JP2009123164A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an vending machine capable of rationally changing the sale price of each commodity in accordance with a characteristic of the commodity by taking a sales time of day and other parameters into account. <P>SOLUTION: The vending machine for selling a commodity stored with management information that can specify a commodity ID, a date of manufacture and a date of minimum durability at a money amount determined on the basis of the management information. The vending machine is configured to include: a reader part 12 for reading the management information from a commodity ejectable to a commodity take-out opening 9; a clocking part 19 that can specify the present date; and a control part 21 for controlling each part of the machine, wherein a storage device of the control part includes a date-of-minimum-durability table TB1 which defines a discount rate in accordance with a freshness index calculated from the management information and the present date, and the discount rate is extracted from the date-of-minimum-durability table TB1 on the basis of the date of manufacture and the date-of-minimum-durability read from the reader part 12 and the present date specified by the clocking part 19 and is reflected in the sale price of the commodity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells beverages and the like, and more particularly, to a vending machine that has different selling prices according to the expiration date, purchase time, price settlement method, and the like of a product.

  Vending machines that can use non-contact IC cards such as Edy (registered trademark) cards and Suica (registered trademark) cards are known. This non-contact IC card stores electronic money acquired in advance, and electronic money corresponding to the settlement price is reduced when purchasing a product.

There has also been a proposal that a non-contact type IC chip is provided in a product sold by a vending machine (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-355395 A

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, identification information is stored in a non-contact type IC chip provided in a product, and the vending machine that reads the information stores product characteristic data specified by the identification information on a display. It is trying to display.

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the quality of the product is simply displayed, and the product is not smoothly distributed while maintaining a high quality.

  Here, if the advantage of a vending machine capable of operating for 24 hours can be effectively utilized to increase the distribution speed of products having a shelf life, high-quality products can always be provided.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by taking into account the sales time and other parameters, the selling price of each product can be rationally changed according to the characteristics of the product. It is an object to provide a vending machine that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is based on the management information, and stores the management information that can specify the product ID, the date of manufacture, and the expiration date. A vending machine that sells at a determined price, a reader unit that reads the management information from a product that can be discharged to a product outlet, a time measuring unit that can identify the current date, and a control that controls each part of the device The storage unit of the control unit is provided with a best-before period table that defines a discount rate corresponding to the management information and a freshness index calculated from the current date, Based on the date of manufacture and the expiration date read from the reader unit and the current date specified in the timekeeping unit, the discount rate is extracted from the best-before period table, and the product It is reflected in the sales price.

  The present invention is an invention for setting a price based on a shelf life, and a product having a discount rate for a product corresponding to a freshness index calculated from the date of manufacture, the shelf life date, and the current date. A period table is characteristically provided. This freshness index is calculated by the ratio of the remaining best-price period to the best-price period. The best-price period is the period from the date of manufacture to the best-before date, and the best-paste period is the current date. It indicates the period from the date to the expiration date. According to the present invention, even for fresh confectionery and fresh foods with extremely short shelf life, by setting a price corresponding to the freshness index, the sale ends smoothly while giving consumers a sense of satisfaction and profitability. be able to.

  The management information of the present invention is typically stored in an ID chip or a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode. Here, the ID chip is not limited as long as it can store electronic data. Preferably, the ID chip stores data in a small tag (wireless IC chip), can communicate with a dedicated reader, and is contactless from the reader. An RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip that is activated by supplied power and transmits stored contents is used. In the present invention and other inventions, since the amount of data to be stored in the ID chip is not large, miniaturization and simplification are given top priority. For example, a mu chip (registered trademark) of about 0.4 mm × 0.4 mm is optimal. Used for.

  It is also preferable to adopt the configuration of the invention according to claim 2 as an invention for setting a reasonable sales price for each product in accordance with the sales time. That is, in the invention according to claim 2, in the storage device, which field of the sales time zone table that defines a discount rate corresponding to the sales time and the sales time zone table is used, the product A sales time zone selection table defined in correspondence with the ID, and corresponding to the product ID based on the product ID read from the reader unit and the current time specified by the timekeeping unit. The discount rate is extracted from the sales time zone table and reflected in the sales price. According to this configuration, it is possible to set a reasonable sales price for each product in accordance with the sales time. For example, by setting a discount time zone from 22:00 to 8:00 on the next day, activities can be performed at midnight. Can increase the sales volume of products for young people.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the storage device of the control unit is provided with a sales standard price table that defines the product ID and the sales standard price, and is extracted from the best-before period table and the sales time zone table. Two discount rates are reflected in the sales price based on the sales reference price. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the storage means of the control unit is a settlement means discount that specifies which discount is applied to the reference sales price in the case of cash settlement and electronic money settlement, respectively. The parameter is configured to be settable.

  In the inventions according to the third and fourth aspects, since it is not necessary to set a selling price in advance in the vending machine, convenience at the time of changing a product is improved and strategic pricing is appropriately realized.

  While the present invention is configured to enable electronic money settlement and cash settlement, the electronic money settlement and the cash settlement have different selling prices, and the electronic money settlement realizes a selling price in increments of 1 yen. Is preferred. It is also preferable to have a product freshness information display section that visually displays the date of manufacture, the expiration date, and the date. In this case, the consumer can feel safe and convinced. This makes it possible to purchase products.

  According to the present invention described above, it is possible to realize a vending machine capable of changing the selling price rationally according to the expiration date or the selling time of the product, and to give consumers a sense of satisfaction and profitability, Smooth distribution can be realized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the description is merely an example of the embodiment, and the specific description content does not particularly limit the present invention.

  FIG. 1A is a schematic external view showing a vending machine according to the embodiment. In FIG. 1A, price display units 1A to 1D for displaying product sales prices by cash and electronic money, purchase buttons 2A to 2D to be pressed at the time of product purchase, “manufacturing date”, and “expiration date” Product freshness information display units 22A to 22D for displaying “date of month” and “product freshness information” side by side, reader / writer unit 3 for reading information on a non-contact IC card, and card information for displaying information on a non-contact IC card A display unit 4, an amount display unit 5 for displaying the input amount, a coin input unit 6, a bill input unit 7, a change outlet 8, and a product outlet 9 are shown. A touch panel 10 is attached to the card information display unit 4.

  The “manufacturing date” and “best before date” are displayed in the upper two columns of the product freshness information display sections 22A to 22D with 8 digits of the year. Further, the “product freshness information” is visually displayed by lighting of the three color light-emitting lamps. Specifically, the display unit is configured by arranging six light emitting lamps of red + red + yellow + yellow + blue + blue from left to right. As for the freshness, the higher the freshness, the more the right light-emitting lamp is turned on.

  A large number of products are arranged and arranged inside the vending machine, and a mu chip CH as an RFID chip is attached to the bottom surface of each product. Product discharge ports 11A to 11D that are driven to open and close are arranged at the deepest part of each arranged product, and a chip reader 12 (= 12A to 12D) that reads information on the RFID chip is disposed at the right end of the product discharge port 11. Has been placed.

  FIG. 1B illustrates the relationship between the internal configuration of the RFID chip CH and the chip reader 12. The RFID chip CH includes an RF circuit CH1 that performs radio communication with the chip reader 12 by using a microwave of about 2.45 GHz, a power supply capacitor CH2 that stores a chip power supply voltage generated from the microwave received from the RF circuit CH1, A nonvolatile memory CH3 for storing 128-bit length data, and a clock circuit CH4 for sending the stored contents of the nonvolatile memory CH3 to the chip reader 12 bit by bit via a control register (not shown) and the RF circuit CH1. It is structured in the center.

  In this embodiment, the non-volatile memory CH3 stores “product ID”, “manufacturing date”, and “best before date” as management information for each product to which the RFID chip CH is attached. ing. Since the RFID chip CH is downsized to about 0.4 × 0.4 mm as a whole, it is easy to stick to a product and does not require a battery. Can continue to hold on.

  Further, the communication distance with the chip reader 12 is designed to be 300 mm when 300 mW of power is supplied from the chip reader 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, the maximum communication distance is suppressed to about 100 mm by suppressing the antenna output of the chip reader 12. Therefore, it is possible to communicate only with the RFID chip CH at the shortest position among the plurality of RFID chips CH attached to the bottom surface of each product, and it is possible to specifically acquire only target information without requiring special congestion control. Become.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the vending machine shown in FIG. This vending machine is configured such that each unit is computer-controlled by a control unit 21 having a CPU 21a, ROM 21b, RAM 21c, input port 21d and output port 21e. The ROM 21b stores the control program shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, and the RAM 21c stores the product freshness information table INFO and the sales price table BUY shown in FIG. The stored contents of the product freshness information table INFO and the sales price table BUY change in real time based on the sales time of each product, the remaining time of the expiration date, and the like.

  The control unit 21 includes the purchase buttons 2A to 2D, various display units 4, 5, 1A to 1D, 22A to 22D, the touch panel 10, the reader / writer unit 3, and the like illustrated in FIG. 1 through the input port 21d or the output port 21e. It is connected to the chip reader 12. Further, the control unit 21 includes a modem circuit 13 that transmits settlement information to the electronic money central management device, a coin processing unit 14 that realizes receipt and refund of coins, a banknote processing unit 15 that receives banknotes, and a product outlet 11. An outlet control unit 16 that controls opening and closing, a compressor control unit 17 that moderately cools the product by controlling the compressor, a heater control unit 18 that moderately warms the product by controlling the heater, and the current time A clock IC 19 that counts the time and an external memory 20 are included.

  The clock IC 19 is driven by a rechargeable battery, and after time adjustment processing is performed at the time of vending machine factory shipment, it always keeps accurate time regardless of the interruption of the AC input voltage.

  In this embodiment, the external memory 20 uses an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM) which is a ROM capable of writing and erasing data. In this external memory, a best-before period table TB1, a sales time zone selection table SLT, a sales time zone table TB2, a sales reference price table PR, and a settlement means discount parameter table PAY shown in FIG. 4 are stored. ing. The reason why these pieces of information are stored in the external memory 20 is to change the stored contents of each of the above-mentioned tables in response to changes in sales commodities corresponding to seasonal changes and market needs. Therefore, when changing the product, the old EPROM 20 is removed from the IC socket, and the new EPROM 20 storing the new table is inserted into the IC socket.

  FIG. 4B illustrates the data structure of the sales time zone selection table SLT. As illustrated, the sales time zone selection table SLT defines the correspondence between the product ID and the corresponding field of the sales time zone table TB2.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the sales time zone table TB2 defines a time zone discount rate β for each field. In this embodiment, the sales time zone table TB2 has different discount rates depending on the sales time zone depending on whether it is A type, B type or C type. For example, according to the B type sales time zone table TB2 (B), the sales price is 0.9 times the sales reference price from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day. On the other hand, according to the A type sales time zone table TB2 (A), the sales price is the same as the sales reference price regardless of the sales time.

  On the other hand, the best-before period table TB1 shown in FIG. 4A is composed of a single field. According to the best-before period table TB1, when the freshness index, which means the ratio of the remaining best-price period to the best-before period, is 70% or less, the selling price is 0.9 times the selling price, and the freshness index is 40% or less. 0.8 times the selling price. When the freshness index becomes 0%, the selling price becomes 0 times the selling base price, and the sales are stopped.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation contents of the vending machine. First, the control unit 21 acquires the manufacturing date and the expiration date read from the RFID chip CH of the product scheduled to be sold by the chip reader 12 (the product located in the deepest part). Then, the acquired data is stored in the product freshness information table INFO (FIG. 3A). Note that the display contents of the upper two columns of the product freshness information display units 22A to 22D are updated based on the stored values of the product freshness information table INFO.

  Next, the current time including the date is grasped from the clock IC 19. Then, the remaining best period and the best period are calculated. The calculation formulas are [remaining taste period = expiration date / date−current date] and [expiration period = expiration date / date−manufacturing date]. Next, a freshness index is calculated from the calculation of the remaining best period / best life period, and the best time discount table α is searched based on the calculated freshness index to identify the best discount rate α. Then, the product freshness information display units 22A to 22D are turned on based on the calculated freshness index, and visually display the product freshness information.

  Further, the control unit 21 searches the sales time zone selection table SLT based on the product ID read from the RFID chip CH of the product to be sold by the chip reader 12, and specifies the field of the sales time zone table TB2 to be used. To do. Next, based on the current time acquired from the clock IC 19, the time zone discount rate β is extracted from the identified field.

  Further, the sales standard price table PR is searched based on the product ID read from the RFID chip CH, and the sales standard price is specified. Then, the selling price is determined based on an appropriate calculation. The calculation formula differs depending on whether the discount is “% discount” or “yen discount”. In the case of% discount, the sales price = sales reference price × α × β × θ%. On the other hand, in the case of yen discount, sales price = sales reference price × α × β−θ. Whether it is a% discount or a yen discount is determined by the settlement means discount parameter table PAY shown in FIG. 4 (e). In the example shown in the figure, in the case of cash settlement, the discount is%, and in the case of electronic money settlement There will be a yen discount.

  Then, an appropriate rounding process is performed to determine the sales price. The rounding process is different between cash settlement and electronic money settlement. For example, rounding up is rounded down to less than 10 yen for cash settlement, and rounded down to less than 1 yen for electronic money settlement.

  The above price determination process may be executed after the user operates the purchase buttons 2A to 2D. However, in this embodiment, the above calculation is executed during the standby time of the vending machine, and the execution result is stored in the RAM 21c. Is stored in the sales price table BUY (FIG. 3B) provided in FIG. Therefore, the sales price can always be displayed on the price display units 1A to 1D, and the sales process can be smoothly finished in response to the user's purchase button operation.

  For convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, there are four types of sales products. Therefore, in the sales price table BUY in FIG. 3B, four items sold in response to operations of the purchase buttons 2A to 2D are displayed. Only the sales price of the product is stored. Of course, the stored content of the sales price table BUY changes in real time every time the planned product for sale changes or every time the sales time changes. The same applies to the product freshness information table INFO in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation content of the CPU 21a of the control unit 21 of the vending machine. 7 to 10 are flowcharts for explaining a part of FIG. 6 in detail.

  As long as the power is turned on, the vending machine repeatedly executes FIG. 6. Specifically, the vending machine first executes a sales price display process (ST1). The specific processing contents are as shown in FIG. 7, but in short, the product freshness information table INFO and the sales price table BUY shown in FIG. 3 and the storage contents of the sales price table BUY are stored in the price display units 1A to 1A. A display process for displaying in 1D and a display process for displaying the stored contents of the product freshness information table INFO on the product freshness information display units 22A to 22D are executed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the purchase buttons 2A to 2D are pressed (ST2). If the purchase buttons 2A to 2D are pressed, it is determined whether or not the reader / writer 3 communicates with the IC card. (ST3). If there is communication with the IC card, the merchandise sales process (ST4) by electronic money settlement is executed, and the process returns to step ST1. In this case, since one item to be sold has been sold, the process of determining the selling price for the next item to be sold is executed again in the process of step ST1.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST2 that the purchase buttons 2A to 2D are not pressed, it is determined whether or not money has been inserted (ST5). If there is no money input, the process returns to step ST1, but if money input is detected, the merchandise sales process (ST6) by cash settlement is executed, and then the process returns to step ST1.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing specific contents of the sales price display process (ST1). First, the CPU 21a of the control unit 21 reads the “product ID”, “manufacturing date”, and “expiration date” of the product read by the chip reader 12 from the RFID chip CH of the product to be sold located in the deepest part of the product group. "Date" is temporarily stored in the RAM 21c (ST10). The “manufacturing date” and “best before date” are stored in the product freshness information table INFO.

  Next, the current time including date information is acquired from the clock IC 19 (ST11), and the best period and the remaining best period are calculated (ST12). As described above, the calculation formulas are [remaining taste period = expiration date−current date], and [expiration period = expiration date−production date].

  Subsequently, a freshness index is calculated from the calculation of the remaining best taste period / best taste period, and the product freshness information is visually displayed on the product freshness information display units 22A to 22D based on the calculation result (ST13). At this time, the stored contents of the product freshness information table INFO are displayed in the upper two columns of the product freshness information display units 22A to 22D. Next, the freshness index is used as a search key to search the best-before period table TB1, and the best-price discount rate α is specified (ST14). Note that the same best discount rate α is used regardless of cash settlement or electronic money settlement.

  Next, the sales time zone selection table SLT is searched using the product ID as a search key, and the corresponding field of the sales time zone table TB2 is specified (ST15). Next, the corresponding field of the sales time zone table TB2 is selected, and the time zone discount rate β is specified from the current time (ST16).

  Further, the sales reference price table PR is searched to specify the sales reference price (ST17), and the discount parameter value θ is specified with reference to the settlement means discount parameter table PAY (ST18). Then, the sales price is determined using the arithmetic expression A or the arithmetic expression B, and the sales price after the rounding process is displayed. When the calculation result becomes 0, “sold out” is displayed on the price display sections 1A to 1D. (ST19).

  FIG. 8 shows details of the processing in steps ST18 to ST19. First, the flag value in the cash settlement column of the settlement means discount parameter table PAY is checked to specify whether the discount in cash settlement is a% discount or a yen discount (ST20). In the case of% discount, the calculation formula A is used, and in the case of yen discount, the calculation formula B is used to determine the selling price (ST21, ST22). Sales price = sales reference price × α × β × θ% (calculation formula A), sales price = sales reference price × α × β−θ (calculation formula B).

  Next, rounding processing is executed (ST23), and the selling price of electronic money is determined through processing similar to the above (ST24 to ST27).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing specific contents of the electronic money process (ST4) of FIG. In the electronic money process, first, the pressed purchase button is highlighted (ST30), and the electronic money balance of the IC card is read from the reader / writer 3 of the non-contact IC card (ST31).

  Then, depending on whether or not the card information is single (ST32), if there are a plurality of electronic money, the name of the available electronic money is displayed on the card information display unit 4 as a touch panel, and the touch panel 10 The electronic money to be used is determined according to the pressed position (ST33).

  Next, it is determined whether there is any electronic money that can be settled on the IC card, including the case where only a single electronic money exists (ST34). "Cannot be handled" is displayed and the process is terminated (ST35).

  However, since the balance is not usually insufficient, the sales price is grasped from the corresponding column of the sales price table BUY specified by the purchase buttons 2A to 2D, the balance of the non-contact IC card is subtracted and updated, and the subtraction result is Writing to the non-contact IC card through the reader / writer 3 (ST36). Thereafter, the discharge port control unit 16 is driven to open the product discharge port 11, the corresponding product is carried out to the product take-out port 9, and the process is finished (ST37). Note that the electronic money settlement information is transmitted to the electronic money central management device at an appropriate timing thereafter.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing the cash process (ST6) of FIG. In cash processing, first, after grasping the input amount (ST40), it is determined whether there is a commodity that can be purchased with the amount (ST41). And the process of step ST40 is repeated until the product which can be purchased arises, and if the product which can be purchased exists, this will be highlighted on price display part 1A-1D (ST42).

  Subsequently, waiting for the purchase buttons 2A to 2D to be pressed (ST43), and when any of the purchase buttons 2A to 2D is pressed, the sales price table BUY is searched based on the product ID specified from the pressed position. The sales price is specified (ST44). Then, the discharge port control unit 16 is driven to open the product discharge port 11, and the corresponding product is carried out to the product outlet 9 (ST45). If necessary, the change is returned to the change outlet 8. To finish the process (ST46).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize a vending machine capable of rationally changing the selling price according to the expiration date or the selling time of the product, and give the consumer a sense of satisfaction and profitability. On the other hand, smooth distribution of goods can be realized.

  In addition, as described at the beginning, the specific description content does not particularly limit the present invention and can be appropriately changed. In particular, in the description of the embodiment, a non-contact IC card is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mobile phone (such as Osaifu-Keitai (registered trademark)) incorporating a non-contact IC chip that realizes electronic money settlement Of course you can also use.

  Further, in this specification, the expiry date is a problem mainly targeting foods, but the present invention may be applied to vending machines that sell newspapers and magazines. In this case, the date of manufacture is read as, for example, a sales date, and the expiration date is read as, for example, an expiration date.

1 is a schematic external view of a vending machine according to an embodiment and a relationship between an RFID chip and a reader. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the vending machine of FIG. It is drawing which illustrated the merchandise freshness information table and the sales price table. It is drawing which illustrated the best period table, the sales time zone selection table, the sales time zone table, the sales reference price table, and the settlement means discount parameter table. It is the schematic explaining the processing content of the vending machine of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the processing content of the vending machine of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the sales price display process of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining a part of FIG. 7 in detail. It is a flowchart explaining the electronic money process of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the cash process of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

CH ID chip 9 Product outlet 12 Reader unit (RFID chip reader)
19 Timekeeping (clock IC)
21 Control unit TB1 Best before date table

Claims (6)

A vending machine that sells a product in which management information capable of specifying a product ID, a manufacturing date, and a expiration date is stored at an amount determined based on the management information,
A reader unit that reads the management information from a product that can be discharged to a product outlet, a time measuring unit that can specify the current date, and a control unit that controls each unit of the device are configured.
The storage device of the control unit is provided with a best-before period table that defines a discount rate corresponding to the management information and the freshness index calculated from the current date.
Based on the date of manufacture and the expiration date read from the reader unit and the current date specified by the timekeeping unit, the discount rate is extracted from the best-before period table, and the product A vending machine that is reflected in the selling price of In the storage device, a sales time zone table defining a discount rate corresponding to the sales time, and
A sales time zone selection table that defines which field of the sales time zone table is used in correspondence with the product ID;
Based on the product ID read from the reader unit and the current time specified by the timekeeping unit, the discount rate is extracted from the sales time zone table corresponding to the product ID and reflected in the sales price. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1.   The storage unit of the control unit is provided with a sales standard price table that defines the product ID and sales standard price, and two discount rates extracted from the best-before period table and the sales time zone table are the sales standard price. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vending machine is reflected in the selling price based on a price.   The storage device of the control unit is configured to be able to set a settlement means discount parameter that specifies which discount is applied to the sales reference price in the case of cash settlement and electronic money settlement, respectively. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The electronic money settlement and the cash settlement are made possible, while the electronic money settlement and the cash settlement have different selling prices, and the electronic money settlement realizes the selling price in increments of 1 yen. A vending machine according to any one of the above. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a product freshness information display unit that visually displays the date of manufacture, the expiration date, and the date of production.

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