JP2003345264A - Apparatus capable of bulletining information on waiting time or staying condition and operating condition - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photograph vending machine which can make customers less feel irritating. <P>SOLUTION: A casing 290 of the photograph vending machine is provided with a display element 103 for displaying the waiting time for the customers. As a result, the waiting customers are able to know the time before the vending machine is made available. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus capable of presenting information regarding waiting time or occupancy status and operation status.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Photographic vending machines for taking photographs and printing them on stickers have been conventionally known. In the vending machine for photographs, a device user (user) enters inside to take a picture and print a sticker or the like. When the user enters the inside of the device, the doors are closed by curtains, etc., so that the device can be configured so that it is necessary to grasp the internal situation from outside without looking into the manners, such as looking into the manner. Has been done. There was a translucent signboard with a built-in fluorescent lamp that indicated that it was shooting, but I was in trouble because my neck hurts immediately when I look up at a steep angle in a small store. I couldn't see it if I got too close.

Further, as such a device whose internal condition cannot be grasped from the outside, there is also known a device for providing games such as games, fortune telling and karaoke.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned device, since the inside of the device cannot be understood, the customer who is waiting to use the device next time may find that the previous person's device has been used up and the previous device is used. There was a problem that I was frustrated because I couldn't know if people would come out.

[0005] Further, it is sufficient if the customer informs the clerk of the situation even when he / she is in trouble due to device trouble, but it is difficult to grasp the presence / absence of the customer even if he / she leaves without any trouble.
It was difficult to look inside the curtain, and even if the user of the device did not know how to use it and stood inside the device, he could not call out, and service was degraded.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a device which can reduce the irritating feeling of a customer and which allows a clerk to understand the general situation.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the apparatus can be operated by a user of the apparatus inside, and when the apparatus user enters the inside, the apparatus can be operated. It is a device that violates the manners to understand the internal situation from the outside without notice, and is equipped with an external presentation device that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device. Characterize.

[0008] Preferably, the presentation device presents a time, a count value or a picture. Preferably, the presentation device includes a plurality of presenters, and by changing the number of presenters to be presented,
Present the time until the next device user can use the device.

Preferably, the presentation device presents any one of a change in color of light, a change in brightness, a change in blinking speed, or a combination thereof.

[0010] Preferably, the presentation device suggests a changing appreciation element, thereby suggesting a holding time or distracting a feeling of boredom.

Preferably, the presentation device is mounted at eye level of the device user. Preferably, the presentation device is due to vibration and the pitch of the sound output from the speaker,
The rhythm, the change in the speed of the song, the vibration of the device or the floor, or a combination thereof is used.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the device can be operated by the device user inside, and when the device user enters the inside, the internal condition can be grasped from the outside without notice. Is a device that violates the manners, and is equipped with a light emitting signboard that emits light of different colors depending on the situation, and illuminates the waiting place for the next user of the device with the same color of illumination, and information on the occupancy status and operation status. And a presentation device for presenting.

[0013] Preferably, the device externally presents information regarding the occupancy status and the operation status.

[0014]

1 is a view showing the external appearance of a photo vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 3] is a front view of a portion where a camera of a photo vending machine is provided.

1 and 2, the photo vending machine presents in real time a device 290 for forming a photographing space, a camera 253 for photographing a user, and an image photographed by the camera 253. A display (live monitor) 261, a magnetic card reader / writer 263 that outputs a magnetic card that records the ID of a captured image, a coin insertion slot 255, and a coin return slot 283.
It has and.

The photo vending machine has a rail member 2 for vertically moving a lighting device (lighting and strobe) 251, a camera 253, and a display 261.
81, a display 279 for presenting operation explanations and menus, an operation unit 257 including a shutter button and a cancel button, a printer 265 for processing and printing the photographed image, and a CD-image for the image obtained by the photographing.
A writing unit 267 for writing to an external medium such as a ROM, an IC card, a hard disk card, and a flexible disk. Further, a touch panel may be stacked on the display 279 so that the user can write an arbitrary image with respect to the captured image.

In the vending machine for photographs, a user can record a photographed image on a medium and bring it back. As a result, the user can process or print the image on a personal computer or terminal device at home.

Further, the device 290 of the photo vending machine has
A curtain 101 that hides the inside from the outside, presentation units 103 and 103a that present information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device, and a person waiting to take a picture. A mirror 1 for
02, and a housing wall vibrator 1 that is a presentation unit that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user who is nearby due to vibration can use the device even if the surroundings are noisy.
06, a speaker 107 that is a presentation unit that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device by voice, and if you look up from a near distance, you can see if there is a vacant space if you are far away The rotating lamp 108 that is a presentation unit that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device by the rotating light, and smoothly even if the current device user finishes using the device. An interior light 109 is provided to turn off the lights for a short time so that the user cannot exit when he / she does not go out. Further, a human sensor 110 such as an infrared sensor, an electrostatic sensor, or a floor load sensor.
(FIG. 3) is provided, and when there is a user in the device, an in-room lamp that is a presentation device that is controlled via a control unit 273 described later to turn on what is displayed as “in room” 111, a shooting lamp 112, which is a presentation device that is controlled to light via a control unit 273 described below when a coin deposited in a coin detection unit 255a described below is detected, is an upper portion of the device 290 and / or the presentation unit. 103 or 103
It is installed near or either of a. Here, a store clerk or a distant person can easily see the upper portion, and a nearby user can easily see the eye height without causing a pain in the neck. Lamp 111 in the room
Is blinking after, for example, 5 minutes have passed without inserting coins after entering the room, and is reset when coins are inserted.
Controlled by 73. Further, the internal illumination of the in-room lamp 111 and the in-shooting lamp 112 may be any fluorescent light, LED, EL, etc. as long as they can be clearly seen and controlled. These are design choices tailored to user needs.

Further, the in-room lamp 111 and the photographing lamp 112 for showing the operation state are provided at the lower part of the waiting place irradiation section 1.
11a and 112a are provided, and as shown in FIG. 1, the standby place irradiation units 111a and 112a protrude from the device and irradiate the standby place of the user and the side wall of the device with different light colors for each operating state. . The light color of the in-room lamp 111 and the standby place irradiation unit 111a is, for example, the same green color, and the in-shooting lamp 1
If the light color of 12 and the standby place irradiation unit 112a is set to the same red color, for example, the user waiting in the standby place will be illuminated with the respective light colors from above, so that the lamp in the room can be seen without looking up. It is possible to know the lighting and extinguishing states of 111 and the shooting lamp 112. Standby place irradiation unit 111a, 112a
In-room lamp 111 and shooting lamp 1 instead of providing
By tilting 12 downwardly from the horizontal direction by 30 to 45 degrees, the in-room lamp 111 and the photographing lamp 112 may be seen from a distance and the standby area may be directly illuminated.

Here, the waiting time is displayed digitally on the presenting unit 103, and the background image of the number is viewed as the presenting unit 103a. For example, the cute hamsters playing in the image do not get tired. The waiting time may be set to 0 when it is gone. In addition, when data transfer becomes heavy by using such a real shot image of 16.77 million colors, for example, if a comical character image of 256 colors is used, it is possible to psychologically allow an image with rough frames and a large amount of data. The processing can be significantly reduced because it can be reduced to a very small amount.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the background image is replaced occasionally so that the user will not get tired of it. The presentation unit 10 in which the background image presentation unit 103a independently displays the waiting time digitally
Since there is a risk that the 3 will not be noticed, it is better to superimpose them physically or softly in this way. The housing wall vibrator 106 has a high frequency of noise even when the surroundings are noisy, and compared with this, a sound having a lower frequency or a vibration of a lower frequency that can be perceived causes the next device user in the vicinity to use the device. For information on the waiting time until it becomes possible, for example, if the remaining time is 3 minutes, "buburu buru -------------
The vibration block “blur”, which is repeated several times to several tens times like “-,” may be repeatedly presented like a Morse code by considering it as one minute. These controls are performed by converting the remaining time signal from the waiting time presentation control unit 105, which will be described later, into a predetermined frequency. On the contrary, from the speaker 107, it is sufficient to present the information only to the user who is higher than the background noise (background noise) and is in the vicinity of the user in the downward direction by utilizing the fact that the directivity of the high sound is sharp. In this way, the device sound level is lowered, the user's conversation sound level is lowered accordingly, and the total volume in the store can be reduced as much as possible.

Before describing the detailed device configuration with a circuit block diagram, a description will be given of a table which can list the use states of the device and the transitions between the user, the clerk and the use state of the device.
To make it easier to understand the purpose, device configuration, circuit configuration, and effects.

Table 1 is a table showing the usage state of the photo vending machine.

[0024]

[Table 1]

Explaining Table 1, the left half of the table shows the transition state of each step as the usage state or transition condition of the main apparatus, and the right half of the table shows the content of each step in the apparatus. , Device status, "in-room" lamp status, "imaging" lamp status, next user's judgment on the device, clerk's judgment on the device, and operation of the device over time. The details will be described for each step.

In S101, the apparatus is on standby because there is no person in the apparatus, the human sensor detects that there is no person, and the lamp in the room is controlled to be off.
Since no picture has been taken, the “shooting” lamp is off. According to the embodiment of the present invention, both the next user and the store clerk see the two lamps and play without a person. It is judged that it is possible to enter the room because it is not there. Therefore, the next user can enter the room without hesitation. If you enter the room, proceed to S102.

At S102, there is a person in the apparatus and the apparatus is before or after the play, the presence of the person is detected by the human sensor, the lamp in the room is controlled to the lighting state, and before the coin is inserted. Therefore, since it is considered that the shooting is not performed, the "shooting" lamp is turned off. The next user looks at the "in-room" lamp and hesitates to judge that there is a person and enter. If you judge your friends by voice, you may be able to play with them. The store clerk determines that there are people in it, but they do not know before or after play. A timer is activated upon detection of entry into the room, and after a predetermined time has passed, the process proceeds to S103. The clerk can change the setting of the predetermined time of the timer. Here, it is set to 5 minutes. If the person entering the room performs a play start operation such as inserting a coin within 5 minutes, S10
Go to 4.

In S103, there is a person in the apparatus and the apparatus is before or after the play, and a human sensor detects that there is a person, and a predetermined time elapses after the lamp in the room is turned on. Therefore, the timer is operated and controlled so as to blink, and since it is considered that the shooting is not performed because the coin is not inserted, the "shooting" lamp is turned off. The next user looks at the "in-room" lamp and hesitates to judge that there is a person and enter. If you judge your friends by voice, you may be able to play with them. The clerk has people in it, but he / she cannot play (does not) and a predetermined time has passed since he entered the room, so he / she judges "I can say"What's wrong? ". Since the situation can be grasped by the response of the occupants, the clerk can explain immediately if they do not know how to use it, and if it seems that they are not willing to play, "The next person is waiting, please give me a replacement," It is very easy to call out to improve the service and increase the customer turnover rate of the store. Then, if the person in the room performs a play start operation such as inserting a coin, the process proceeds to S104.

In S104, there is a person in the apparatus and the apparatus is playing, the human sensor detects that there is a person, the lamp in the room is in a lighting state, and even if the timer is operating and blinking, the player is playing. It is controlled so that it is reset by the start operation and returned to the lighting state, and since it is considered that the shooting is performed by the play start operation, "under shooting"
The lamp is on. The next user looks at the "in-room" lamp and hesitates to judge that there is a person and enter. The clerk determines that the game is being played. If the play ends, S102
If the player leaves the play after leaving the room, the process proceeds to S105.

In step S105, since there is no person in the apparatus and the apparatus is playing, the human sensor detects that there is no person, the lamp in the room is in the off state, and the play ending operation has not been performed, so the image is taken. Since the device considers it to be continuing, the "shooting" lamp remains lit. It's hard for the next user to enter because the "shooting" lamp remains on even if the "in room" lamp goes out. The store clerk can determine that it is out of order and can inspect it immediately. If maintenance is performed and the device returns to normal, the process returns to S101, and the device waits for the next user.

Next, a hardware configuration for realizing the step operation of these devices will be described with reference to a block diagram.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the photo vending machine. Referring to the figure, the photo vending machine includes a lighting device 251, a camera 253, and a coin detecting unit 255 for detecting coins inserted into a coin slot.
a, a display 261, a magnetic card reader / writer 263, a timer 269 for timing, a counter 271 for various counts, a controller 273 for controlling the entire apparatus, and a captured image as digital data temporarily. An image storage unit 277 to be stored and a HUB (not shown)
And a LAN card 275 for connecting to.

Further, as described above, the photo vending machine is provided with the display 2 for presenting operation explanations and menus.
79, an operation unit 257 including a shutter button and a cancel button, a printer 265 for printing a photographed image, a CD-ROM, I
Media writing unit 267 for writing to media such as C card, hard disk card, and flexible disk
And are provided.

Further, the photo vending machine is connected to the waiting time presentation control unit 105 for controlling the presenting units 103 and 103a for presenting the waiting time and the waiting time presentation control unit 105, and the waiting time is given by voice. The casing wall vibrator 1 which is a presentation unit that presents information about a waiting time until the next device user who is near by the vibration of the speaker 107 that outputs information about the device and can use the device.
06 is a presentation unit that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device with the rotating light so that if you look up from a near distance, you can see the vacancy if you are far away even if you can not see it. A rotating lamp 108 and an interior lamp 109 for urging the user to leave the room by turning it off or blinking it for a short time when the current user does not exit the room smoothly even after finishing the use are provided.

The presentation unit 103 is composed of an LED, a liquid crystal display, a CRT, a plasma display, an EL display and the like. The waiting time presentation control unit 105
It receives commands from control unit 273 (for example, a personal computer) of the main body and controls speaker 107 and presentation unit 103. In addition, the waiting time presentation control unit 105 includes an original timer for measuring time.

The waiting time presentation control unit 105 includes a control unit 27.
When the reset command from 3 is accepted, the presentation unit 103
Present the initial value to. Then, the internal timer is activated. Depending on the operation of the timer, the specified interval (for example, 1
The number on the presentation unit 103 is decremented by 1 every second). At the same time, the device may be configured to emit a sound through the speaker 107. The initial numerical value may be set externally. Also, the number of decrements at one time does not have to be "1".

When the photographing (or printing) is completed, the control unit 273 issues an end command to the waiting time presentation control unit 105. Thereby, the waiting time presentation control unit 1
In 05, the presentation of the presentation unit 103 is forcibly set to “0” and the timer is stopped. At this time, the speaker 107
It is also possible to output a voice notifying that the play of the previous person has ended via.

[0038] Further, if the customer who is playing is delayed due to the internal speaker who advised how to play inside the device (not shown), "Thank you for using. Please hurry because the next person is waiting. . "May be announced in accordance with the customer target.

In this way, in the present embodiment, the control unit 273 of the main body of the photo vending machine only issues the reset command at the start and the end command at the end to perform shooting, printing, The waiting time can be easily presented without imposing a load on the control unit 273 that performs image processing and the like. In this way, the user can wait without being irritated, or the preparation for entering the room can be performed at the timing when the user can enter the room, so that the user can smoothly enter the room and contribute to the improvement of the customer turnover ratio as a store.

The above method is sufficient when the play time of one customer has little variation, but when the play time varies from user to user or when waiting time is presented step by step (for example, Red, yellow, like a traffic light
A method of presenting the waiting time in blue and a plurality of presenters (LED, incandescent lamp, EL, etc.) like a sound level meter are provided, and the presentation is performed like a bar graph by changing the number of presenters to be presented. (Such as a system) requires control to synchronize the progress of the presentation in the presentation unit 103 and the processing of the control unit 273. In that case, as the control command output from the control unit 273 to the waiting time presentation control unit 105, the number is decremented by 1, the lamp is extinguished, or conversely, the lamp is decremented by 1.
Detailed control commands such as turning on are required. Then, it is necessary to issue a control command from the control unit 273 to the waiting time presentation control unit 105 at a predetermined timing in progress (for example, every time one shooting is completed).

If, for some reason, the processing operation takes longer than usual, it will be more careful if the speaker 107 speaks "please wait a little longer".

In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to know how soon the customer waiting outside the device finishes the play of the former person (how often his / her turn comes). Therefore, the irritability can be reduced. Further, by mounting the presentation unit 103 at the position of the eye level of the customer, it is possible to make a presentation that is easy to see without having to hurt the neck even if the user keeps looking up.

Furthermore, by presenting the waiting time during the use of the device, it is possible to know from the outside that a person who is not using the device is inside the device, so that an unrelated person can enter the device. You can prevent you from entering and staying long.

The present invention is not applied only to an automatic photo vending machine, and can be used not only by an ID photo vending machine but also by a user of the device inside to operate the device. A device or a room (for example, a game machine, a fortune teller, a karaoke machine, or other game machine or a room equipped with it) that does not allow the inside situation to be grasped from the outside when the user enters The present invention can be applied to a device in which it is difficult to guess the time and can be regarded as a device whose inside cannot be seen.

In the example of FIG. 1, the presentation unit 103
Although the remaining waiting time is digitally presented in minutes and seconds, the presentation may be performed using an analog clock in which the hands physically rotate or the hands displayed on the liquid crystal rotate.

It is also possible to combine the presenting units 103 and 103a in various ways as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 in consideration of the customer's flow line, and to arrange the line of sight at a natural position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which the presentation unit 103 is configured like a two-light type traffic signal. As shown in the figure,
When the picture above the presentation unit 103 is lit,
It is possible to prompt the next customer to wait, and when the part in the picture below is lit, informs that the previous person's play has ended and allows the next customer to enter the inside of the device. is there.

FIG. 5 is an example of a presentation unit for presenting the waiting time by using a three-light type traffic light of red, yellow, and blue. In this example, the presentation changes as red → yellow → blue,
It is possible to show the customer that the waiting time is decreasing.

FIG. 6 is a concrete example of the presentation unit 103 in which the lamp is gradually turned off like a level meter. In this specific example, all the presenting units 150a to 150g are turned on when the customer starts playing, and the presenting units are turned off sequentially from the top each time the waiting time elapses. As a result, the user can know that the waiting time has elapsed, and can grasp the remaining waiting time.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[0051]

The device capable of presenting the information on the waiting time according to claim 1 allows the user of the device to enter the inside and perform the operation. It is a device that is against the manners to grasp the internal situation from the outside, and since it has a presentation device that presents information about the waiting time until the next device user can use the device to the outside, Even if you don't understand the internal situation, you can wait without irritating you because you will know how much you are doing and you will not go against your manners.

Since the device capable of presenting the information on the waiting time according to claim 2 presents the time, the count value or the picture, it is possible to know how much time it is next even if the internal situation is unknown. So you can wait without annoyance.

A device capable of presenting information regarding waiting time according to claim 3 is provided with a plurality of presenters, and the next device user uses the device by changing the number of presenters to be presented. By showing the time until you can do it, even if you do not understand the internal situation, you can intuitively know how long you are going, so you can wait without hassle.

Since the apparatus capable of presenting the information regarding the waiting time according to claim 4 presents the information by any one of the change of the color of light, the change of the brightness, the change of the blinking speed, or a combination thereof. Even if you don't understand the internal situation, you can sense how much time you have left, so you can wait without annoying.

The device capable of presenting information regarding the waiting time according to the fifth aspect can imply the waiting time or distract the bored feeling by presenting the changing appreciation element.

In the device capable of presenting the information regarding the waiting time according to the sixth aspect, since the presentation device is attached at the position of the eye level of the user of the device, it is easy to see and it is not necessary to look up, so the neck is painful. You can wait without waiting.

The device capable of presenting the information on the waiting time according to claim 7 is due to vibration, and the pitch of the sound output from the speaker, the rhythm, the change in the speed of music, the vibration of the device or the floor. Since any one of them or a combination thereof is used for the presentation, it is possible to obtain an apparatus which is less irritating to the elapsed time even when looking away.

The device capable of presenting the information regarding the occupancy status and the operation status according to claim 8 is externally provided,
Since it was equipped with a light-emitting signboard with different emission colors for each situation, and provided with a presentation device that illuminates the next device user's standby place with the same color of illumination and presents information about the occupancy status and operation status, The user of the device can present the information about the occupancy status and the operation status at the standby place without making a look up at the presenting device and feel the color of the light to make an accurate judgment without violating the manners.

The device capable of presenting information on the waiting time according to claim 9 is provided with a presentation device for presenting information on the waiting time or the occupancy status and the operating status to the outside. A person can make a more accurate judgment without violating the manners by making a judgment by looking at the information on the waiting time or the occupancy status and the operation status.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external view of a photo vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion where a camera of a vending machine for photographs is provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vending machine for photographs.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a presentation unit 103.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a presentation unit 103. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a presentation unit 103.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 curtain, 102 mirror, 103, 103a presentation unit, 105 waiting time presentation control unit, 106 housing wall vibrator, 107 speaker, 108 rotating light, 109 indoor light, 110 human sensor, 111 in-room lamp, 1
11a, 112a standby place irradiation unit, 112 shooting lamp, 253 camera, 255a coin detection unit, 26
5 printer, 269 timer, 273 control unit.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yuji Yang             3-10 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka City Stock Association             Company make software (72) Inventor Yoshiro Katsura             3-10 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka City Stock Association             Company make software F-term (reference) 2H104 BC48                 5G435 AA00 LL10 LL14

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A device which is against the manners, and which allows a device user to enter the inside and perform an operation and to grasp the internal condition from the outside without notice when the device user enters the inside. An apparatus capable of presenting information regarding a waiting time, characterized by further comprising a presentation device presenting information regarding a waiting time until the next apparatus user can use the apparatus. 2. The device capable of presenting information on waiting time according to claim 1, wherein the presenting device presents a time, a count value or a picture. 3. The presenting device comprises a plurality of presenters,
The information regarding the waiting time according to claim 1 or 2 can be presented by presenting the time until the next device user can use the device by changing the number of the presenters to be presented. apparatus. 4. The presentation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the presentation is one of a change in color of light, a change in brightness, a change in blinking rate, or a combination thereof. A device that can present information about latency. 5. The waiting time according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the presenting device suggests a changing appreciation element to imply a holding time or to confuse a feeling of boredom. A device that can present information about. 6. The device capable of presenting information regarding waiting time according to claim 1, wherein the presenting device is attached at a position of eye level of a device user. 7. The presentation is based on vibration and is based on any one of pitch of sound output from a speaker, rhythm, change in song speed, vibration of a device or floor, or a combination thereof. An apparatus capable of presenting information regarding the waiting time according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A device which is against the manners when the device user can enter the inside to perform an operation, and when the device user enters the inside, it is against the manners to grasp the internal situation from the outside without notice. In addition, it is equipped with a light-emitting signboard that emits different colors for each situation, and a presentation device that illuminates the next device user's standby place with the same color of illumination and presents information about the occupancy status and operation status. A device that is capable of presenting information regarding the occupancy status and operation status. 9. A presentation device for presenting information about the occupancy status and the operation status is provided outside.
An apparatus capable of presenting information regarding the waiting time according to any one of claims 1 to 7.