JPH10326376A - Automatic vending machine and its data communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the data communication even at a place where the construction is difficult for a general wire telephone circuit cable by preparing a data communication unit, which transmits data received from a management device to perform the data communication between the management device and an automatic vending machine manager, and also preparing a modem and PHS terminal or a portable telephone terminal. SOLUTION: A data communication unit has a switch function to start the communication of data received from a management device automatically, periodically or based on the instruction given from an automatic vending machine manager. A modem has a function to transmit data received from the management device to a portable terminal or a PHS terminal after converting them into digital data. A FAX modem card is generally and preferably used for the reduction of weight of the modem. The data received from the management device are transmitted by wireless to a computer of a wire network from the portable or PHS terminal via a base station antenna and a PHS circuit network or a portable telephone circuit network.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for wirelessly communicating data from a vending machine using an existing PHS line or a portable telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, inventory of products from vending machines,
Data such as sales volume is sent from the vending machine data management device installed in the vending machine to NTT's general telephone line (wired)
Was sent to the vending machine administrator or the supplier of the product. That is, even in a place where it is difficult to install a general telephone line of NTT, it is necessary to transmit the data of the vending machine by laying underground or attaching a cable accompanying the installation of a telephone pole. In addition, every time the vending machine is moved, such as when the layout is changed, the installation of a telephone line has become indispensable.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide means for enabling data communication from a vending machine even in a place where it is difficult to lay a cable for a wired general telephone line.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to (1) a vending machine having a management device for processing and managing data such as inventory information and sales information of the vending machine. In order to perform data communication between machine managers, a data communication unit for transmitting data from the management device, a recovery device and a PHS terminal or a mobile phone terminal are provided, and data from the management device is transferred to an existing PHS line or A vending machine that enables data communication between a vending machine and a vending machine manager via a mobile phone line, (2) the data communication unit described in (1) above, a conversion device, and a PHS
This is a vending machine data communication method for transmitting data from the management device to a vending machine manager via an existing PHS line or a mobile phone line using a terminal or a mobile phone terminal.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a data communication unit between a vending machine data management device provided inside a vending machine and a vending machine administrator, a data communication unit, and a wireless communication line via a conversion device and a PHS terminal or a mobile phone terminal. 2 shows a network configuration performed by the system. The vending machine management device is a device that manages and stores the sales status of each product such as the inventory amount or the sales amount of the vending machine, and is widely used. The data communication unit has a switch function of starting communication of data from the management device automatically, periodically, or based on an instruction from a vending machine administrator. The restoration device has a function of converting data from the management device into digital data and transmitting the digital data to a portable terminal or a PHS terminal. In general, a FAX modem card is preferably used to reduce the weight. Data from the management device is stored on a mobile terminal or PHS
The terminal communicates wirelessly with the vending machine administrator or a computer on a wired network via a PHS network or a mobile phone network via a base station antenna. Further, an instruction from the vending machine manager is also transmitted to the management device through the reverse route.

[0006]

According to the present invention, by connecting a portable terminal to a vending machine management device, data communication between the management device and a vending machine manager can be performed wirelessly. For this reason, troublesome wiring work of the telephone line to the vending machine becomes unnecessary, and data communication between the vending machine and the vending machine manager becomes possible regardless of the installation location of the vending machine. It is possible to replenish inventory in a timely manner and change the product configuration according to the inventory status and sales status of vending machines.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing that data communication between a vending machine and a vending machine manager that are separated from each other is enabled via a PHS terminal or a mobile phone terminal.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine having a management device for processing and managing data such as inventory information and sales information of a vending machine, wherein data communication is performed between the management device and a vending machine manager. A data communication unit for transmitting data from the management device, a recovery device and a PHS terminal or a mobile phone terminal are provided, and data from the management device is transmitted to an existing PHS.
A vending machine characterized by enabling data communication between a vending machine and a vending machine manager via a line or a mobile phone line. 2. A vending machine management system comprising: a data communication unit according to claim 1; a recovery unit and a PHS terminal or a mobile phone terminal; Data communication method for a vending machine, wherein the data communication method is to send the data to a vending machine.