TWI607790B - Information processing apparatus, control method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

Information processing device, control method and information processing program

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to an item vending apparatus that operates a driving unit of a specific apparatus to discharge an item based on the payment of the price.

Previously, there has been a gift providing device that provides a game operation, such as a so-called lifting game or a prize game, which allows a user to operate a driving unit that grabs a gift or drops a gift according to the consideration payment, and discharges the gift as a result of the game. Patent Document 1 discloses a system capable of utilizing such a gift providing device via a network.

In the gift providing device, in general, a gift is displayed in a space in which a gripping unit or the like of the drive object is arranged, and in the game operation executed in accordance with the consideration payment, the grip unit or the like is used to move the gift to the discharge port, and the gift is moved. This is for the discharge of gifts.

On the other hand, an article selling device such as a so-called capsule vending machine that surely discharges a toy body or a card or the like for a single consideration is classified as a vending machine. Such an item vending device is basically constructed in such a manner that the item to be discharged next is unknown, including the uncertainty of discharge to provide interest. Specifically, the article vending apparatus basically has a configuration in which a store clerk or the like of the vending shop arbitrarily puts the article into a storage cabinet or a storage box of the article vending device, wherein the article disposed at the nearest place of the discharge port when the counter is paid Will be discharged. Further, in particular, in an article vending apparatus that encloses a toy body or the like in a specific box (capsule) such as a ball, the article in the box is stirred and stirred by the rotation of the driving unit related to the discharge. This can make the order of the discharged items uncertain, which increases the interest. Flavor.

[Previous Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-161457

However, when the service providing method via the network which is the same as the gift providing device of Patent Document 1 is applied to the article selling device as described above, the following problem occurs.

In the gift providing apparatus of Patent Document 1, in order to obtain a gift, it is important to grasp the driving condition of the gripping unit or the like corresponding to the operation. Therefore, the video output of the camera in which the imaging range is set so as to be able to grasp the position of the whole of the gift display unit and the gripping unit or the like is transmitted to the user terminal. That is, the user knows which of the gifts is to perform the game operation. Therefore, as long as the fact that the articles have been ejected is confirmed, it is not necessary to visually present the gifts to the user for confirmation.

On the other hand, since the article vending apparatus has an uncertainty in the discharge of the article as described above, even if the technology described in Patent Document 1 can be simply used to provide the service via the Internet, the user's interest may not be secured. That is, since the user cannot confirm the discharged article, even if the article discharged as the service is used reaches the user's hand by delivery or the like, the user may not recognize that the article is following the purchase operation of the user. The discharged items (unidentity is not guaranteed), so the reliability of service utilization cannot be guaranteed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus, a control method, and a program that can appropriately guide a user when a service is provided by an article selling device via a network.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that: An item selling device for discharging an item according to the payment of the price, wherein the information processing device has: a receiving unit that receives a driving instruction corresponding to the consideration payment; an output unit that outputs a driving command, the function of the driving command is based on the receiving unit Receiving the drive instruction, driving the article discharge driving unit of the article vending device until the article is discharged from the article vending device; and the first acquiring unit obtains the first image obtained by the photographing drive unit being driven by the drive command output from the output unit. a second acquisition unit that acquires a second image obtained by holding a holding unit of the article vending device that holds the article discharged by the driving unit, and a control unit that controls the image based on The first image or the second image is transmitted to the external device while the article is being driven and the article is ejected.

According to the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus, a control method, and a program for appropriately guiding a user when a service is provided by an article selling device via a network.

100‧‧‧Control device (one embodiment of "receiving unit")

101‧‧‧Control Department (one example of "Control Unit")

102‧‧‧Recording media (one example of "recording unit")

103‧‧‧ memory

104‧‧‧Drive Control Unit ("One Output Unit" embodiment)

105‧‧‧ Camera Control Unit ("Switch Unit" embodiment)

106‧‧‧Reporting Department (one example of “Reporting Unit”)

107‧‧‧Communication Department

110‧‧‧1st camera (one example of "first acquisition unit")

120‧‧‧Second camera (an example of "the second acquisition unit")

200‧‧‧ article selling device

201‧‧‧Drive system (one example of "drive unit")

202‧‧‧Motor drive

203‧‧‧Motor

204‧‧‧ Storage Department

205‧‧‧Draining unit

206‧‧‧ Turntable

207‧‧‧through hole

207a‧‧‧through hole

207b‧‧‧through hole

207c‧‧‧through hole

207d‧‧‧through hole

207e‧‧‧through hole

208‧‧‧Export

209‧‧‧Drain sensor (one example of "detection unit")

210‧‧‧rails

211‧‧‧Article Keeping Department

300‧‧‧Game Server (one example of "Setting Unit")

400‧‧‧User terminal

401‧‧‧ dedicated page button

402‧‧‧ dedicated page button

403‧‧‧ Occupy users current points holdings

404‧‧‧ Pre-set number of points

405‧‧‧ Real Machine Display Department

500‧‧‧Network

800‧‧‧ arrow

801‧‧‧ items

802‧‧‧ items

S501~S506‧‧‧Steps

S601~S605‧‧‧Steps

S701~S704‧‧‧Steps

Fig. 1 is a view showing the system configuration of an article vending system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the appearance of the article vending apparatus 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the functional configuration of the control device 100 and the article vending device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) of a dedicated page of an article vending apparatus 200 in use of the article vending system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the article discharge processing executed by the control device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the error processing at the time of cutting performed by the control device 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the article discharge processing executed by the control device 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

8(a) to 8(c) are views for explaining the structure and operation of the discharge unit 205 in the article vending apparatus 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Embodiment]

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, an embodiment described below is an example in which the present invention is applied to a control device which is connected to an article vending device as an example of an information processing device and can be accepted via a network. The drive is instructed to control the driving action involved in the ejection of the item from the device. However, the present invention can be applied to any device that can perform drive control of an article vending device based on a drive instruction received via a network, and transmission control of an image obtained by a process of photographing the device.

"System Composition of the Item Selling System"

Fig. 1 is a view showing the system configuration of an article vending system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The article vending system of the present embodiment includes a game server 300 that provides an article selling service to the user terminal 400 connected via the Internet 500 such as the Internet by the article vending device 200; the article vending device 200; and the control device 100, which performs drive control of the item vending apparatus 200 based on an instruction from the game server 300. According to the service provided by the item vending system, the user can perform an operation related to the discharge of the item as the payment is made in the user terminal 400 used, thereby discharging the item to the item vending apparatus 200, and by mailing or the like. The goods are discharged by the delivery service.

The control device 100 (which is an embodiment of the "receiving unit" of the present invention) receives purchase-related items from the game server 300 via the network 500 based on the item purchase request accepted by the game server 300 from the user terminal 400. Drive indication for discharge. Further, the control device 100 outputs a control signal as a drive command to the connected article vending device 200 based on the received drive instruction, and performs an action related to the article discharge.

The article vending device 200 stores the article inside and drives the row based on the control signal. A unit that discharges an item by means of the unit. In the article vending system of the present embodiment, the following capsule vending machine is used as the article vending apparatus 200, and the capsule vending machine is usually installed at a shop door or the like, and can be rotated by inputting a coin or a token. The handle drives the inner discharge unit as the handle rotates, thereby discharging the article. The following drive system 201 (which is one embodiment of the "drive unit" of the present invention) is incorporated therein, and when the service is provided via the network 500, the discharge unit 205 of the item vending apparatus 200 does not need to rotate the handle. Instead, it is driven based on a control signal received from the control device 100. Moreover, the device that dares to use the function of discharging the item familiar to the user is because the selection of the item finally discharged according to the value object is performed by hardware configuration instead of software, so that the user can be excluded. The impression of human factors, the result will be the effect of the user can properly guide the user.

Further, in order to show that such an actual device is being used for the sale via the Internet, the user terminal 400 is provided with an image obtained by photographing the casing of the actual article vending device 200. In the article vending system of the present embodiment, image capturing is performed by an image pickup device connected to the control device 100. At this time, in order for the user to see the operation related to the discharge of the article by the user terminal 400, the article vending device 200 performs the article discharging operation, and the at least one camera device is set to the following shooting range, that is, in order to present the handle linkage The discharge unit 205 is driven to rotate, and in this operation, the storage unit 204 in which the handle and the article are stored is captured.

Further, if the article vending apparatus 200 of the capsule vending machine has an uncertainty in the discharge of the article, in order to allow the user to discriminate which of the ejected articles, the at least one imaging device is set to the following shooting range, that is, to present the driving discharge. The unit 205 results in the discharged article, and captures the article holding portion 211 that holds the article after the article is discharged. The article holding portion 211 may have a box-like structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the article holding portion 211 is detachably provided under the end portion of the guide rail 210 for guiding the article discharged by the driving of the discharge unit 205. . Therefore, it can be kept from above and kept in the item after it is discharged. The position of the item of the part 211 is set to the imaging device for the shooting.

In addition, in the article vending system of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image capturing range is set so that the user can recognize the discharged article and the article holding portion 211 occupies most of the region within the shooting angle of view. The article discharged by the driving of the discharge unit 205 is moved and held by the article holding portion 211, and may be set such that the guide rail 210 is included in the imaging range. Further, it is assumed that the article vending apparatus 200 of the present embodiment has a detachable article holding portion 211 and a guide rail 210 for guiding the discharged article in order to allow a user to easily carry the discharged article group, but this is explained. The implementation of the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the article holding portion 211 may be omitted, and the articles discharged according to the operation of the continuous discharge of the articles by one user may be stored on the guide rail 210.

Further, in the following description, it is assumed that the image obtained by sequentially (intermittently) capturing the article discharge operation is transmitted from the control device 100 to the game server 300 and is supplied to the corresponding user via the network 500. The user terminal 400 will be described, but the path of providing the image is not limited thereto. For example, the control device 100 can be directly provided to the user terminal 400 via the network 500, or can be provided to the user terminal 400 via other management servers instead of the game server 300.

In the article vending system of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the control device 100 and the article vending device 200 are via an I/O (Input/Output) port (D/A) (Digital) that can perform electrical signal exchange. The /Analog, digital/analog converter and A/D (Analog/Digital) converter are directly connected for explanation, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. The control device 100 and the article vending device 200 can be configured to exchange signals in an arbitrary communication connection manner. Further, in the present embodiment, the control device 100 and the game server 300 are assumed to be configured in a separate form in consideration of the form of service provision. Of course, the control device 100 and the game server 300 can be configured in an integrated manner. .

<Configuration of Control Device 100 and Item Selling Device 200>

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device 100 and the article vending device 200 of the present embodiment. Further, the functional configuration of each of the control device 100 and the article vending device 200 described with reference to FIG. 3 is for the purpose of illustration, and does not have any functional configuration and functional configuration of the control device 100 and the article vending device 200. The device is limited. Further, it may have another function configuration not shown.

The control unit 101 (which is an embodiment of the "control unit" of the present invention) is, for example, a microcomputer, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Device. The control unit 101 reads an operation program of each block included in the control device 100 recorded on the recording medium 102, and expands and executes the operation program in the memory 103, thereby controlling the operation of each block.

The recording medium 102 (which is an embodiment of the "recording unit" of the present invention) is, for example, an internal memory, a non-volatile memory, or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recording device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) . In the recording medium 102, not only the action programs of the respective blocks are stored, but also various parameters required for the actions of the respective blocks are stored. On the other hand, the memory 103 is, for example, a memory device such as a volatile memory. The memory 103 is used not only as an expansion area and a work area of an operation program of each block, but also as a storage area for intermediate data or the like that is temporarily stored in the operation of each block.

The drive control unit 104 (which is an embodiment of the "output unit" of the present invention) controls the following drive system 201 of the article vending apparatus 200. The drive control unit 104 outputs a drive command for driving the primary item discharge to the drive system 201 based on the drive instruction accepted by the control device 100. Further, feedback control may be performed as needed based on information such as a rotation angle returned from the drive system 201.

The camera control unit 105 (which is an embodiment of the "switching unit" of the present invention) controls the operation of the imaging device connected to the control device 100 as described above. In the control device 100 of the present embodiment, two imaging devices, a first camera 110 and a second camera 120, are connected and respectively The handle, the accommodating portion 204, and the article holding portion 211 are set within the imaging range. The camera control unit 105 issues a start imaging command to each imaging device during imaging, and receives an image that is sequentially captured and output. Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the camera control unit 105 is configured to be able to switch whether or not an image captured by a certain imaging device is received.

The reporting unit 106 is connected to the article vending device 200 of the control device 100 to report that a user has completed the purchase of the article. The report notifies the operator of the intention to collect the articles held in the article holding portion 211 as described below.

The communication unit 107 is a communication interface of the control device 100. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 107 is communicably connected to the game server 300 via the network 500, and transmits and receives information in conformity with a specific communication specification. Further, the communication unit 107 also serves as a communication interface with the article vending apparatus 200, and has a function of performing specific signal conversion.

The drive system 201 is a system that drives the discharge unit 205 provided at the bottom of the storage unit 204 of the article vending apparatus 200 (inside the article vending apparatus 200) or rotates the handle of the drive discharge unit 205. The drive system 201 includes, for example, a motor driver 202 and a motor 203 that performs power supply control related to driving of the motor 203 based on a drive command received from the control device 100. In the drive system 201, a rotation angle detecting sensor such as a rotary encoder can be provided as needed, and the motor driver 202 can also perform power control based on the output of the sensor.

The accommodating portion 204 is a box that stores an article to be discharged which the article vending device 200 has. In the present embodiment, the article stored in the accommodating portion 204 may be, for example, an article in which one of the plurality of toy bodies is sealed in the capsule. A plurality of toy bodies are basically different according to each of the sales titles (selling plans, products), and a plurality of articles having a toy body defined by the sales title are stored in the storage portion 204 of one article vending device 200. The user can obtain one of the plurality of toy bodies.

Further, the capsule is preferably a capsule formed of a light transmissive material such as polystyrene (PS) or polypropylene (PP) and capable of recognizing the color and shape of the toy body enclosed therein. However, in this In the practice of the invention, the article to be sold is not required to be enclosed in a box formed of such a material, and it is not necessary to constitute a toy body and a box containing the toy body. For example, the article to be sold may include a card or a bundle of cards, a food such as a snack, a three-dimensional shape that is not contained in the case, and the like.

More specifically, in the practice of the present invention, the article discharged from the article vending device 200 is preferably one of a plurality of articles capable of recognizing that the article is different from the article of sale as an article vending device. The way it is structured. For example, the accommodating portion 204 may be made of a light transmissive material, and the user may recognize that at least one of the plurality of articles that may be discharged has a color matching color different from the other articles. It can be recognized whether the discharged article is the same (same kind) as the different color matching items. Alternatively, for example, a predetermined fixed color box may be used for each item to be packaged, whereby the appearance of the box can identify which one of the products is. Moreover, more broadly, it is also possible to design a plurality of colors of the appearance of the article forming the object to be sold and to mix the colors, whereby the color combination of the plurality of articles to be discharged can be recognized. It consists of the group of items purchased by the user.

At the bottom of the accommodating portion 204, a discharge port 208 for discharging the articles and a discharge unit 205 for guiding the articles one by one to the discharge port 208 for the one-piece discharge operation are provided. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the discharge unit 205 includes a turntable 206 having a plurality of through holes 207a to 207e. The turntable 206 rotates in the direction of the arrow 800 of Fig. 8(a) based on the power transmitted by the drive system 201. The rotation unit related to the one-piece discharge operation is determined by the arrangement of the through-holes 207, and the through-holes 207 arranged in the rotation direction of the turntable 206 are sequentially rotated in such a manner as to move to the position corresponding to the discharge port 208. In the through hole 207, an article to be discharged is held, and when the object is discharged to the position corresponding to the discharge port 208 by the rotation of the turntable 206, the article held in the through hole 207 is dropped. Exhausted from the item vending device 200. The one of the articles stacked on the accommodating portion 204 is re-held in the through hole 207 through which the article has been discharged. In the example of Figure 8(a), the next row of items During the discharge operation, the article 801 held in the through hole 207b is moved to the discharge port 208 and discharged.

The discharge sensor 209 (which is an embodiment of the "detection unit" of the present invention) provided in the article vending device 200 is a sensor that detects that the article has been ejected from the discharge port 208. The discharge sensor 209 detects, for example, that the article dropped from the discharge port 208 has passed through the guide rail 210 or on the path to the guide rail 210, thereby detecting the discharge of the article. The detection result of the discharge sensor 209 is transmitted to the control device 100.

"Summary of Actions When Using Services"

In the article vending system of the present embodiment, the vending service is used by the article vending device provided by the game server 300, and the user logs in after using the user terminal 400 used by the user to log in using the service. The service login is performed by, for example, using a browser application to access a specific site and transmitting the account and password information to the game server 300. At this time, the game server 300 performs user authentication with reference to the specific database, reads various information of the user, and starts providing the service. The user's information includes information on the amount of the fee for the specific currency (points) held by the user as a consideration for the purchase of the item. The specific currency may be given to each user by the service provider, or may be given a corresponding amount of currency after the completion of the settlement based on the user's payment instruction.

In the article vending system of the present embodiment, after the service is logged in, the user needs to perform a purchase of the article for the self-processing of the desired article-selling device 200, for example, to move to a dedicated page as shown in FIG. In the operation of displaying the page, the dedicated page includes at least an image obtained by capturing the article vending device 200. The movement to the dedicated page is performed by, for example, displaying a list page of the sales title of the article currently being sold, and selecting a link for setting each of the sales titles one by one. Therefore, the user terminal 400 generates a link target. The display of the dedicated page jumps.

In the dedicated page, in order to utilize the article vending device 200, the user first needs to perform an operation (operation reservation) operation on the button 401 of the dedicated page of FIG. 4 to make it profitable. Use the wait state. For example, in a popular sales title or the like, there may be a case where a plurality of users desire to use at the same time. Therefore, they are queued in the form of a reservation, and the user is granted an operation authority in the order in which the reservation is made. The state in which the user has been granted the authority to operate the article vending apparatus 200 means that the user possesses the state (possession state) of the opportunity to purchase the article from the article vending apparatus 200. When it is in the occupied state, only the user (occupied user) of the occupied state can perform the operation related to the discharge of the article to the object selling device 200 of the object.

At this time, the user other than the user can view the stream image of the image obtained by the operation of the article selling device 200 of the sequential subject through the GUI of the dedicated page in the user terminal 400 used. However, the other users described above are not authorized to operate the object vending apparatus 200 of the object as described above, and thus the operation related to the article discharge cannot be performed. When the other user who is in the waiting state has completed the process of releasing the possession state set for each user by all the users who have made the use reservation, the user is in the state (occupied state) of the operation related to the discharge of the executable article. .

In the case of the occupied state, the occupying user can perform an operation input (mouse click, etc.) on the button 402 of the dedicated page of FIG. 4 in the user terminal 400 used, thereby enabling the article selling device via the control device 100. 200 for item discharge. At this time, the operation involved in the discharge of the article is to pay the predetermined consideration for the sale of the article as a requirement. When the consideration payout is in the case where the user's current point holding number 403 is more than the preset number of points 404 as shown in FIG. 4, it is executed by the checkout processing triggered by the operation input of the button 402. At this time, the value of the point holding number in the user's information is updated to the value obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the value.

If the operation related to the discharge of the article is performed, the game server 300 (which is an embodiment of the "setting unit" of the present invention) outputs a drive instruction to the control device 100, and drives the article vending device 200 according to the drive command issued by the control device 100. The drive (the drive system 201) involved in the discharge of the article is discharged from the discharge port 208 to the one stored in the storage unit 204. to In the dedicated page of the present embodiment, the image captured by the first camera 110 (which is one of the "first acquisition means" of the present invention) in the driving process of the motor 203 related to the article discharge is shown in the figure. The real machine display unit 405 of the fourth embodiment of the second camera 120 (which is an embodiment of the "second acquisition unit" of the present invention) is displayed on the real display unit 405 in a specific period after the driving. Controls the image provided to the user terminal 400 that is displaying the dedicated page. In other words, in the real machine display unit 405, during the driving process of the motor 203, an image obtained by the state in which the handle of the article selling device 200 is rotated is sequentially displayed, and after the rotation of the handle associated with the discharge of the primary article is completed, The manner of confirming the discharged article displays an image obtained by photographing at least the article held by the article holding portion 211. By doing so, the process of actually purchasing the article by the article vending device 200, that is, the simulation of the coin input, the rotation of the handle, and the process of recognizing the discharged article can be provided to the far side of the article vending device 200. User.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image captured by the first camera 110 after the rotation of the handle of the article vending apparatus 200 is completed is switched to the second camera 120. The image is described, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, after the driving of the motor 203 is started, the discharge of the article is detected by the discharge sensor 209, and the discharged article enters a specific position within the shooting range of the second camera 120, and the article is detected to be re-held. The person who performs the switching is performed in the article holding unit 211 or the like. Further, the image captured by the first camera 110 may be displayed until, for example, an operation related to the ejection of the article is performed, and after the operation, the image captured by the first camera 110 can be captured according to the operation of the user. The image captured by the second camera 120 is switched.

Further, in the article vending system of the present embodiment, the state of possession set for the user with respect to one article vending device 200 is released not only when the user is released (instruction to end the purchase), but also when the user is released. And will be released when one of the following conditions is met:

‧Exporting of pre-set upper limit items in one possession state

‧For the same item vending device 200, the pre-set upper limit number of articles is discharged during a specific period (1 day, 1 month, etc.)

‧After a certain period of time (timeout) in the state of the operation involved in the discharge of the item

‧The operation of moving to the dedicated page of the other item selling device 200 is performed

‧ Set occupancy status for other item vending devices 200

‧ The disconnection of the communication connection between the user terminal 400 used by the user and the game server 300 is detected. By setting in this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the purchase of an article sold in one article vending device 200 is exclusive to a part of the user, and the user in the waiting state cannot perform the operation related to the discharge of the article for a certain period of time or longer. The guarantee service uses the user's purchase opportunity to be equal. Moreover, the release of such possession is in the opinion of the seller of the goods, and it also has an effect on increasing the selling opportunities of the articles.

When the possession state has been released, when the article holding unit 211 holds the article, the report unit 106 reports the intention in a specific method. Upon receipt of the report, the operator at the installation location of the article vending apparatus 200 collects the articles held by the article holding unit 211, and performs a procedure of delivering the delivery address to the user based on the user information of the user before the release. In this manner, the articles discharged from the article vending device 200 in the article vending system of the present embodiment are supplied to the user who made the purchase.

Item Discharge Processing

In the article vending system of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the article discharging process of one of the article vending devices 200 (target vending device) by the control device 100 is performed using the flowchart of FIG. The specific processing will be explained. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading the corresponding processing program stored in, for example, the recording medium 102, expanding the memory 103, and executing the processing program. Furthermore, it is assumed that the item trafficking process is started as follows, that is, for example, When the user in the waiting state of the target vending device sets the occupied state, that is, when the user is in the state of being occupied by the user in the waiting state of the device, the communication unit 107 receives the message from the game server 300. Indicates the possession of information that the user has begun to use. Further, when there is no user who uses the waiting state for the target vending device and the occupation state is not assigned to any user, the game server 300 can be transmitted from the game server 300 to the control device 100 to indicate the possession use. The information that the user begins to use begins the process based on the receipt of the information.

In S501, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the drive instruction of the target vending device based on the consideration payment has been received from the game server 300. As described in the action summary, the drive instruction is executed only after the consumption of all the points of the user is consumed, that is, when the consideration payment has been confirmed in the settlement process related to the discharge of an item. As a result of the specific processing, a drive instruction is transmitted from the game server 300 to the control device 100. When the control unit 101 determines that the drive instruction has been received, the control unit 101 shifts the processing to S502, and when it is determined that the drive instruction has not been received, the process proceeds to S504.

In S502, the drive control unit 104 outputs a drive command related to the discharge of the primary item to the drive system 201 of the target vending apparatus under the control of the control unit 101. The drive control unit 104 receives the information of the rotation angle of the motor 203 and appropriately performs drive control. When the control unit 101 determines that the driving of the drive system 201 related to the discharge of the primary item has been completed, the control unit 101 shifts the processing to S503.

In S503, the control unit 101 switches the image supplied for the update of the real-time display unit 405 of the dedicated page to the image captured by the second camera 120. At this time, the camera control unit 105 performs control for switching the imaging device that has accepted the input from the first camera 110 to the second camera 120. Further, the switching of the image provided for the update of the real-time display unit 405 is maintained until the time determined by the specific reference is passed, so that the user can easily perform the operation related to the next article discharge. can. The time may be determined based on the time or the like, that is, for example, from the completion of the driving of the driving system 201 to the passage of the article discharged based on the driving The time required for the rails 210 to reach the article holding portion 211 and to be in a stopped state.

In S504, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the cancellation condition of the occupied state is satisfied. When the control unit 101 determines that the release condition of the occupied state has been satisfied, the process proceeds to S505. When the control unit 101 determines that the cancellation condition of the occupation state is not satisfied, the control unit 101 ends the period in which the image transmission operation is performed by the second camera 120, and then displays the information indicating that the article discharge operation has been completed via the communication unit 107 ( The discharge completion information is transmitted to the game server 300, and the process returns to S501. Furthermore, the discharge completion information is used to notify the game server 300 that the information of the drive instruction related to the next item discharge has been accepted, and the information is received, and the display of the dedicated page is controlled from the game server 300 (to the accepted item) The information for the change of the status of the operation involved is transmitted to the user terminal 400 used by the user.

In S505, the reporting unit 106 (which is an embodiment of the "reporting unit" of the present invention) reports under the control of the control unit 101 that the cancellation condition of the occupied state has been satisfied. As described above, the report is performed to notify the operator of the fact that the purchase of the article by the user is completed. Upon receiving the report, the operator collects the article held by the article holding unit 211, stores or bundles it. Other places to distribute to the shipping address of the occupying user. Furthermore, in this step, it is also possible to determine whether or not the article holding unit 211 holds the article, and to report it only when the article is held. Moreover, in order to avoid performing the next item discharge operation between the item collections, thereby causing the wrong purchase of the items between the users, the process may be suspended in this step until the operator inputs an instruction to complete the recycling, or until It is detected that the article holding unit 211 as a new holding member is provided. In this case, in order to reduce the amount of calculation in the control device 100 and the amount of use of the communication band for image transmission, image capture of the first camera 110 or the second camera 120 may be stopped, and the dedicated page display unit 405 may be used. Change to another image and stop processing such as image update.

In S506, the control unit 101 notifies the game server 300 that the item discharge operation has been completed, and issues an instruction to release the possession state of the occupied user. in particular, The control unit 101 transmits the discharge completion information and the cancellation request of the occupancy state to the communication unit 107, and transmits the above information and request to the game server 300.

In the case where the article vending device 200 performs the article discharging operation based on the remote operation, the user can see that the driving unit of the article vending device 200 is driven according to the operation related to the article discharging, and An item that is discharged according to the drive. Therefore, the user can at least confirm the appearance of the discharged article, thereby appropriately guiding the user in the service of using the article vending device via the network.

[Embodiment 2]

In the article discharge processing of the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the determination of whether or not a certain cancellation condition of the occupied state has been satisfied is performed in S504, but the determination regarding the release condition is not limited thereto. That is, the cancellation conditions can be judged at different timings or cycles. For example, the following conditions in the cancellation condition may be determined periodically during the period in which the user possesses the state of the object selling device, or when receiving the corresponding information from the game server 300:

‧The operation of moving to the dedicated page of the other item selling device 200 is performed

‧ Set occupancy status for other item vending devices 200

‧ The disconnection of the communication connection between the user terminal 400 used by the user and the game server 300 is detected.

Further, in the article vending system of the present invention, the article discharged based on the consideration payment is determined as the article held in the next through hole 207 at the stage of the article vending device 200, for example, just after the article is discharged. In other words, the drive related to the discharge of the article as in the case of the gift-providing device in Patent Document 1 does not change due to the user's operation, and therefore there is no factor that the user can interfere with the discharge of the article after the payment of the consideration. In other words, the discharged article is determined by the action of the drive system 201 in which the article is discharged only in the article vending device 200.

Therefore, in the article vending system of the present embodiment, for example, when the checkout is completed in the settlement processing relating to the consideration payment, even if the user is used after cutting off the possession The communication connection between the user terminal 400 and the game server 300 also reliably performs a process of issuing a drive instruction based on the consideration payment and outputting a drive command, thereby discharging the article and ensuring the user's benefit.

On the other hand, in the configuration in which the drive system 201 is driven to discharge the articles even when such communication is disconnected, the user in the occupied state cannot confirm which article is discharged. That is, it may be impossible to visually see the situation in which the handle is rotated and the articles that are discharged therefrom, so that the identity of the article discharged according to the corresponding consideration payment and the article delivered to the user's hand cannot be recognized.

Therefore, in the article vending system of the present embodiment, the following error processing is performed so that the user can be provided with an appropriate condition according to the settlement state even when the state of possession due to the communication disconnection is released. operating. In addition, the configuration of the article vending system of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

"Error handling when cutting off"

In the following, the erroneous processing at the time of cutting by the control device 100 in the article vending system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6, and the erroneous processing at the time of cutting is an article vending device. When the user (the object vending device) is set to the user's possession state, the control device 100 executes the process when the communication with the user terminal 400 used by the user (occupied user) is disconnected. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading the corresponding processing program stored in, for example, the recording medium 102, expanding the memory 103, and executing the processing program.

In addition, it is assumed that the error processing at the time of the disconnection is started when the communication unit 107 receives information indicating that the communication connection with the user terminal 400 used by the user has been disconnected, for example, from the user terminal 400. Further, the error processing at the time of the cutting can be performed simultaneously with the article discharge processing of the first embodiment, and the timing at which the execution is started is independent of the execution state of the article discharge processing. That is, the detection of the communication disconnection in the game server 300 is executed independently of the settlement processing, and the information indicating that the communication connection has been disconnected is sent to the drive after the settlement processing is completed. The progress status of the processing executed and instructed is transmitted to the control device 100 regardless of the progress.

In S601, whether the checkout process of the consideration payment related to the discharge of the new article after the previous article discharge operation is completed is completed before the control unit 101 disconnects the communication with the user terminal 400 used by the user. Make a judgment. Whether or not the settlement processing has been completed may be determined by the control unit 101 inquiring the game server 300, or may be determined by whether or not the drive instruction based on the consideration payment has been received in the item S501 of the item discharge processing. The control unit 101 moves the process to S602 when it is determined that the checkout process related to the discharge of the new article (undischarged article) is completed before the communication disconnection, and when it is determined that the checkout process is not completed, Error handling when this cut is completed.

In S602, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the drive instruction of the target vending device related to the discharge of the undischarged article has been received from the game server 300. When the control unit 101 determines that the drive instruction has been received, the control unit 101 shifts the processing to S603, and repeats the processing of this step when it is determined that the drive instruction has not been received.

In S603, the control unit 101 causes the camera control unit 105 to start recording an image that has been accepted for input. Specifically, the control unit 101 associates the image captured by the first camera 110 or the second camera 120 with the user ID identifying the user, and stores it in, for example, the recording medium 102. At this time, the control unit 101 may synthesize the time stamp of the current time on the image to be stored in order to indicate that the stored image is captured in the state of the object vending device corresponding to the article discharge operation related to the undischarged article. Furthermore, it should be easily understood that the recording of the image associated with the user is not required to be executed every time the camera control unit 105 receives the image, but can be temporarily cached in the memory 103 or the like and executed at a specific timing.

In S604, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the article discharge operation related to the undischarged item has been completed. The control unit 101 can also perform the determination of this step based on, for example, S506 of whether or not the item discharge processing executed at the same time has been executed. When the control unit 101 determines that the item discharge operation related to the undischarged item has been completed, the process proceeds to S605, and when it is determined that the above operation is not completed, the process of this step is repeated.

In S605, the control unit 101 causes the camera control unit 105 to stop recording the image that has been accepted for input. Then, when the user of the user terminal 400 that has detected the communication disconnection performs the service registration again, the control unit 101 records the image group recorded for the user and the user terminal recorded for use by the user. The indication of the image group transmission of 400 is sent to the game server 300. Furthermore, when the communication connection is re-established, the recorded image group can also be instructed to sequentially transmit the image group in accordance with the shooting order.

According to the error processing at the time of the cutting, the user who performs the payment for the item discharge is surely executed the item discharging operation corresponding to the payment, instead of performing the price return. That is, even when the user terminal 400 is in an unstable communication environment, for example, as long as the waiting state is ended and at least the settlement processing is completed, the user can obtain the desired article of the selling title. This is in view of the fact that, as for the goods that are processed by the previous article vending device 200 and which have a limited number of productions and are easily out of stock due to the purchase of a plurality of users, from the viewpoint of securing the purchase opportunity of the user as much as possible Especially useful.

In the present embodiment, the camera control unit 105 sequentially records the image that has been accepted for input when the communication disconnection is detected. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. The recorded image is provided by a user who cannot use the service state due to the disconnection of the communication, and presents the fact that the article corresponding to the consideration payment has been discharged and the appearance of the discharged article. Therefore, at least the presentation is performed. The function of the information does not need to record the images used for input. Therefore, for example, the camera control unit 105 may acquire and record an image at an interval longer than the update interval of the image of the real-time display unit 405 presented on the dedicated page in the normal service use. In addition, it is also possible to form an image obtained by shooting in a state in which the handle is rotated, when the article is ejected, and when the ejected article is held by the article holding portion 211, and is determined to be suitable for the user to present.

Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the recording of the captured image is performed only when the communication disconnection is detected. However, for example, it can be configured as follows: after the article reaches the user's hand, In the way of confirmation, all items are discharged. Recording of images. Moreover, in the article vending system of the present invention, the captured image is sent to the plurality of user terminals 400 that are browsing the corresponding dedicated pages, so that the situation in which the articles are discharged by the other users' payment is observed. When the image is recorded or cached, this point can also be used to avoid crowding of the communication band. That is, the user terminal 400 that is used by the user is preferentially transmitted to the user terminal 400 that is responsive to the operation related to the discharge of the article, and the user terminal 400 used by the user who is viewing the image is not required. With such responsiveness, the transmission timing is dispersed by delaying the transmission of the image, and the congestion of the communication band can be avoided.

[Embodiment 3]

In the above-described first and second embodiments, it is assumed that the discharge of the article is performed by the drive command, and the drive command is outputted based on the one-time payment, and the drive system 201 performs an operation of presetting the one item. On the other hand, as described with reference to FIG. 8(a), since the turntable 206 is provided with a plurality of through holes 207a to 207e, in particular, even when there are a plurality of articles stored in the accommodating portion 204, even if the drive system 201 performs The drive associated with an item discharge action may also not discharge the item. That is, as shown in FIG. 8(b), in the direction of rotation of the turntable 206, the through hole 207b disposed immediately after the through hole 207a on the discharge port 208 before the driving does not hold the article, by one drive command In the state of Fig. 8(c), the article 802 is not discharged (so-called air strike). In the example of Fig. 8(b), in order to discharge the article 802, it is necessary to drive the drive system 201 four times from the state of Fig. 8(b). Further, since there are five through holes in the turntable 206 of the present embodiment shown in Fig. 8, it is possible to output the drive command at most four times in order to discharge the articles.

Generally, when the article vending apparatus 200 is installed at a store door or the like, the purchaser can see the bottom of the accommodating portion 204 from the side, thereby confirming whether the article is discharged by the following drive, for example, by allowing the clerk to change Configure to get the item. However, in the article vending system of the present invention, an additional camera device self-cost is provided for performing such confirmation. The aspect is not realistic, and the user cannot see the bottom of the accommodating portion 204. On the other hand, it is also conceivable that the operator manually moves, but the configuration change performed by the human element in the case where the user cannot see it may give the user an impression that the reliability of the service cannot be guaranteed.

In addition, in the case where the article-selling device 200 of the object is sold out due to the fact that the article is not discharged during the one-out article discharge operation, there is a possibility that the article that can be seen is not discharged when the article is stacked in a large amount. Sold out, still give users the impression that the reliability of service utilization cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, in such a box, it is also possible to reduce the revenue opportunities of the item provider.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an article selling system that reliably discharges all the articles stored in the storage unit 204 and ensures the reliability of service utilization will be described.

Item Discharge Processing

Hereinafter, the specific process will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 7 in the article discharge process performed by the control device 100 of the present embodiment. In addition, the same steps as those of the article discharge process of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the article discharge process of the present embodiment, the description of the step of performing the characteristic process will be described.

When it is determined in S501 that the drive instruction has been received, the drive control unit 104 outputs a drive command related to the discharge of the primary item to the drive system 201 of the target vending apparatus in S701. After outputting the drive command, the control section 101 shifts the processing to S702.

In S702, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the discharge of the article is detected between the time when the driving of the drive system 201 related to the discharge of the primary article is completed or the time during which the article is discharged by the drive to be discharged. Specifically, the control unit 101 performs the determination of this step by receiving a signal indicating that the article has been ejected from the discharge sensor 209. When the control unit 101 determines that the discharge of the article has been detected, the process proceeds to S503, and when it is determined that the discharge of the article is not detected, the process proceeds to S703.

In S703, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the number of times the drive command is output from the self-driving control unit 104 is set to a predetermined number of times for determining the sale status. When the control unit 101 determines that the number of times of outputting the drive command has reached the preset number of times, the process proceeds to S704, and when it is determined that the predetermined number of times has not been reached, the process returns to S701.

In S704, the control unit 101 transmits a notification of the sale status and the payment return instruction to the game server 300 via the communication unit 107. In the present embodiment, by informing that the sales status is the intention, the game server 300 excludes the link from the list page to the dedicated page of the target vending device, so that the user who is currently accessing the dedicated page is being made. The terminal 400 forcibly performs control of moving to the link page, for example. By setting in this way, the system can be controlled in any user terminal 400 in such a manner that the operation related to the discharge of the article of the target vending device is not accepted. However, the processing at the time of sale is not limited to this. In the case of the sold-out state, it is only necessary to prevent the driving of the target selling device, and the control device 100 does not accept the driving instruction, or can control the output of the driving command corresponding thereto even if the driving instruction is received. .

In the article discharge processing of the present embodiment, the control unit 101 shifts the processing to S505 after S704, in order to release the occupied state in the case of the sold out state.

As described above, according to the article vending system of the present embodiment, only the case where the article is not present in the accommodating portion 204 is handled as a sold-out state without human intervention, and as a result, the reliability of the service utilization can be ensured for the user. The profit opportunity of the seller of the goods can be guaranteed.

[variation]

In order to properly present the experience of the capsule vending machine to the user, it can also be constructed in such a manner that, for example, the operation involved in the discharge of the article or the rotation of the handle of the article vending device 200 will be sampled when the article vending device 200 is actually used. The sound is presented to the user terminal 400 along with the image. Moreover, it can also be configured that the drive command issued to the drive system 201 is not outputted once, and the drive system 201 is driven until the rotation of the turntable 206. In the same manner as the conventional article vending apparatus 200, the up-and-down through-holes 207 are arranged to output a drive command a plurality of times, thereby completing one rotation operation. In this case, it is also possible to accept the operation related to the discharge of the plurality of articles from the user terminal 400. The error processing at the time of the cutting according to the second embodiment is determined by the completion of the settlement processing by the first operation acceptance. can.

Further, in the article vending system of the above-described embodiment, the image captured by the two imaging devices of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 is presented on the real-machine display unit 405 of the dedicated page, but the present invention has been described. It does not necessarily need to be realized by switching two camera devices, and the camera device can also be one. In this case, if the imaging range of the grip of the article vending apparatus 200 and the storage unit 204 is different from the imaging range in which the item held by the article holding unit 211 is enlarged and captured, the imaging device is switched when the display mode is switched. The change of the photographing direction and the angle of view may be performed by the camera control unit 105.

Further, in the driving of the drive system 201 related to the discharge of the primary article, a plurality of articles are occasionally discharged, but may be set such as, for example, the appearance of the color of the discharged article by image analysis of the captured image. The features are sequentially displayed on the dedicated page, clearly indicating that the plurality of items are not displayed and the features of their appearance are obtained except for the original items. By setting this up, the fairness of service utilization between users can be guaranteed.

[Other Embodiments]

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the information processing device of the present invention can be realized by a program that causes one or more computers to function as the information processing device. The program can be provided/published by recording on a computer readable recording medium or by an electrical communication line.

S501~S506‧‧‧Steps

Claims (19)

An information processing apparatus, characterized in that it is connected to an item vending apparatus that discharges an item according to a consideration payment, and has: a receiving unit that receives a driving instruction corresponding to the consideration payment; an output unit that outputs a driving command, the driving command The first acquisition unit acquires the first image, the first acquisition unit, based on the fact that the receiving unit has received the drive instruction to drive the article discharge driving unit of the article vending device until the article is discharged from the article vending device; The image is obtained by capturing the driving unit according to the driving command output by the output unit; the second acquiring unit acquires the second image, and the second image pair is driven by the driving unit. And the control unit is controlled by the holding unit of the article selling device of the discharged article; and the control unit controls the first image or the process of discharging the article based on the driving instruction. The second image is sent to an external device; wherein the control unit is as follows Type control, i.e., to transmit the driving unit in the driving process of the first image to said external device, in particular during the driving of the driving unit to transmit the second image to said external device. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising a switching unit, wherein the switching unit receives an image switching instruction sent by the control unit, and the control unit switches the first image according to the switching unit having received the switching instruction Which of the second image and the image is to be transmitted. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising a detecting unit, wherein the detecting unit detects that the article has been discharged by driving of the driving unit, and The control unit switches the image transmitted to the external device to the second image based on the detection of the item discharge by the detecting unit. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising: a setting unit configured to set a state of occupation for one user by the use of the article vending device, and wherein the receiving unit sets the occupied state in the setting unit, Receiving the drive instruction when the user who has set the occupied state has paid the consideration, the setting unit cancels the user of the possession when the occupied user uses the condition of the article selling device to satisfy the release condition. Set the above possession status. The information processing device of claim 4, wherein the cancellation condition is that the number of articles that have been discharged from the article vending device by the occupying user reaches a threshold value, and the specific condition is passed without receiving the driving instruction. The case of time and any of the cases in which the communication connection with the above-mentioned external device used by the user is cut off. The information processing device of claim 4, further comprising a reporting unit, wherein the reporting unit reports that the setting unit has released the occupied state. The information processing device of claim 4, further comprising a recording unit, wherein the recording unit sequentially records the first image and the second image on a recording medium, and the control unit controls the following, that is, When the image transmission command relating to the occupied user is accepted, the image recorded on the recording medium is transmitted to the external device used by the user. The information processing device of claim 7, wherein before the communication connection with the external device used by the occupied user is cut off, the checkout process involving the consideration payment is completed, and the output unit has not output the corresponding drive command. In the case, the receiving unit receives the above driving instruction based on the checkout processing, The output unit outputs the corresponding drive command, the recording unit sequentially records the first image and the second image on the recording medium, and the control unit controls the use of the first image and the second image. When the communication connection of the external device used by the user is re-established, the image recorded on the recording medium is transmitted to the external device. The information processing device of claim 7, wherein the control unit controls the image to be recorded in a shooting order in a case where an image recorded on the recording medium is to be transmitted. The information processing device of claim 7, wherein the recording unit synthesizes the information indicating the shooting period on the first image and the second image, and records the combined image on the recording medium. The information processing device of claim 5, wherein the control unit is controlled to transmit to the machine other than the external device used by the user, in a manner that is delayed compared to the external device used by the user. The first image and the second image. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the transmission of the first image to the external device and transmits a reproduction instruction of the audio signal to the external device. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising a detecting unit, wherein the detecting unit detects that the item has been discharged by the driving of the driving unit, and the output unit is not detected by the driving command for the one-time payment. When the drive unit is driven to be discharged, the drive command for the primary consideration payment is output again. The information processing device of claim 13, wherein the control unit determines the return of the price involved in the driving instruction, and The output unit stops the output of the drive command even if the drive command for the one-time consideration payment does not detect the discharge of the article, and the control unit determines the return of the price involved in the drive instruction. The information processing device of claim 14, wherein the receiving unit does not perform the receiving of the driving instruction after the control unit has determined that the driving instruction relates to the return of the price. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the first image and the second image are images obtained by causing the same imaging device to execute an imaging command by the control unit, and the control unit causes the imaging When the device captures the second image, a control command is issued to the imaging device to change the imaging direction and the angle of view. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the article is an article having a toy body in a box formed of a light transmissive material and having any one of a plurality of colors. A control method for an information processing device, wherein: the information processing device is connected to an article vending device that discharges an item according to a consideration payment, and the control method has a receiving step of receiving a driving instruction corresponding to the consideration payment; and an outputting step And outputting a drive command, wherein the driving command is configured to drive the article discharge driving unit of the article vending device until the article is discharged from the article vending device, in response to receiving the driving instruction in the receiving step; and obtaining the article from the article vending device; And capturing an image obtained by the driving unit in accordance with the driving command outputted in the outputting step; and the second obtaining step of acquiring and maintaining the article selling device for holding and discharging the article discharged by the driving unit Images obtained by the Ministry; and The control step is controlled to transmit an image obtained in the first obtaining step or the second obtaining step to an external device during the process of discharging the article based on the driving instruction; wherein the controlling step The first image is transmitted to the external device during the driving of the driving unit, and the second image is transmitted to the external device during a specific period after the driving of the driving unit. An information processing program that functions as a unit of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17 for a computer connected to an article vending apparatus that discharges an item based on the consideration payment.