JPH04304597A - Charge adjustment device for restaurant - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clean tableware sufficiently while eliminating the wear and peeling of bar code display and to automate the fee adjustment in cafetera by unnecessitating the printing and sticking of the bar code to the tableware in the cafeteria. CONSTITUTION:A table 1 for tray 9, a picture processor 2, and a camera 3 to be connected to this are provided. The picture processor, connected to a host computer 4 via communication circuit, executes the processing for picture processing result, that is, executes the fee adjustment, and performs the output to a monitor 5 and a printer 6. The device is arranged along the belt conveyer 8 leading to a washing place 10. The counting of the tableware is performed when a user U puts the prescribed tray 9 on the table 1 on the belt conveyer 8 so as to carry the tableware to be returned to the washing place 10. The charge adjustment is performed based on this result so as to be outputted to the monitor 5 and the printer 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fare settlement device for a restaurant, and more particularly to a bill payment device suitable for automatic bill settlement in a buffet-style restaurant.

0002

[Background Art] In recent years, with the spread of barcodes,
The rationalization of bill settlement at supermarkets, etc. is progressing. Barcodes are printed directly on the packaging or printed on stickers and affixed to the packaging, but depending on the printing quality and the shape of the display surface, they can be extremely difficult to read.

In other words, if the information is not clearly printed on a flat surface, it will be impossible to read or reading errors will occur. Furthermore, on objects that are frequently washed, such as tableware in a cafeteria, there is a high possibility that the printing will wear out or disappear, making it difficult to redisplay the barcode.

0004

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was devised to solve these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bill payment device that can automate bill payment in a restaurant.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The charge settlement device according to the present invention sets the planar shape of tableware in advance according to the charge, captures the tableware placed on a predetermined tray as an image, and calculates the charge by counting the tableware. It is to be liquidated. According to the fee settlement device according to the present invention, there is no need to print or paste barcodes on tableware, so there are no problems such as wear and tear of the display, and the tableware can be thoroughly washed.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, one embodiment of the fee settlement apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fee settlement device according to the present invention, which includes a table 1 on which a tray 9 is placed, an image processing device 2, and a camera 3 connected to the image processing device 2. 2 is connected to the host computer 4 via a communication line. The image processing device 2 performs processing on the image processing results, that is, processes up to payment of fees, and outputs the results to the monitor 5 and printer 6. A barcode reader 7 is also connected to the image processing device 2 and used to read the user's ID card 15.

[0007] The fee settlement device is disposed along the belt conveyor 8 following the washing area 10, and the tableware (not shown) to be returned by the user U by placing a predetermined tray 9 on the table 1 on the belt conveyor 8. The dishes are counted in the process of being transported to the washing area 10 by the belt conveyor 8. The fee is calculated based on this count result, and the monitor 5 and printer 6
Output to. This calculation result and the contents of the ID card 15 are simultaneously transmitted to the host computer 4, and the amount charged to each individual is totaled.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the registration procedure to be carried out before using this embodiment, and this procedure is roughly divided into user registration and price registration. In user registration, a correspondence table between ID numbers and data for each individual is registered, and in price registration, a correspondence relationship between feature data of the planar shape of the tableware and price is registered.

Next, processing for each tray using the present invention will be explained based on FIG. First, in step 101, the user U causes the barcode reader 7 to read his/her ID card 15 and inputs the ID number. This identifies the user. In step 102, as shown in FIG. 2, the tray 9 on which a plurality of dishes 11 to 14 are placed is placed on the stand 1 of the belt conveyor 8.

Furthermore, the employee's ID card 15 is placed on the tray 9.
If the barcode is read as an image, the barcode reader 7 becomes unnecessary. In step 103, the shape features of the several types of tableware captured in step 102 are extracted. In step 104, step 10
The tableware characteristics extracted in step 3 are compared with the tableware characteristic patterns registered in advance. Then, the price and number corresponding to the matched pattern are calculated, and charged and stored in the storage area of the ID card 15 described above. In step 105, the current usage fee and the cumulative amount so far are displayed on the monitor 5,
The usage statement is output to the printer 6.

[0011] In step 106, user U enters his/her ID.
Receive Card 15 and usage statement and confirm the contents. If the current day corresponds to a liquidation day that is set once a month (step 107), then in step 108, a lump-sum liquidation process is performed for the cumulative total up to that day. If it is not the liquidation date, the processing from steps 101 to 106 will be repeated every day. This makes it possible to manage meal expenses for each employee at a company's employee cafeteria, and even to settle charges using a credit card.

[0012] In the above configuration, the payment is made after the meal is finished, but the payment may be made immediately upon completion of the selection of dishes. In this case, processing can be facilitated by calculating the charges before placing tableware such as chopsticks, knives, forks, spoons, etc. that are not subject to payment on the tray.

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, there is no need to print or paste barcodes on tableware etc. in the cafeteria, problems such as wear and tear of barcode display are eliminated, and tableware can be thoroughly washed. This also has the effect of automating bill settlement at the cafeteria.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating shape feature extraction of tableware on a tray.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a user registration method.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a price registration method.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment using the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 Tray

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claims 1: A container whose planar shape is set for each charge, a tray on which a plurality of such containers can be mounted, and a counting circuit that detects the contour of the tray and counts the number of containers existing within the contour. and an arithmetic circuit that calculates a fee based on the count value of this counting circuit.