Pos system having time-of-consumption management function of sales commodities

• US 20040193497A1
• Filed: 01/29/2004
• Published: 09/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Familymart Company Limited (Itochu Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Familymart Company Limited (Itochu Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Eiichi
• Application Number:
  US10/485,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20040193497A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/01 Details for indicating displaying information in general G09F, G09G
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/145 PLU-management

Abstract

To provide a POS system so designed that where a commodity whose the time of consumption has been passed was read, a warning message is displayed to an operator to call an attention to the operator. A POS system comprising: a bar code read means for reading a bar code attached to a sales commodity; a PLU storage means for storing commodity data such as commodity names of sales commodities and sales prices corresponding to the bar code; a display means for displaying commodity names and prices of sales commodities; a control means for getting access to the storage means when commodities are sold, specifying the commodities by the bar code of sales commodities, reading data relating to the commodity names of the commodities and the sales prices, displaying the commodity names and the prices of the commodities on the display means, and carrying out sales processing of the commodities; and a clock means, the control means recognizing that the sales commodity is a commodity subjected to management of the time of consumption on the basis of the bar code read by the bar code read means, comparing the time-of-consumption data included in the bar code with the present time from the clock means, and where the time-of-consumption data has passed the present time, displaying a warning thereof on the display means.

Claims

1. A POS system having a time-of-consumption management function of sales commodities, comprising:

a bar code read means for reading a bar code attached to a sales commodity;

a PLU (Primary Logical Unit) storage means for storing commodity data such as commodity names of sales commodities and sales prices corresponding to said bar code;

a display means for displaying commodity names and prices of sales commodities;

a control means for getting access to said storage means when commodities are sold, specifying the commodities by said bar code of sales commodities, reading data relating to the commodity names of the commodities and the sales prices, displaying the commodity names and the prices of the commodities on said display means, and carrying out sales processing of the commodities; and

a clock means, characterized in that

said control means recognizes that the sales commodity is a commodity subjected to management of the time of consumption on the basis of the bar code read by said bar code read means, and

the time-of-consumption data included in the bar code is compared with the present time from said clock means, and where said time-of-consumption data has passed the present time, a warning thereof is displayed on said display means.

2. The POS system according to claim 1, wherein said bar code comprises a flag code, a commodity code, a bar code including a time code, and a check code applied corresponding to each of said codes, and

said control means of the POS system recognizes that sales commodity is a commodity subject to management of the time of consumption from said flag code, specifies said commodity from said commodity code, and recognizes the time of consumption of said commodity from said time code.

3. The POS system according to claim 2, wherein said bar code comprises a code representative of a decimal number of 13 figures in total, said flag code is represented by the first 2-figure decimal code, said commodity code is represented by the next 6-figure decimal code, said time code is represented by the next 4-figure decimal code, and said check code is represented by the last 1-figure decimal code.

4. The POS system according to claim 3, wherein the decimal code of 4 figures showing said time code comprises:

a decimal code of 2 figures or 4 figures representative of a date of said time of consumption, and

a decimal code of 2 figures representative of the time of said time of consumption where the decimal code representative of the date of said time of consumption is 2 figures.

5. The POS system according to claim 4, wherein the decimal code of 2 figures representative of the date of said time of consumption is a Julian date continuously applied with a calendar date or a specific date as the first date.

6. The POS system according to claim 1, wherein said POS system comprises a plurality of POS terminal devices and a central data processing unit, and said PLU storage means is arranged within said central data processing unit.

7. The POS system according to claim 6, wherein said display device comprises a display device for a client in the POS terminal device and a display device for an operator, and said warning display is displayed on said display device for an operator.

8. The POS system according to claim 6, wherein said POS terminal device is so constituted that the commodity relating to said warning display is not subjected to registration processing as sales commodity.

9. A POS system having a time-of-consumption management function of sales commodities comprising:

a commodity code management device for unitedly managing a commodity code for specifying commodities to be handled;

a commodity label printing device for printing and outputting a bar code comprising a flag code showing, along with commodity information of commodities relating to the commodity code applied by said commodity code management device, that said commodities are commodities subjected to management of the time of consumption, a commodity code for specifying said commodities, a bar code including a time code for displaying the time of consumption of said commodities, and a check code applied corresponding to each of said codes; and

a POS terminal device so constituted that on the basis of said bar code printed by said commodity label printing device, recognition is made that sales commodity is a commodity subjected to management of the time of consumption, time-of-consumption data included in said bar code is compared with the present time, and where said time-of-consumption data has passed the present time, a warning display thereof is made on said display means.

10. The POS system according to claim 9 wherein said bar code comprises a flag code, a commodity code, a bar code including a time code, and a check code applied corresponding to each of said codes, and

said POS terminal device recognizes that sales commodity is a commodity subject to management of the time of consumption from said flag code, specifies said commodity from said commodity code, and recognizes the time of consumption of said commodity from said time code.

11. The POS system according to claim 9 wherein a department code, a commodity name, a sales price, date and time of manufacture or processing, the time of consumption and the like are printed on said commodity label.

12. The POS system according to claim 9 wherein said commodity code management device, said commodity label printing device and said POS terminal device are connected mutually by a communication line, and

said commodity code, said commodity information corresponding to the commodity code, and data relating to said bar code are transmitted through said communication line.

13. The POS system according to claim 12 wherein said commodity information and said bar code are read from said commodity code management device on the basis of said bar code, and printed by said commodity label printing device.

14. The POS system according to claim 13 wherein said time of consumption displayed on said bar code is counted from the manufacture time or processing time of said commodity on the basis of the kind of the commodities and the time data determined every kind of said commodities, automatically computed and printed.