JP2007011482A - Gas station system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas station system with which long-term continuous fueling by a customer can be expected. <P>SOLUTION: This gas station system comprises a unit price storage part 21 storing an oil unit price of each kind of fuel oils, a customer information storage part 31 storing information for a period of validity in which a predetermined unit price discount is performed to customers; a threshold storage part 22 storing a predetermined threshold of oil feed quantity or oil feed price for each unit period of the period of validity divided to a plurality of unit periods; and a control device 11 controlling discount processing for performing the unit price discount to the oil unit price. At the time of oil feed, when this oil feed date is within the period of validity, and the total sum of oil feed quantity or oil feed price in the unit period is less than the threshold, the discount processing is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas station system.

In recent years, when certain items (for example, cars) are purchased at gas stations, gas station affiliates, or affiliated companies, various discount vouchers are issued at gas stations, making it cheaper than the normal unit price of gasoline, etc. Special services such as refueling or car washing are available.
In order to discount the refueling unit price, for example, a plate-like storage medium as in Patent Document 1 below may be used.

JP 2004-203418 (abstract)

  However, in the case of the privilege service as described above, for example, a customer who has received a discount ticket may refuel with a discount unit price in a short period of time, and may not come to the refueling store after the discount ticket has been used up. . In other words, even if the gas station gave the privilege service, there was a problem that the customer was not expected to become a repeat customer who visited the store continuously.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a gas station system that can be expected to be continuously refueled by customers over a long period of time.

  In order to achieve the above object, a gas station system of the present invention is a gas station system including a fueling device having a fueling pump, a flow meter for metering a fueling amount, and a fueling nozzle for fueling. , A unit price storage unit that stores the unit price of fuel oil for each type of fuel oil, and a customer information storage unit that stores information on an effective period for discounting a predetermined unit price for the customer in association with an identification code for each customer. A threshold storage unit that stores a predetermined threshold value of a fuel amount or a fuel amount for each unit period obtained by dividing the effective period into a plurality of units, and a discount for performing the predetermined unit price discount from the fuel unit price for fuel oil purchase A control device that controls processing, and when a customer performs refueling, the current refueling date is within the effective period, and the past refueling amount in a unit period to which the current refueling date belongs or Refueling amount If the discount condition total is less than the predetermined threshold is met, so as to perform the discount process, and to control by the control device.

  According to the present invention, the unit price discount system can be refueled at a discounted unit price up to a threshold value determined for a plurality of unit periods within the effective period. Therefore, it is expected that the customer does not use up the discount system in a short period of time, and the refueling customer continues to visit the refueling station and refuel at least during the effective period. In addition, customers can expect to visit the store after the effective period.

Also, since customers do not concentrate in a short period of time at a discounted unit price, gas stations do not have low margins or do not provide deficit oil for a short period of time. There is no loss.
Furthermore, it is considered that customers often refuel beyond a predetermined threshold for each unit period, and as a result, the refueling station can expect to increase sales of refueling at a normal unit price.
Further, when a discount is given during an effective period of a certain length, the customer can increase the willingness to purchase goods and can expect an increase in sales for the entire corporate group.

  As the effective period, for example, a period of various lengths such as one month, six months, one year, and two years can be adopted. In addition, as the plurality of unit periods for dividing the effective period, various length periods such as one week, ten days, and one month can be employed. The plurality of unit periods do not necessarily have the same length.

  A gas station system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a refueling schedule information input unit for inputting refueling schedule information including a refueling amount or a refueling amount, a currency identification unit for identifying inserted money, Refueling card reader / writer that reads and writes information on a refueling card that can store a balance obtained by subtracting the purchase amount from the advance payment amount and / or the amount of money, and the refueling scheduled amount input by the refueling schedule information input means Alternatively, the preset value based on the scheduled amount of fueling is compared with the refuelable value calculated based on the sum of the inserted cash and the remaining amount of the refueling card, and either the preset value or the refuelable value First comparing means for determining whether or not is small, a preset value or a refuelable value selected by the first comparing means, And a second comparison means for comparing a remaining amount value obtained by subtracting the cumulative amount of fueling or the cumulative amount of fueling from a threshold value, and the second comparing means is provided on condition that the discount application condition is satisfied. When the comparison condition in which the remaining amount value is smaller than the preset value selected by the first comparing means or the refuelable value is satisfied by the comparison according to the above, the discount process is performed only for refueling up to the remaining amount value. As described above, the control is performed by the control device.

In this case, the discount process is performed only for refueling up to the remaining amount value when the remaining amount value is smaller than the smaller one of the preset value and the refuelable value. Therefore, the discount unit price can be applied as much as necessary when the sum of the amount of oil or the amount of oil for the unit period including the preset value or the refuelable value exceeds (exceeds) the predetermined threshold value for each unit period. That is, since no discount is applied to refueling that exceeds the threshold, the profit of the filling station is not greatly impaired.
As the preset value, for example, an oil supply amount or an oil supply amount input by an oil supply schedule information input unit can be used. In addition, as the refuelable value, for example, the total amount of cash and the remaining amount of the refueling card itself or the refuelable amount that can be refueled with the total amount can be used.

  In the gas station system according to this aspect, when the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, the remaining amount value is set as a virtual preset value, and refueling is performed when a fuel amount or a fuel amount corresponding to the virtual preset value is reached. It may be controlled to stop.

Clarify the end of refueling at a discounted unit price by stopping the refueling at the virtual preset value when the sum of the refueling amount or the sum of the refueling amount including the preset value exceeds the predetermined threshold for each unit period be able to. In addition, fuel oil is not inadvertently discharged during the checkout process, and safety is ensured.
In the present specification, “stopping the refueling” means that the refueling from the refueling nozzle is prohibited.

  After the fuel supply is stopped, control may be performed so that the next oil supply is possible on condition that the nozzle switch detects that the fuel supply nozzle is put on the nozzle hanger. In the case where the remaining amount value is a virtual preset value, it is necessary for the customer to refuel twice in order to refuel the desired refueling amount (preset amount or refuelable amount). Therefore, it is possible to realize an oil supply system that can supply oil without significant software changes.

Even when the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, the remaining amount value is set as a virtual preset value, and the fuel supply amount or the fuel supply amount corresponding to the virtual preset value is reached without stopping the fuel supply. It is also possible to continue refueling up to the determined preset value or refuelable value and perform the discount process only for refueling up to the virtual preset value.
In this case, since refueling is not stopped, there is no need for the customer to perform refueling again, and convenience for the customer is improved.

In the gas station system according to this aspect, when the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, a discount unit price obtained by discounting the predetermined unit price from the fuel unit price when refueling, and a fuel station corresponding to the virtual preset value The amount or the like may be displayed on the display means.
In this way, the customer can visually confirm the discount unit price and the amount of fuel that can be supplied at the discount unit price.

In the gas station system of the present invention, the previous refueling date is stored in the customer information storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the previous refueling date belongs to a unit period to which the current refueling date belongs. Is preferred.
In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not the current refueling is the first refueling in the unit period. As a result, if the current refueling is the first refueling in a unit period, there is a remaining value that can be discounted, so if you meet the discount application condition without comparing the cumulative amount of refueling etc. with a predetermined threshold Judgment can be made.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Overview of discount services:
In the gas station system of the present embodiment, a predetermined discount service for discounting a predetermined fuel customer is performed. First, the discount service will be described.
For example, this discount service can be used for customers who have purchased goods such as cars at gas stations, affiliated companies, or affiliates of the gas station until a predetermined expiration date (an example of valid period information). In this case, a discount service for performing a predetermined discount from the normal refueling unit price is performed. The valid period is set, for example, to six months from the month to which the discount service start date belongs. With this setting, when the discount service is started in May, the discount service is applied for six months from May to October, and the last day of October is the expiration date.

  In this discount service, the maximum amount of fuel that can be discounted per month (an example of a unit period) for each customer (refueling card), that is, the service limit amount (threshold value) An example) is provided. For example, in the above setting, the amount of oil that can be discounted is limited to a service limit (for example, 100 L) in each month from May to October. Accordingly, when the customer refuels in excess of the service limit in each month, a normal refueling unit price (normal unit price) for which no discount is applied is applied to the excess refueling.

Next, the structure of this gas station system for performing the discount service will be described.
overall structure:
As shown in FIG. 1A, the gas station system of the present embodiment includes a POS terminal (management device) 20. The POS terminal 20 is connected to a plurality of refueling devices 9, a settlement device 10, and the like via an interface (not shown), for example, by ethernet or industry standard SS-LAN. A settlement device 10 is connected to each of the oil supply devices 9. The POS terminal 20 manages the refueling device 9 and the settlement device 10 provided in the refueling station, and is composed of a personal computer, for example. In FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the ethernet connection is indicated by a solid line, and the SS-LAN connection is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  On the other hand, the POS terminal 20 is connected to a credit center 50 that is located away from the gas station, for example, by a telephone line. As shown in FIG. 2, the POS terminal 20 includes a unit price storage unit 21 that stores a unit price table such as a unit price for each payment means, and a discount information storage unit that stores a discount table such as a unit price discount (threshold value). An example of a storage unit) 22 is provided.

  FIG. 1B is a front view of the settlement apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1B, an operation panel 10A provided in front of the checkout apparatus 10 includes a display 12, a money insertion slot 13A, a fueling card insertion slot 14A, a credit card insertion slot 16A, and a receipt issuing slot 19A. A human detection sensor 18 and a speaker 17 are provided.

  As will be described later, the customer performs refueling from the refueling device 9 after inserting a refueling card or money into the settlement device 10 in FIG. 1A, and the refueling card or receipt returned from the settlement device 10 after the refueling. Receive a letter.

Refueling device 9:
As shown in FIG. 2, the oil supply device 9 is provided with an oil supply controller 91 made of, for example, a microcomputer. For example, an oil filler 93 and an oil nozzle 92 are connected to the oil filler control means 91 according to the type of oil such as “regular”, “high octet”, and “light oil”. Each of the oil feeders 93 includes an oil feed pump (not shown) and a flow meter (not shown) for measuring the amount of oil supplied, and is connected to an oil supply nozzle 92 for oil supply. Each refueling machine 93 is provided with a nozzle hanger (not shown) for applying the oil supply nozzle 92 and a nozzle switch 94 for detecting whether the oil supply nozzle is applied to the nozzle hanger.

  The oil filler control means 91 controls the oil filler 93 and enables the oil supply from the oil supply nozzle 92 of a predetermined oil type according to the oil supply schedule information described later, and also counts the oil supply amount to adjust the adjustment apparatus 10. Or to the POS terminal 20 (FIG. 1A), a result of oil supply including the oil type and the amount of oil supply, ON / OFF information of the nozzle switch 94, a refueling completion signal indicating completion of refueling, and the like are transmitted. Further, the fuel filler control means 91 can stop fueling according to information from the microcomputer 11.

Checkout device 10:
The payment apparatus 10 includes a microcomputer (control device, first and second comparison means) 11. The microcomputer 11 includes a CPU 11a and a storage unit 11b.
The microcomputer 11 receives the refueling amount (payment) based on the refueling record (oil type and refueling amount) received from the refueling device 9 and the refueling unit price stored in the unit price storage unit 21 or the reduced unit price reduced from the refueling unit price. Every time the refueling is performed, the refueling information such as the date, time, refueling amount, oil type, input amount, purchase amount and change of the refueling is sent to the POS terminal 20 (FIG. 1 ( a)).

  The microcomputer 11 includes a display 12, a currency (banknote) identification machine 13, a fueling card reader / writer 14, a card issuing machine 15, a credit card reader (hereinafter referred to as “credit reader”) 16, a speaker 17, and a human detection sensor. 18, the printer 19 and the time measuring means T are connected to each other via an interface (not shown).

  The display (display means) 12 is formed of, for example, a touch screen provided with a liquid crystal display, and constitutes display means for displaying a display screen such as FIG. 8 (a) or FIG. 8 (b). At the same time, an input means for inputting by touching a confirmation button 12a or a selection switch (not shown) displayed on the display screen is configured. This input means includes, for example, a display (not shown) or a switch (oil supply schedule information input means) for inputting oil supply schedule information including the oil type and the oil supply amount or the oil supply amount. In addition, the display unit 12 displays the service limit amount, a remaining service amount (an example of a remaining amount value) obtained by subtracting the total amount of refueling for the current month from the service limit amount, a refueling unit price to be applied, and the like. be able to.

  The printer 19 shown in FIG. 2 includes, for example, a thermal printer or a cutter, and issues a receipt or the like from a receipt issuing port 19A (FIG. 1B).

  The money discriminating machine (money discriminating means) 13 discriminates a bill inserted from a money insertion slot 13A (FIG. 1B), and discriminates the type and number (number) of bills.

  The credit reader 16 reads credit card registration information from the credit card inserted (inserted) from the credit card insertion slot 16A (FIG. 1B), and transmits the registration information to the microcomputer 11. The microcomputer 11 transmits the registration information to the POS terminal 20, and the POS terminal 20 transmits the registration information to the credit center 50 in FIG. When the registration information is confirmed at the credit center 50, an approval signal indicating that the registration information is legitimate registration information is sent to the POS terminal 20 and the settlement at the settlement apparatus 10 becomes possible.

The card issuing machine 15 stocks the refueling card in an unused state and can issue a new refueling card.
The fueling card reader / writer 14 reads, writes, and prints information on the fueling card inserted (inserted) from the fueling card slot 14A (FIG. 1B).
The time measuring means T is composed of, for example, an RTC (real time clock), and outputs time information, calendar information, etc. including the current date.

POS terminal 20:
The POS terminal 20 manages various kinds of information such as sales of fuel oil based on purchase information from the payment apparatus 10 and a refueling record transmitted from the fuel supply control means 91 via the payment apparatus 10. When the purchase information is transmitted from the settlement apparatus 10, the POS terminal 20 outputs a refueling permission signal for permitting the fuel oil to be discharged from the refueling nozzle 92 by driving a pump. The POS terminal 20 provides the discount service to customers who have purchased goods such as cars at a gas station, a partner company of the gas station, or an affiliated company, for example, via an input means (not shown). It is possible to perform an operation to apply.

Unit price storage unit 21:
The unit price storage unit 21 stores a unit price table shown in FIG. That is, in the unit price storage unit 21, unit price information consisting of a regular unit settlement price, a high-octet settlement unit price, a light oil unit settlement unit price, etc. for each type of payment means (oiling card, credit card, etc.) They are stored in association with each other.

Discount information storage unit 22:
The discount information storage unit 22 stores, for example, discount tables shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). That is, the discount information storage unit 22 stores the service limit amount and the unit price discount amount per month in association with the discount rank. A plurality of discount ranks are provided, and which of the plurality of discount ranks is to be applied is determined by the discount rank application information stored in the refueling card.

  As a discount table, for example, a service limit amount is set to be the same for a plurality of discount ranks, and a unit price discount amount is different for each rank (FIG. 3A), or a plurality of discount ranks. A table (FIG. 3B) in which the unit price discount amount is set to be the same and the service limit amount is different for each rank can be adopted.

Refueling card P:
In this embodiment, as the refueling card P, as shown in FIG. 9A, a type of card in which printing is added for each refueling is used. As shown to Fig.4 (a), the refueling card | curd P has the customer information storage part 31 by magnetic recording. Moreover, as shown to Fig.9 (a), as for the fuel supply card | curd P, one surface is comprised as the printing area | region 3a. In the printing area 3a, the date of use, the amount of money to be inserted, the remaining amount (balance), the number of points, etc. are printed.

The customer information storage unit 31 stores, for example, card information shown in FIG. That is, the customer information storage unit 31 includes the previous use date (last refueling date), the available balance, the expiration date of the discount service, the accumulated refueling amount, the accumulated refueling amount, the point total, and the discount rank application information. Card information is stored in association with an identification number (an example of an identification code).
Further, in the customer information storage unit 31, a cumulative storage unit that stores the current amount of fuel (cumulative amount of fuel (the amount of fuel) in the month to which the current fueling date belongs) 31a in association with an identification number (an example of an identification code). Is provided.

The point total is a value of assigned value determined based on the accumulated amount of payment, and is calculated, for example, by multiplying the accumulated value by 1/100 and rounding off after the decimal point. The number of points is printed at the predetermined print position based on a predetermined trigger described later.
The discount rank application information is information indicating which of a plurality of discount ranks stored in the discount information storage unit 22 is to be applied. For example, when the discount rank application information is “1”, the discount rank 1 is applied.

Service application processing:
The discount service is applied by operating a predetermined screen on the POS terminal 20 (FIG. 2) to issue a new refueling card P by the card issuing machine 15 or the refueling card reader / writer 14, The refueling card P is stored by newly storing information.

For customers who do not own the refueling card P and receive a new discount service, the customer information storage unit 31 (FIG. 4A) stores the discount rank application information and the expiration date according to the customer. The service application process is performed by issuing a new card P (ticketing process).
On the other hand, if the refueling customer already holds the refueling card P, the customer information storage unit 31 (FIG. 4A) of the refueling card P newly adds discount rank application information and expiration date according to the customer. The service application process is performed by storing them. In this case, the existing card information is inherited.
The customer who has received the service application process can refuel with the discount service using the refueling card P in which the discount rank application information and the expiration date are stored.

Lubrication method:
Next, according to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, a fueling method of a gas station system that performs the discount service using the fueling card P on which the service application processing has been performed will be specifically described.

  When the customer inserts the refueling card P from the refueling card insertion port 14A, the process proceeds to step S1 shown in FIG. 5, and the refueling card reader / writer 14 detects the insertion of the refueling card P and proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the refueling card reader / writer 14 reads card information stored in the customer information storage unit 31 from the refueling card P and transmits it to the microcomputer 11, and the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S3, the microcomputer 11 determines whether or not the refueling card P is a regular card based on the card information. If it is determined that the refueling card P is a regular card, the process proceeds to step S4. If it is determined that the card is not a legitimate card, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, the display unit 12 displays that the refueling card P cannot be received, and discharges the refueling card P from the refueling card insertion port 14A.

  In step S4, the expiration date in the card information is compared with the current date (current refueling date) output from the timing means T to determine whether the customer is eligible for discount service. Determine. As a result, if the current date is before the expiration date (within the validity period), the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the current date is after the expiration date (outside the expiration date), or if the expiration date is not stored, the process proceeds to step S51 (FIG. 7).

If the current date is before the expiration date:
In step S5, based on the discount rank application information in the card information, the service limit amount and the unit price discount amount corresponding to the discount rank are read from the discount information storage unit 22, and the unit price storage unit 21 The fuel unit price (normal unit price) for each oil type of the fuel card is read out, and the process proceeds to step S6. For example, as the discount table, the table of FIG. 3A is adopted, and when the discount rank application information is “1”, the discount rank 1 is applied, the service limit “100L”, and the unit price discount. The amount “−5 yen” is read out.

  In step S6, the previous use date (last refueling date) in the card information is compared with the current date, and whether or not the current date belongs to the same month as the previous use date. Is determined. As a result, if the current date is not the same month as the previous use date, that is, if the current refueling is the first refueling in the month, the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the current date is the same month as the previous use date, that is, if the current refueling is the second or later refueling in the month, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the remaining amount of service Vs is calculated by subtracting the refueling amount of the current month from the read service limit amount, and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, it is determined whether or not there is a service remaining amount Vs.
If the calculated remaining service amount Vs> 0, it is determined that there is a remaining service amount Vs, and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the remaining service amount Vs ≦ 0, it is determined that there is no remaining service amount Vs, and the process proceeds to step S51 (FIG. 7).

If there is remaining service:
In step S7, the service remaining amount Vs is set (set), and a confirmation screen (FIG. 8A) displaying the service remaining amount Vs is displayed on the display unit 12, and the process proceeds to step S21. If the current refueling is the first refueling in the month, the service limit amount is set as the service remaining amount Vs because refueling has not been performed yet. On the other hand, if the current refueling is the second or later refueling in the month, the value calculated in step S12 is set as the service remaining amount Vs.

  In step S21, the microcomputer 11 causes the display unit 12 to display an oil type setting screen in which the unit price is displayed for each oil type. Here, the unit price is displayed as a discount unit price obtained by subtracting the unit price discount amount from the normal unit price. When the oil type (part of the refueling schedule information) is designated, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, a setting screen for the amount of oil supply is displayed on the display 12. As the designation of the oil supply amount, for example, a full tank or a desired amount (for example, 50 L) can be designated. When the oil supply amount is designated, the designated amount is set as the preset value Vp, and the process proceeds to step S23. In the case of full tank designation, for example, a predetermined amount such as 99999.99L is set as the preset value Vp in order to perform comparison described later.

  In step S23, it is determined whether or not there is a remaining amount of the fuel card P. If the available balance> 0 in the card information, it is determined that there is a balance, and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the available balance ≦ 0, it is determined that there is no balance, and the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S24, it is determined whether or not cash has been inserted, and the process proceeds to step S27 (FIG. 6). Here, when the money discriminator 13 detects the insertion of cash, the amount of cash inserted is calculated.

  If there is no remaining amount of the refueling card P, it is determined in step S25 whether or not cash has been inserted. When the money discriminator 13 detects the insertion of cash, the amount of cash inserted is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S27 (FIG. 6). On the other hand, if the insertion of cash is not detected, the process proceeds to step S26, a screen for prompting the insertion of cash is displayed, and after waiting for the insertion of cash for a predetermined time, the fueling card P is discharged from the fueling card slot 14A.

  In step S27 shown in FIG. 6, based on the total amount of the available balance in the card information and the amount of cash inserted, the maximum amount of fuel that can be refueled with the total amount, that is, refueling is possible. The amount Vc is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S28.

Calculation of virtual preset values:
In step S28 and step S29, the CPU performs the following first comparison and second comparison on the service remaining amount Vs, preset amount Vp and refuelable amount Vc, and calculates (selects) a virtual preset amount (an example of a virtual preset value). Then, the process proceeds to step S30.

First, in the first comparison, the preset amount Vp and the refuelable amount Vc are compared, and the smaller one (either is acceptable in the case of the same amount) is selected as the comparison target amount in the next second comparison.
That is,
(A) If the preset amount Vp> the refuelable amount Vc, select the refuelable amount Vc as the comparison target amount,
(B) If the preset amount Vp ≦ the refuelable amount Vc, the preset amount Vp is selected as the comparison target amount.

In the subsequent second comparison, the comparison target amount selected in the first comparison is compared with the service remaining amount Vs, and the smaller one (or both in the case of the same amount) is selected as the virtual preset amount.
When the result of the first comparison is (A), the refuelable amount Vc selected as the comparison target amount is compared with the service remaining amount Vs,
(A-1) If the remaining amount of service Vs> the refuelable amount Vc, select the refuelable amount Vc as the virtual preset amount,
(A-2) When the remaining service amount Vs ≦ the refuelable amount Vc, the remaining service amount Vs is selected as a virtual preset amount.
On the other hand, when the result of the first comparison is (B), the preset amount Vp selected as the comparison target amount is compared with the service remaining amount Vs,
(B-1) When the remaining service amount Vs> the preset amount Vp, the preset amount Vp is selected as the virtual preset amount,
(B-2) When the remaining service amount Vs ≦ the preset amount Vp, the remaining service amount Vs is selected as the virtual preset amount.

  For example, in the case where the remaining service amount Vs = 20 L, the preset amount Vp = full tank, and the refuelable amount Vc = 80 L, the preset amount: full tank (99999.99L)> refuelable amount Vc: 80 L in the first comparison. The refuelable amount Vc is selected as a comparison target value. In the subsequent second comparison, the remaining amount of service Vs: 20L <the refuelable amount Vc: 80L, so the remaining amount of service Vs is selected as the virtual preset amount.

  In step S30, a confirmation screen (FIG. 8B) displaying purchase information including the virtual preset amount and the discount unit price is displayed on the display 12. When the customer touches the confirmation button 12a and purchase information is transmitted to the POS terminal 20, a refueling permission signal is transmitted from the POS terminal 20 to the refueling machine control means 91, and the process proceeds to step S31. The total amount of refueling may or may not be displayed on the confirmation screen.

In step S31, refueling is possible (fuel oil can be discharged from the nozzle), and when the refueling nozzle is removed from the nozzle hanger, the nozzle switch 94 is turned on and refueling is started by a predetermined operation. Proceed to S32.
In step S32, when the virtual preset amount is reached, control is performed to prohibit the discharge of fuel oil from the fuel nozzle (fueling is stopped). Thereafter, when the fueling nozzle is returned (hanged) to the nozzle hanger, the nozzle switch is turned off, a fueling completion signal is transmitted from the fueling device control means to the settlement device 10, and the microcomputer 11 transmits the fueling result transmitted from the fueling device 9. And based on the said discount unit price, the amount of refueling performed this time is calculated, and it progresses to step S33.

In step S33, it is determined whether or not the current refueling date is the same month as the previous refueling date. If it is the same month, the process proceeds to step S34, and if it is not the same month, the process proceeds to step S40.
In step S34, the current fuel amount (= virtual preset amount) is added to the current month fuel amount in the card information to calculate a new current month fuel amount, and the process proceeds to step S35. On the other hand, in step S40, since this is the first refueling of the current month, the current refueling amount (= virtual preset amount) is set as the current refueling amount, and the process proceeds to step S35.

If there is no remaining service:
If it is determined in step S13 (FIG. 5) that there is no service remaining amount Vs, the processing proceeds to step S35 after the processing of steps S51 to S62 shown in FIG. 7 is performed.
The processing in steps S51 to S62 is the same as the processing in steps S21 to S32 described above except that the comparison for calculating the virtual preset amount (step S58) is different.

  In the calculation of the virtual preset amount in step S58, unlike the step S28, only the first comparison is performed. That is, only a comparison between the preset amount Vp and the refuelable amount Vc is performed, and the smaller one (or both in the case of the same amount) is selected as the virtual preset amount.

If the current date is after the expiration date or if the expiration date is not remembered:
In step S4 (FIG. 5), if the current date is after the expiration date or if the expiration date is not stored, the same steps S51 to S62 (FIG. 7) as in the case where there is no remaining service amount. After the process is performed, the process proceeds to step S35.

Processing after step S35:
In step S35 shown in FIG. 6, the number of points for the current refueling is calculated based on the refueling amount for the current refueling calculated in step S32 and added to the total points in the card information. Calculate the total points.

  In step S36, the customer information storage unit 31 of the refueling card P rewrites the previous use date, available balance, total points, refueling amount, etc. as new card information as necessary after the current refueling. The process proceeds to step S37. The current refueling date is stored as the new previous use date.

  In step S37, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the date of refueling, the input amount, the new remaining amount, the number of points, and the like are printed on the refueling card P as necessary, and the process proceeds to step S38. In step S38, the refueling card P is discharged from the refueling card insertion port 14A, and the process proceeds to step S39. In step S39, when the customer performs a predetermined operation as necessary, for example, a receipt shown in FIG. 9B is issued by the printer 19, and a series of refueling processes is completed, so that refueling is possible. Become.

Processing of refueling across remaining service:
If there is a service remaining amount and the result of the second comparison is (A-2) or (B-2), the service remaining amount Vs is selected as a virtual preset amount, and the service remaining amount Vs is reached. Stop refueling once you have refueled. Therefore, for the remaining amount obtained by subtracting the remaining amount of service Vs from the preset amount Vp or the refuelable amount Vc desired by the customer, the refueling process is completed in step S39, and the refueling becomes possible. Steps S1 to S39 are performed again. Since the discount service is not applied to the remaining amount of refueling, refueling is performed at a normal unit price.

  For example, when the remaining amount of service Vs = 20L and the preset amount Vp = 50L (<refuelable amount Vc), as shown in the printing of the refueling card P in FIG. 9A (for June 27), Then, refueling up to the remaining amount of service 20L (virtual preset amount) is performed at a discounted unit price (¥ 95), and once refueling is stopped, refueling of the remaining amount 30L to be refueled is performed at a normal unit price (¥ 100). In this case, since the refueling process is performed twice, two receipts shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C are issued.

  Focusing on customer convenience, instead of the method of temporarily stopping the refueling, even if the remaining amount of service Vs is selected as the virtual preset amount, the refueling is not temporarily stopped and the customer desires. Refueling may be performed continuously up to the preset amount Vp or the refuelable amount Vc. In this case, the refueling amount up to the service remaining amount Vs is calculated using the discount unit price, and the remaining refueling amount is calculated using the normal unit price. Two receipts may be issued as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, or a single receipt as shown in FIG. In the case of the receipt shown in FIG. 10, the unit price, the amount of oil, and the amount of oil are listed for each of the refueling at the discount unit price and the refueling at the normal unit price, and the total amount of each refueling amount is described.

As described above, the preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily consider various changes and modifications within the obvious range by referring to the present specification.
For example, even with refueling with a credit card, it is naturally possible to receive the same service as that of the above embodiment by using the refueling card together. In this case, the refueling amount converted is unlimited (according to the card if there is a limit).
Further, without providing the discount information storage unit, the service limit amount and the unit price discount amount for each refueling card may be associated with the identification number and stored in the customer information storage unit.
In the embodiment, a card that cannot be rewritten is used as the refueling card. However, other plate-like storage media such as a so-called rewrite card may be used.

  The present invention can be applied to a gas station system or the like.

(A) is a schematic block diagram which shows the gas station system concerning embodiment of this invention, (b) is a front view of the adjustment apparatus in the system. It is a schematic block diagram which shows a payment apparatus, a fuel supply apparatus, and a POS terminal. (A), (b) is a discount table of a discount information storage part, (c) is a unit price table of a unit price storage part. (A) is a schematic block diagram of a fueling card | curd, (b) is a figure which shows the memory content of a customer information storage part. It is a flowchart which shows the oil supply method. It is a flowchart which shows the oil supply method. It is a flowchart which shows the oil supply method. (A), (b) is a front view which shows the display screen of a display. (A) is a front view which shows the printing area | region of a fueling card | curd, (b), (c) is a front view which shows an example of a receipt. It is a front view which shows an example of a receipt.

Explanation of symbols

11: Microcomputer 12: Display (display means)
13: Money identification machine (money identification means)
14: Refueling card reader / writer 19: Printer 21: Unit price storage unit 22: Customer information storage unit 9: Refueling device 91: Refueling machine control means 92: Refueling nozzle 94: Nozzle switch P: Refueling card Vs: Remaining service amount Vp: Preset amount Vc: Refuelable amount

Claims (8)

A filling station system comprising a fueling device having a pump for fueling, a flow meter for measuring the amount of fueling, and a fueling nozzle for fueling,
A unit price storage unit for storing a fuel supply unit price for each type of fuel oil;
A customer information storage unit that stores information on an effective period for performing a predetermined unit price discount for the customer in association with an identification code for each customer;
A threshold storage unit that stores a predetermined threshold value of the amount of oil or the amount of oil for each unit period into which the effective period is divided;
A control device that controls a discount process for discounting the predetermined unit price from the fuel unit price for the purchase of fuel oil;
When a customer performs refueling, the current refueling date is within the effective period, and the cumulative total of refueling amount or total refueling amount in the unit period to which the current refueling date belongs is less than the predetermined threshold value. When the discount application condition is satisfied, the discount process is performed.
A gas station system controlled by the control device. In Claim 1, refueling schedule information input means for inputting refueling schedule information including a refueling amount or a refueling amount;
Currency identification means for identifying the inserted money;
A refueling card reader / writer that reads and writes information on a refueling card that can store a balance in which a purchase amount is subtracted from a prepaid amount and / or the amount of money that has been prepaid,
Comparing a preset value based on the planned amount of fuel or the planned amount of fuel input by the fueling schedule information input means and a refuelable value calculated based on the sum of the amount of cash inserted and the remaining amount of fuel card inserted First comparing means for determining and selecting which of the preset value or the refuelable value is smaller;
Second comparison means for comparing the preset value or refuelable value selected by the first comparison means with a remaining amount value obtained by subtracting the accumulated amount of oil or the accumulated amount of oil from the predetermined threshold. In addition,
On condition that the discount application condition is satisfied,
When the comparison value by the second comparison means is smaller than the preset value or refuelable value selected by the first comparison means, the remaining amount value is satisfied only for refueling up to the remaining value. To perform the discount process,
A gas station system controlled by the control device.   3. The fuel supply system according to claim 2, wherein when the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, the remaining amount value is set as a virtual preset value, and the fuel supply is stopped when the fuel supply amount or the fuel supply amount corresponding to the virtual preset value is reached. To be controlled, gas station system. The nozzle hanger according to claim 3, further comprising a nozzle hanger that hangs the fueling nozzle, and a nozzle switch that detects whether or not the fueling nozzle is hooked on the nozzle hanger.
A fueling station system that is controlled so as to enable the next refueling after the refueling is stopped on condition that the nozzle switch detects that the refueling nozzle is hung on the nozzle hanger. 3. The fuel supply system according to claim 2, wherein when the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, the remaining amount value is set as a virtual preset value, and the fuel supply is not stopped when the fuel supply amount or the fuel supply amount corresponding to the virtual preset value is reached. In addition, refueling is continued until the preset value or refuelable value determined by the first comparison means,
The discount processing is performed for refueling until reaching the amount or amount of fuel corresponding to the virtual preset value, and the discount processing is performed for refueling after reaching the amount or amount of fuel corresponding to the virtual preset value. Gas station system controlled so as not to perform. The printer according to claim 5, further comprising a printer,
A discount unit price obtained by discounting a predetermined unit price from the fuel amount and / or fuel unit price corresponding to the virtual preset value, and a fuel amount and / or fuel unit price after reaching the fuel amount corresponding to the virtual preset value, A gas station system controlled to issue a printed receipt by the printer. The display device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising display means,
When the discount application condition and the comparison condition are satisfied, at the time of refueling, the discount unit price obtained by performing the predetermined unit price discount from the refueling unit price and the refueling amount or the refueling amount corresponding to the virtual preset value are Gas station system displayed on the display means. In any one of Claim 1 to 7, the last oiling date is memorize | stored in the said customer information storage part,
A gas station system controlled to determine whether or not the previous refueling date belongs to a unit period to which the current refueling date belongs.

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