Large-scale shopping mall POS operating system and electronic anti-theft design for valuable goods

Abstract: The development trend of business is chain sales and automated transactions. In large shopping malls or supermarkets, there are many commodities, and customers can choose by themselves and pay at the exit. Although this shopping environment is convenient, the goods are easy to be stolen if anti-theft measures are not taken, especially small items such as books and groceries, which are more likely to be lost. In this regard, the video surveillance devices installed in the mall and at the exit can make the situation in the mall visible; at the same time, the POS system can be used to realize automated transactions and monitor and record the charging process.

The development trend of business is chain sales and automated transactions. In large shopping malls or supermarkets, there are many commodities, and customers can choose by themselves and pay at the exit. Although this shopping environment is convenient, the goods are easy to be stolen if anti-theft measures are not taken, especially small items such as books and groceries, which are more likely to be lost. In this regard, the video surveillance devices installed in the mall and at the exit can make the situation in the mall visible; at the same time, the POS system can be used to realize automated transactions and monitor and record the charging process.

POS System

The POS system combines and improves the functions of electronic cash registers and computer terminals. It can immediately record the transaction and has strong real-time processing capabilities. It is usually set up at the cashier's desk of shopping places and some toll stations. Depending on the application, the POS system can be divided into commercial POS and toll POS. If combined with the MIS system, it can form a business system for commercial enterprises. The POS system can be divided into two parts: the front-end POS sales system and the back-end management system:

1. Front desk POS sales system

It is used to manage the daily sales business of the mall, mainly including POS cashier, returns, wholesale, discounts, inventory and other businesses, and can also complete the emergency handling of offline sales under abnormal circumstances. It supports multiple payment methods, especially allowing users to use credit cards to realize electronic currency transactions and reduce cash circulation.

2. Backstage POS management system

It is used to manage the purchase, sales and inventory adjustment within the mall, and to control the mall's capital flow, logistics and information flow.

The POS system is composed of many POS terminals, network equipment, host computers and auxiliary equipment. The computer network is the core of the system, which can be a local area network, a metropolitan area network or a wide area network. The POS terminal has a CPU and multiple interfaces, which can collect, process and transmit data in real time. The auxiliary equipment of the POS system includes magnetic card or IC card readers, barcode scanners, ticket printers, password keyboards, card swiping keyboards and other input and output devices.

Electronic anti-theft design for valuable goods

1. Composition of Electronic Anti-theft System EAS

In order to ensure the safety of the valuable goods that can be selected from the shelves in shopping malls or supermarkets, electromagnetic, microwave and radio technologies can be used respectively. When the valuable goods are taken out without payment, an audible and visual alarm will be generated. This is the electronic anti-theft system EAS, which consists of the following three components.

Labels: There are mainly paper labels and hard labels. Paper labels are affixed to various video discs, videotapes, and supermarket goods. The labels are printed with barcodes and look like ordinary price tags, but they have metal threads on the adhesive surface. Hard labels are strong labels that are difficult to remove or damage, and are usually fastened to clothing, purses, handbags, leather shoes, electrical appliances, and other commodities by means of rivets.

Decoder board and remover: The decoder board is placed at the cashier to invalidate the paper tag. After the customer pays, the clerk needs to put the goods close to the decoder board to invalidate the tag. The remover is used to remove the pin from the hard tag after the customer pays, so that the goods can be taken out without generating an alarm. Hard tags can be reused.

Device to detect whether the tag is invalid: There are several types of devices to detect tags depending on their working methods:

RF system (8.2MHz): This system is a pair of antennas consisting of a radio frequency transmitter and a radio frequency receiver, installed on both sides of the customer exit channel, the channel width is 1m~2m. When a customer takes out goods without paying, the label on the goods has not been processed, and when passing through the antenna detector, it will interfere with the signal received by the antenna and generate an alarm. This device is suitable for supermarkets, department stores, record stores, clothing stores and other occasions;

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Single antenna system (2.1MHz): It uses a single antenna installed in the center of the store exit channel, with a detection distance of about 1.2m on each side. It is mainly suitable for hard-labeled goods such as clothing, leather shoes, wallets, and handbags;

Electromagnetic (EM) system: It uses electromagnetic waves for detection and is suitable for libraries, supermarkets, etc. Its characteristics are that the tag is small and can be attached to the metal surface. It can be decoded when borrowing books. When returning books, the book is placed on the restoration board to restore the tag and re-protect the book. The detection antenna distance is 0.8m~1m.

2. EAS system workflow

The flow chart of the EAS system is shown in the figure.

The next goal of the electronic anti-theft system is to integrate the labels used by the electronic anti-theft system with general product labels, simplify the complicated procedures of label pasting, enhance the anti-theft effect, and expand the market scale. Another way to promote the use of electronic anti-theft trademarks is to develop a three-in-one label that combines anti-theft, brand identification, and product maintenance functions.

The electronic anti-theft system will eventually become an important peripheral component of the computer and can be installed through programming. The system must be designed with open logic in order to be more competitive in the market.