TWI415017B - Point-of-sale management apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a point-of-sale (POS) management apparatus. The POS management apparatus includes an image capturing module, an image processing module, a barcode identification module and a control module. When the POS management apparatus is in a photo-shooting mode, the control module drives the image capturing module to generate a first captured image. The image processing module processes the first captured image so as to generate a photo file. When the POS management apparatus is in a barcode identification mode, the control module drives the image capturing module to generate a second captured image. The barcode identification module analyzes according to the second captured image, so as to obtain a barcode.

Description

Point-of-sale management device

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a point-in-time management device for managing merchandise.

With the advancement of computer systems, the commodity logistics industry began to try to use computers to manage storefront products, and gradually developed a point-of-sale (POS) intelligence system. At present, this kind of POS information system is widely used in the retail, catering, hotel and other industries. The main function is to count the sales, inventory and customer purchase behavior of goods. Through this system, operators can effectively improve their operational efficiency. It can be said that it is an indispensable tool for the modern retail industry.

After the establishment of the bar code specification in the 1970s, the manufacturer printed the bar code directly at the factory, and the store can use the bar code to manage the merchandise. This is the main function of the early first-generation POS system, and the common past collection of money. The counting industry uses abacus, and until now it has used electronic cash registers. The system is to import digital barcodes into checkout and cashier, which is one of the applications of POS system.

Recently, POS intelligence systems have gradually become similar to personal computer functions, using the structure of personal computers to do file processing, inventory and customer data management, card swiping, verification, and so on. Taking the more advanced POS system at this stage as an example, its main architecture includes a fixed POS system server and a portable POS management device.

Among them, the portable POS management device mostly has the function of a barcode reader, and the logistics manager can scan the barcode on the product or the package with the POS management device to collect the product type, price, display quantity or inventory quantity. After the information, the POS management device can use the wireless communication to transmit the collected information to the POS system server, or request other information of the product from the POS system server, and display it on the screen, so that the logistics management personnel can grasp the current situation. Product management status.

Early bar code identifiers typically used laser scanning to identify only one-dimensional strip of bar code. However, at this stage, the bar code specification has developed a number of two-dimensional bar codes. The bar code recognizer needs to adopt an image capture method to perform image capture on the area where the bar code is located, and determine the location of the bar code region in the captured image. Read the barcode and its contents.

At present, the POS management device can identify various one-dimensional and two-dimensional barcodes, and facilitates the management of commodities. However, most of the POS management devices lack the image capturing function. If the image capturing function is available, the appearance or current condition of the product or its packaging can be further integrated into the bar code into a more complete product information. Accordingly, the present invention provides a point-in-time management device that can perform image capturing and bar code recognition functions based on a single image capturing module to solve the above problems.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a point-in-time management device.

According to a specific embodiment, the point-of-sale management device includes an image capture module, an image processing module, a barcode recognition module, and a control module. The image processing module is coupled to the image capturing module. The barcode recognition module is coupled to the image processing module. The control module is coupled to the image capture module, the image processing module, and the barcode recognition module. When the point-of-sale management device is in a shooting mode, the control module is configured to drive the image capture module. The image processing module generates a first captured image, and the image processing module processes the first captured image to generate an image file. When the point-of-sale management device is in a code recognition mode, the control module is configured to drive the image. The capture module generates a second captured image, and the barcode recognition module parses the second captured image to obtain a code.

Compared with the prior art sales point management device, the image capturing function is lacking. The sales point management device of the present invention can perform image capturing and barcode identification functions in different modes based on a single image capturing module.

The details and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a point-of-sale management device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the point-of-sale management device 1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the point-of-sale management device 1 can be a handheld device, but the invention is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the point-of-sale management device 1 includes an image capturing module 10, an image processing module 12, a barcode recognition module 14, a control module 16, and a wireless transmission module 19. The display point management device 1 can be additionally provided with a display screen 17 and an operation module 18 (such as a plurality of operation buttons 180 in FIG. 1).

The user can control the sales point management device 1 to perform functions such as image capturing or barcode scanning by pressing or operating the operation buttons 180, and can display the barcode scanning result or the related information represented by the barcode on the display screen 17. On the other hand, the display screen 17 can also be a touch screen, and the user can perform related functions through the touch screen.

For example, the user can first press the corresponding operation button 180 in the operation module 18 (or in another embodiment, through the touch screen operation) to set the sales point management device 1 in the shooting mode. In the shooting mode, when the user presses a corresponding shooting trigger button (such as a shutter button) in the operation button 180, the control module 16 drives the image capturing module 10 to generate a first captured image. In an embodiment, the image capturing module 10 may include a charge-coupled device (CCD) photosensitive element, a complementary metal-oxy-semiconductor (CMOS) photosensitive element, or other equivalents. Photosensitive elements, the invention is not limited thereto. The method and the flow of image capturing by using photosensitive elements such as CCD and CMOS are well known to those skilled in the art, and therefore will not be further described herein.

In the shooting mode, after the image capturing module 10 generates the first captured image, the image processing module 12 can perform image processing on the first captured image to generate an image file, and further store the image. file. For example, the image processing module 12 can optimally adjust the brightness, chroma, and contrast of the screen content of the first captured image. In addition, the image processing module 12 can further set the image length and width, compression format, compression quality, image encoding mode, and the like when the first captured image is stored as an image file. For example, the first captured image generated by the image capture module 10 can be converted into a raw image format (RAW format), and the image processing module 12 can convert and compress the image to be combined with the image expert group. The (joint photographic experts group, JPEG) format is stored as the image file.

That is, the image processing performed by the image processing module 12 on the first captured image may include optimizing the image of the first captured image and storing it as a compression or image encoding specified by a user or a system. Appropriate image file.

On the other hand, the user can also press the corresponding operation button 180 to switch the sales point management device 1 to the barcode recognition mode. At this time, the user can align the image capturing module 10 with the position of the bar code label of the product. In addition, in this embodiment, the image capturing module 10 further includes a marking light emitting unit 100. In actual applications, the indicator lighting unit 100 can be a red laser emitter or other light emitting component. When the user wants to scan the barcode label, the indicator light unit 100 can project a reference light onto the surface of the product, so that the user can align the image capturing module 10 with the barcode label. In one embodiment, the illumination brightness of one of the illumination units 100 is adjustable by the user.

When the point-of-sale management device 1 is in the bar code recognition mode, when the user presses the corresponding scan trigger button in the operation button 180, the control module 16 is configured to drive the image capturing module 10 to generate a second captured image. The barcode image is the one that the user wants to read. The barcode identification module 14 can parse the second captured image to obtain a code.

In this embodiment, the barcode identification module 14 includes a barcode block selection unit 140 and a barcode database 142. The barcode database 142 stores a plurality of barcode specifications. At this time, the barcode block selection unit 140 in the barcode recognition module 14 is configured to analyze the second captured image generated by the image capture module 10, and select a code in which the actual barcode label is located from the second captured image. Block.

The bar code identification module 14 compares the barcode block and the bar code specifications stored in the bar code database 142 one by one, first determines which bar code specification corresponds to the bar code block, and after learning the correct bar code specification, The barcode can be obtained by parsing.

In this embodiment, the barcode specifications stored in the barcode database 142 may include Codabar, Code11, Code93, Interleaved, Matrix, Plessey, GS1DataBar, Standard, Telepen, Aztec, QR Code, Maxicode, MicroPDF, EAN with Extend Coupon Code, Code 32 Pharamaceutical, Trioptic Code, Codablock and other different bar code specifications. According to different bar code specifications, the bar code analysis result can be a simple digital bar code, or some specific two-dimensional bar code can be parsed to obtain a bar code including text, image, URL link or even other multimedia content. message.

In addition, in this embodiment, the barcode specification stored by the barcode database 142 can be divided into a plurality of groups, and each group includes at least one code specification. For example, in the above various bar code specifications, Codabar, Code11, Code93, Interleaved, Matrix, Plessey, GS1DataBar, Standard, Telepen, Aztec, QR Code, Maxicode and MicroPDF bar code specifications are classified into the first group; EAN with Extend Coupon Code is The second group; Code 32 Pharamaceutical is the third group; Trioptic Code, and Codablock are the fourth group, and the group classification manner of the above barcode specifications can be adjusted according to the actual application, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition to the implementation of switching between the above-mentioned shooting mode and the bar code recognition mode, in another embodiment, the point-of-sale management device 1 can also be preset in the bar code recognition mode. When the photo needs to be taken, the sales time is first transmitted through the operation module 18. The management device 1 switches to the shooting mode, and after the photograph is taken, the point-of-sale management device 1 can automatically restore the barcode recognition mode.

For example, if the barcode label on the product is in the Trioptic Code barcode format, the user can set the sales point management device 1 so that the barcode recognition module 14 performs the comparison between the barcode block and the barcode database. , only for bar code specifications in the fourth group for comparison. In this way, the recognition rate and operation efficiency of the barcode can be accelerated.

In summary, the point-of-sale management device 1 can read the barcode for the product, and even further analyze the barcode information, and can also perform image capturing on the appearance of the product or its surrounding environment. In this embodiment, the control module 16 of the point-of-sale management device 1 further connects the image file generated by the shooting with the scanned barcode (or the content of the barcode information further including the corresponding barcode) to form a product information.

The control module 16 can transmit the product information to the external server through the wireless transmission module 19 by wireless communication, and the external server can be a point-of-sale system server. The sales point management device 1 can transmit the collected product information to the external server for archival filing, or on the other hand, the sales point management device 1 can also read other related inventory quantities or customer orders for the commodity by the external server. Additional information.

In this way, the point-in-time management device of the present invention can perform image capturing and bar code recognition functions in different modes based on a single image capturing module, and integrate the collected information to achieve better. Logistics information management efficiency.

The scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intention is to cover various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the invention as claimed.

1. . . Point-of-sale management device

10. . . Image capture module

100. . . Marking light unit

12. . . Image processing module

14. . . Bar code recognition module

140. . . Bar code block selection unit

142. . . Barcode database

16. . . Control module

17. . . Display screen

18. . . Operation module

180. . . Operation button

19. . . Wireless transmission module

1 is a perspective view of a point-of-sale management device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the point-of-sale management device in FIG.

1. . . Point-of-sale management device

10. . . Image capture module

100. . . Marking light unit

12. . . Image processing module

14. . . Bar code recognition module

140. . . Bar code block selection unit

142. . . Barcode database

16. . . Control module

17. . . Display screen

18. . . Operation module

19. . . Wireless transmission module

Claims (7)

A point-of-sale management device includes: an image capture module; an image processing module coupled to the image capture module; a code recognition module coupled to the image capture module; and a control The module is coupled to the image capturing module, the image processing module, and the barcode recognition module. When the point-of-sale management device is in a shooting mode, the control module drives the image capturing module to generate The first capture image, and the image processing module processes the first captured image to generate an image file. When the point-of-sale management device is in a code recognition mode, the control module drives the image capture module. A second captured image is generated, and the barcode recognition module obtains a code according to the second captured image; wherein the control module further integrates the generated image file with the barcode to form a product information. The sales point management device according to claim 1, wherein the barcode identification module further parses the barcode to obtain a code message. The sales point management device of claim 2, wherein the control module further integrates the generated image file, the barcode, and the barcode message to form a product information. The sales point management device according to claim 1, wherein the barcode identification module further comprises a code block selection unit and a code database, wherein the barcode database stores a plurality of barcode specifications, when the sales point is When the management device is in the barcode identification mode, the barcode block selection unit analyzes the second captured image and selects a code block from the strip. The code identification module compares the bar code block with the bar code specifications in the bar code database, and further determines one of the bar code specifications corresponding to the bar code block, and obtains the bar code by parsing. The sales point management device as described in claim 4, wherein the barcode specifications stored in the barcode database are divided into a plurality of groups, each group including at least one of the barcode specifications, and the barcode identification When the module compares the barcode block with the barcode database, the barcode identification module compares the barcode block with the barcode specification of one of the groups. The sales point management device of claim 1, wherein the image capturing module further comprises an indicator lighting unit, wherein the illumination brightness of one of the indicator lighting units is adjustable. The sales point management device according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless transmission module, wherein the sales point management device uses the wireless transmission module to perform wireless communication with an external server.