines 1. The payment machines 1 and the goods registration units 9 are connected in terms of data, for example via the company network 8.

The receipt recording unit 5 of the payment machine 1 comprises a camera 13 and two lighting elements 14. A receipt placement element 15 designed as a receipt placement plate is assigned to the receipt recording unit 5. The receipt placement plate 15 is attached to the edge of the housing 2 and is recessed relative to the adjacent upper side of the housing. A recess 16 in the housing 2 is provided in such a way that a detection area 17 of the receipt placement plate 15 is accessible to the customer and can be viewed by him on the one hand and can also be optically detected by the camera 13 on the other.

The detection area 17 of the document support plate 15 is surrounded on the edge by a stop 18 formed by the housing 2. It limits the Detection area 17 of the receipt placement element 15 at least in sections and simplifies the correct positioning of the recording receipt 11 in the detection area 17. Advantageously, the dimensions of the detection area 17 correspond to the dimensions of the recording receipt 11. In this way, the recording receipt 11 can be placed on the receipt placement plate 15 in a simple manner and without the risk of incorrect positioning or tilting. A rotation of the recording receipt 11 by 180° (placement "overhead") can be detected and calculated out by an image processing routine. For the customer, placing the receipt is very easy; he will intuitively place the recording receipt 11 on the receipt placement plate 15 with the detection area 17 completely covered.

According to an alternative embodiment of the document capture unit 5 according to 3 Instead of the stop 18, a (for example optical) display means 19, 19', 19" can be provided. The detection area 17 is designed to be transparent. The correct positioning of the detection document on the document support element 15 is simplified by highlighting the detection area, for example with the help of arrows 19 and/or contact edges 19'. A further optical display 19" is provided in that the visible part of the support element 15, which does not belong to the detection area 17, is optically marked as a surface, for example made non-transparent or colored.

A customer who shops in a store that uses self-service checkouts puts together his or her personal shopping in the goods department as usual by collecting groceries, drugstore items or the like in a shopping cart. The purchased goods as a whole are referred to as a shopping cart, without them having to be physically grouped together in a shopping basket.

After selecting and putting together the goods, the customer goes to a so-called checkout zone, which is located between the sales area and the exit and can be used instead of or in addition to a traditional cash register. In the checkout zone, the customer first registers his goods at a goods registration unit 9. Typically, he scans the barcode provided on the packaging. In the goods registration unit 9, the customer's shopping cart is digitally reproduced by recording the type and quantity of the goods purchased and saving them with the stored price. Once the shopping cart has been fully recorded by the customer, the shopping cart is assigned a shopping cart identifier 21. This shopping cart identifier 21 is saved with the digital image of the shopping cart and is also applied to the registration receipt 11. In addition to the shopping cart identification 21, which is printed as a barcode 21 on the registration document 11 within an identification field 22 that is always provided in the same place, the final price 23 to be paid for the entire purchase is printed on the registration document 11.

The customer now goes from the goods registration unit 9 to the payment machine 1. He places the registration receipt 11 as an information carrier on the registration area 17 of the receipt placement element 15 and thus identifies himself to the payment machine 1. To do this, the camera 13 provided in the payment machine 1 continuously optically records the registration area 17 of the receipt placement element 15. The individual images are stored as an image sequence. The most recent individual image of the image sequence is checked by means of a first image processing routine R1 to determine whether identification information, i.e. a shopping cart identifier 21 or a goods identifier 20, is part of the recorded image.

If the most recent individual image in the image sequence contains identification information, this image is separated from the image sequence. The identification information is read from the image using a second image processing routine R2. The identification information is first saved as ID ₁ and then compared with shopping cart identifiers 21 provided by any goods recording unit 9. If the identification information corresponds to a shopping cart identifier 21, a confirmation signal B ₁ is generated. This identifies the shopping cart. All information necessary to initiate the actual payment process, i.e. receiving the money, returning any necessary change and printing a receipt, is now available at the payment station 1.

If the identification information cannot be read out correctly from the separated image because, for example, the registration document 11 is crumpled or bent or incorrectly positioned on the detection area 17, the image captured by the camera is displayed on the display unit 6. By displaying the image, the customer is made very clearly aware of measures that he or she must take so that the registration document 11 can be read out by machine. This can be, for example, smoothing out the registration document 11 or positioning it correctly on the detection area 17.

If the registration receipt 11 is lost on the way from the goods registration unit 9 to the payment machine 1 or if it is so badly damaged that it can no longer be read by a machine, the customer can place a characteristic article from his shopping cart with the goods identifier 20, which will typically be in the form of a barcode provided on the goods packaging, onto the registration area 17 of the receipt placement element 15 as an information carrier instead of the registration receipt 11 and register it again. The second image processing routine R2 reads out the identification information and stores it (ID ₁ ), and it is determined that it does not correspond to any shopping cart identifier 21 of a shopping cart intended for payment. The identification information is then compared with the goods identifier 20 of the shopping carts intended for payment. If at this point in time the characteristic article, which may be rarely purchased, is only present in a single shopping cart to be paid for, the customer's shopping cart is identified via the goods identifier 20. In this case, a confirmation signal B ₂ is generated analogously to the identification of the shopping cart via the shopping cart ID. The confirmation signal B ₂ can, but does not have to, correspond to the confirmation signal B _1. The payment process is then initiated as usual.

If a single article is not sufficient to identify the shopping basket, a second or third article is recorded again at the payment machine 1. The product identifiers 20 of the newly recorded goods are saved (ID ₂ , ID ₃ , ...) and compared with the customers' recorded but not yet paid shopping baskets. As a rule, the shopping basket will be identified by one or a small number of articles. As soon as the customer's shopping basket is identified, the confirmation signal B ₂ is generated here too and the payment process is initiated. If the shopping basket with two to three articles is not identified, theoretically all of the goods in the shopping basket can be recorded again. The payment process is then initiated after the shopping basket has been identified or after all of the goods have been recorded again.

The information about the shopping baskets waiting to be paid for, the shopping basket identifiers 21 assigned to them, the goods summarized in the shopping baskets, the goods identifiers 20 identifying these goods and the sales price information can be stored in a central processing unit. For this purpose, this central processing unit is linked in terms of data technology to both the goods registration unit 9 and the payment machine 1. After the goods registration has been completed, the information characterizing the purchase is forwarded from the goods registration unit 9 to the central processing unit. The payment machine 1 has access to this information and uses it to identify the shopping basket, to carry out the payment process and to issue the receipt. Instead of a separate central processing unit, the relevant information can be kept ready in the payment machine 1 and/or the goods registration unit 9.

The goods registration carried out by the customer himself at the goods registration unit 9 as well as the identification of the shopping basket via characteristic articles can be carried out instead by a supervisor who is appropriately trained in the use of the devices.

If the determined identifier does not match either a shopping cart identifier 21 or the product identifier 20 of a product in a shopping cart intended for payment, an error signal F is generated. As a consequence of this, for example, a supervisor can be notified or the recording process can be repeated.

After the payment process, the payment machine 1 is released and is available to other customers. The goods registration unit 9 can already be used by another customer while the payment machine 1 is in use. In this way, it is possible to increase the throughput in the checkout zone.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

1

payment machine

2

Housing

3

cash input and output module

4

card reader module

5

document capture unit

6

display unit

7, 7'

data line

8

company network

9

goods registration unit

10

receipt issuing unit

11

entry document

12

goods scanner

13

camera

14

lighting elements

15

document support element

16

recess

17

detection range

18

stop

19

display means

20

product identification

21

shopping cart identifier

22

identification field

23

final price

B1

confirmation signal

B2

confirmation signal

F

error signal

R1

image processing routine

R2

image processing routine

Claims (15)

Method for identifying a shopping basket recorded at a goods recording unit and having a shopping basket identifier at a payment machine with a housing in which a money deposit and dispensing module and/or a card reading module and in which a receipt recording unit for recording the shopping basket identifier identifying the customer's shopping basket comprising at least one item are arranged, wherein the shopping basket identifier is integrated in a recording receipt issued by the goods recording unit, with a receipt placement element facing the receipt recording unit on the customer side, which is at least partially transparent and has a recording area, and with a display unit for displaying a price to be paid by the customer for the shopping basket, wherein - the receipt recording unit (5) comprises at least one lighting element (14) for illuminating the recording area (17) of the receipt placement element (15) and a camera (13) for optically recording the recording area (17) of the receipt placement element (15), and - the at least one lighting element (14) and the camera (13) are arranged on a side of the receipt placement element (15) facing away from the customer, and - a receipt (11) provided by the goods registration unit (9) can be placed flat on the receipt placement element (15), and - the receipt (11) can be captured by means of the camera (13), wherein the shopping basket comprises goods with a goods identifier and at least one information carrier with an identification field containing identification information is placed on the detection area of the receipt placement element of the receipt registration unit, characterized in that - individual images from the detection area (17) of the receipt placement element (15) are continuously captured by the camera (13) as an image sequence, - the image sequence is further processed in such a way that an individual image having an identification field (22) of an information carrier is separated, and - the separated individual image is processed in such a way that the identification information of the information carrier is used to assign the information carrier to the information carrier captured on the goods registration unit (9). shopping cart is read. procedure according to claim 1 , characterized in that the identification information of the information carrier is compared with the shopping cart identifier (21) of the shopping cart provided by the goods registration unit (9) and/or with the goods identifier (20) of the goods assigned to the shopping cart provided by the goods registration unit (9). procedure according to claim 2 , characterized in that if the identification information of the information carrier matches either the shopping cart identifier (21) or the product identifier (20) of a product assigned to the shopping cart, a confirmation signal (B ₁ , B ₂ ) is generated and that if the identification information of the information carrier does not match either the shopping cart identifier (21) or the product identifier (20) of a product assigned to the shopping cart, an error signal (F) is generated. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized in that a registration document (11) created at the goods registration unit (9) is read out as the information carrier. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that when an error signal is present, the separated individual image is displayed on a display unit (6). Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized in that at least one product is read from the shopping basket as the information carrier. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 6 , characterized in that the identification information is applied as a barcode on the information carrier. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 , characterized in that the dimensions of the detection area (17) of the document placement element (15) correspond to the dimensions of the detection document (11). Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 8 , characterized in that display means (19, 19', 19") and/or stop means (18) are provided such that the recording document (11) is placed on the document placement element (15) with complete coverage of the recording area (17). Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 , characterized in that the document placing element (15) is arranged in a recess (16) provided in the housing (2) such that the detection area (17) of the document placing element (15) has a stop (18) at least in sections on the edge. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 10 , characterized in that the document laying element (15) is designed as a document laying plate which extends in a horizontal direction or in a direction slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 11 , characterized in that the camera (13) is designed as a digital camera. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 12 , characterized in that the camera (13) has a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor as an image sensor. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 13 , characterized in that the camera (13) and the at least one lighting element (14) form a common structural unit. Method according to one of the Claims 1 until 14 , characterized in that the document detection unit (5) has two lighting elements (14) arranged at a distance and assigned to opposite sides of the camera (13).

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