[Title of ~nventionl Control system, control method of a control
system, and recording device
[Technical Field]
[00011
The present invention relates to a control system including a
recording device connected to an input device and an information
processing device connected to the recording device, to a control
method of the control system, and to the recording device.
[0002]
Systems having a POS terminal as a recording device with a
barcode input device connected thereto, and a POS controller
connected to the recording device, are known fromthe literature (see,
for example, PTL 1) . In the system described in PTL 1, the recording
device and POS controller work together to execute processes and
operate as a POS system. In addition to a printer driver for
controlling the recording device, specific applications are
generally installed to the POS controller or other information
processingdeviceinsuchsystems. Information input fromthebarcode
scanner or other input device is processed by functions of the
applications and printer driver.
[Citation List]
[Patent Literature]
[PTL 11 JP-A-H05-73769
[Summary of Invention]
[Technical Problem]
[0004]
The system described in PTL 1 also anticipates situations in
which a specific application is not installed on the information
processing device, and the information processing device accesses
a server that provides an application and executes processes using
functions of the application on the server. In this event, a generic
device having at least the ability to access a server can be used
as the informationprocessing device insteadof a specializeddevice
with dedicated software or hardware for controlling the recording
device, and improved convenience can be expected. If processes
appropriate to the input device can be executed while using as few
functions of the operating system of the information processing
device as possible when information from an input device is input
to the information processing device through the recording device
in this configuration, different kinds of terminal devices can be
used as the information processing device independently of the
particular type or version of operating system used by the terminal
device. More specifically, the advantages of using a generic device
as the information processing device can be effectively utilized.
[00051
Barcode scanners and other input devices are used, and a device
driver appropriate to each input device is installed to the device
to which the input device is connected, in the POS system described
in PTL 1. The number of device drivers thus increases as the number
or type of input devices increases, and problems managing the device
drivers increase accordingly. Generic device drivers could
conceivablybeusedto solve this problem. However, inorder toensure
versatility, common generic device drivers treat the controlled
devices as the same kind of device. In order to accurately process
data related to sales transactions, the POS system must be able to
differentiate the input devices that output the output data. systems
such as POS systemsmustthereforebe able to control different input
devices appropriately according to the type of device, a device
driver must be provided for each particular input device, and there
is no advantage in using a generic device driver.
[0006]
The present invention is directed to the foregoing problem, and
an object of the invention is to enable processing appropriate to
the input device when there is input from an input device while using
as few functions of the operating system of the information
processing device as possible.
A further object of the invention is to simplify managing the
device drivers controlling the input devices and enable efficiently
controlling input devices in a systemhaving aplurality of different
types of input devices.
[Solution to Problem]
[0007]
To achieve the foregoing object, a control system according to
the invention has an input device configured to read and output input
information; a recording device configured to, when connected to the
input device and the input information is input, determine the input
device that output the input information, and output data related
to the input information; and an information processing device
connected to the recording device and conf igured to receive the data
output by the recording device.
When input information is output from an input device in this
configuration, the recording device determines the input dev.ice that
output the input information, and outputs the input information to
the information processing device. The input information can
therefore be processed appropriately to the input device without the
information processing device determining the input device. As a
result, processes appropriate to the input device connected to the
recording device can be executed while using as few functions of the
operating system of the information processing device as possible.
[ 0 0 0 8 ]
The control system of the invention preferably also has a server
connected to the information processing device through a network;
the recording device adds identificationinformationidentifyingthe
input device to the data, and outputs to the information processing
device; and the information processing device determines the input
devic.e based on the identification information contained in the data
with the added identification information output by the recording
device, and executes a process appropriate to the input device on
the data.
When input information is input from the input device in this
configuration, the recording device adds identification information
identifying the input device of the input source to the input
information, and outputs to the information processing device. The
information processing device identifies the input device of the
input source based on the identification information added to the
input information, and executes aprocess corresponding to the input
device of the input source. As a result, the recording device and
information processing device can cooperate to identify the input
device and run a process corresponding to the input device without
usingfunctions oftheoperating systemofthe informationprocessing
device.
[00091
In the control system of the invention, the information
processing device could have a display unit configured to display
information based on the data; accesses the server, acquires a
display file that displays information based on the data, and
displays a user interface based on the display file using a web
browser; and identifies the input device based on the identification
information and executes a process appropriate to the input device
by running a program embedded in the display file.
In this configuration, the information processing device uses
the abilitytoacquire adisplay file fordisplayingauserinterface,
and can identify the input device and execute a process appropriate
to the input device without using functions of the operating system,
by using a function of a program embedded in the display file.
[00101
In the control system of the invention, the input device may
be a barcode scanner or a card reader.
A barcode scanner and card reader are commonly connected to a
recording device in a POS system, product barcodes are read with the
barcode scanner and a process based on the read barcode is executed,
and cards such as customer cards are read with the card reader and
a process based on the read information is executed. By applying the
invention to such POS systems, whether the input source of the input
information is the barcode scanner or the card reader can be easily
determined without using functions of the operating system of the
information processing device.
[0011]
Further alternatively, in another control system according to
the invention the information processing device runs a POS
application configured to process the data; and the recording device
has an input unit that connects to the input device and receives the
input information, a control unit configured to run a device driver
to generate data based on the input information, to run a filter
driver to acquire identification information identifying the input
device configured to output the data, and to add the acquired
identification information to the data, an output unit configured
to output data with the addedidentificationinformation, and aprint
unit configured to print, and prints by the print unit as controlled
by the information processing device.
In this configuration the input data is produced by the device
driver, and the input device corresponding to the input data is
determinedby the filter driver. Because the input data cantherefore
be processed based on the type of input device, the input data can
be appropriately processed by the control system. Because the device
driver also does not need to process dataidentifyingthe input device,
ageneric device drivercanbeused. Problemsmanagingdevice drivers
can therefore be reduced and input devices can be efficiently
controlled.
[0012]
Further alternatively in a control system according to the
invention, the information processing device has a web browser that
generates a window based on a web page that runs a POS application,
and a display unit configured to display a window generated by the
web browser.
In this configuration a web browser based on a web page can be
used to run a POS application and process transaction information.
[00131
Further alternatively in a control system according to the
invention, the input information output by the input device is
transaction information; and the POS application processes data
related to the transaction information based on the identification
information.
In this configuration, the POS application can be run and
transaction information processed based on the input information
output by the input device.
Further alternatively in a control system according to the
invention, the filter driver acquires data satisfying a condition
specified by the POS application after the data is produced by the
device driver.
In this configuration, the condition related to the input data
acquired by the filter driver can be specified by a function of the
POS application. As a result, the information processing device and
the recording device do not need to have a function for managing the
filter driver. A generic device can therefore be used as the
information processing device. Furthermore, because the condition
used in filter driver operation can be changed by the POS application
when different input devices are used for particular tasks, managing
the input devices is even easier.
[0015]
To achieve the foregoing object, a control method of a control
system according to the invention includes: an input device reading
and outputting input information; and a recording device connected
tothe input device identifyin'gthe input device that output the input
informationwhen the input information is input fromthe input device,
and outputting data related to the input information to an
information processing device connected to the recording device.
With this conf iguration, when input information is output from
an input device, the recording device determines the input device
that output the input information, and outputs the input information
to the information processing device. The input information can
therefore be processed appropriately to the input device without the
information processing device determining the input device. As a
result, processes appropriate to the input device connected to the
recording device can be executed while using as few functions of the
operating system of the information processing device as possible.
In another control method of a control system according to the
invention, the recording device adds identification information for
the identified input device to the data, and outputs to the
informationprocessingdevice; and the informationprocessingdevice
identifies the input device based on the identification information
contained in the data with the added identification information, and
processes the data appropriately to the input device.
In this configuration, the recording device adds identification
information identifying the input device of the input source to the
input information, and outputs tothe information processing device.
The information processing device identifies the input device of the
input source based on the identification information added to the
input information, and executes aprocess corresponding to the input
device of the input source. As a result, the recording device and
information processing device can cooperate to identify the input
device and run a process corresponding to the input device without
usingfunctions oftheoperating systemofthe informationprocessing
device.
[00171
In another control method of a control system according to the
invention, the input information read by the input device is
transaction information; the recording device outputs data produced
based on the transaction information to the information processing
device; and the information processing device runs a POS application
andprocesses the dataproducedbasedonthetransactioninformation.
Further alternatively, data processed by the POS application
is output to the recording device; and the recording device prints
the data processed by the POS application.
In this configuration the input data is produced by the device
driver, and the input device corresponding to the input data is
determinedby the filter driver. Because the input data cantherefore
be processed based on the type of input device, the input data can
be appropriat'ely processed by the control system. Because the device
driver also does not need toprocess dataidentifyingthe input device,
ageneric device driver canbe used. Problemsmanagingdevice drivers
can therefore be reduced and input devices can be efficiently
controlled.
[00181
To achieve the foregoing object, a recording device according
to the invention has an input unit to which input information output
from an input device is input; a controlunit that produces databased
on the input information, and identifies the input device that output
the input information; and a transmission unit that transmits the
data.
With this configuration, when input information is output from
an input device, the recording device determines the input device
that output the input information, and outputs the input information
to the information processing device. The input information can
therefore be processed appropriately to the input device without the
information processing device determining the input device. As a
result, processes appropriate to the input device connected to the
recording device can be executed while using as few functions of the
operating system of the information processing device as possible.
[0019]
In another recording device according to the invention, the
control unit adds identification information for the identified
input device to the data; and the transmission unit transmits data
with the identification information added.
When input information is input from the input device in this
configuration, the recording device adds identification information
identifying the input device of the input source to the input
information, and outputs to the information processing device.
Because the input device of the input source can be identified based
on the identification information added to the input information,
the information processing device can identify the input device and
run a process corresponding to the input device without using
functions of the operating system of the information processing
device.
[00201
In another recording device according to the invention, the
control unit runs a device driver to generate data based on the input
information, and runs a filter driver to identify the input device
and acquire identification information.
Because the recording device acquires input data produced by
the device driver from the filter driver and identifies the input
device corresponding to the input data in this configuration, the
information processing device can process the input data based on
the type of input device. As aresult, input data canbe appropriately
processed by the POS system. A generic device driver can also be used
because there is no need for the device driver to process data
identifying the input device. Problems related to managing device
drivers can therefore be reduced, and input devices controlled
efficiently.
[Brief Description of Drawings]
[0021]
FIG. 1schematicallyshowsthe configurationof acontrolsystem
according to a first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration
of the control system.
F I G . 3 shows a dedicated user interface displayed on a touch
pane 1.
F I G . 4 is a flow chart of the operation of devices in the control
system.
F I G . 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration
of acontrolsystemaccordingtoasecondembodimentoftheinvention.
F I G . 6 schematically shows the software configuration of the
control system.
F I G . 7 is flow chart showing the operation of the printer.
[Description of Embodiments]
[00221
Embodiment 1
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described
below with reference to the accompanying figures.
F I G . 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control
system 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention.
The control system 1 is part of a POS system used in a retail
store inashopping center or department store tomanageproduct sales,
product inventory, and sales trends in the store, for example, and
at least has functions for processing sale transactions based on the
products purchased by a customer, and producing receipts based on
the payment received from the customer, at checkout counters L in
the store.
[00231
A tablet device 10 (information processing device), and a
printer 11 (recording device) connected to the tablet device 10, are
installed at each of plural checkout counters L in a store where the
control system 1 is used. The tablet device 10 and printer 11 are
connected so that they data can be exchanged over wireless LAN 5
(network) conforming to the Ethernet (R) standard.
The tablet device 10 is a tablet computer. As shown in F I G . 2
and FIG. 3, the tablet device 10 in this embodiment has a touch panel
10a covering substantially the entire front surface, information is
input by touching the touch panel 10a, and an external keyboard,
display panel, or other device is not connected.
[00241
The printer 11 has at least the ability to produce receipts.
Other external devices also connect to the printer 11. Examples of
such external devices include a barcode scanner 12 (input device),
card reader 13 (input device), cash drawer 14, and customer display
15 as shown in FIG. 2. The barcode scanner 12 reads barcodes on
products or product packaging. The card reader 13 reads preferred
customer cards, for example. The cash drawer 14 holds cash, checks,
or other payment instruments. The customer display 15 displays
transaction information for the customer. Of these external devices,
the barcode scanner 12 and the printer 11 communicate by short-ra.nge
wireless communicationconformingtothe Bluetooth (R) standard. The
card reader 13 connects to the printer 11 by a USB cable or other
wired communication cable, and communicates with the printer 11
according to a specific communication standard.
A POS server 17 (server) is connected to the wireless LAN 5,
The POS server 17 stores various databases, and uses these databases
to centrally manage the control system 1. The databases stored on
the POS server 17 include a product management database, a sales
management database, and an inventory management databaste . The
relationship between the POS server 17 and the tablet device 10 is
described below.
[00251
F I G . 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the functional
configuration of the tablet device 10, the printer 11, and the POS
server 17.
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 11 includes a printer-side
control unit 20, print unit 21, wireless communication unit 22, wired
communication unit 24, and printer-side interface 23 (I/F) .
The printer-side control unit 20 controls other parts of the
printer 11. The printer-side control unit 20 includes a CPU, RAM,
ROM, and other peripheral circuits. At least a printer driver that
controls the print unit 21, and a communication driver that
communicates with the tablet device 10 according to a specific
standard, are installed on the printer 11. Function blocks of the
printer-side control unit 20 include a printer driver execution unit
20a that runs the printer driver, and a communication driver
execution unit 20b that runs the communication driver. The operation
of these function blocks is further described below.
[0026]
The print unit 21 produces a receipt by recording an image on
roll paper and thencutting the roll paper, Theprintunit21includes
a control circuit that controls the printing mechanisms. The print
unit 21 also has a conveyance mechanism that conveys the roll paper
in a specific direction, a recording mechanism that records images
on roll paper with a recording head, and a cutting mechanism that
cuts the roll paper. The printer-side control unit 20 (particularly
the printer driver execution unit 20a) and the print unit 21 work
together and functionas aprintunitthatprints basedon information
sent from the information processing device.
The wireless communication unit 22 communicates with at least
the barcode scanner 12 of the input devices by short-range wireless
communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard. The wireless
communication unit 22 includes a link manager, link controller, high
frequency circuit, and antenna.
The communication control unit 20c, which is a function block
of the printer-side control unit 20, reads and runs a so-called
Bluetooth Driver Stack to control Bluetooth hardware. The
communication control unit 20c controls the wireless communication
unit 22 and communicates with the barcode scanner 12 by short-range
wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 22 and the
communication control unit 20c cooperate to function as a receiver
unit that receives input information sent from an input device.
[00271
The wired communication unit 24 communicates by wire according
to a specific communication protocol with at least the card reader
13 and customer display 15 of the input devices. The wired
communication unit 24 may include a network card connected to a
physical port. The communicationcontrol unit 20c of the printer-side
control unit 20 controls the wired communication unit 24 to
communicate by wire with the card reader 13 and customer display 15.
The wired communication unit 24 and communication control unit 20c
work together and function as a receiver unit that receives input
information sent from an input device.
The communication control unit 20c has an identification
information adding unit 20d. The identification information adding
unit 20d is described further below.
The printer interface (I/F) 23 communicates with the tablet
device 10 according to a particular communication standard as
controlled by the printer-side control unit 20. The printer-side
control unit 20 (particularly the communication driver execution
unit20b) cooperateswiththeprinter-side interface 23 and functions
as a transmitter unit that sends input information with
identifica-tion information added thereto by a control unit to the
information processing device.
LOO281
As shown in FIG. 2, the tablet device 10 has a terminal-side
control unit 26, a touch panel 10a, and a terminal-side interface
(I/F) 27.
The terminal-side control unit 26 controls other parts of the
tablet device 10. The terminal-side control unit 26 includes a CPU,
ROM, RAM, andotherperipheralcircuits, andabrowserexecutionunit
26a., which is a function block that runs a specific browser.
ThetouchpanellOadisplays information on a display panel such
as an LED panel as controlled by the terminal-side control unit 26.
The touch panel 10a also detects touch operations on the display
surface, and outputs to the terminal-side control unit 26.
The terminal-side interface 27 communicates according to a
specific communication standard with the printer 11 and POS server
17 as controlled by the terminal-side control unit 26.
As shown in FIG. 2, the POS server 17 includes a server-side
control unit 30, server-side storage unit 31, and server-side
interface ( I / F ) 32.
The server-side control unit 30 controls parts ofthe POS server
17. The server-side control unit 30 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and.
a hard disk, EEPROM, or other nonvolatile memory device that stores
data rewritably. The server-side interface 32 communicates with the
tablet device 10 according to a specific communication protocol as
controlled by the server-side control unit 30.
A web application 35 is stored so that it can be loaded from
the server-side storage unit 31. The application execution unit 30a
of the server-side control unit 30 is a function block that runs the
web application 35. Functions of the web application 35 are described
below.
[00301
The basic operation when devices in this control system 1 work
together to execute a transaction process is described next.
The tablet device 10 executes the following process before the
transaction process is performed.
The cash register operator or other responsible person first
starts the browser of the tablet device 10 and performs an operation
for displaying a dedicated user interface UI (user interface, see
FIG. 3) on the touch panel 10a. In response to this command, the
browser execution unit 26a of the terminal-side control unit 26
accesses a specific address on the POS server 17, acquires an HTML
file (display 'file) for displaying the dedicated user interface UI,
and displays the dedicated user interface UI based on the acquired
file. A program with functions for executing transaction processes
in conjunction with the application execution unit 30a of the POS
server 17 is embedded in this HTML file written in a specific
scripting language.
FIG. 3 shows an example of the dedicated user interface UI
displayed on the touch panel 10a.
A display list area 39 for displaying the name, price, and
quantity of the products purchased by the customer is presented in
the top left part of the dedicated user interface UI shown in FIG.
3. Amount fields 40 for dispiaying and inputting the total of the
products purchasedby the customer, the amount of money received from
the customer for the transaction, the amount of change due to the
customer, and any discount applied to the transaction, are presented
on the right beside the display list area 39.
Below the display list area 39 is a barcode data field 41 where
the information represented by the barcode that is read with the
barcode scanner 12 ("barcode information" ) is input and displayed.
The barcode information is basically identification information
uniquely assigned to each product type.
Below the barcode data field 41 is a customer number field 42,
which is an input field where the customer number acquired by reading
a frequent customer card is input and displayed when the card is read
with the card reader 13.
A virtual keypad 43 is displayed on the right bes'ide the barcode
data field41andcustomernumberfield42. Informationcanbe entered
using this virtual keypad 43 to the various fields displayed in the
dedicated user interface UI, and the virtual keypad 43 has all keys
required for data entry.
An address field 44 where the accessed address is displayed is
presented at the top of the dedicated user interface UI.
[00321
Operation when components of the control system 1 work together
toprocess atransactionis describedwithreferencetothe flowchart
in FIG. 4. The flow chart in FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation
when a customer purchases one product. Note that for brevity the
subject performing each of the steps of the process in the flow chart
in FIG. 4 is not the same.
The following example also assumes that the customer has a
customer card, and passes the customer card to the checkout clerk
during the transaction at the checkout counter L. A customer number
is recorded readably by the card reader 13 on the customer card, and
a discount based on the customer number is given during the
transaction process, for example.
[0033]
At the checkout counter L, the checkout clerk reads the customer
card of the customer with the card reader 13 (step SAl), The
18
communication control unit 20c of the printer-side control unit 20
acquires data indicating the result of reading by the card reader
13 through the wired communication unit 24, and based on this data
generates data indicating the customer number (step SA2) . Next, the
identification information adding unit 20d of the communication
control unit 20c adds identification information identifying the
card reader 13 to the data (input information) indicating the
customer number (step SA3). In this embodiment the identification
information adding unit 20d functions as a control unit that
identifies the input device that sent the input information received
by the receiver unit and adds identification information to the input
information.
The identification information could be a vendor ID or p~oduct
ID unique to the card reader 13, for example. When the port connected
to a particular type of input device, for example, is fixed,
information identifying the port could be used as the identification
information. Regardless of what information is used as the
identification information, that information is identical to the
data or value managed as the identification information identifying
the cardreader13 inthewebapplication35 (the dataorvaluemanaged
as the identification information identifying the card reader 13 in
the dedicated script described below). In this embodiment, the
relationship between the type of input device and the identification
information is written in a configuration file the web application
35 can reference, The value of the identification information written
in the configuration file can also be changed through a specific user
interface, and the content of the configuration file canbe rewritten
by the operator whenever a new input device is connected to the
printer 11. The identity of the identification information related
to the type of one device in the web application 35 and the dedicated
script described below, and the identification information added to
the input information of the one input device by the identification
information adding unit 20d; is assured.
[00341
The communication control unit 20c outputs data indicating the
customer number with the identification information of the card
reader 13 (below, customer number data with identification
information) to the communication driver execution unit 20b (step
SA4) .
A function for outputting the customer number data with
identification information to the browser execution unit 26a of the
tablet device 10 is embedded in the communication driver installed
in the printer 11. Using this function, the communication driver
execution unit 20b outputs the customer number data with
identification information to the browser execution unit 26a (step
SA5) .
When the customer number data with identification information
is input, the browser execution unit 26a determines if the input
device that input the data is the card reader 13 based on the
identification information added to the customer number data with
identification information (identification information for
identifying the card reader 13 in this example) using a function of
the program (referred to below as a dedicated script) embedded in
the HTML file related to the dedicated user interface UI (step SA6) .
The process of step SA6 is executed as follows. That is, the
correlation between the identification information and the type of
input device is written in the dedicated script, and a function for
identifying the type of input device based on the identification
information is embedded in the script. Using this function, the
browser execution unit 26a determines if the input device that input
the data is the card reader13 basedon the identification information
added to the customer number data with identification information.
After the card reader 13 is identified as the input device of
the input source, the browser execution unit 26a determines that the
information denoted by the customer number data with identification
information (= customer number) is information that should be input
to the customer number field 42 because the input source is the card
reader13, andinputsthe customer number tothe customer number field
42 (step SA7) . As a result, the customer number of the customer is
displayed in the customer number field 42 of the dedicated user
interface UI.
[0035]
Because information identifying the input device is not added
directly to the customer number data generated based on the output
of the card reader 13, the type of input device that is the input
sourceofthedatacannotbedeterminedbasedonthatdata. Therefore,
when the customer number data is input from the printer 11 to the
tablet device 10, the terminal-side control unit 26 could conceivably
use a function embedded in the operating system of the tablet device
10 fordetectingperipheraldevices andconnecteddevicestoidentify
the input device of the input source.
In the control system 1 according to this embodiment of the
invention, the tablet device 10 identifies the type of input device
and executes a process appropriate to that device type using the
foregoingmeans renderedbythe cooperation of devices in the control
system 1. As a result, using a function of the operating system of
the tablet device 10 to determine the input device is not necessary.
Furthermore, because the input device is identified and a process
appropriate to the device type is executed without using a funcI tion
of the operating system of the tablet device 10, different terminals
can be used as the tablet device 10 independently of the type and
version of the operating system, and the benefit of being able to
use generic devices as the tablet device 10 can be effectively
utilized.
Specifically, the tablet device 10 identifies the type of the
source input device using a function of a dedicated script in this
embodiment. As a result, by desirably using the ability to acquire
,an HTML file (display file) for the dedicated user interface UI and
using a function of a program embedded in the display file, input
devices can be identified and processes appropriate to the input
device can be executed without using a function of the operating
system.
The browser executionunit 26a determines that the type of input
device of the input source is the card reader 13 in step SA6, and
based on this result the browser execution unit 26a queries the
application execution unit 30a to determine the discount (such as
10% off) tobe appliedtothetransaction forthe customer identified
by the customer number contained in the customer number data with
identification information (step SA8) . Using the customer number as
the search key, the application execution unit 30a accesses a
specific database in response to the query, and identifies and
returns the discount (such as 10% off) to be applied for the customer
in that transaction, As will be understood below, a discount is then
applied to the transaction based on the discount retrieved from the
database.
[00371
Next, the checkout clerk reads the barcode from the one product
purchased in the transaction with the barcode scanner 12 (step SA9) .
The communication control unit 20c of the printer-side control unit
20 then acquires data representing the result of reading with the
barcode scanner 12 through the wireless communication unit 22, and
basedon this data generates dataindicatingthe barcode information
(step SA10). Next, the identification information adding unit 20d
of the communication control unit 20c adds identification
information identifying the barcode scanner 12 to the barcode
information data (input information) (step SA11) . The value of this
identification information is the same as the data and value managed
as the barcode scanner 12 identification information in the web
application 35 and the dedicated script.
Next, the communication control unit 20c outputs the barcode
information data with the added barcode scanner 12 identification
information (below referred to as the barcode information data with
identification information) to the communication driver execution
unit 20b (step SA12). The communication driver executioI n unit 20b
then outputs the barcode information data with identification
information to the browser execution unit 26a (step SA13).
When the barcode information data with identification
information is input, the browser execution unit 26a of the
terminal-side control unit 26 of the tablet device 10 determines
using a function of the dedicated script that the input device of
the input source of the data is the barcode scanner 12 based on the
identification information added to the barcode information data
with identification information (identification information
identifyingthebarcode scanner12 in this example) (step SA14). This
identification process is performed by the same means as in step SA6.
[0038]
After determining that the input device of the input source is
the barcode scanner 12, the browser execution unit 26a determines
that the information denoted by the barcode information data with
identification information (= barcode information) is information
that should be input to the barcode data field 41 because the input
source is the barcode scanner 12, and inputs the barcode information
to the barcode data field 41 (step SA15). As a result, the barcode
information displayed in the barcode data field 41 of the dedicated
user interface UI.
Next, using a function of the dedicated script, the browser
execution unit 26a communicates with the application execution unit
30a of the POS server 17 and requests the product name and price of
the product identified by the barcode information (step SA16) . When
the query is received, the application execution unit 30a accesses
the appropriate database andacquires the requiredinformationusing
a function of the web application 35, and outputs the acquired
information to the browser execution unit 26a of the tablet device
10 (step SA17) . Note that functions normally included in a so-called
POS application, such as product search, sales management, and
inventory management functions, are embedded in the web application
35. More specifically, in the control system 1 according to this
embodiment of the invention, the POS application is not installed .
on the tablet device 10, and each tablet device 10 used in the store
accesses the POS server17 as neededandexecutes POS systemprocesses
using functions of the web application 35. As a result, the identity
of the applicationexecutedbyeachtablet device 10 canbemaintained,
there is no need to upgrade the application on each tablet device
10 when the application is upgraded, for example, and ease of
maintenance is thereby improved. There is also no need to provide
special functions or connect special external devices to the tablet
device 10, and a generic device having at least an installed browser
can be used as the tablet device 10.
[00391
Next, the browser execution unit 26a of the tablet device 10
displays the name, price, and quantity of the product purchased by
the customer in the display list area 39, and displays the total of
the products purchased by the customer in a specific line in the
amount fields 40, using functions of the dedicated script (step
SA18) .
Next, the checkout clerk executes an operation finalizing the
products in the transaction using the virtual keypad 43. Triggered
by this operation, the browser execution unit 26a calculates the
total amount to be paid by the customer using a function of the
dedicated script (step SA19). The transaction total is calculated
as described below. Specifically, a function for calculating the
transaction total reflecting the discount determined in step SA8 is
includedinthe dedicated script. Thebrowser executionunit 26a.uses
this function embedded in the dedicated script to calculate the
transaction total.
After calculating the transaction total, the browser execution
unit 26a inputs the calculated transaction total and information
indicatingthe discountapplisdtothetransactioninthe appropriate
fields of the amount fields 40, and displays the appropriate
information in the appropriate fields of the amount fields 40 based
on the amount received from the customer and the amount of change
due, using a function of the dedicated script (step SA2O).
Next, using a function of the dedicated script, the browser
execution unit 26a generates information related to a receipt to be
produced by the print unit 21 (below referred to as printing
information) (step SA21). This printing information includes the
text data to be recorded on the receipt, image data for the store
logo, the locations of the text and images, information related to
text attributes, and all other information required to record text
and images and produce a receipt.
Next, the browser execution unit 26a outputs the generated
printing information through the communication driver executionunit
20b of the printer 11 to the printer driver execution unit 20a
according to a specific protocol (step SA22). Based on the input
printing information, the printer driver execution unit 20a
generates and outputs to the control circuit of the print unit 21
control commands conformingtothe command language of the print unit
21 and causing the print unit 21 to execute the processes related
to producing a receipt (step SA23). The control circuit of the print
unit 21 then controls the printing mechanisms based on the control
commands and produces a receipt (step SA24).
[00401
As described above, the control system 1 according to the first
embodiment ofthe inventionhas aninput device that reads andoutputs
data, a printer 11 (recording device) connected to the input device,
and a tablet device 10 (information processing device) connected to
the printer 11; and can process input information corresponding to
an input device without the tablet device 10 identifying the input
d e v i c e b e c a u s e t h e p r i n t e r 1 1 i d e n t i f i e s t h e input device that output
the data when data is output from an input device and outputs the
data to the tablet device 19. As a result, processes appropriate to
an input device connected to the printer 11 can be executed while
using as few functions of the operating system of the tablet device
10 as possible.
When input is received froman input device in the control system
the printer 11 adds identification information identifying the
input device of the input source to the input data, and outputs to
the tablet device 10 (information processing device). When data
related to input from an input device is input from the printer 11,
the tablet device 10 identifies the type of the input device of the
input source based on the identification information added to the
data, and executes a process appropriate to the input device of the
input source using a web application 35 that runs on the POS server
17. As a result, components of the control system 1 can cooperate
to identify the input device and execute a process appropriate to
the input device without using functions of the operating system of
the tablet device 10.
The tablet device 10 also has a touch panel 10a that can display
information, accesses the POS server 17, acquires an HTML file
(display file) that displays a dedicated user interface UI f,or
inputting information to the web application 35, and presents the
dedicated user interface UI on the touch panel 10a using a function
of a specific browser. The ability to identify the input device of
the input source basedon identification information, and the ability
to execute processes corresponding to the input device of the input
source using the web application 35, are achieved by a program
(dedicated script) embedded in the HTML file.
This configuration can identify the input device and execute
a process appropriate to the input device without using functions
of the operating system by desirably acquiring an HTML file for a
dedicateduserinterface UI andusing functions of aprogramembeddeh
in the HTML file.
[00421
When the input devices include a barcode scanner 12 and a card
reader 13, and data related to input from the barcode scanner 12 or
the card reader 13 is input, the printer 11 adds identification
information forthebarcode scanner 12 or identification information
for the card reader 13 to the input data, and outputs to the tablet
device 10. When data with identification information is input, the
tablet device 10 determines whether the input device of the input
source is the barcode sca'nner 12 or the card reader 13 based on the
identification information, and using the web application 35,
executes a process based on information indicating the result of
barcode reading when the input device of the input source is the
barcode scanner 12, and executes a process based on information
indicating the result of reading a card when the input device of the
input source is the card reader 13.
In a system such as this control system 1 that constitutes a
POS system, the barcode scanner 12 and card reader 13 are generally
connected to the printer 11, a product barcode is read by the barcode
scanner 12 and a process based on the read barcode is executed, and
a card such as a preferred customer card is read by the card reader
13 and a process based on the -result of reading the card is executed.
This configuration enables the tablet device 10 to determine if the
input source of the input information is the barcode scanner 12 or
the cardreader13, andexecute processes appropriate tothe detected
device, while using as few functions of the operating system as
possible.
[00431
Embodiment 2
A second embodiment of the invention is described next.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration
of a control system 100 according to the second embodiment of the
invention. FIG. 5 schematically describes the functional
configuration of the tablet device 110, printer 118, and POS server
117 in the control system 100.
The control system 100 is used in a store similarly to the
control system 1 according to the first embodiment of the invention
(FIG. l), and has comparable functions as part of the POS system.
The control system 100 has a tablet device 110 (information
processing device) instead of the tablet device 10 in the control
system 1, a printer 118 (recording device) instead of printer 11,
and.a POS server 117 (server) instead of POS server 17.
The tablet device 110 and POS server 117 differ respectively
from the tablet device 110 and POS server 117 in the functions
described with reference to FIG. 6, but other aspects of their
configuration are the same. The printer 118 also differs from printer
11 in the function of the filter driver execution unit 20g, device
driver execution unit 20f, USB interface 25a, and serial interface
25b. Other aspects of the configuration of the printer 118 are the
same as printer 11.
Note that parts of the control system 100 that are the same in
the control system 1 according to the first embodiment of the
invention are identified by like reference numerals. Further
description of these parts is omitted.
[0044]
As showninFIG. 5, the printer118 has aUSBinterface 25a (input
unit) and serial interface 25b in addition to the printer-side
control unit 120, print unit 21, and printer-side interface 23.
Similarly to the printer-side control unit 20 (FIG. 2), the
printer-side control unit 120 has a CPU, RAM, ROM, and other
peripheral circuits. The printer-side control unit 120 controls
other parts of the printer 118. Installed to the printer 118 are a
printer driver that controls the print unit 21; device drivers for
devices includingthebarcode scanner12 and card reader13 connected
to the USB interface 25a; a device driver for the customer display
15 connected to the serial interface 25b; a communication driver that
communicates with the tablet device 110 according to specific
protocol; and an operating system (0s) that controls the printer 118
using functions of these driver programs. A filter driver that
detects and acquires input data generated by a function of a device
driver executed by the device driver execution unit 20f is also
installed in the printer 118. The software configuration of the
printer 118 is described below with reference to FIG. 6.
The printer-side control unit 120 includes a printer driver
execution unit 20a, a communication driver execution unit 20b, a
filter driver execution unit 20g that runs the filter driver, and
a device driver execution unit 20f that runs the device drivers.
[00451
The USE interface 25a includes a plurality of USB connectors
(not shown in the figure), and a USE host controller (not shown in
the figure) that controls devices such as input devices through the:
USB connectors. The barcode scanner 12 and card reader 13 are each
connected to a USB connector of the USB interface 25a. When the USB
interface 25a detects that a device was connected to a USE connector,
the USB interface 25a assigns identification information identifying
the connected device, and reports detection of a connected device
to the device driver execution unit 20f of the printer-sidp control
unit 120. When a data output request is received from the barcode
scanner 12 or card reader 13, the USE interface 25a receives, the data
output by the barcode scanner 12 or card reader 13 and outputs this
data with the identification information to the device driver
execution unit 20f in response to the data output request.
[0046]
The USB interface 25a could acquire the vendor ID or product
ID of the device connected to the USE interface 25a, and this vendor
ID or product ID could be used as the identification information of
the connected device (barcode scanner 12, card reader 13, or other) .
Alternatively, when unique i.dentification information is assigned
to each connector of the USB interface 25a, and a device is connected
to the USB interface 25a, the identification information of the
connector to which a device is connected could be used as the
identification information of the device. Further alternatively,
when connection of a device is detected by the USB interface 25a,
and detection of the connection is reported to the device driver
execution unit 20f, identification information for the device could
be assigned by a function of the device driver execution unit 20f,
and the assigned identification information stored by the device
driver execution unit 20f and USB interface 25a.
[00471
The device driver execution unit 20f can run a USB device driver
for each device class, including a mass storage class and HID (human
interface device) class. When the printer driver execution unit 20a
reports detecting a connection, the device driver executionunit 20f
detects the class of the connected device, and uses the device driver
for the detected class. For example, if a barcode scanner 12 or card
reader 13 is connected to the printer driver execution unit 20a, the
device driver execution unit 20f uses the HID class driver for the
HID class. When a barcode is read by the barcode scanner 12, or when
a card is read by the card reader 13, the USE interface 25a outputs
the input data with the identification information to the device
driver execution unit 20f. The device driver execution unit 20f
acquires the input data and identification information that were
input. Because the device driver execution unit 20f uses a USB device
driver appropriate to each device class, the devices connected to
the printer driver execution unit 20a are grouped by class, but the
type of device is not identified. For example, the barcode scanner
12 and card reader 13 are both devices in the HID class. As a result,
the device driver execution unit 20f processes data read by the
barcode scanner 12 and card reader 13 in the same way as data input
from an HID device.
The device driver execution unit 20f adds identification
information for the device that input the data to data input from
the USB interface 25a, and outputs to the operating system of the
printer 118.
[0048]
The filter driver execution unit 20g runs a program called a
filter driver, which is software that controls a specific
input/output device, and provides an abstract interface for a
software application. A specific input/output device is a hardware
device such as an expansion card or peripheral device, such as a
graphics display, printer, or Ethernet (R) board. The filter driver
execution unit 20g hooks and acquires the input data and
identification information output by the device driver execution
unit 20f to the operating system. If the acquired identification
information satisfies a predetermined condition, the filter driver
executionunit 20g sendsthe acquiredidentificationinformationand
input data throughtheprinter-side interface 23 tothe tablet device
110 by a function of the communication driver execution unit 20b.
[00491
When text data for display on the customer display 15 is input
from the device driver execution unit 20f, the serial interface 25b
outputs and displays the input text data on the customer display 15.
[00501
The printer-side interface 23 ( I / F ) communicates according to
a specific communication protocol with the tablet device 110 as
controlled by the printer-side control unit 120. The printer-side
interface 23 functions as the communication driver execution unit
I 20b of the printer-side control unit 120 and an output unit.
I ,
[0051]
I As shown in F I G . 5, the tablet device 110 includes a
I
terminal-side control unit 26, touch panel 10a, and terminal-side
interface ( I / F ) 27. The tablet device 110 sends and receives data
I with the printer 118 and the POS server 117 by the terminal-side
interface 27.
The POS server 117 includes the server-side control unit 30,
server-side storage unit 31, and server-side interface 32. The POS
server 117 exchanges data with the tablet device 110 through the
server-side interface 32.
[0052]
F I G . 6 schematically shows the software configuration of the
POS server 117, tablet device 110, and printer 118. Note that F I G .
6 schematically shows the software configuration of the devic.es, and
there may other device functions that are embodied by software not
shown in F I G . 6 .
The POS server 117 has an operating system 171 run by the
server-side control unit 30 ( F I G . 5) , and a POS application program
172thatruns ontheoperating system171. The POS applicationprogram
172 is a program that is run by the application execution unit 30a
( F I G . 5), and is stored as the web application 35 on the server-side
storage unit 31 ( F I G . 5).
[00531
The POS application program 172 is a program used when the
control system 100 runs a process that manages a POS.
The POS application program 172 generates or reads from the
server-side storage unit 31 ( F I G . 5) data for a web page requested
by the tablet device 110, and sends the data to the tablet device
110. When data requesting running the POS application program 172,
and data that the POS application program 172 processes are sent from
the tablet device 110, the POS application program 172 receives the
data by a function of the operating system 171. The POS application
program 172 executes a transaction process based on the data sent
from the tablet device 110, and sends the result of the process to
the tablet device 110.
[00541
The tablet device 110 has a operating system 101, a web browser
102, which is an application, that runs on the operating system 101,
and a display driver 103 that controls the touch panel 10a as
controlled by the operating system 101. The operating system 101 and
display driver 103 are run by the terminal-side control unit 26 (FIG.
5) of the tablet device 110, and the web browser 102 is run by the
browser execution unit 26a (FIG. 5).
[00551
The web browser 102 downloads a web page written in a scripting
language or markup language such as HTML from the POS server 117.
The downloadedwebpage data is stored, for example, inRAMnot shown.
The web browser 102 reads the data for the downloaded web page, and
generates and outputs display data for displaying the web page to
the operating system 101. The operating system 101 outputs the
display data generated by the web browser 102 to the display driver
103, and the display driver 103 drives the touch panel 10a and
displays a screen based on this display data.
[0056]
When a script for running the POS application program 172 is
embedded in the web page downloaded from the POS server 117, the web
browser 102 runs the script and executes the POS application program
172 on the POS server 117.
[00571
When the operating system 101 detects a touch operation on the
touch panel 10a, it gets the coordinates indicating for the location
of the touch operation, identifies the content input by the touch,
and outputs the content input by the touch to the web browser 102.
The web browser 102 generates data for transaction processing based
on the input content of the touch input from the operating system
101, sends the data to the POS server 117, and causes the POS
application program 172 to execute a process based on the data. The
web browser 102 receives the result of running the POS application
program 172 from the POS server 117, and generates display data
reflecting the received data.
[00581
If the barcode scanner 12 connected to the printer 118 reads
a barcode, or the card reader 13 reads a magnetic card, and the data
is input to the printer 118, t'le input data is input from the printer
118 to the tablet device 110. As described below, added to this data
is identification information data for the device that input the data
The operating system 101 gets the input data and identification
informationinputfromtheprinter118, andoutputs tothe webbrowser
102.
The webbrowser102 sendsthe input data input fromthe operating
system 101 with the identification information to the POS server 117
by a function of the operating system 101.
[00591
When device identification information is added to the input
data sent from the tablet device 110, the POS application program
172 determines the type of device that input the input data based
on this identification information. When the input data received from
the tablet device 110 is data input from the barcode scanner 12 in
this embodiment, the POS applicationprogram172 processesthis input
35
data as data for the product code identifying a product purchased
by a customer. When the input data received from the tablet device
110 is data input fromthe cardreader13, the POS applicationprogram
172 determines whether the data is data representing the customer
number read from a customer's customer card, or is data representing
the credit card used by the customer for payment. Customer number
data and credit card data can be differentiated based on the number
of data digits, whether a value at the beginning of the data is a
particular value, or the status of the transaction process run by
the POS applicationprogram172, for example. Basedon this decision,
the POS application program 172 executes the transaction process
using the input data received from the tablet device 110.
[0060]
In addition to an operating system 113 run by the printer-side
control unit 120, the printer 118 has an HID class driver 111 run
by the device driver execution unit 20f (FIG. 5) , and a filter driver
112 run by the filter driver execution unit 20g. The printer-side
control unit 120 executes a hook data request application 114 that
acquires data through the filter driver 112.
Of the devices connected to the USB interface 25a, the HID class
driver 111 controls devices of the HID class, and outputs input data
input from these devices to the operating system 113. The HID class
driver 111 recognizes the type of device to be controlled as a HID
device, and controls functions common to HID devices. More
specifically, the HID class driver 111 polls devices controlled
through the USB interface 25a at a regular interval, allows data
transmission when there is a data transmission request from a
controlled device, and acquires the input data output from that
device. In this embodiment the barcode scanner 12 and card reader
13 are controlled by the HID class driver 111. Barcode data read by
the barcode scanner 12, and card data acquired by the card reader
13 reading magnetic information from a card, are both output to the
input interface of the operating system 113 as input data from an
HID device. This input data is processed by the operating system 113
as input data related to a function of the printer 118, for example.
[0061]
When data is input from an HID device, the HID class driver 111
outputs the identification information for the HID device that input
the data together with the input data to the operating system 113.
This identification information is as described above.
The input data and identification information output by the HID
class driver 111 tothe operating system113 passes through the f.ilter
driver 112.
[00621
The filter driver 112 has a function for monitoring the data
output by the HID class driver 111 to the operating system 113, and
capturing input data meeting a predetermined condition. Because the
data the HID class driver 111 outputs to the operating system 113
thus passes through the filter driver 112, the filter driver 112
captures all of the data the HID class driver 111 output, or at least
the input data from the HID device, and determines if the device
identification information added to the data meets the specified
condition. The filter driver 112 outputs data containing device
identification information satisfying the specific condition to the
hook data request application 114.
The hook data request application 114 gets the input data input
from the filter driver 112, and sends the input data together with
the identification information added to the acquired input data to
the tablet device 110. This input data and the identification
information is received by the operating system 101 of the tablet
device 110, and passed to the transaction process by a script run
by the web browser 102.
.If the input data output by the HID class driver 111 is data
satisfying the specific condition, the filter driver 112 stops
outputting this input data to the operating system 113. As a result,
processing product barcode data input by the barcode scanner 12 and
card data read from a magnetic card by the card reader 13 as data
for another application can be prevented.
[0063]
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the printer 118,
and more particularly showing the operation when data is input using
the barcode scanner 12 and card reader 13. In FIG. 7, column (A) shows
the operation of the device driver execution unit 20f that runs the
HID class driver 111, (B) shows the operation of the filter driver
execution unit 20g that runs the filter driver 112, and (C) shows
the operation of the printer-side control unit 120 that runs the hook
data request application 114.
[00641
Before the operation shown in FIG. 7 starts, the filtering
condition, which is the condition for the filter driver 112 hooking.
the output data of the HID class driver 111, is set by the tablet
device 110. More specifically, the filtering condition is set by a
function of the POS application program 172, and this filtering
condition is declaredbythe webbrowser102 forthe hook data request
application 114.
The hook data request application 114 declares the filtering
condition for the filter driver 112 (step S11 in FIG. 7 (C)), and
the filter driver 112 sets the specified filtering condition (step
S21 in FIG. 7 (B)). In this example, the filtering condition is
identification information identifying which of the input devices
connected to the printer 118 is the input device that inpu,t the
transaction information used by the POS system. I
[00651
When a barcode or card is then read by the barcode scanner 12
or card reader 13, and the USB interface 25a acquires and outputs
the read data together with identification information to the HID
class driver 111, the HID class driver 111 receives the read data
and the identification information (step S31 in FIG. 7. (A) ) . The HID
class driver 111 then generates input data for a device of the HID
class based on the read data (step S32), and outputs the generated
input data and identification information to the operating system
113 (step 533) .
[00661
The filter driver 112 then detects the input data and
identification information generated by the HID class driver 111
(step S22), and compares this identification information with the
filtering condition set in step 521 (step S23). The filter driver
112 determines if the identification information satisfies the
filtering condition (step S24), and if the filtering condition is
met (step S24 returns YES), stops outputting the detected input data
from the HID class driver 111 to the operating system 113 (step S25) .
Next, the filter driver 112 outputs the input data and identification
information
request appl
acquired from the HID class driver 111 to the hook data
ication114 (stepS26). Thehookdatarequest application
114 gets the input data and identification information input from
the 'filter driver 112 (step 512) , and outputs to the web browser 102
(step S13).
If the input data and identification information generated by
the HID class driver 111 do not satisfy the filtering condition (step
S24 returns NO) , the process ends. As a result, the input data and
identification information are output to the operating system 113.
[00671
The operation shown in FIG. 7 results in the input data from
the input device that was used to input the transaction information
in the group of input devices connected tothe printer118 being input
to the web browser 102.
The printer118 has a generic device driver for eachdevice class
and differentiates the input devices connected to the printer 118
by device class, but does not further differentiate each device. The
HID class driver 111 therefore outputs input data related to
transaction information, and input data to be processed by the
printer 118, such as configuration data related to the - operation of
the printer 118, to the operating system 113 in the same way. By
detecting input data based on the specified filtering condition, the
filter driver 112 that filters data output by the HID class driver
111 in this embodiment sends input data related to transaction
information to the tablet device 110 and stops outputting the input
data to the operating system 113. By reliably acquiring input data
related to transaction information and processing the data by the
POS applicationprogram172, data related totransaction information
is not supplied to an 'unexpected process. Furthermore, because this
configuration does not use a dedicated device driver for each input
device, andis achievedusingagenericHIDclass driver 111, problems
related to device driver management can be reduced.
Like the tablet device 10, the tablet device displays a
screen 4a such as shown in FIG. 3 on the touch panel 10a. With this
screen 4a displayed, the user operating the tablet device 110 reads
a customer card with the card reader 13, reads a product barcode with
the barcode scanner 12, inputs amount information using the virtual
keypad 43, and presses an enter key on the virtual keypad 43 to
complete a transaction process at the checkout register. Like the
tablet device 10, the tablet device 110 acquires data denoting the
customer number read from the customer s customer card with the card
reader 13, and product barcode data read with the barcode scanner
12, by a function of a script on a web page downloaded from the POS
server 117. The tablet device 110 then displays the name, price, and
quantity of the products purchased by the customer in the display
list area 39, and displays the total of the purchased produces in
a specific line of the amount fields 40.
Next, the user executes an operation finalizing the products
in the transaction using the virtual keypad 43. Triggered by this
operation, the tablet device 110 calculates the total amount to be
paid by the customer using a function of a browser execution unit
26a script, and displays the transaction total in the appropriate
line in the amount fields 40. When the user then receives payment
from the user and inputs the amount received using the virtual keypad
43, the browser execution unit 26a calculates, and inputs and
displays the amount of change due in the amount fields 40. Next, the
browser execution unit 26a generates print data for printing a
receipt, and sends the data to the printer 118. The printer driver
execution unit 20a of the printer 118 then controls the print unit
21 and prints a receipt according to the print data input from the
tablet device 110.
[0069]
The control system 100 thus functions as a POS system using
functions of aweb application35 by the tablet device110 downloading
awebpage fromthe POS server117, displayinga screen4a, and running
scripts. As a result, there is no need to install a so-called POS
application on the tablet device 110. This configuration enables
maintaining the identity of the application executed by each tablet
device 110, e1.iminates the need to upgrade the application on each
tablet device 110 when the application is upgraded, and improves ease
of maintenance. There is alsg no need to provide special functions
or connect special external devices to the tablet device 110, and
a generic device having at least an installed browser can be used
as the tablet device 110.
[00701
A control system 100 according to the second embodiment of the
invention includes a tablet device 110 that runs a POS application
program 172 to process transaction information by a function of a
web browser 102; a barcode scanner 12 and card reader 13 as input
devices that output data; and a printer 118 that connects to these
input devices. The printer 118 includes a serial interface 25b and
a USE interface 25a to which data input from the input devices is
input; a printer-side control unit 120 that runs a HID class driver
111 to generate input data based on output from the input devices,
and runs a filter driver 112 that acquires the input data and device
information identifying the input device corresponding to the input
data; a printer-side interface 23 that outputs the data acquired by
the filter driver 112 to the tablet device 110; a print unit 21 that
prints; and a communication driver execution unit 20b (communication
unit) that communicates with the tablet device 110; and prints by
the print unit 21 as controlled by the tablet device 110.
Thus comprised, 'the POS application program 172 can process
input data from each input device based on the input device class
using a generic HID class driver 111 even if each input device is
identically processed as a device of the HID class, for example. As
a result, input data relatei! to transaction information can be
appropriately processed by a POS system. By using a HID class driver
111, which is a generic device driver, problems managing device
drivers can be reduced and input devices can be efficiently
controlled.
[00711
Furthermore, because the tablet device 110 has a web browser
102 that downloads and runs a web page that runs a POS application
program 172 from a POS server 117, and generates a display screen
based on the downloaded web page, and a touch panel 10a that displays
a screen generated by the web browser 102, the control system 100
can be used as a POS system as a result of the web browser 102
processing a web page even when the tablet device 110 does not have
an environment that can independently and directly run a POS
application program.
[00721
The data output by at least part of the input devices connected
to the printer 118, specifically the barcode scanner 12 and card
reader 13, is transaction information or data related to transaction
information, and the tablet device 110 processes the transaction
information by the POS application program 172 based on input data
generated according to the output of the input device and the type
of input device that input the input data. As a result, the tablet
device 110 can receive transaction information input by plural
different types of input devices, and process the transaction
information as a POS system.
Furthermore, because the filter driver 112 extracts input data
meeting a filtering condition specified by the POS application
program 172, the tablet device 110 and printer 118 do not need the
ability to manage the filter driver 112. As a result, a generic
terminal can be used for the tablet device 110. In addition, the
filtering condition can be simply changed by the POS application
1
program 172 to change the input device used to input the transaction
information, and there is no need to change the software of the tablet
device 110 or printer 118. As a result, managing the software for
the input devices is even easier.
[00731
The foregoing embodiments describe specific examples of the
invention, but the invention can be desirably modified and adapted
without departing from the scope of the accompanying claims.
For example, the operation of differentiating theinput devices,
and an operation based on the type of input device, are described
in the foregoing embodiments using a barcode scanner 12 and card
reader 13 as examples, but the types of input devices are not limited
to these devices. More specifically, the invention can be widely
appliedto systems inwhichinput devices are connectedtoarecording
device, and differentiating the input devices is necessary.
Yet further, the print unit 21 has a function that adds
identification information in the foregoing embodiments, but the
object in which this function is rendered is not limited to the print
unit 21, and could be any desirable software object or circuit in
the printerll. The foregoing embodiments describe examples inwhich
the control system 1 according to the invention is applied to a POS
system, but the invention is not limited to use in a POS system.
The function blocks shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 can also be
achieved by the cooperation of hardware and software, and do not
suggest a specific hardware configuration. Hardware configurations
running the software of the devices shown in FIG. 6 are also not
limited by the content of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 or the description of
the foregoing embodiments.
Operations including the operations described in the flow
charts shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7 can also be achieved by the devices
running an appropriate program stored on an external storage medium.
[CLAIMS]
[Claim 11
A control system comprising:
an input device configuredto readandoutput input information;
a recording device configured to, when connected to the input
device and the input information is input, determine the input device
that output the input information, and output data related to the
input information; and
an information processing device connected to the recording
device and configured to receive the data output by the recording
device.
[Claim 21
The control system described in claim 1, further comprising:
a server connected to the information processing device through
a network;
the recording device adding identification information
identifying the input device to the data, and outputting to the
information processing device; and
the information processing device determining the input device
based on the identification information contained in the data with
the added identification information output by the recording device,
and executing a process appropriate to the input device on the data.
[Claim 31
The control system described in claim 2, wherein
the information processing device has a display unit configured
to display information based on the data;
accesses the server, acquires a display file that displays
information based on the data, and displays a user interface based
on the display file using a web browser; and
identifies the input device based on the identification
information and executes a process appropriate to the input device
by running a program embedded in the display file.
[Claim 41
The control.systern described in claim 1, wherein
the input device is a barcode scanner or a card reader.
[Claim 51
The control system described in claim 2, wherein
the information processing device runs a POS application
configured to process the data; and
the recording device has an input unit that connects tothe input
device and receives the input information, a control unit configured
to runadevice driver to generate databasedonthe input information,
to run a filter driver to acquire identification information
identifying the input device that output the data, and to add the
acquired identification information to the data, an output unit
configured to output data with the added identification information,
and a print unit that prints, and to print by the print unit as
controlled by the information processing device.
[Claim 61
The control system described in claim 5, wherein
the input information output by the input device is transaction
information; and
I the POS application processes data related to the transaction
information based on the identification information.
[Claim 71
The control system described in claim 5, wherein
the filter driver acquires data satisfying a condition
specified by the POS application after the data is produced by the
device driver.
[Claim 81
A control method of a control system, comprising:
an input device reading and outputting input information; and
a recording device con~ected to the input device identifying
the input device that output the input information when the input
information is input from the input device, and outputting data
related tothe input information to an information processing device
connected to the recording device.
[Claim 91
The control method of a control system described in claim 8,
further comprising:
the recording device adding identification information for the
identified input device to the data, and outputting to the
information processing device; and
the information processing device identifying the input device
based on the identification information contained in the data with
the added identification information, and
processing the data appropriately to the input device.
[Claim 101
The control method of a control system described in claim 8,
wherein
the input information read by the input device is transaction
information;
the recording device outputting data produced based on the
transaction information to the information processing device; and
the informationprocessing device running a POS application and
processing the data produced based on the transaction information.
[Claim 111
The control method of a control system described in claim 10,
further comprising:
outputting data processed by the POS application to the
recording device ; and
the recording device printing the data processed by the POS
application.
[Claim 121
A recording device comprising:
an input unit to which input information is input;
a control unit configured to produce data based on the input
information, and identifies the input device configured to output
the input information; and
a transmission unit configured to transmit the data.
[Claim 131
The recording device described in claim 12, wherein
the control unit adds identification information for the
identified input device to the data; and
the transmission unit transmits data with the identification
information added.
[Claim 141
The recording device described in claim 13, wherein
the control unit runs a device driver to generate data based
on the input information, and runs a filter driver to identify the
input device and acquire identification information.
[Claim 151
The recording device describedin claim 12, further comprising:
a receiver unit configured,to receive print data; and
a print unit configured to print the print data.
[ABSTRACT]
A control system 1 has an input device that reads and outputs
input information, a printer I1 connected to the input device, and
atablet device10 connectedtotheprinterll. When input information
is output from the input device, the printer 11 identifies the input
device of the input source, and outputs the input information to the
tablet device 10.
Dated this July,
TEXT IN THE FIGURES
FIG. 1
POS SERVER 17
TABLET DEVICE 10
PRINTER 11
FIG. 2
POS SERVER 17
SERVER-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 30
APPLICATION EXECUTION UNIT 30a
INTERFACE 32
SERVER-SIDE STORAGE UNIT 31
WEB APPLICATION 35
TABLET DEVICE 10
TOUCH PANEL 10a
TERMINAL-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 26
BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT 26a
INTERFACE 27
PRINTER 11
INTERFACE 23
PRINTER-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 20
COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20b
PRINTER DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20a
COMMUNICATION CONTROL UNIT 20c
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION ADDING UNIT 20d
WIRED COMMUNICATION UNIT 24
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION UNIT 22
PRINT UNIT 21
I I CUSTOMER DISPLAY 15
CARD READER 13
BARCODE SCANNER 12
CASH DRAWER 14
FIG. 3
PRODUCT PRICE QUANTITY
APPLE Y200 CONTROL SYSTEM 1
BARCODE INFORMATION
-
CUSTOMER NUMBER
TOTAL Y200
RECEIVED TI00 0
CHANGE Y800
DISCOUNT 10% OFF
EDIT
SUBTOTAL
ENTER
FIG. 4
START
SA1 CARD READER READS CUSTOMER CARD
SA2 COMMUNICATIONCONTROLUNITGETS RESULTOFREADINGBYCARDREADER,
GENERATES CUSTOMER NUMBER DATA
SA3 IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION ADDING UNIT ADDS IDENTIFICATION
INFORMATION TO CUSTOMER NUMBER DATA
SA4 COMMUNICATION CONTROL UNIT OUTPUTS CUSTOMER NUMBER DATA WITH
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION TO COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION
UNIT
SA5 COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT OUTPUTS CUSTOMER NUMBER
DATA WITH IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION TO BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT
SA6 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT RECOGNIZES THAT INPUT DEVICE OF INPUT
SOURCE IS CARD READER
SA7 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT INPUTS CUSTOMER NUMBER TO CUSTOMER
NUMBER FIELD
SA8 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT DETERMINES DISCOUNT
SA9 BARCODE SCANNER READ BARCODE
SAlO COMMUNICATION CONTROL UNIT GETS DATA INDICATING RESULT OF
READING BY THE BARCODE SCANNER, GENERATES BARCODE INFORMATION
SAll IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION ADDING UNIT ADDS IDENTIFICATION
INFORMATION TO BARCODE INFORMATION
SA12 COMMUNICATION CONTROL UNIT OUTPUTS BARCODE INFORMATION WITH
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION TO COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION
I
UNIT
SA13 COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT OUTPUTS BARCODE
INFORMATION WITH IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION TO BROWSER
EXECUTION UNIT
SA14 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT RECOGNIZES INPUT DEVICE OF INPUT SOURCE
IS BARCODE SCANNER
SA15 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT INPUTS BARCODE INFORMATION TO BARCODE
DATA FIELD
SA16 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT QUERIES APPLICATION EXECUTION UNIT FOR
PRODUCT INFORMATION 1DENT.IFIED BY BARCODE INFORMATION
SA17 APPLICATION EXECUTION UNIT OUTPUTS PRODUCT INFORMATION TO
BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT
SA18 BROWSER EXECUTIONUNIT DISPLAYS INFORMATION IN LIST AREA, INPUT
DATA TO AMOUNT FIELDS
SA19 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT CALCULATES TRANSACTION TOTAL
SA20 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT INPUTS APPROPRIATE INFORMATION THE
AMOUNT FIELDS
SA21 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT GENERATES PRINT DATA
SA22 BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT OUTPUTS PRINT DATA TO PRINTER DRIVER
EXECUTION UNIT
SA23 PRINTER DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT GENERATES CONTROL COMMANDS,
OUTPUTS TO PRINT UNIT
SA24 PRINT UNIT PRODUCES RECEIPT
END
FIG. 5
POS SERVER 117
SERVER-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 30
APPLICATION EXECUTION UNIT 30a
SERVER-SIDE INTERFACE 32
SERVER-SIDE STORAGE UNIT 31
WEB APPLICATION 35
TABLET DEVICE 110
TOUCH PANEL 10a
TERMINAL-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 26
BROWSER EXECUTION UNIT 26a
TERMINAL-SIDE INTERFACE 27
PRINTER 118
PRINTER-SIDE CONTROL UNIT 120
PRINTER DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20a
COMMUNICATION DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20b
FILTER DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20g
DEVICE DRIVER EXECUTION UNIT 20f
PRINTER-SIDE INTERFACE 23
SERIAL INTERFACE 25b
USB INTERFACE 25a
PRINT UNIT 21
CUSTOMER DISPLAY 15
CARD READER 13
BARCODE SCANNER 12
CASH DRAWER 14
FIG. 6
POS SERVER 117
POS APPLICATION PROGRAM 172
OPERATING SYSTEM 171
TABLET DEVICE 110
WEB BROWSER 102
OPERATING SYSTEM 101
DISPLAY DRIVER 103
TOUCH PANEL 10a
PRINTER 118
HOOK DATA REQUEST APPLICATION 114
OPERATING SYSTEM 113
FILTER DRIVER 112
HID CLASS DRIVER 111
INPUT DATA DEVICE ID
CARD READER 13
BARCODE SCANNER 12
FIG. 7
(A) HID CLASS DRIVER
S31 GET DATA READ BY INPUT DEVICE
S32 GENERATE INPUT DATA
S33 OUTPUT INPUT DATA AND IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION
(B) PRINTER DRIVER
521 SET SPECIFIED FILTERING CONDITION
S22 DETECT DEVICE DRIVER OUTPUT DATA
S23 COMPARE IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION WITH FILTERING CONDITION
S24 CONDITION SATISFIED?
S25 STOP OUTPUT TO OS
S26 OUTPUT TO HOOK DATA REQUEST APPLICATION
(C) HOOK DATA REQUEST APPLICATION
S11 SPECIFY DATA FILTERING CONDITION
S12 GET INPUT DATA
513 OUTPUT INPUT DATA TO WEB BROWSER