JP2005267273A - Vending machine, and vending machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the response while reducing a network load in a vending machine having purchase propriety determination function. <P>SOLUTION: A purchase propriety determination part 134 performs purchase propriety determination in reference to a white list storage part 154. The white list storage part 154 stores a list (white list) of users to which commodities may be sold by the vending machine 100. For example, those proven that commodities were sold by the vending machine 100 are listed. The purchase propriety determination part 134 makes an inquiry to a server 200 when a user 102 a commodity purchase request of which is accepted is not included in the white list, and acquires information for whether selling is permitted or not. When it is determined that the selling is permitted, the user ID of the user 102 is added to the white list, and a commodity is delivered through a delivery part 116. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine and a vending machine system having a purchase possibility determination function.

  In recent years, vending machines that perform authentication and settlement using IC tags and IC cards have been vigorously developed. For example, in the sale of alcohol and tobacco, the purchase permission condition is that the purchaser is an adult. By using the data carrier as described above, it is possible to easily perform adult authentication. Further, it is also effective when performing processing for prohibiting purchase of goods under certain conditions from the viewpoint of theft prevention. Furthermore, cashless settlement is possible by storing monetary value information in the data carrier.

  Patent Document 1 describes a vending machine that uses a blacklist to determine whether a product can be purchased. The vending machine described in this document is provided with a black list storage means for storing a list of credit cards prohibited from being used. The black list is acquired in advance from a computer of a credit card issuing company via communication means. The credit card identification data is extracted from the data read by the card reader and compared with the list stored in the black list storage means to determine whether the credit card corresponds to the list, and the determination corresponds to the list If so, the product selection switch is controlled to be inoperable.

  In this document, it is possible to select a determination using a black list storage means and a determination for making a credit inquiry to a computer of a credit card issuing company. When making a credit inquiry, each time a credit inquiry is made, it takes time and a line usage fee is also charged. For this reason, control such as making a credit inquiry only when used for the first time within a predetermined time is performed (paragraph 0049).

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for selling a product by storing a black list inside a vending machine and confirming the creditworthiness of a credit card used for purchasing the product. The black list is updated based on information from the card management center that is transmitted regularly or irregularly.

As described above, there has been known an example in which the black list acquired from the server is held in the vending machine and the purchase possibility determination is performed using the black list. However, with this method, there is a concern that things that should originally be put on the blacklist are not listed. In addition, each time a determination is made using the latest black list, it is necessary to access the server, resulting in an increase in network load and a delay in response. On the other hand, in order to reflect the latest list in the vending machine, it is conceivable to frequently transmit data from the server to the vending machine side by night batch or the like, but in that case, the communication cost becomes enormous. In particular, there are many vending machines, and the problem of increased costs is serious.
JP-A-8-273030 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-97668

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce a network load and improve a response in a vending machine having a purchase permission / inhibition determination function.

  According to the present invention, a purchase request receiving means for receiving a product purchase request from a user, and an access unit for accessing a data carrier presented by the user and acquiring a user identification code included in the data carrier A sales permission list storage unit having a sales permission list including an identification code of a user permitted to sell, and the sales permission list is accessed, and the identification code acquired by the access unit is the sales permission list A vending machine comprising: a purchase permission / rejection determination unit that determines whether or not the product is included in the sales permission list and the purchase permission determination unit that permits the purchase of the product when the identification information is included in the sales permission list. Provided.

  According to the present invention, the purchase permission / inhibition determination is quickly made by referring to the sales permission list held in the vending machine. For this reason, a network load can be reduced and a response can be improved. Further, since the list of users permitted to purchase (white list) is referred to, it is possible to reliably prevent the sale of products to purchase prohibitors as compared with the conventional technology that refers to the black list.

  In the present invention, a server access unit that accesses a server that manages information on the data carrier is further provided, and when the identification information is not included in the sales permission list, the purchase permission / inhibition determination unit includes the server access unit. The server can be inquired of whether or not the user can sell the product, and the product can be purchased based on the information acquired from the server.

  According to such a configuration, the server is inquired only when it cannot be determined inside the vending machine, so that the network load can be reduced and the response can be improved.

  In the present invention, the sales permission list may be a list of users who have used the vending machine. In addition, it may be configured to further include a sales permission list update unit that adds the identification code of the user to the sales permission list when the purchase permission / inhibition determination unit permits the product purchase based on the information acquired from the server. . By doing so, a user once permitted to sell using the vending machine is registered in the sales permission list, and from the next time, the product can be purchased with simple authentication. Thereby, the response can be further improved.

  The present invention may further include a determination unit that determines whether or not to purchase with reference to the identification code, and the determination unit and the purchase / non-purchase determination unit may both pay out a product when the purchase is permitted.

  Thus, by including the determination unit that performs the second determination, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not to purchase.

In such a configuration, a temporary list storage unit that holds a temporary list including an identification code of a user who prohibits the sale of products, a temporary list update unit that accesses the temporary list storage unit and updates the temporary list,
The determination unit determines whether or not an identification code of a user who has received a product purchase request is included in the temporary list, and the identification code of the user is included in the temporary list. The temporary list updating unit may add the identification code of the user to the temporary list when the determination unit prohibits the purchase of the product. The temporary list may be a list of users who are prohibited from purchasing when using the vending machine. By doing so, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not to purchase. Moreover, when it becomes necessary to perform the process which prohibits purchase of goods on fixed conditions from a viewpoint of theft prevention etc., this process can be performed simply.

  In the above configuration, the access unit writes a use stop bit to the data carrier when the bit read unit for reading the use stop bit written in the data carrier and the purchase permission / inhibition judgment unit prohibit the purchase of the product. A bit writing unit, and when the bit reading unit recognizes that the presented data carrier includes a use stop bit, the determination unit may prohibit the purchase of the product.

  By doing so, it is possible to easily determine whether or not to purchase by accessing the data carrier.

In the present invention, the access unit includes a value information acquisition unit that acquires the value information stored in the data carrier, a value information update unit that updates the value information stored in the data carrier,
The determination unit may compare the value information acquired from the data carrier with the price of the product requested for purchase to determine whether or not the purchase is possible. Here, the determination unit may be configured to determine whether or not the purchase is possible by comparing the upper limit of use of the data carrier and the accumulated use amount of the data carrier. In addition, the determination unit determines whether or not the cumulative usage amount can be updated when the cumulative usage amount of the data carrier exceeds the usage upper limit of the data carrier, and the determination unit determines that the cumulative usage amount can be updated. In this case, the access unit may access the data carrier, clear the accumulated usage amount to zero, and the determination unit may permit purchase of a product.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it comprises a plurality of vending machines and a server connected to the plurality of vending machines via a network, the plurality of vending machines according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The vending machine of the vending machine, wherein the server adds at least a part of the records included in the vending machine list stored in one vending machine to the sales permission list of another vending machine. There is provided a vending machine system characterized by comprising a section.

  In this vending machine system, the sales permission list is a list of users who have used the vending machine, and the identification code of the user who has been permitted to sell the vending machine and the vending machine used by the user. Vending machine identification code associated with the machine, the sales permission list management unit refers to the vending machine identification code to select the other vending machine to be added to the sales permission list It can be.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the vending machine includes a plurality of vending machines and a server connected to the plurality of vending machines via a network. The server includes a temporary list management unit that adds at least a part of a record included in a temporary list stored in one vending machine to a temporary list stored in another vending machine. A vending machine system is provided.

  In this vending machine system, the temporary list is a list of users who are prohibited from purchasing when using the vending machine, and the user's identification code for which purchase is prohibited, The vending machine identification code associated with the vending machine requested to purchase, and the sales authorization list management unit refers to the vending machine identification code and adds the temporary vending machine to the temporary list. It can be set as the structure which sorts.

  The data carrier in the present invention is used, for example, for the purpose of determining whether a user is an adult when selling a product. Such a method can suitably apply the sales regulations of products such as tobacco and alcoholic beverages that are prohibited by law from being sold to minors. In the present invention, an identification code is stored in the data carrier, and by referring to this identification code, it is determined whether or not sales are possible, for example, whether or not an adult. Here, in addition to the identification code, the data carrier may hold information such as a data carrier usage history in addition to the date of birth of the user.

  The data carrier in the present invention includes a non-contact type IC chip housed in a mobile phone or the like in addition to a non-contact type IC card and a non-contact type IC tag. It may be a card having other purposes other than obtaining a sales permission. For example, money value information (electronic money) may be held inside and settlement may be performed using this value information.

  The “product” in the present invention includes various types of products. For example, it can be a product having a property that sales are permitted only to those who satisfy certain requirements. Specifically, it can be made into a product having the property of permitting sales only to those who have reached the age stipulated by law, such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. In addition, the goods here are not limited to those in the form of goods, but also include services and information.

  The “user” in the present invention refers to a person who purchases a product using the vending machine according to the present invention.

  Although the configuration of the present invention has been described above, any combination of these configurations, or a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, and the like is also applicable to the present invention. It is effective as an embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the purchase permission / inhibition determination using the sales permission list or the like is performed, the network load can be reduced and the response can be improved in the vending machine having the purchase permission / inhibition determination function.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vending machine according to the present invention. When the vending machine 100 shown in the figure acquires predetermined information from the medium 104, determines whether or not to sell, and determines that it can be sold, the product is paid out. When a medium 104 having an electronic money function is used, the update process is also performed. The vending machine 100 is connected to the server 200 via a network, and acquires additional information from the server 200 when it is impossible to determine whether or not the information is obtained only from the medium 104. In this embodiment, an example in which an IC card is used as the medium 104 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the vending machine 100 in FIG. In this vending machine, a sample sample 301 is provided on the front panel, and product samples are displayed. This vending machine can not only purchase products with IC cards, but also purchase products with cash, and it is also possible to purchase products by using the cash shortage balance of IC cards. is there. For this purpose, a bill insertion slot 302, a change return lever 303, and a coin insertion slot 304 are provided on the front panel together with the IC card reader 305. And the change mouth 308 for taking out the change at the time of using cash is provided. The purchased product is taken out from the product exit 309. Note that the IC card use procedure and the like are navigated by the liquid crystal display unit 306.

  Hereinafter, the function of the vending machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The product purchase acceptance unit 112 accepts a product purchase request from the user 102. The purchase request is made by pressing a product button provided on the sample sample 301 in FIG. The accepted purchase request is sent to the initial check unit 120 to determine whether or not to sell.

The medium access unit 114 has a function of communicating with the medium 104 presented by the user 102. Predetermined information is acquired from the medium 104 and sent to the initial check unit 120. On the other hand, the information in the medium 104 is updated based on the information update request received from the initial check unit 120 or the purchase possibility determination unit 134. The medium access unit 114 can be configured as shown in FIG. 14, for example. In the example of FIG. 14, the medium access unit 114 includes a medium reading unit 160, a medium updating unit 162, a use stop bit reading unit 164, and a use stop bit updating unit 166. In the present embodiment, the following information is stored in the medium 104, and the medium reading unit 160 and the medium update unit 162 read and write these information.
(i) User ID
(ii) User's date of birth
(iii) Usage history of the medium Further, the medium 104 has a use stop bit writing area, and the use stop bit reading unit 164 and the use stop bit updating unit 166 read and write use stop bits in this area. I do.

  The payout unit 116 pays out the product to the user 102 when the initial check unit 120 and the purchase possibility determination unit 134 determine that the product can be sold as a result of the determination.

  The display unit 118 requests the user 102 for a predetermined process or displays that purchase is not permitted via a predetermined display screen. In addition, monetary value information included in the medium 104 such as a shortage of balance is also displayed as appropriate. In the present embodiment, such a message is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 306 in FIG.

  The initial check unit 120 includes a use stop bit check unit 122, a card use availability determination unit 124, an adult authentication unit 126, a medium type determination unit 128, a balance determination unit 130, and a timing unit 132.

  The use stop bit check unit 122 determines whether or not the use stop bit is included in the information stored in the medium 104. The use stop bit refers to information for prohibiting purchase written in the medium 104. If the vending machine 100 or the server 200 determines that the purchase is not possible, the vending machine 100 writes a use stop bit to the medium 104.

  The card availability determination unit 124 acquires information related to the expiration date of the medium 104 and determines whether the medium can be used. At that time, the timer unit 132 is referred to, and the current date and time and the expiration date and time are compared.

  The adult authentication unit 126 acquires the date of birth information of the user 102 stored in the medium 104 and compares the current date and time obtained from the time measuring unit 132 with the adult authentication.

  The medium type determination unit 128 determines the type of the medium 104. That is, it is determined whether or not the medium 104 has a settlement function, whether or not the medium 104 has information related to the user 102, and the like. Since the processing flow by the balance determination unit 130 and the purchase possibility determination unit 134 differs depending on the type of the medium 104, when the medium type determination unit 128 determines the medium type, the determination result is used as the balance determination unit 130 and the purchase possibility determination. Is transmitted to the unit 134.

  The balance determination unit 130 functions when the medium 104 has an electronic money function. The value (electronic money balance) stored in the medium 104 is determined. Further, the price of the product requested for purchase is compared with the balance of the medium 104 to determine whether or not the sale is possible.

  The timer unit 132 has a function of measuring the date and time. Adult authentication or the like is performed with reference to the measured date and time.

  The purchase permission / inhibition determination unit 134 refers to the white list storage unit 154 to make a purchase permission / inhibition determination. Here, the white list storage unit 154 stores a list of users (white list) who may sell products by the vending machine 100. For example, items that have been sold by the vending machine 100 before are listed.

  When the user 102 who has received the product purchase request is not included in the white list, the purchase permission / inhibition determination unit 134 makes an inquiry to the server 200 via the server access unit 138 and acquires information about whether the sale is possible. If it is determined from the information obtained from the server 200 that sales are possible, the user ID of the user 102 is added to the white list and the merchandise is paid out via the payout unit 116. The white list is updated through the list update unit 136. Further, when it is found as a result of accessing the server 200 that the user 102 is a use suspension target person, the list update unit 136 rewrites the contents of the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152 and performs a process of adding the user 102. .

  The server 200 includes a card use availability determination unit 202 and a use stop list storage unit 204. The card availability determination unit 202 accesses the usage suspension list storage unit 204 to determine whether or not the user 102 is a usage suspended person.

  In the present embodiment, when a user purchase request is made by the user 102, a purchase permission determination is performed, and the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152 and the white list are updated as appropriate. These lists may be updated as appropriate based on data transmitted from the server 200 to the vending machine 100. For example, a method in which data is periodically transmitted from the server 200 to the vending machine 100 and updated in a night batch or the like may be employed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a product sales flow by the vending machine 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. When a product purchase request is made by the user 102 (S102), the vending machine 100 is switched from the standby mode to the product sales mode (S104). After switching the mode, the user 102 is requested to present a medium. In response to this, the user 102 presents the medium to a predetermined part of the vending machine (S106). Then, the vending machine 100 executes an initial check flow according to a predetermined algorithm (S108). As a result, when it is determined that the sale is impossible, the purchase unavailable display is performed to the user 102 (S110). On the other hand, if it is determined that sales are possible, the white list is collated (S112). If the user 102 is included in the white list, the product is paid out (S114). If the name of the user 102 is not described in the white list, a predetermined matching process is performed on the server (S116). In response to the request for collation, the server 200 searches for a record in a predetermined database using information stored in the medium 104 as a key, and determines whether the medium presented by the user 102 is available (S118). . As described above, according to the flow of the present embodiment, a purchase eligibility determination is easily made using a white list, but purchase eligibility is given to a user who is not registered in the white list by checking the server. Procedures are taken. As a result, it is possible to quickly and appropriately determine whether purchase is possible.

  After receiving the determination result, the vending machine 100 determines whether or not to permit the purchase. In the case of permitting, the information of the user 102 is written in the white list, the user 102 is registered as an authorized person (S126), and the requested product is paid out (S128). As a result of this registration processing, the purchase is permitted only by collating with the white list for the next and subsequent purchases, and the product can be purchased quickly. On the other hand, when the purchase is not permitted, the use stop processing flow is executed (S123). Then, the purchase prohibition display is performed for the user 102 (S124).

  Next, the contents of the initial check flow (S108) in the flow shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the initial check flow. When a medium is presented by the user 102 (S106), the vending machine 100 first checks the medium type (S151). Next, the information in the medium is checked to determine whether or not a use stop bit is included (S152). When the use stop bit is included, the purchase prohibition display is performed (S126). If the use stop bit is not included, the use stop temporary list is checked, and it is determined whether or not the information of the user 102 is included in this list (S154). If it is included in the list, after performing the process of writing the use stop bit to the presented medium (S156), the purchase prohibition display is performed (S126). On the other hand, if the list does not contain information on the user 102, adult authentication is performed (S158). If it is determined that the sale is impossible as a result of the authentication, a purchase impossible display is performed (S126). If it is determined that the purchase is possible, the expiration date of the presented medium is checked (S160). If the expiration date has passed, a purchase impossibility display is performed (S126). If it is determined that it is within the expiration date, a medium type check is performed (S162). The medium type check determines whether or not the medium has a settlement function, whether or not personal information is included in the medium, and the like. When the above processing is completed, the process proceeds to the white list matching step in FIG. 3 (S112).

  Next, the contents of the use stop processing flow (S123) in the flow shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the contents of the use stop processing flow (S123). The use stop processing flow (S123) is a flow that is performed when it is confirmed that the user 102 is a sales disallowed person as a result of collation with the server 200. For example, such processing is performed when the medium presented by the user 102 has been notified of loss by the authorized owner and the user 102 is not considered to be the authorized owner. Alternatively, even if the user 102 is a legitimate owner, such a process is also performed when it is determined from the past purchase profit that it is necessary to stop selling the product. Specifically, first, the information of the initial check unit 120 is written to the use suspension temporary list (S180), and then the use suspension bit is written to the medium 104 presented by the user 102 (S182). Thereafter, a purchase prohibition display is performed for the user 102 (S184).

  Next, effects of the vending machine according to the present embodiment and a system including the same will be described.

In the present embodiment, by adopting the following method, it is determined whether or not certain purchases can be made inside the vending machine 100 without accessing the server 200.
(i) The availability determination is performed by checking the use stop bit written in the medium 104.

When the vending machine 100 determines that the purchase is not possible in order to purchase the product, a use stop bit is written in the medium 104 of the user. By determining this bit, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not to purchase.
(ii) Access to the temporary suspension storage unit 152 (FIG. 1) is made, and a determination is made with reference to the person registered in the vending machine 100 as the suspension of use.

When the vending machine 100 determines that purchase is not possible in order to purchase a product, the user is registered as a use suspended person (purchased unauthorized person) in the use suspended temporary list storage unit 152. By referring to this list, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not to purchase. Even when the purchase disapproval determination is made and the use stop bit is not written for some reason, an accurate determination can be made by referring to the list.
(iii) Access to the white list storage unit 154 (FIG. 1), and determine whether or not it is possible by referring to a person registered in the vending machine 100 as a purchase authorized person.

  Since it has already been determined that a user who has purchased a product with the vending machine 100 can purchase, the access to the server 200 is omitted and the purchase is permitted with a simple check flow. In addition, since it may be possible to purchase in the past, but it may be in a state where the purchase is not possible after that, the initial flow check is an essential flow in the present embodiment.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since a certain purchase possibility determination is made by the process of closing inside the vending machine 100, the time from the presentation of the medium 104 to the response can be greatly shortened. In the conventional method, it is necessary to access a predetermined server from a vending machine in order to collate a black list or the like, and there is a problem that a network load is large and it takes time from media presentation to response. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, this problem is solved.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the medium 104 is presented to determine whether or not to purchase, and the settlement of merchandise has been described using an example of cash. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which settlement is performed using money value information (electronic money). In this embodiment, the medium 104 stores monetary value information (electronic money) in addition to the above (i) to (iii).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the vending machine according to the present embodiment. Compared with FIG. 1, the point provided with the specification preparation part 140 and specification DB142 differs. The settlement flow described later is performed by the balance determination unit 130 and the statement creation unit 140 of FIG. The balance determining unit 130 recognizes the value information of the presented medium 104 and determines whether or not to purchase. If the balance is insufficient, the user 102 is requested to add cash. The specification creation unit 140 creates a specification after selling the product and stores it in the specification DB 142. The stored specification is periodically transmitted to the server 200 via the server access unit 138.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow realized by the configuration shown in FIG. A flow in the case where the product is settled by money value information (electronic money) stored in the medium 104 is shown. Although it is substantially the same as the flow of FIG. 3, when performing the process which pays out goods, it differs in the point which performs a payment flow (S130). Other than the payment flow (S130) is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the processing contents of the settlement flow (S130) in FIG. First, the value in the presented medium is grasped, and the magnitude relationship between the balance and the product price is determined (S202).

  If the balance is equal to or greater than the product price, a request for presenting the medium is made to the user 102 (S216). When a medium is presented corresponding to this (S217), the value information stored in the medium is updated in the vending machine 100, and the balance is updated (S218). Thereafter, the merchandise is paid out (S219), a description relating to the merchandise sales is created, and a detail list is held in the vending machine 100 (S220).

  If the balance is less than the product price, the user 102 is requested to add cash (S204). When cash is inserted correspondingly (S206), the amount of money is counted (S208), and the relationship between the value in the medium and the total amount of cash and the product price is determined again (S210). If cash is not added, or if the product price is still larger even if cash is added, a purchase disapproval display is performed (S214). If the total amount of the balance and the input amount is equal to or higher than the product price, a request for presenting a medium is made to the user 102 (S216). When a medium is presented corresponding to this (S217), the value information stored in the medium is updated in the vending machine 100, and the balance is updated (S218). Thereafter, the merchandise is paid out (S219), a description relating to the merchandise sales is created, and a detail list is held in the vending machine 100 (S220). The detail list created in the above steps is periodically transmitted to the server 200 through night batch processing or the like.

  According to the present embodiment, settlement by the medium 104 can be quickly performed without accessing the server 200, the network load can be reduced, and the operability of the vending machine is significantly improved. Further, even if there is a shortage amount, it is possible to purchase merchandise by adding cash, so it is possible to prevent a sales opportunity from being lost due to a shortage of media balance.

Third Embodiment The present embodiment relates to a configuration example of a vending machine system that performs settlement using money value information (electronic money).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the vending machine 100, the server 200, and the settlement organization 300 according to the present embodiment. The vending machine 100 has the same configuration as that in FIG. 1, and only the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152, the white list storage unit 154, and the server access unit 138 are shown here. Other configurations are the same as the vending machine 100 of FIG. The server 200 includes a card use availability determination unit 202 and a use suspension list storage unit 204. The server 200 and the vending machine 100 have a one-to-many relationship, and the server 200 collects information from a plurality of vending machines 100.

  When receiving a purchase request for a product from the user, the vending machine 100 refers to the white list storage unit 154 and the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152 to determine whether or not to sell. As described in the first embodiment, when it cannot be determined by referring to these lists, the server access unit 138 acquires information from the server 200 and determines whether or not it is possible based on this information.

  In response to a request from the server access unit 138, the card availability determination unit 202 determines whether the card presented by the user can be used. In the determination, a list of use suspended persons stored in the use suspension list storage unit 204 is searched to determine whether or not the user exists in the use suspension list storage unit 204. Specifically, a record including this ID is searched using the user ID acquired from the medium 104 as a key. If such a record is not in the list, it is determined that it can be used. The determination result is transmitted to the server access unit 138 via the network. The use suspension list storage unit 204 stores the latest information on use suspension based on information obtained from a plurality of vending machines 100 and information received from the settlement organization 300. Records included in the use suspension list storage unit 204 may be periodically updated with transmission information from the settlement organization 300. Furthermore, the content of the updated use suspension list storage unit 204 may be appropriately transmitted to the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152, and the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152 may be updated. Here, the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152 is designed to have a smaller file size and higher access speed than the use suspension list storage unit 204. Therefore, it is not necessary to reflect the update information in the use suspension list storage unit 204 in the use suspension temporary list storage unit 152, and even if it is reflected, the update information is limited to information about past users of the vending machine 100. It is desirable to take such a method.

  The configuration of the server 200 can also be as shown in FIG. In the illustrated configuration, the card availability determination unit 202 refers to the usage suspension list storage unit 204 to determine whether or not the card can be used, and the credit unit 206 refers to the credit suspension list storage unit 208 to determine whether the user It is determined whether or not the person is a trustee. If the information from such a list cannot be determined, the settlement institution inquiry unit 210 accesses the settlement institution 300, obtains necessary information, and finally determines whether it is possible. The determination result by the settlement organization 300 is sent to the vending machine transmission data creation unit 201, processed into an appropriate format, and sent to the vending machine 100. The data in the credit suspension list storage unit 208 is updated as appropriate based on information periodically transmitted from the clearing house 300. Thereby, relatively latest information is reflected in these lists.

  According to the configuration of the present embodiment, only when the vending machine 100 cannot determine whether or not the purchase is possible, the server 200 and the settlement organization 300 are requested to determine whether or not the purchase is possible. For this reason, the network load can be reduced and the operability of the vending machine is significantly improved.

Fourth Embodiment This embodiment is an example of a vending machine system that performs settlement using money value information (electronic money). In the present embodiment, the purchase exceeding the medium use upper limit (credit upper limit) is permitted under a certain condition. In other words, if the presented medium exceeds the usage upper limit, processing for clearing the accumulated usage amount of the medium is performed to make the purchase possible.

  The vending machine according to the present embodiment is roughly the same as that shown in FIG. On the other hand, the server 200 connected to the vending machine has a configuration shown in FIG. The configuration shown in FIG. 11 is obtained by adding a cumulative usage amount clear processing unit 209 and a clear processing list storage unit 211 to the configuration of FIG. The clear process list storage unit 211 is a list of users who are allowed to clear the accumulated usage amount. Users who are judged to have no problem even if the usage amount is cleared are listed in this list. Even for a good user, the accumulated usage amount may exceed the usage upper limit depending on the timing of use and payment. Giving such users the convenience of purchase permission is reasonable for both the seller and the purchaser. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the accumulated usage amount is cleared for users who satisfy certain conditions. The clear process list storage unit 211 stores information on users who satisfy these conditions. The accumulated usage amount clear processing unit 209 refers to the clear processing list storage unit 211 and determines whether or not the accumulated usage amount clear processing is possible.

  Hereinafter, the flow of processing by the vending machine system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of a flow according to the present embodiment. The processing procedure is the same up to the flow shown in the second embodiment (FIG. 7) and the step (S112) for collating the white list. When the user ID is checked against the white list (“Y” in S112 in FIG. 7), or when the ID is determined to be a purchase OK even if there is no ID in the white list. (“Y” in S120 in FIG. 7), the process proceeds to the use upper limit collation step (S113).

  If the product price is equal to or lower than the upper limit of use, white list writing in FIG. 7 is performed (S126 in FIG. 7). If the user is already registered in the white list, this step is omitted. Thereafter, the payout (S128) and the settlement flow (S130) are executed according to the flow shown in FIG.

  When the product price exceeds the usage upper limit, the accumulated usage amount clear process (S150) is executed.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating details of the accumulated usage amount clear process (S150). Verification is performed from the vending machine 100 to the server 200 (S151), and in response to this, the server 200 performs a predetermined process. First, the user stop list is collated (S152). When the user is included in this list, the use stop processing flow (S122) is executed. When the user is not included in the list, the credit stop person list is collated (S154). If the user is included in this list, the above-described settlement flow (S130) is executed. When the user is not included in the list, the accumulated usage amount clear processing unit 209 accesses the clear processing list storage unit 211 and collates a list of users whose accumulated usage amount can be updated (S156).

  If the user ID is included in the list as a result of checking the list of users who can update the usage amount, the accumulated usage amount is cleared (S132), and then the whitelist writing step (S112) and the settlement flow ( S114) is executed. When the user is not included in the list, the use stop processing flow (S122) is executed. As described above, the accumulated usage amount clear process flow is performed.

When the user is not included in the usage amount updatable user list, a flow for updating the usage amount updatable user list may be executed. There are various procedures for the specific flow. For example, it can be as follows.
(i) Using the medium ID as a key, an inquiry is made to the settlement institution, and information regarding the credit line of the user is acquired. The credit limit means an upper limit value when the current credit limit is expanded.
(ii) Confirm whether the credit limit acquired in (i) above does not exceed the accumulated usage amount. If it does not exceed, the accumulated usage amount is cleared (S132), and if it exceeds, the usage stop processing flow (S122) is executed.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to smoothly sell a product to a user who has a medium that has exceeded the upper limit of use for some reason. Further, since the purchase availability determination is performed by referring to the list such as the clear processing list storage unit 211 held by the server 200, the network load is remarkably reduced as compared with the system that sequentially checks with the financial institution for the availability determination. And responsiveness is greatly improved. Thereby, a vending machine system excellent in responsiveness and operability is realized.

Fifth Embodiment In this embodiment, in the vending machine system shown in the third embodiment (FIG. 9), the server 200 has a white list and a use suspension temporary list stored in one vending machine. A part of the records included in is added to the list of other vending machines. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of the vending machine system according to the present embodiment.

  The server 200 includes a white list management unit 250, a use suspension temporary list management unit 252 and an integrated white list 254 in addition to the one shown in FIG. The integrated white list 254 stores a list in which white lists acquired from a plurality of vending machines 100 connected to the server 200 are integrated.

  The white list management unit 250 accesses the integrated white list 254, extracts a part of the records included in the white list stored in one vending machine, and extracts this from other vending machines via the network. Access the whitelist storage and add to the list. This process is performed in a night batch or the like.

Records included in the white list have the following fields:
(i) User ID
(ii) Vending machine identification code that has been written to the white list
(iii) Date and time when the user was written in the whitelist The whitelist management unit 250 extracts the above (ii) from the extracted record, and searches for the identification code of the vending machine in the neighborhood area of the vending machine. The identification code of the vending machine in the neighboring area is obtained by searching a database including data relating the identification code and the vending machine installation area.

  The use suspension temporary list management unit 252 accesses the use suspension list storage unit 204, extracts a part of the records included in the use suspension temporary list stored in one vending machine, and extracts this through the network. Access to the temporary stop storage unit of other vending machines and add to the list. This process is performed in a night batch or the like.

A record included in the temporary stop list has the following fields.
(i) User ID
(ii) Identification code of the vending machine that performed the write processing to the temporary stop use list
(iii) The date / time use suspension temporary list management unit 252 when the user is written in the suspension temporary list, extracts the above (ii) from the extracted record, and identifies vending machines in the neighborhood area of the vending machine Find the code. The identification code of the vending machine in the neighboring area is obtained by searching a database including data relating the identification code and the vending machine installation area.

  The operability of the vending machine is further improved by reflecting the white list and the suspension temporary list on the vending machines in the neighboring area. For example, since a user often purchases a product in the same region, when purchasing with a certain vending machine, the user tends to purchase the product again with a vending machine in the adjacent area. With the above configuration, once a vending machine is registered in the whitelist, other vending machines can be purchased with the whitelist and can be purchased quickly. Become.

  In addition, when there is a theft or the like and it is desired to quickly reflect the use suspension processing, it is effective to reflect the result of the use suspension processing performed by a certain vending machine to another vending machine. The system of this embodiment enables such a treatment.

Sixth Embodiment In the first embodiment and the like, an IC card is used as the medium 104 and the following information is stored.
(i) User ID
(ii) User's date of birth
(iii) Usage history of the medium In contrast, in this embodiment, an IC tag that stores only the item (i) is used.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration of the vending machine system according to the present embodiment. Most of the initial check unit 120 in FIG. 1 is moved to the server 200 side. 121 accesses the IC tag information DB 155 and performs a predetermined initial check. The contents of the initial check are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the vending machine 100 performs the use stop bit check, the purchase permission determination by the use stop temporary list, and the purchase permission determination by the white list, and the server 200 performs other checks.

  According to the configuration of the present embodiment, since only a minimum amount of information is stored in the medium 104, damage due to loss or alteration of the medium 104 can be prevented, which is effective in terms of security.

  The preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that those skilled in the art can modify the above-described embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, two methods of cash settlement and pay-pay are described as examples, but a post-pay method may be used.

  Although cigarettes are given as examples of products for sale, the present invention can be applied to other products. This is particularly effective when the product has a property that is allowed to be sold only to those who satisfy certain requirements, such as alcoholic beverages.

1 is a schematic view of a system including a vending machine according to the present invention. 1 is an external view of a vending machine according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence in the vending machine system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the initial check flow. It is a flowchart which shows the content of a use stop process flow. 1 is a schematic view of a system including a vending machine according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence in the vending machine system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing content of the payment flow in FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system including a vending machine according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a server. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a server. It is a figure which shows the process sequence in the vending machine system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence in the vending machine system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of a medium access part. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a server. 1 is a schematic view of a system including a vending machine according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vending machine 102 User 104 Medium 112 Goods purchase reception part
114 Medium access unit
116 Dispensing department
118 Display
122 Use stop bit check part
124 Card usage determination unit 126 Adult authentication unit 128 Medium type determination unit 130 Balance determination unit 132 Timekeeping unit 134 Purchase availability determination unit 136 List update unit 138 Server access unit 140 Specification creation unit 142 Specification DB
152 Use stop temporary list storage unit 154 White list storage unit 155 IC tag information DB
160 Medium Reading Unit 162 Medium Updating Unit 164 Usage Stop Bit Reading Unit 166 Usage Stop Bit Updating Unit 200 Server 201 Vending Machine Transmission Data Creation Unit 202 Card Use Availability Determination Unit 204 Usage Stop List Storage Unit 206 Credit Unit 208 Credit Stop List Storage 209 Cumulative usage amount clear processing unit 210 Settlement organization inquiry unit 211 Clear processing list storage unit 250 White list management unit 252 Suspension temporary list management unit 254 Integrated white list 300 Settlement organization 301 Sample sample 302 Bill insertion slot 303 Lever 304 Coin insertion Mouth 305 Card reader 306 Liquid crystal display 308 Change outlet 309 Product exit ID

Claims (15)

A purchase request receiving means for receiving a product purchase request from a user;
An access unit for accessing a data carrier presented by the user and obtaining an identification code of the user included in the data carrier;
A sales permission list storage unit having a sales permission list including an identification code of a user authorized to sell;
When accessing the sales permission list, determining whether the identification code acquired by the access unit is included in the sales permission list, and when the identification information is included in the sales permission list A purchase permission / rejection determination unit that permits the purchase of the product;
Vending machine characterized by comprising. In the vending machine according to claim 1,
A server access unit for accessing a server for managing information of the data carrier;
When the identification information is not included in the sales permission list, the purchase permission / inhibition determination unit inquires of the server whether or not the server can be sold through the server access unit, and based on the information acquired from the server A vending machine characterized by determining whether or not a product can be purchased. In the vending machine according to claim 2,
An automatic sales permission list updating unit for adding an identification code of the user to the sales permission list when the purchase permission / rejection determination unit permits the purchase of a product based on the information acquired from the server; Vending machine. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vending machine, wherein the sales permission list is a list of users who have used the vending machine. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A determination unit for determining whether or not to purchase with reference to the identification code;
A vending machine characterized in that the determination unit and the purchase possibility determination unit are both configured to pay out a product when the purchase is permitted. In the vending machine according to claim 5,
A temporary list storage unit that holds a temporary list including an identification code of a user who is prohibited from selling the product;
A temporary list update unit for accessing the temporary list storage unit and updating the temporary list;
Further comprising
The determination unit determines whether or not an identification code of a user who has received a product purchase request is included in the temporary list, and purchases a product when the user identification code is included in the temporary list. Ban
The temporary list updating unit adds an identification code of the user to the temporary list when the determination unit prohibits purchase of a product. In the vending machine according to claim 6,
2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the temporary list is a list of users whose purchase is prohibited when the vending machine is used. The vending machine according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The access unit includes a bit reading unit that reads a use stop bit written on the data carrier, and a bit writing unit that writes a use stop bit on the data carrier when the purchase possibility determination unit prohibits purchase of a product. ,
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein when the bit reading unit recognizes that the presented data carrier includes a use stop bit, the determination unit prohibits purchase of a product. The vending machine according to any one of claims 5 to 8,
The access unit is
A value information acquisition unit for acquiring value information stored in the data carrier;
A value information update unit for updating value information stored in the data carrier;
Including
The determination unit compares the value information acquired from the data carrier with the price of a product requested for purchase, and determines whether or not the purchase is possible. The vending machine according to any one of claims 5 to 9,
The determination unit compares the use upper limit of the data carrier with the accumulated use amount of the data carrier, and determines whether or not purchase is possible. The vending machine according to any one of claims 5 to 10,
The determination unit determines whether or not the cumulative usage amount can be updated when the cumulative usage amount of the data carrier exceeds a usage upper limit of the data carrier;
When the determination unit determines that the cumulative usage amount can be updated, the access unit accesses the data carrier, clears the cumulative usage amount to zero, and the determination unit permits the purchase of a product. Vending machine. A plurality of vending machines, and a server connected to the plurality of vending machines via a network,
The plurality of vending machines are vending machines according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The server includes a sales permission list management unit that adds at least a part of a record included in a sales permission list stored in one vending machine to a sales permission list of another vending machine. Vending machine system. The vending machine system according to claim 12,
The sales permission list is a list of users who have used the vending machine, and the vending machine associated with the vending machine used by the user and the identification code of the user permitted to sell. Machine identification code,
The vending machine system, wherein the vending machine management unit selects the other vending machine to be added to the vending machine with reference to the vending machine identification code. A plurality of vending machines, and a server connected to the plurality of vending machines via a network,
The plurality of vending machines are vending machines according to claim 5,
The server includes a temporary list management unit that adds at least a part of a record included in a temporary list stored in one vending machine to a temporary list stored in another vending machine. Vending machine system. The vending machine system according to claim 14,
The temporary list is a list of users who are prohibited from purchasing when using the vending machine. The temporary list includes an identification code of the user who is prohibited from purchasing and a vending machine requested by the user to purchase a product. And an associated vending machine identification code,
The vending machine system, wherein the sales permission list management unit selects the other vending machines to be added to a temporary list with reference to the vending machine identification code.

Images