JP2006350804A - Charging system of compound machine using coupon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use the function of a compound machine at a comparatively low price by using a coupon ticket, and to restrict the use of the coupon ticket only once particularly depending upon its type. <P>SOLUTION: A reader provided in this compound machine reads the coupon ticket, and charging systems are changed in accordance with the content of the coupon ticket. An inherent number is assigned to the coupon ticket, and the inherent number of the used coupon ticket is recorded in machine body or a server to thereby prevent the coupon ticket from being reused. The compound machine issue a change coupon ticket so that inconvenient change may not be issued when charging is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-function peripheral equipped with a reading device such as a scanner, and more particularly to a multi-function peripheral that charges a user according to the use of a service.

  Many conventional multifunction devices that charge users charge a uniform amount according to the use of services. Some non-uniform ones change the amount depending on the resource used, but the amount did not differ depending on the user using the service.

As a conventional example, for example, Patent Document 1 can be cited.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-105415

  In recent years, many multifunction devices have been installed in convenience stores. One of its purposes is to seek profits from copying fees. Another purpose is to create a chance for customers to visit the store and purchase other products. The present invention provides this sales promotion effect by issuing and using a coupon for using a multifunction device, and customers are asked to visit the store to check the performance and new functions of the multifunction device. It is for doing so. It is also an issue to prevent the used coupons from being used twice.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, a coupon is read by a reading device provided in a multifunction peripheral, and the charge system is switched according to the contents. In addition, a unique number is assigned to the coupon and the unique number of the used coupon is recorded on the device main body or the server, thereby avoiding reuse. Furthermore, a change coupon is issued in the multi-function peripheral so that it is not necessary to issue an inconvenient change at the time of billing.

  As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to read a coupon ticket with a reading device provided in the multifunction peripheral, and to switch the charge system according to the content. Moreover, reuse can be avoided by assigning a unique number to the coupon and recording the unique number of the used coupon on the apparatus main body or the server. Furthermore, a change coupon can be issued in the multi-function peripheral so that it is not necessary to issue an inconvenient change at the time of billing.

Example 1
[FIG. 1] is a system configuration diagram of the present embodiment. 104 is a multi-function machine, and it is assumed that it is installed in a public place such as a convenience store. The multifunction machine 104 includes a scanner unit 107 and a printer unit 108, which can read a document and output a printed matter, respectively. The multi-function device 104 also includes a storage unit 109, which can hold a fee table at the time of service provision, ticket information used so far, and the like. These pieces of information can be set from the dictating server 105. In addition, the multifunction device 104 has a built-in clock function 110 so that the current time can be obtained. The MFP 104 is further connected to the server 105 via the Ethernet (registered trademark). The connection method may be via a broadband router or a telephone line, but the specific connection method is not important here, so it will not be described in particular. The multifunction device 104 is connected to a coin device 106. The connection method may be RS-232C cable or USB cable, but the specific connection method will not be explained here either. The coin device 106 allows the user to insert coins, prepaid cards, and the like. The coin device 106 can deduct the designated amount from the inserted coin or prepaid card according to the instruction from the multifunction device 104. In addition, it is possible to take out extra coins or prepaid cards according to user instructions. When the user uses the copy or fax function of the multifunction device 104, the multifunction device 104 gives an instruction to the coin device 106 according to the usage amount, and can charge the user.

  The scanner unit 107 of the multi-function peripheral 104 can also read a membership ticket 101, a coupon ticket 102, and a change ticket 103, among other documents. By reading these, the user is charged a discounted fee when using the copy or fax function of the multifunction peripheral 104 as compared with the case where the user does not read.

  [Figure 2] shows examples of coupons, membership tickets, and change tickets. 101 indicates a membership ticket, 102 indicates a coupon ticket, and 103 indicates a fishing ticket. In this example, the membership card 101 can be used with two discounts for copy and fax functions. This membership card can be used any number of times until July 1, 2004. The coupon ticket 102 is free up to five color copies. However, it is valid only at certain stores until August 31, 2003, and coupons are invalid once used. The change ticket 103 is equivalent to 8 yen, and when the service is used in the multifunction machine 104, the discount is 8 yen. Membership ticket 101, coupon ticket 102, and change ticket 103 have ticket information written on bar code 201, respectively, and are easy to read by scanner unit 107 of multifunction device 104. The bar code 201 shown in FIG. 2 is not particularly conscious of the standard, but of course other forms are possible. The use of IC tags such as RFID is also conceivable.

  [FIG. 3] is a configuration diagram of the ticket information. The ticket information includes six pieces of information, which represent 301 ticket types, 302 service contents, 303 ticket unique numbers, 304 device identifiers, 305 store group identifiers, and 306 ticket validity numbers, respectively. The ticket type 301 indicates the type of ticket, and this information indicates whether the read ticket is a member ticket, a coupon ticket or a fishing ticket. The service content 302 represents how the read ticket is used. The example in [Figure 2] shows whether up to 5 color copies are free, whether copies and faxes can be used at 2 discounts, or whether the service usage is discounted by 8 yen. The ticket unique number 303 is a number uniquely assigned to the read ticket. The device identifier 304 represents the device or store where the ticket was issued. When the value is 000, the device / store is not limited. Store group identifier 305 represents the store group from which the ticket was issued. In this embodiment, a franchise chain “convenience store 01” of a convenience store is represented. Reference numeral 307 denotes an expiration date, which represents the date when the ticket can be used last. The ticket validity number 306 is a number for verifying whether the content represented by the ticket information is correct. In this embodiment, the validity of the ticket is obtained by applying a hash function to the information including the ticket type 301, the service content 302, the ticket unique number 303, the device identifier 304, the store group identifier 305, and the secret number of the expiration date 307. The number 306 is recorded in the ticket information.

  FIG. 4 shows a user interface provided in the multifunction machine 104. Particularly relevant in this embodiment are 402 coupon button, 404 start button and 405 stop button. In order to read the coupon, etc., first, the coupon button 402 is pressed, and then the coupon is placed on the scanner unit 107 and the start button 404 is pressed. When taking a copy, place the document on the scanner unit 107 and press the start button 404. Press the stop button 405 when the series of steps is complete.

  [Figure 5] shows a flow chart showing a series of procedures including handling ticket information and issuing change tickets. Here, the operation after pressing the coupon button 402 and the start button 404 will be described. When the coupon ticket button 402 is not pressed, it is a normal copying operation, and therefore the description thereof is omitted in the present invention. After the start button 404 is pressed, a coupon or the like placed on the scanner unit 107 is read in step 501. In this algorithm, there are four variables, “free number of sheets”, “copy discount rate”, “FAX discount rate” and “discount”. In step 502, these variables are initialized. When it is determined that there is a free ticket in the image read in step 501 (step 503), the validity is confirmed in step C1, and the number information included in the ticket information in the variable “free number” Is added. The confirmation work in Step C1, Step C2, and Step C3 will be described later. If it is determined that there is a fishing ticket or discount ticket in the image read in step 501 (step 505), the validity is confirmed in step C2, and the variables "copy discount rate" and "FAX discount rate" Set the discount rate included in the ticket information. When it is determined that there is a fishing ticket / discount ticket in the image read in step 501 (step 503), the validity is confirmed in step C3, and the variable “discount” is included in the ticket information. Add discount amount. The procedure from step 503 to step 508 is repeated until there is no more ticket information to be read. Next, in step 510, a service to be charged is provided. This includes functions such as copying and faxing. However, since these are general functions, they are not described here. When one service is provided, the variable “free number” is subtracted in step 511 according to the number of copies consumed in step 510. If it is determined in step 511 that the variable “free number” has become a negative number, the service charge is obtained from the storage means 109 in step 512, and the variables “copy discount rate” and “ A charging fee is calculated from the “fax discount rate” and a charging instruction is sent to the coin device 106. The coin device 106 deducts the billing amount from the amount deposited based on this instruction. If it is detected in step 514 that the stop button 405 has been pressed, it is determined in next step 515 whether fishing is necessary, and in step 516 the amount of fishing is calculated. Here, a change of 10 yen or more is returned as coins from the coin device 106. On the contrary, the fishing ticket 103 is issued separately from the printer unit 108 for fishing less than 10 yen.

  Now, in order to determine the validity of the ticket information read in Step C1, Step C2 and Step C3, the procedure as shown in FIG. 6 is taken. First, in step 601, it is confirmed whether or not the ticket validity number 306 included in the ticket information is consistent with the contents of other ticket information as explained in the explanation of FIG. Next, in step 602, the expiration date 307 is confirmed using the clock function 110. Further, in step 603, it is determined whether the ticket information read from the ticket type 301 is valid only once. If it is only one time, the device identifier 304 is viewed in step 604 and stored in the storage means 109. To see if it ’s the same as If the device identifiers match in step 604, it is determined in step 605 whether the same one as the ticket unique number 303 is recorded in the storage means 109. If there is no same thing, the read ticket information is valid. Therefore, in step 607, the ticket unique number 303 and the expiration date 307 are recorded in the storage means 109. Conversely, if the device identifiers do not match at step 604, the ticket information is sent to the server 105 to confirm its validity.

  In addition to the above algorithm, the clock function 110 is used to delete information on tickets that have expired and expired from the information recorded in step 607. This prevents unnecessary information from being stored in the storage means 109.

System configuration diagram of the embodiment Examples of coupons, membership tickets, and fishing tickets Barcode information structure User interface Billing algorithm Ticket validity check algorithm

Explanation of symbols

101 membership card
102 coupon
103 change ticket
104 MFP
105 servers
106 coin machine
107 Scanner section of MFP 104
108 Printer unit of MFP 104
109 Storage
110 Clock function
201 Barcode
301 ticket types
302 Service Description
303 ticket number
304 Device identifier
305 Store group identifier
306 ticket validity number
307 Expiration Date

Claims (12)

A multifunction device equipped with reading means,
Billing means for billing according to instructions,
Storage means for holding the correspondence between the ticket information and the fee;
Extraction means for extracting ticket information from a document placed on the reading means;
Calculating means for calculating a charging fee based on the fee acquired from the storage means according to at least a part of the ticket information;
Charging instruction means for issuing an instruction to the charging means;
A multi-function machine comprising: A multifunction device according to claim 1,
Communication means for exchanging information with other communication devices;
Receiving means for storing fee information obtained from the communication means in the storage means;
A multi-function machine comprising: A multifunction device equipped with reading means,
Billing means for billing according to instructions,
Inquiry means to inquire about the correspondence between ticket information and fees,
Extraction means for extracting ticket information from a document placed on the reading means;
Calculating means for calculating a charging fee based on the fee acquired from the inquiry means according to at least a part of the ticket information;
Charging instruction means for issuing an instruction to the charging means;
A multi-function machine comprising: [Claim 1] to [Claim 3]
The ticket information includes a ticket identifier,
Recording means for accumulating at least a part of the ticket information taken out by the extracting means,
A multi-function machine comprising: [Claim 1] to [Claim 4]
A determination means for validating the ticket information only when the read ticket identifier does not match the ticket identifier recorded in the recording means;
A multi-function machine comprising: [Claim 1] to [Claim 5]
The ticket information includes a ticket identifier,
Communication means for exchanging information with other communication devices;
A transmission means for sending out at least a part of the ticket information taken out by the extraction means using the communication means;
A multi-function machine comprising: [Claim 4] or [Claim 5]
The ticket information includes an expiration date,
A clock function to know the time or date,
A determination means for validating ticket information only when the time or date obtained by the clock function has not passed the expiration date read;
A multi-function machine comprising: A multifunction device according to claim 7,
Means for deleting the ticket information from the recording means when the expiration date has passed or passed,
A multi-function machine comprising: [Claim 1] to [Claim 8]
That the ticket information contains either service content, ticket identifier, expiration date, amount, or information indicating the validity of the ticket information, or a combination thereof,
A featured multifunction machine. [Claim 4] to [Claim 6] or [Claim 9],
Including the device identifier, store identifier, and store group identifier in the ticket identifier,
A featured multifunction machine. A multifunction device according to [Claim 6] and a multifunction device according to [Claim 10],
An identifier holding means for holding a device identifier;
Sending out at least a part of the ticket information by the transmitting means when the equipment identifier of the ticket information does not match the equipment identifier held in the identifier holding means,
A featured multifunction machine. A service providing system that provides services such as copying,
Billing means for billing according to instructions,
Storage means for holding a charge for using the service;
Calculating means for calculating a charging fee based on the fee acquired from the storage means according to the use of the service;
Charging instruction means for issuing an instruction to the charging means;
Printing means for outputting printed matter according to an amount corresponding to at least a part of the amount to be refunded;
A service providing system comprising:

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