JP7167496B2 - Product checkout system, shopping bag and checkout support terminal - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technology for unmanned payment registers using RF tags.

The distribution industry is promoting unmanned checkout registers in order to solve labor shortages in rural areas and shorten checkout waiting times. Automatic recognition of products purchased by customers is necessary for unmanned checkout registers, and the use of radio frequency (RF) tags to automatically recognize products purchased by customers has become mainstream.

An RF tag is a medium used for wireless individual identification (RFID: Radio Frequency IDentification). In the conventional technology that uses RF tags for unmanned checkout registers, each product sold at a physical store is tagged with an RF tag, and the physical store has an automatic checkout device equipped with a reader/writer compatible with the RF tag. Installed. The automatic checkout system automatically recognizes all products purchased by customers by collectively detecting the RF tags attached to the products that customers put in their shopping carts. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an RFID tag reader equipped with a reader/writer that wirelessly communicates with an RF tag on a counter. The RFID tag reader disclosed in Patent Document 1 is in the form of a cash register. there is

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a reader/writer that wirelessly communicates with an RF tag is installed on a cash register, radio waves from the reader/writer leak out of the cash register, and the shopping basket placed on the cash register does not carry the radio waves. There is a possibility that even the product will be detected by the reader/writer. The reading device disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes an open/close lid that opens and closes an opening that serves as an entrance and exit for products, a housing that has a space for storing products inside, and an antenna that is provided in the space. In order to prevent leakage and mixing of radio waves, at least the housing and the opening/closing lid are made of a material that reflects radio waves (radio wave reflector) or absorbs radio waves (radio wave absorber).

JP 2009-251629 A JP 2017-228140 A

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 can also prevent leakage and mixing of radio waves used for communication with RF tags, but the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 improves the effect of shortening the settlement waiting time. It is considered that there is room for improvement. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, the time required to store the shopping basket containing the products inside the housing of the reading device and close the opening and closing lid of the housing of the reading device, and the time required for the operation of the reading device At least the time required to open the opening/closing lid of the housing and take out the shopping basket containing the products from the inside of the housing of the reading device is required.

If the product to be purchased by the customer is specified before the customer settles the account, the customer's work to specify the product to be purchased becomes unnecessary when the customer settles the purchase price of the product. It is thought that the effect of shortening the payment waiting time will improve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable a customer to identify a product to be purchased before the customer pays the bill while preventing radio waves used for communication with the RF tag from being leaked or mixed.

The first invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is a product settlement including a product with an RF tag, a shopping bag used to store the product to be settled, and a settlement support terminal stored in the shopping bag and used. system.
The RF tag stores product information related to the product to which the RF tag is attached.
The shopping bag includes a storage space whose peripheral wall is covered with a material having a radio wave shielding function, and an inner pocket formed on the peripheral wall of the storage space using a material without a radio wave shielding function.
The settlement support terminal includes a tag communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with the RF tag, a wireless network communication unit that performs wireless network communication, and a radio wave intensity received by the wireless network communication unit. When the settlement support terminal is accommodated in the inner pocket of the bag and the radio wave intensity falls below a preset threshold value, the tag communication unit is operated to read and store product information from the RF tag. When the settlement support terminal is taken out of the shopping bag and the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold value, the tag communication unit is stopped, and then the wireless network communication unit is used to perform A control unit that executes processing for transmitting the stored product information is provided.
According to the commodity checkout system according to the first invention, the process of reading the commodity information from the RF tag attached to the commodity purchased by the customer is carried out inside the shopping bag used for containing the commodity to be settled. Therefore, the product to be purchased by the customer can be specified before the customer settles the account. Further, since the inside of the shopping bag is covered with a material that shields radio waves, it is possible to prevent miscalculation due to erroneous detection of the RF tag.

Furthermore, a second invention is the product settlement system described in the first invention, comprising an automatic settlement device to which the commodity information is transmitted from the settlement support terminal, and a wireless network between the settlement support terminal and the automatic settlement device. It is configured to include a wireless repeater for relaying communications. When the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold value, the control unit of the settlement support terminal uses the wireless network communication unit to relay the wireless repeater to transmit a connection request to the automatic settlement device, When connected to the automatic payment device, the automatic payment device performs processing for transmitting all the product information stored at this time to the automatic payment device, and the automatic payment device receives a connection request from the payment assistance terminal, An automatic settlement unit is provided for performing a process of calculating a settlement amount using the product information transmitted from the settlement support terminal after executing connection processing with the settlement support terminal.
According to the commodity settlement system according to the second invention, the customer can settle the settlement of the purchased commodity while walking just by taking out the settlement support terminal from the shopping bag, thereby shortening the settlement waiting time. The effect can be further improved.

Furthermore, the third invention is the commodity checkout system described in the second invention, as a device connected to the automatic checkout device, a human body detection sensor for detecting the customer who settles the checkout of the product, and presenting guidance to the customer. A guidance device is provided , and the automatic settlement unit of the automatic settlement device accepts a connection request of the settlement support terminal for a predetermined time after the human body detection sensor detects the customer, and the settlement is performed for the predetermined time. If there is no connection request for the support terminal, a process for causing the guidance device to output guidance relating to an alarm is executed.
If there is no connection request for the settlement support terminal, it means that the customer has not taken out the settlement support terminal from the shopping bag. If there is a customer who does not take out the support terminal, this fact can be made known to those around them.

Furthermore, the fourth invention comprises a tag communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with an RF tag attached to a product, a wireless network communication unit that performs wireless network communication, and a radio wave intensity of radio waves received by the wireless network communication unit. When the radio wave intensity falls below a preset threshold, the tag communication unit is operated to read and store product information from the RF tag, and the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold. and, after stopping the tag communication unit, using the wireless network communication unit, a control unit that executes processing for transmitting the product information stored at this time. It is a support terminal. The fourth invention is an invention relating to a settlement support terminal necessary for the present invention.

If the product to be purchased by the customer can be specified before the customer settles the account, there is no need to specify the product to be purchased by the customer when the customer settles the purchase price of the product. It is thought that the effect of shortening the time will improve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable a customer to specify a product to be purchased before the customer pays the bill, while preventing payment errors due to erroneous detection of RF tags.

The figure explaining the structure of the goods settlement system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure explaining the structure of a shopping bag. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a settlement assistance terminal; FIG. The figure explaining operation|movement of a settlement assistance terminal. The figure explaining the structure of the goods settlement system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure explaining a wireless repeater, a guidance apparatus, and a human body detection sensor. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the coverage of radio waves emitted by a wireless repeater; A block diagram of an automatic settlement device. The figure explaining operation|movement of the automatic settlement part with which an automatic settlement device is provided.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described. In addition, the following description does not restrict the technical scope of the present invention, but is described to aid understanding.

[First embodiment]
A product settlement system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a product settlement system 1 according to the first embodiment. The merchandise settlement system 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. The system proposed in 2001 includes a product 10 with an RF tag 11, a shopping bag 12 used to store the product 10 to be settled, and a settlement support terminal 13 stored in the shopping bag 12 and used.

In the product checkout system 1 according to the first embodiment, the checkout support terminal 13, which is stored in the shopping bag 12 and used, has at least a function of wirelessly communicating with the RF tag 11, so that the customer 3 can access the shopping bag 12. The RF tag 11 attached to the stored product 10 can be detected by the settlement support terminal 13, and the radio wave used for communication with the RF tag 11 is covered by covering the inside of the shopping bag 12 with a radio wave shielding material such as metal foil. prevent leaks and contamination.

First, the shopping bag 12 that constitutes the product checkout system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the shopping bag 12. As shown in FIG. The shopping bag 12 means a bag that the customer 3 uses to carry the product 10 . The shopping bag 12 shown in FIG. 1 is square like a tote bag and has the form of a basket with two handles 123, but the shopping bag 12 may be of other forms such as a pouch.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fabric of the shopping bag 12 has a two-layer structure of an outer fabric 12a and an inner fabric 12b. A space surrounded by a peripheral wall formed by the inner fabric 12b becomes a storage space 120 for storing the product 10, and the outer fabric 12a is sewn so as to cover the outer side of the inner fabric 12b. An insulating material such as paper, cloth, leather, or plastic film is used for the outer fabric 12a. A material that shields electromagnetic waves, such as metal foil, is used for the inner fabric 12b so that the peripheral wall of the accommodation space 120 is covered with the material that shields electromagnetic waves. Considering the prevention of payment errors due to erroneous detection of the RF tag 11, it is necessary that the radio wave intensity of the radio waves leaking to the outside of the shopping bag 12 is less than 18 dBm.

The opening 122 of the shopping bag 12 is a rubber opening so that the opening 122 of the shopping bag 12 expands when the product 10 is put therein. The upper surface of the shopping bag 12 also has a two-layer structure of an outer fabric 12a using an insulating material and an inner fabric 12b using a material that shields radio waves, except for the opening 122. As shown in FIG. From the viewpoint of preventing leakage and mixing of radio waves, it is desirable that the opening 122 of the shopping bag 12 is closed when the product 10 is not put in. mouth 122 need not be completely closed when product 10 is not inserted.

As described above, since the settlement support terminal 13 having the function of detecting the RF tag 11 is accommodated in the shopping bag 12, an inner pocket 121 is formed on the peripheral wall of the accommodation space 120 of the shopping bag 12 using a material that does not have a radio wave shielding function. is formed. If a material having a radio wave shielding function is used to form the inner pocket 121, the radio waves emitted by the settlement support terminal 13 will not be radiated into the accommodation space 120. Therefore, the inner pocket 121 is formed of the same insulating material as the outer fabric 12a. .

Next, the RF tag 11 attached to the product 10 will be described. The product 10 stored in the storage space 120 formed inside the shopping bag 12, that is, the product 10 sold at the store, is attached with an RF tag 11 storing product information used to identify the product 10. ing. The RF tag 11 is a medium used for wireless individual identification. The RF tag 11 contains a tag antenna 110 used for short-range wireless communication and an IC chip 111 connected thereto. Short-range wireless communication means wireless communication with a maximum communication distance of several meters. The frequency band is the UHF band, and the tag antenna 110 of the RF tag 11 shown in FIG. 1 is in the form of a dipole antenna.

Next, the settlement support terminal 13 that constitutes the commodity settlement system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. The settlement support terminal 13 accommodated inside the shopping bag 12 utilizes short-range wireless communication to retrieve the RF tag attached to the product 10 contained in the shopping bag 12, that is, the product 10 purchased by the customer 3. 11, read the product information stored in the detected RF tag 11, and use wireless network communication to read all the product information read from the RF tag 11 and settle the purchase price of the product 10. It is a terminal device that performs processing to transmit to. Wireless network communication is wireless communication for using wireless networks such as wireless PAN (Personal Area Network), wireless LAN (Local Area Network), wireless MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), and wireless WAN (Wide Area Network). specifically, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, mobile communication, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the settlement assistance terminal 13, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the settlement assistance terminal 13. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the settlement support terminal 13 uses a tag communication unit 131 that performs short-range wireless communication with the RF tag 11 attached to the product 10 using a tag antenna 131a, and a network antenna 132a. It includes a wireless network communication unit 132 for wireless network communication, a storage unit 133 for storing product information read from the RF tag 11 , and a control unit 130 for controlling the settlement support terminal 13 .

The tag communication unit 131 of the settlement support terminal 13 has a transmitting/receiving circuit for wireless communication with the RF tag 11 in addition to the tag antenna 131a. The wireless network communication unit 132 of the settlement support terminal 13 has a transmitting/receiving circuit corresponding to wireless network communication in addition to the network antenna 132a. The storage unit 133 of the settlement support terminal 13 is NVM (Non-volatile memory) such as flash memory or EEPROM.

The control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 is implemented by a circuit board on which a processor is mounted, and stores a computer program for executing the procedure shown in FIG. The operation of the settlement support terminal 13 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the power of the settlement support terminal 13 is turned on (S1), the control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 activates the wireless network communication unit 132 (S2). The process of monitoring the radio wave intensity of the radio waves received by the unit 132 is started (S3).

In the control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13, the radio wave intensity when the settlement support terminal 13 is accommodated inside the shopping bag 12, that is, the radio wave of the wireless network communication is shielded by the inner fabric 12b of the shopping bag 12. The radio wave intensity at that time is registered as a threshold. The control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 activates the tag communication unit 131 (S5) when the radio wave intensity of the monitored wireless network communication becomes lower than the threshold (S4), and detects the RF tag 11. Then, the process of reading product information from the detected RF tag 11 and storing it in the storage unit 133 is repeatedly executed (S6). When the radio wave intensity of wireless network communication falls below the threshold, it means that the settlement support terminal 13 is stored inside the shopping bag 12. Therefore, the control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 reads the product information at RF The tag 11 is the RF tag 11 attached to the product 10 in the accommodation space 120 of the shopping bag 12 , that is, the RF tag 11 attached to the product 10 purchased by the customer 3 . In addition, in order to prevent product information from being read from the same RF tag 11 multiple times, the control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 needs to be devised so as not to read product information from previously detected RF tags 11 . Whether or not the RF tag 11 has been detected so far can be determined from the tag identifier, which is unique information for each RF tag 11 .

When the RF tag 11 is detected, the product information is read from the detected RF tag 11, and stored in the storage unit 133, when the radio wave intensity of the wireless network communication exceeds the threshold value (S7), settlement is performed. The control unit 130 of the support terminal 13 suspends the above processing (S8), and then stops the tag communication unit 131 (S9). If the reception intensity of radio waves used in wireless network communication exceeds the threshold, it means that the settlement support terminal 13 is outside the shopping bag 12. In order to prevent this, the tag communication unit 131 is stopped after stopping the process of reading product information from the RF tag 11 .

When the tag communication unit 131 is stopped, the control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 uses wireless network communication to perform processing (S10) for transmitting the product information read from the RF tag 11, as shown in FIG. The procedure ends.

According to the commodity checkout system 1 according to the first embodiment, the process of reading the commodity information from the RF tag 11 attached to the commodity 10 to be purchased by the customer 3 is performed by the shopping bag 12 used to store the commodity 10 to be settled. Since this is done internally, the product 10 to be purchased by the customer 3 can be specified before the customer 3 settles the account. In addition, since the inside of the shopping bag 12 is covered with a material that shields radio waves, it is possible to prevent miscalculation due to erroneous detection of the RF tag 11 .

[Second embodiment]
A product settlement system 2 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the product settlement system 2 according to the second embodiment. In addition, in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as in the product settlement system 1 according to the first embodiment.

The product settlement system 2 according to the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. In addition to the settlement support terminal 13 taken out from the shopping bag 12, wireless network communication is performed with the settlement support terminal 13 taken out from the shopping bag 12, and the commodity information of the commodity 10 accommodated inside the shopping bag 12 is acquired from the settlement support terminal 13. and relays wireless network communication between the automatic settlement device 20 and the settlement support terminal 13 and the automatic settlement device 20 that performs at least the processing of calculating the settlement amount for the purchase of the product 10 contained in the shopping bag 12. It includes a radio repeater 21 that

In FIG. 5, a checkout lane 24 is provided in the store to determine the course of the customer 3 . The automatic checkout device 20 is installed at the exit of the checkout lane 24. The automatic checkout device 20 includes a human body detection sensor 22 for detecting the customer 3 entering the checkout lane 24, and a checkout process for the customer 3 entering the checkout lane 24. A guidance device 23 for presenting guidance related to is connected to the automatic payment device 20 .

In FIG. 5, a wireless repeater 21 connected to an automatic settlement device 20 is installed above a checkout lane 24 using a pole 25 . In addition, the guidance device 23 is installed at the exit side of the checkout lane 24 in a state facing the automatic checkout device 20 with the checkout lane 24 therebetween so that guidance can be presented to the customer 3 proceeding through the checkout lane 24 . Furthermore, a human body detection sensor 22 connected to the automatic checkout device 20 is installed at the entrance of the checkout lane 24 so as to detect the customer 3 entering the checkout lane 24 . In FIG. 5, the automatic payment device 20 is installed on the side of the exit of the accounting lane 24, but the automatic payment device 20 can be connected to a wireless network such as a wireless WAN.

6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining the radio repeater 21, the guidance device 23, and the human body detection sensor 22. FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining the radio repeater 21, and FIG. The diagram for explanation and FIG. 6C are diagrams for explaining the human body detection sensor 22 .

As the wireless repeater 21, a commercially available product that supports wireless network communication with the settlement support terminal 13 can be used. . In FIG. 6(a), a schematic block diagram of the radio repeater 21 is shown. As shown in FIG. 6A, the wireless repeater 21 is composed of an electric circuit that performs processing related to wireless network communication corresponding to the frequency band used for communication with the settlement support terminal 13. A wireless network communication unit 211 to which the wireless antenna 211a is connected, a connection port 213 that is a port for connecting to the network, a memory 212 that stores firmware and the like, and communication using the wireless network communication unit 211 ( communication with the settlement support terminal 13) and communication using the connection port 213 (communication with the automatic settlement device 20).

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the range of radio waves emitted by the wireless repeater 21 connected to the automatic payment device 20. As shown in FIG. The wireless antenna 211a provided in the wireless repeater 21 connected to the automatic checkout device 20 has directivity so that the customer 3 walking along the checkout lane 24 can perform wireless network communication with the checkout support terminal 13 taken out of the shopping bag 12. The range of radio waves radiated by the radio antenna 211a is set to cover from the entrance of the accounting lane 24 to just before the exit. Although it is conceivable to equip the automatic payment device 20 with a wireless network communication function, in the present embodiment, the automatic payment device 20 is intentionally not provided with a wireless network communication function so that the reachable range of radio waves can be set.

FIG. 6B shows the appearance of the guidance device 23 that presents the guidance to the customer 3 in order to explain the device used for presenting the guidance. As shown in FIG. 6B, the guidance device 23 has a display 230, a speaker 231 and a warning light 232 as devices used for presenting guidance. The speaker 231 is a device for presenting voice guidance to the customer 3 , and the display 230 and warning light 232 are devices for presenting visual guidance to the customer 3 . The guidance device 23 performs processing for outputting guidance instructed by the automatic payment device 20 using a device corresponding to the guidance.

FIG. 6(c) illustrates the appearance of the human body detection sensor 22 in order to explain the system of the human body detection sensor 22. As shown in FIG. The human body detection sensor 22 of this embodiment includes a light projector 220 having a plurality of light projection axes and a light receiver that receives the light projected by the light projector 220 so as to reliably detect only the customer 3 who has entered the checkout lane 24. 221 in the form of a safety light curtain.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the automatic checkout device 20 that constitutes the product checkout system 2 according to the second embodiment. The automatic checkout device 20 that constitutes the product checkout system 2 according to the second embodiment is a device realized using a general-purpose server, so the hardware configuration of the automatic checkout device 20 is omitted, but FIG. , the automatic checkout device 20 includes an automatic checkout unit 200 , a product DB 201 (DataBase), and a communication unit 202 . The product DB 201 provided in the automatic settlement device 20 is a DB constructed using a storage such as a hard disk, and stores at least the sales price of the product 10 corresponding to the product information in a state of being associated with the product information. A communication unit 202 provided in the automatic payment device 20 is a circuit for performing communication between the wireless repeater 21 and the automatic payment device 20 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the automatic payment unit 200 included in the automatic payment device 20. As shown in FIG. The automatic settlement unit 200 provided in the automatic settlement device 20 is a function implemented using a computer program, and executes the procedure shown in FIG.

When the customer 3 who pays for the product 10 comes to the entrance of the checkout lane 24, the human body detection sensor 22 installed beside the entrance of the checkout lane 24 detects the customer 3 entering the checkout lane 24 and detects the human body. A signal indicating that is output from the human body detection sensor 22 to the automatic payment device 20 (S20). When the human body detection sensor 22 outputs a signal indicating that a human body has been detected, the automatic checkout unit 200 of the automatic checkout device 20 presents to the customer 3 that the checkout assistance terminal 13 should take out the shopping bag 12 . Guidance is output to the guidance device 23 (S21).

When the guidance device 23 is caused to output the guidance to present the customer 3 to take out the settlement support terminal 13 from the shopping bag 12, the automatic settlement unit 200 provided in the automatic settlement device 20 supports the settlement only for a predetermined time. A process of accepting a connection request from the terminal 13 is started (S22).

If no connection request is sent from the settlement support terminal 13 for a predetermined period of time, it means that the customer 3 walking along the checkout lane 24 has not taken out the settlement support terminal 13 from the shopping bag 12 . The checkout unit 200 causes the guidance device 23 to output guidance related to an alarm to inform the surroundings that the customer 3 who does not pay is about to pass through the checkout lane 24 (S29), and the procedure in FIG. 9 ends.

When the customer 3 who received the guidance to take out the shopping bag 12 takes out the settlement support terminal 13 from the shopping bag 12, the radio wave intensity received by the wireless network communication unit 132 of the settlement support terminal 13 exceeds the threshold, The control unit 130 of the settlement support terminal 13 uses the wireless network communication unit 132 to relay the wireless repeater and transmits the connection request to the automatic settlement device 20 (S23). When a connection request is sent from the settlement support terminal 13 within a predetermined time, connection processing is executed between the automatic settlement device 20 and the settlement support terminal 13, and the automatic settlement device 20 transmits the connection request. It connects with the settlement support terminal 13 (S24).

When connected to the settlement support terminal 13 that sent the connection request, the automatic settlement unit 200 provided in the automatic settlement device 20 transmits a product information transmission request to the settlement support terminal 13 (S25). sends all the product information stored in the storage unit 133 at this time to the automatic settlement device 20 (S26).

When the product information is transmitted from the settlement support terminal 13 that has transmitted the product information transmission request, the automatic settlement unit 200 of the automatic settlement device 20 transmits the amount corresponding to the product information transmitted from the settlement support terminal 13 from the product DB 201. By obtaining the information, after calculating the settlement amount corresponding to the customer 3 walking on the accounting lane 24 (S27), the settlement processing for the settlement amount corresponding to the customer 3 walking on the accounting lane 24 is executed (S28). , the procedure of FIG. 9 ends. Any method such as cash, electronic money, or credit settlement may be used as the method of settling the settlement amount. Also, S23, S24 and S26 in FIG. 9 are the processes executed by the settlement support terminal 13 in S10 in FIG.

According to the merchandise settlement system 2 according to the second embodiment, the customer 3 simply takes out the settlement support terminal 13 from the shopping bag 12, and the customer 3 can settle the settlement for the merchandise 10 purchased by the customer 3 while walking. The effect of shortening the waiting time can be further improved.

1 Merchandise checkout system according to the first embodiment 11 RF tag 10 Merchandise 12 Shopping bag 12a Outer fabric 12b Inner fabric 120 Storage space 121 Inside pocket 13 Checkout support terminal 130 Control unit 131 Tag communication unit 132 Wireless network communication unit 133 Storage unit 2 Commodity checkout system according to the second embodiment 20 Automatic checkout device 200 Automatic checkout unit 201 Commodity DB
202 communication unit 21 radio repeater 211a radio antenna 22 human body detection sensor 23 guidance device 24 accounting lane

Claims (4)

Including a product attached with an RF tag, a shopping bag used to store the product to be settled, and a settlement support terminal housed in the shopping bag and used,
The RF tag stores product information related to the product to which the RF tag is attached,
The shopping bag comprises a storage space whose peripheral wall is covered with a material having radio wave shielding function, and an inner pocket formed on the peripheral wall of said storage space using a material without radio wave shielding function,
The settlement support terminal includes a tag communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with the RF tag, a wireless network communication unit that performs wireless network communication, and a radio wave intensity received by the wireless network communication unit. When the settlement support terminal is accommodated in the inner pocket of the bag and the radio wave intensity falls below a preset threshold value, the tag communication unit is operated to read and store product information from the RF tag. When the settlement support terminal is taken out of the shopping bag and the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold value, the tag communication unit is stopped, and then the wireless network communication unit is used to perform A control unit that executes processing for transmitting the stored product information,
A product settlement system characterized by: an automatic checkout device to which the product information is transmitted from the checkout support terminal; and a wireless repeater that relays wireless network communication between the checkout support terminal and the automatic checkout device,
When the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold value, the control unit of the settlement support terminal uses the wireless network communication unit to relay the wireless repeater to transmit a connection request to the automatic settlement device, When connected to the automatic payment device, the automatic payment device performs processing for transmitting all the product information stored at this time to the automatic payment device, and the automatic payment device receives a connection request from the payment assistance terminal, An automatic settlement unit that performs a process of calculating a settlement amount using the product information transmitted from the settlement support terminal after executing connection processing with the settlement support terminal;
The product settlement system according to claim 1, characterized by: A device connected to the automatic checkout device includes a human body detection sensor that detects a customer who checks out the merchandise, and a guidance device that presents guidance to the customer. A connection request for the settlement support terminal is accepted for a predetermined time after the detection sensor detects the customer, and if there is no connection request for the settlement support terminal for the predetermined time, an alarm guidance is sent to the guidance device. Execute the process to output,
3. The product settlement system according to claim 2, characterized by: A tag communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with an RF tag attached to a product, a wireless network communication unit that performs wireless network communication, and a radio wave intensity of radio waves received by the radio network communication unit. When the radio wave intensity falls below a preset threshold, the tag communication unit is operated to read and store product information from the RF tag, and when the radio wave intensity exceeds the threshold, the tag communication unit is activated. A settlement support terminal characterized by comprising a control unit that, after being stopped, uses the wireless network communication unit to execute processing for transmitting the product information stored at this time.

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