JP2022031099A - Input system, input program, and input method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel input technology capable of avoiding or reducing contacts by a plurality of users in input operation for various types.

SOLUTION: An input system 1 comprises: display unit 16; contact position recording means 17 for identifying and recording contact positions where users have touched on the display unit 16; and button display means 18 for, based on the contact positions, determining positions having less contacts in the display unit 16 as positions to display buttons. Accordingly, it can avoid or reduce contacts by a plurality of users.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an input system, an input program and an input method for avoiding or reducing user contact.

Due to the worldwide epidemic of infectious diseases, infectious disease countermeasures are attracting attention again. For example, it is effective to reduce the chances of people interacting with each other using IT (Information Technology), such as replacing payments at stores with self-registrations that the customer operates the payment device from a manned cash register operated by a clerk. It is one of the measures against infectious diseases.

Conventionally, from the viewpoint of reducing the required number of personnel and improving efficiency, automation technology for cash register and counter operations using IT has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an automatic payment method using biometric authentication using a facial image. Patent Document 1 describes that a user clearly instructs the execution of face recognition by a predetermined gesture.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes that in face recognition when purchasing a product using a vending machine, it is excluded from performing face recognition by information other than a person by requesting a customer to perform a predetermined operation. Has been done.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-67075 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-87093

On the other hand, contact infections caused by the spread of bacteria and viruses through objects touched by an unspecified number of people are also regarded as a problem. In the above-mentioned conventional technique, it is assumed that the user himself / herself inputs, and many people touch the same part at the time of input, so it can be said that it is insufficient from the viewpoint of preventing contact infection. ..

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel input technique capable of avoiding or reducing contact with a large number of users in various input operations.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an input system for recognizing a user registered in advance and making a payment, and is a reading means for reading the product specific information for specifying the purchased product and payment. Registration based on the user image, the photographing means for photographing the user who performs the operation, the operation recognition means for terminating the reading by the reading means when the payment operation by the user is recognized from the user image photographed by the photographing means, and the user image. An authentication means that authenticates a completed user, and a payment means that executes a payment process for the price of the product based on the registered user information when the payment operation is recognized and the authentication is successful. , Equipped with.

With such a configuration, all input related to payment can be completed without the user touching the device itself. Therefore, the user can purchase by touching only the product, the risk of infection due to contact with an unspecified number of people can be reduced, and the dirt and wear of the device can be reduced. Furthermore, not only can payments be made easily even in situations where gloves need to be worn, such as at ski resorts and construction sites, but also payments are made based on user images, so it is necessary to carry a wallet, smartphone, etc. It disappears and the convenience of the user is improved.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the motion recognition means recognizes a pre-registered gesture as the settlement motion from the user image.
With such a configuration, the effect of reducing erroneous recognition can be expected.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user information includes group-specific information that identifies a group to which the user belongs, and the payment means executes the payment process based on the group-specific information.
With such a configuration, for example, by applying the present invention to payment in shopping at an in-house shop, etc., and making payment by specifying the group to which the user belongs, deduction from salary and welfare expenses can be made. It is possible to realize payment using.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the payment means identifies group information registered in advance based on the group specific information, and executes the payment process according to the payment method specified in the group information.
With such a configuration, it is possible to make a payment by a payment method specified for each group.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is further provided a means for canceling the reading when the reading means does not continuously perform the reading for a predetermined time after the reading means starts the reading.
With such a configuration, if the user stops inputting in the middle and leaves as it is, it can be treated as a cancellation and the next input can be accepted.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after the reading means starts the reading, when the motion recognizing means fails to recognize the settlement operation, the reading is terminated and the input for requesting the settlement process is performed. It is further provided with a display unit for displaying payment.
With such a configuration, even if the recognition of the payment operation from the user image does not work well for some reason, the user can request the payment process by another method.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the display unit recognizes the payment operation when the operation recognition means does not recognize the payment operation for a predetermined time after the reading means starts the reading. Consider it a failure.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the payment display requires the user to touch a portion different from the previously displayed portion.
With such a configuration, even if the recognition of the payment operation fails, it is possible to prevent many users from touching the same part.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an input program for recognizing a user registered in advance and making a payment, and is a reading means for reading the product specific information for specifying the purchased product and payment. Registration based on the user image, the photographing means for photographing the user who performs the operation, the operation recognition means for terminating the reading by the reading means when the payment operation by the user is recognized from the user image photographed by the photographing means, and the user image. An authentication means that authenticates a completed user, and a payment means that executes a payment process for the price of the product based on the registered user information when the payment operation is recognized and the authentication is successful. Make your computer work as.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an input method for recognizing a user registered in advance and making a payment, and a step of reading product specific information for specifying a purchased product and payment are performed. A step of photographing a user to be performed, a step of terminating the reading when the payment operation by the user is recognized from the photographed user image, a step of authenticating a registered user based on the user image, and the above-mentioned step. When the payment operation is recognized and the authentication is successful, the computer is made to execute the step of executing the payment process of the price of the product based on the registered user information.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a novel input technique capable of avoiding or reducing contact with a large number of users.

It is a functional block diagram of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information which is registered in a database DB in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored as a transaction history table in embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flowchart concerning the settlement for the user of the input system in embodiment of this invention to purchase a product. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the recording of the contact position of the input system in embodiment of this invention, and it is explanatory drawing of the coordinates used for expressing the position on the display part. It is a flowchart which concerns on the determination of the display position of the button of the input system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example concerning the determination of the display position of the button of the input system in embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the input system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various configurations can be adopted.

For example, in the present embodiment, the configuration, operation, and the like of the input system will be described, but a method, an apparatus, a computer program, and the like having the same configuration can also exert the same effect. Further, the program may be stored in a recording medium. Using this recording medium, for example, a program can be installed on a computer. Here, the recording medium in which the program is stored may be a non-transient recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

Further, in the present embodiment, on the premise of payment using face authentication, a technique for avoiding or reducing user contact in instructions for payment processing and other various inputs is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. .. For example, by executing the display position determination of the button described later in any other input, many users touch the same part in a system that does not use image authentication or a wide range of systems that assume user contact. May be used to prevent.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the embodiment is used by a user belonging to a specific group, such as an in-house shop. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a usage group is determined for each store in which the input system is installed, and a person registered as a user belonging to the group uses the input system of the present invention in the store.

(1) Payment input using a user image First, the entire configuration of an input system for making a payment using a user image taken of a user at the time of payment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the input system of the present embodiment.

The input system of the present embodiment includes a reading means 11, a photographing means 12, an motion recognition means 13, an authentication means 14, a payment means 15, a display unit 16, a contact position recording means 17, and a button display means 18. And a contact position resetting means 19, and are configured to be able to communicate with each other with the database DB.

The input system includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a main storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk).
Equipped with various input / output devices including drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), auxiliary storage devices such as flash memory, network connection means, reading devices for reading product information, photographing devices, displays, etc. Also, it is realized by a general computer device. In the present embodiment, a reading device such as a barcode reader, a camera, a display (preferably a touch panel display), or the like is connected to an arbitrary computer device connected to a network for accessing a database DB or the like. The input system is configured.

The reading means 11 reads the product-specific information that identifies the purchased product. Specifically, for example, a barcode reader for reading a barcode, a camera for recognizing a product image or character by image recognition and identifying a product, a tag reader for receiving product identification information by short-range wireless communication, etc. However, it functions as the reading means 11 of the present invention.

The photographing means 12 photographs a user who makes a payment and generates a user image. In the present embodiment, the photographing device installed around the display unit 16 functions as the photographing means 12. The photographing means 12 photographs the face of the user who makes the payment, and delivers the user image to the motion recognition means 13, the authentication means 14, and the display unit 16.

When the motion recognizing means 13 recognizes the gesture registered in advance from the user image as a settlement motion, the motion recognizing means 13 ends the reading by the reading means 11. Further, the motion recognition means 13 of the present embodiment also recognizes the cancel motion in addition to the settlement motion. When the cancel operation is recognized, the product identification information read up to that point is reset and the settlement is canceled. In this embodiment, a peace sign gesture is registered in advance as a payment operation, and a gesture in which the palm is turned to the front as a stop operation is registered in advance. The payment operation and the cancellation operation are not limited to this, and a specific facial expression such as a smile may be used as the payment operation or the cancellation operation. Further, the settlement operation or the cancellation operation may be recognized on condition of both the gesture and the facial expression.

The payment operation and the cancellation operation may be recognized by any image recognition method. For example, a plurality of sets of images showing each motion and a set of information indicating the type of the motion are input as teacher data, a classification model of each motion is created by using a generally known machine learning method, and the classification is performed. A method of detecting a payment operation or a cancellation operation by inputting a user image into the model can be mentioned. The operations to be classified may be a settlement operation, a cancellation operation, and others. Here, in the present embodiment, when a settlement operation or a cancellation operation is continuously detected for a certain period of time, the operation recognition means 13 recognizes the operation and performs processing.

The authentication means 14 authenticates the registered user based on the user image. In the present embodiment, an image of the user's face taken in advance is registered in association with the user, and the registered user is authenticated by comparing the image registered in advance with the user image. In addition to this, the registered user may be authenticated by any method such as iris authentication or vein authentication, but it is preferable that the authentication is performed by a method in which the user does not touch the device.

The user image analysis process may be performed in the input system, but in the present embodiment, the authentication means 14 requests the external server that manages the registered image for user authentication to analyze the user image, and the analysis result. Is received and collated with the user registered in the database DB, so that the registered user is authenticated. In user authentication, a general face recognition technique that determines a match by extracting the feature amount of the image can be used.

When the payment operation is recognized by the operation recognition means 13 and the authentication of the registered user is successful by the authentication means 14, the payment means 15 setstles the price of the product based on the information of the registered user. To execute. Further, in the present embodiment, the user information is associated with the group specific information that identifies the group to which the user belongs, and the payment means 15 executes the payment process based on the group specific information. Further, the payment process may be executed according to the payment method specified in the group information registered in advance based on the group specific information.

In the present embodiment, as a payment process, the payment means 15 records a transaction history including information identifying a user and a payment amount in a database DB. As a result, it is possible to charge the cost to the individual user or the group to which the user belongs. In addition to this, for example, even in the process of registering payment information of a credit card or a bank account as user information and transmitting information for receiving payment of the product price from a card company or a bank to an external server or the like. good. Further, a payment method may be defined for each group in the group information, and a payment request may be transmitted to an external server or the like according to the payment method.

The display unit 16 displays various information for inputting. After the reading means 11 starts reading, the display unit 16 displays the payment for inputting to end the reading and request the payment processing when the operation recognition means 13 does not recognize the payment operation for a predetermined time. .. In the present embodiment, the touch panel display is used as the display unit 16, and the payment button is displayed on the display unit 16 as the payment display. Then, instead of recognizing the payment gesture by the motion recognition means 13, an instruction by the user is received by input via the payment button, and reading by the reading means 11 is completed.

On the other hand, if reading is not performed for a predetermined time after the reading means 11 starts reading, the input system resets the product identification information read so far and executes a cancel process for canceling the settlement. The cancel process at this time is the same as the process when the stop operation is recognized by the operation recognition means 13.

The contact position recording means 17 identifies the contact position touched by the user on the display unit 16 and records the contact position in the database DB together with the time of the contact. Note that the time of contact does not have to be exactly the same as the time of contact, for example, the time of input by the contact or the execution of payment by the contact. Includes time before and after, such as time.

The contact position recording means 17 may specify the contact position by, for example, a contact sensor provided in the display unit 16, or in addition, the contact position is specified by analysis of an image obtained by photographing the display unit 16. You may. In the present embodiment, a button for receiving input from the user is displayed on the display unit 16, and when input is performed via the button, the contact position recording means 17 centers on the display position of the button. Record as a contact position. In addition, the contact position recording means 17 may specify and record all contact positions by a sensor or the like regardless of the display content on the display unit 16.

The button display means 18 determines the position with the least contact after the reference time as the button display position based on the contact position. Here, in the present embodiment, the button display means 18 determines the display position of the payment button displayed as the payment display.

The contact position reset means 19 receives the reset instruction and resets the recording of the contact position. When the reset is performed, the button display means 18 determines the position with less contact as the display position based on the contact position after the reset. In the present embodiment, the display position is determined based on the contact position after the reset by setting the time when the reset is performed as the reference time. For example, the contact position before that is recorded by the reset instruction. The reset flag may be set to, or the contact position recording itself may be erased.

2 and 3 are diagrams showing an example of information registered in the database DB. As shown in FIG. 2, the database DB has a user master, a group master, and a group user master, and the information of each user, the information of the group, and the information of the users belonging to each group are based on these information. And are managed.

The user master is user information about the user, a user ID that is an identifier of the user and is used for login, etc., a system UID that uniquely identifies the user on the system side, a user's name, and image analysis for face authentication. It has a face authentication ID for uniquely identifying the face authentication information in the external server to be executed. By using an invariant system UID that can uniquely identify the user separately from the user ID in this way, the user can be easily changed even if the user freely changes the user ID, for example, when an e-mail address is used as the user ID. Can be identified. Further, various management authority and the like may be stored as a user master.

Further, when payment is made by debiting from a credit card or bank account, the information of the credit card or bank account is further stored as payment information. Here, the information that specifies the payment method may be stored in the user information, and the payment means 15 may execute the payment process based on the designation in the user information. In addition, information such as a login password is managed as needed, and the user logs in to the system based on the user information.

The group master is group information about a group, and has a group ID that uniquely identifies the group, a group code that is an identifier of the group, a group name that represents the name of the group, and a usage start date when the group starts using the system. , Has a usage end date, and which the group has terminated or is planning to terminate the use of the system. The group code can be arbitrarily changed by the group administrator or the like, but the group ID is an immutable character string that uniquely identifies the group.

The group user master maintains the association between groups and users. The group ID, the system UID of the user belonging to the group, the number of times the user purchased in the group, and the total amount purchased by the user in the group are stored as the group user master. Here, in the present embodiment, "purchased within a group" means a purchase at a store designated by the group as a user group.

In addition, information specifying a payment method in the group may be stored in the group master or the group user master. Further, in each record of the information, the creator, the creation date and time, the updater, and the update date and time of the record may be further recorded.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored as a transaction history table. Records in the transaction history table are created for each purchased item. For example, if two types of products are purchased in one transaction, two records are created. The record in the transaction history table identifies the group ID, the transaction date and time, the detail number, the device ID of the device on which the transaction was made, the floor ID of the sales floor where the device is installed, and the user who made the transaction. It includes the system UID, the JAN code of the product, the product name, the product name Kana, the quantity, the unit price, the purchase price, the tax rate, and the consumption tax amount. By recording the transaction history in this way, the purchase amount of each user can be specified for each group, and the user pays the price by a method suitable for each group, such as deduction from salary or use as welfare expenses. It can be performed. As the purchase amount and the consumption tax amount, the amount of the target purchased product is recorded. That is, even if another product is purchased at the same time as the product illustrated in FIG. 3, the transaction history record is the content of FIG.

Here, in the present embodiment, a time stamp in milliseconds is recorded on the server side as the transaction date and time, and the record of the transaction history at the same time is treated as one transaction. Thereby, the input system of the present embodiment can collectively output the information of one transaction in the form of a receipt. In addition, the user can check the transaction history in which his / her system UID is recorded by logging in to the system, and this transaction history can be used as a receipt.

FIG. 4 is a processing flowchart relating to payment for a user to purchase a product. When the input for purchasing the product is started, first, in step S101, the reading means 11 starts reading, the shooting means 12 starts shooting the user, reading the product specific information, or performing the payment operation or the cancel operation. Wait for detection.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen displayed on the display unit 16 at this time. The input screen W1 includes a purchase waiting product display unit W11 for displaying the purchase waiting product specified by the reading means 11, and a user image display unit W12 for displaying the user image captured by the photographing means 12.

The user image display unit W12 displays the captured image in real time, and the user can confirm his / her own image. Here, in order to make it easier for the user to understand, the left-right inverted user image may be displayed on the user image display unit W12. Before reading the product identification information, as shown in FIG. 5A, a display requesting reading of the product identification information is performed on the purchase waiting product display unit W11, and when there is one or more purchase waiting products, FIG. 5 ( As shown in b), a display requesting a settlement operation or a cancellation operation is performed at the top and bottom of the screen.

In step S101, the reading means 11 reads the product specific information. In the present embodiment, the code of the product is read by the barcode reader to specify the product. When the product identification information is read, the process proceeds to step S102, the product specified by the reading means 11 is added as a waiting-for-purchase product, and the price of the product is added to the total price. The information after the addition is reflected in the purchase waiting product display unit W11. Then, the process returns to step S101 again, and the input system waits for the next product reading and operation detection.

When the motion recognition means 13 detects an motion in step S101, the process proceeds to step S104 in the case of a settlement operation (“payment operation” in step S103). In step S104, it is determined whether or not the settlement operation is continuously detected for a certain period of time.

If the payment operation does not continue for a certain period of time in step S104, it is further determined in step S105 whether or not a certain time has elapsed without the payment operation being recognized. Then, if the payment operation is not recognized and the fixed time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S101, and if the payment operation is not recognized for the fixed time, the process proceeds to step S106 to display the payment button.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if the payment operation is not recognized for a predetermined time, the recognition of the payment operation may have failed for some reason. Therefore, the payment button can be input by the button. Is displayed. In particular, in the present embodiment, when a short-time payment operation less than a preset duration is detected and the payment operation is not recognized for a predetermined time or longer, a payment button is displayed. At this time, a further condition may be that a human face is detected in the image taken by the photographing means 12. Similarly, when the product specific information is not read for a predetermined time, or when a short-time stop operation less than a preset duration is detected, the display unit 16 displays a stop button. You may.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the input screen W1 at the time of recognizing the payment operation. When the payment operation is detected, the recognition display W13 is further displayed on the input screen W1 as shown in FIG. 6A. This allows the user to know that the action has been detected. Here, it is preferable that the recognition display W13 indicates the time until the payment operation is recognized. In the present embodiment, the recognition display W13 changes according to the time when the payment operation is continuously detected, and when the payment operation is continuously detected for a certain period of time, up to the upper part of the screen as shown in FIG. 6A. The recognition display W13 is extended. As a result, the user can be requested to continue the payment operation. Further, during the detection of the payment operation, the countdown until the payment operation is recognized may be displayed as the recognition display W13 together with a message such as "Please do not move", and the user may be requested to continue the payment operation.

When displaying the payment button or the cancel button, since the user touches the button, it is preferable to touch a part different from the one displayed last time in order to avoid contact of many users with the same part. For example, it is assumed that multiple candidates for the display position of the button are prepared, the position is changed each time the button is displayed, the contact position by the user is recorded, and the button is displayed at the position where the button is not touched. To. The details of the latter method will be described later.

When the operation recognition means 13 continuously detects the payment operation for a certain period of time in step S104, the operation recognizes the payment operation and proceeds to step S107. In this way, by asking the user to continue the payment operation for a certain period of time, for example, 3 seconds, if the user accidentally and temporarily takes a pose similar to the payment operation, the payment is erroneously performed. Can be prevented. In step S107, the authentication means 14 performs an authentication process based on the user image. In the present embodiment, the authentication means 14 requests the external server that manages the face recognition information of the user registered in advance to analyze the user image.

The external server analyzes the user image based on the face authentication information of the user registered in advance, and identifies the registered user corresponding to the user image. Then, the face authentication ID for uniquely identifying the face authentication information of the user is returned to the input system, and the authentication means 14 receives this. Then, by specifying the user information having the face authentication ID from the database DB, the user who intends to make a payment is specified.

Then, in step S108, the payment means 15 records the transaction history including the information such as the system UID of the specified user and the purchased product in the database DB, so that the payment process is performed and the process is completed.

Here, in the present embodiment, the user information is associated with the group specific information, and the group to which the user belongs is specified. This makes it possible to make payments based on group information.
For example, for a user of a group for which payment by deduction from salary is specified in the group information, payment processing at the time of purchase is not performed, and billing information for the group is separately generated based on the transaction history. On the other hand, for a user of a group for which payment by the user's individual credit card is specified in the group information, a payment processing request is made to a server such as a card company in order to make payment by the credit card at the time of purchase. ..

If the registered user corresponding to the user image is not specified on the external server that analyzes the user image, or if the user information having the face authentication ID received by the authentication means 14 is not specified, the payment process is performed. It is preferable to display the fact on the display unit 16 instead.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 16 in steps S107 and S108. While performing face recognition in step S107 and while performing payment processing in step S108 after authentication, it is possible to display that the processing for payment is being performed as shown in FIG. 7A. preferable. Further, after the settlement is completed, it is preferable to display that the processing is completed as shown in FIG. 7 (b).

If the motion recognition means 13 detects the stop motion in step S101 (“stop motion” in step S103), the process proceeds to step S109, and is the stop motion detected continuously for a certain period of time as in step S104? Judge whether or not. If the stop operation does not continue for a certain period of time in step S109, the process returns to step S101, and the input system waits again for the next product reading or operation detection. At this time, if the stop operation is not recognized for a certain period of time, the display unit 16 may display the stop button.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a screen when a stop operation is detected. When the cancel operation is detected, the recognition display W13 is displayed on the input screen W1 as in the case of recognizing the payment operation, as shown in FIG. 8A. The display mode of the recognition display W13 may be different depending on whether the payment operation or the cancellation operation is performed.

When the motion recognition means 13 continuously detects the stop motion for a certain period of time in step S109, the stop motion is recognized and the process proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the input system executes a cancellation process for resetting the product waiting for purchase and the amount of money, and ends the process. At this time, it is preferable to indicate that the transaction has been canceled, as shown in FIG. 8 (b).

Here, it is assumed that after the user reads the product specific information, the user leaves the place without performing the stop operation. The input system of the present embodiment proceeds to step S111 if there is no reading of the product in step S101 after the reading means 11 starts reading so that the input system can be treated as canceled in such a case, and there is no reading. It is determined whether or not a certain period of time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed in the state.

If the reading is not performed continuously for a certain period of time, the process proceeds to step S112 and the cancellation process is performed. At this time, a further condition may be that the human face is not detected in the image taken by the photographing means 12. On the other hand, if a certain period of time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S101 and continues to wait for product reading and operation detection.

The processing procedure shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and the processing order and the like may be arbitrarily changed. For example, the motion recognition means 13 may recognize the settlement operation or the cancellation operation, and the authentication means 14 may authenticate the registered user in parallel, or the order may be changed.

As described above, according to the input system of the present embodiment, since the face authentication and the recognition of the payment operation are performed using the user image, the payment can be completed without the user touching the device. This is expected to have the effects of preventing contact infection and preventing wear of the device due to contact. Further, as in the present embodiment, by associating the user information with the group information and performing the payment processing based on the group information, it is possible to perform the payment according to the request of each group.

(2) Determining the display position of the button Next, for example, when displaying the above-mentioned payment button or cancel button, the process for determining the display position of the button in order to reduce contact with the same part by a large number of users is shown in FIG. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As described above, the present embodiment is merely an example, and the present invention can be used in any input device using a touch panel display.

In the present embodiment, the input system includes a contact position recording means 17 and a button display means 18, and the button display means 18 determines and displays a position on the display unit where there has been little contact in the past as a button display position. A button is displayed at the display position in the unit 16. As a result, it is possible to prevent or reduce a large number of users from touching the same portion on the display unit 16 when the user operates a button, and it is expected to have an effect of reducing the risk of contact infection.

In this embodiment, the database DB further stores the contact position. FIG. 9 shows an example of recording the contact position and an explanatory diagram of the coordinates used for expressing the position on the display unit 16. The contact position recording means 17 of the present embodiment identifies a position touched by the user by a sensor provided in the display unit 16 and records the position in the database DB. In the present embodiment, as the contact position, for example, a region designated by coordinates as shown in the lower part of FIG. 9 and a contact time are recorded.

Here, in order to reduce the processing load, the contact position recording means 17 of the present embodiment does not always specify the contact with the entire display unit 16, and when an input is made via the button, the button is used. It is considered that there was contact with the display position. The contact position with respect to the entire display unit 16 may be constantly monitored, and the contact position recording means 17 may specify and record all the contact positions regardless of the display of the button or the like.

The expression of the position on the display unit 16 may be arbitrarily set. Further, when there is contact at a position spanning a plurality of regions, a plurality of regions may be recorded as the contact position.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart relating to the determination of the display position of the button by the button display means 18. First, in step S21, the record of the contact position after the reference time is extracted from the record of the contact position recorded in the database DB. In this way, by determining the display position while avoiding the contact position for the contact after the reference time, for example, by disinfecting the device at a fixed time, contact infection due to contact with the device can be prevented. Can be operated.

Subsequently, in the processes of steps S22 to S25, the position where the contact is small is determined as the display position of the button based on the target past contact position. The processing procedure is an example, and may be arbitrarily changed as long as the position where there is little contact can be specified.

First, in step S22, it is confirmed whether or not the contact position is recorded with respect to one of the button display position candidates. If there is no contact record, the process proceeds to step S23, the position is determined as the display position of the button, and the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a record of the contact position with respect to that position, the process proceeds to step S24 to further confirm the presence or absence of another display position candidate.

If there is no other display position candidate, in step S25, in the recording of the contact position after the reference time, the position with the oldest last contact time is determined as the display position, and the process ends.
If there is no position where contact is not recorded after the reference time in this way, multiple users will touch the same part, so notify the terminal device of the store manager who uses the input system to that effect. You may also encourage disinfection of the device.

On the other hand, if there is another display position candidate, it is changed to the next candidate in step S26, the process returns to step S22, and the process is repeated until the display position is determined. As a result, if there is a position where there is no contact after the reference time, that position is determined as the display position, and if there is no position where there is no contact after the reference time, the time of the last contact after the reference time is set. The oldest position is determined as the display position.

Further, in the present embodiment, the input system is provided with the contact position reset means 19, and the record of the contact position can be reset. As a result, for example, when a store employee or the like inputs a reset instruction when the device is disinfected, the button can be displayed at a position where there is no contact for the contact after disinfection.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, it is assumed that the button is displayed and the user touches the position indicated as the contact position. Then, as the contact position, the coordinates of W and 12 which are the centers of the display positions of the buttons and the contact time are recorded.

Then, when the button is displayed next, the display position is determined while avoiding the contact position as shown in FIG. 11B. Here, as the display position, the center coordinates of the button may be shown, and in the example of FIG. 11B, V and 12 are the display positions.

Here, it is known that when operating a round button displayed on the screen, many users touch the vicinity of the center. Therefore, in FIG. 11B, the edge of the display area overlaps with the contact position, but the center is V, 12, and this coordinate is not recorded as the contact position. Therefore, in this embodiment, such a case is used. Also tolerate. It should be noted that the display position may be changed so as to determine the display position on the condition that the display area of the button does not include the past contact position.

The above-mentioned processing procedure is an example, and the design such as the processing order can be arbitrarily changed. For example, in the present embodiment, the contact position after the reference time is targeted, and the position with the least contact after the preset reference time is determined as the display position, but the time retroactive from the current time by a predetermined time is treated as the reference time. Can be changed. Further, the position with the least contact may be determined as the display position of the button based on all the contact positions in the past without setting a fixed reference time.

11: Reading means 12: Imaging means 13: Motion recognition means 14: Authentication means 15: Payment means 16: Display unit 17: Contact position recording means 18: Button display means 19: Contact position reset means W1: Input screen W11: Purchase standby Product display unit W12: User image display unit W13: Recognition display W14: Payment button

Claims (6)

Display and
A contact position recording means that identifies and records the contact position touched by the user on the display unit.
An input system including a button display means that determines a position in the display unit where there is little contact as a button display position based on the contact position. The contact position recording means records the contact position in a form capable of specifying the order of contact.
The input system according to claim 1, wherein the button display means determines, as the display position, a position where there has been no contact in the past or a position where the time has elapsed since the previous contact, based on the contact position. The contact position recording means records the contact position and the time of the contact, and records the contact position.
The input system according to claim 2, wherein the button display means determines the position with the least contact after the reference time as the display position based on the contact position and the time thereof. Further provided with a contact position reset means for receiving a reset instruction and resetting the record of the contact position.
The input system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the button display means determines a position with less contact as the display position based on the contact position after the reset. Display and
A contact position recording means that identifies and records the contact position touched by the user on the display unit.
An input program that causes a computer to function as a button display means that determines a position in the display unit where there is little contact as a button display position based on the contact position. The step of identifying and recording the contact position touched by the user on the display unit,
An input method for causing a computer to perform a step of determining a position where there is little contact in the display unit as a button display position based on the contact position.

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