JP2016194923A - Automatic vending machine, method for causing automatic vending machine to provide merchandise, and coupon using system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine, a method for causing the automatic vending machine to provide merchandise, and a coupon using system.SOLUTION: A method for causing an automatic vending machine to provide merchandise by using a printed tangible object which is not paper money inserted into a paper money insertion port includes: a step of identifying whether or not the printed tangible object which is not paper money is a normal printed tangible object; a step of, when the printed tangible object which is not paper money is the normal printed tangible object, determining the type of the normal printed tangible object; and a step of, when the determined normal printed tangible object is a service coupon to be used for providing merchandise, causing the automatic vending machine to provide the merchandise.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine, a method for causing the vending machine to provide merchandise, and a coupon utilization system, and more particularly, to a vending machine that provides merchandise using printed tangibles that are not banknotes. The present invention relates to a method for providing merchandise, and a coupon use system using information of a printed tangible object that is not a bill inserted into a bill insertion slot of a vending machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Vending machines having a function capable of identifying counterfeit bills are known in order to prevent unauthorized transactions when receiving provision of goods from a vending machine. In recent years, various techniques for realizing vending machines that provide products using electronic coupons have been provided (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent 4975011

  The technology described in Patent Document 1 relates to a vending machine used for preventing transactions due to unauthorized electronic coupon information. However, in the case of electronic coupons, there are specific procedures for receiving issued electronic coupons using a mobile terminal that can be connected to an external network, and receiving vouchers after receiving coupons. Procedures such as installing the application on the mobile terminal are required. These procedures are complicated for users who are unfamiliar with the operation of mobile terminals and web browsers. Furthermore, depending on the model of the mobile terminal that received the electronic coupon, the electronic coupon may not be used in the vending machine.

(1) The present invention is a method for causing a vending machine to provide a product using a printed tangible object that is not a banknote inserted into a banknote insertion slot,
Identifying whether the printed tangible material that is not a banknote is a regular printed tangible material;
A step of determining a type of a regular printed tangible object when a printed tangible object that is not a banknote is a regular printed tangible object;
And providing a product when the determined regular printed tangible object is a service coupon used for providing the product, and a method comprising:
(2) Further, according to the present invention, information on a setting coupon used for a legitimate print tangible object to be associated with a service coupon, a new service coupon for a vending machine, and a setting coupon set for the vending machine. It is one of the coupons for deletion used in order to delete.
(3) Further, the present invention is recorded in the coupon information of the setting coupon when the determined regular printed tangible object is a setting coupon used to correspond a new service coupon to the vending machine. And storing the coupon information stored in the memory.
(4) Further, according to the present invention, in the case where the step of providing a product is a service coupon when the determined regular printed tangible object is a service coupon,
Determining whether the coupon information of the service coupon matches the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in the memory;
The method according to claim 3, further comprising: obtaining product selection information by a user when the coupon information of the setting coupon matches, and providing a product based on the product selection information.
(5) Further, according to the present invention, in the case where the step of providing a product is a service coupon when the determined regular tangible object is a service coupon,
Determining whether the coupon information of the service coupon matches the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in the memory;
If it matches the coupon information of the setup coupon,
Determining the type of service coupon;
When the service coupon is a discount coupon, displaying a discount fee recorded in the coupon information of the discount coupon to the user;
Obtaining product selection information by a user;
Determining whether a price obtained by subtracting a discount fee from the price of the product corresponding to the product selection information is input by the user;
And providing a product corresponding to the product selection information when a price minus the discount fee is input.
(6) Further, the present invention is characterized in that the service coupon is printed with all or a part of the advertisement, the expiration date, and information regarding the area where the vending machine is installed.
(7) Furthermore, the present invention further includes a step of deleting the coupon information of the setting coupon from the memory when the expiration date of the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon stored in the memory has expired. The method according to claim 3, comprising:
(8) Further, according to the present invention, when the determined regular printed tangible object is a deletion coupon used for deleting the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon set in the vending machine. And deleting the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in the memory from the memory based on the coupon information of the deleting coupon.
(9) Further, the present invention is characterized in that the coupon information of a regular printed tangible object includes an expiration date and a campaign number.
(10) Further, in the present invention, the regular printed tangible object has an infrared transmission pattern portion,
A banknote identification part identifies whether the inserted printed tangible object is a regular coupon based on an infrared rays transmission pattern part.
(11) Further, according to the present invention, the regular printed tangible object further includes a copy check unit or a micro character unit.
(12) Furthermore, the present invention relates to a vending machine characterized by executing the method described in any one of (1) to (11) above.
(13) Furthermore, the present invention is a method executed in a system comprising a vending machine and a server connected to the vending machine so as to be communicable,
The server stores coupon information relating to the service coupon before distribution to a user used for providing goods;
In the server, the coupon information of the service coupon before the distribution and the distributed service coupon inserted into the bill insertion slot of the vending machine are transmitted from the vending machine to the server, or to the server And calculating customer attraction by the distributed service coupon based on the input coupon information.
(14) Further, according to the present invention, the coupon information of the service coupon includes a customer layer number,
The server is transmitted from the vending machine to the server or inputted to the server regarding the service coupon inserted in the bill insertion slot of the vending machine among service coupons distributed to different customer segments. The customer layer using the service coupon is determined based on the customer layer number of the coupon information.
(15) Further, the present invention includes a vending machine and a server connected to the vending machine so as to be communicable, and is a service that is a printed tangible object that is not a banknote inserted into a banknote insertion slot of the vending machine. A system that uses coupons,
The server stores coupon information related to the service coupon before distribution to a user used for providing products,
The vending machine transmits coupon information relating to the distributed service coupon inserted into the bill insertion slot of the vending machine to a server,
The server relates to a system that calculates customer attraction by the distributed service coupon based on coupon information of the service coupon before distribution and coupon information of the distributed service coupon.
(16) Further, according to the present invention, the coupon information of the service coupon includes a customer layer number,
The vending machine transmits, to a server, coupon information related to a service coupon inserted in a bill insertion slot of a vending machine among service coupons distributed to different customer groups,
The server determines a customer layer using a service coupon based on a customer layer number of coupon information of a service coupon transmitted from the vending machine.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can identify whether the printing tangible which is not a banknote is a regular printing tangible, and can provide goods based on the regular printing tangible inserted in the banknote insertion slot of a vending machine.

1 shows a schematic diagram of a coupon utilization system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a vending machine 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a service coupon according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4A illustrates a service coupon for attracting customers according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B shows a generic service coupon according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A illustrates a setting coupon according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B illustrates a deletion coupon, according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A shows one embodiment of coupon information. FIG. 6B shows one embodiment of coupon information. FIG. 6C shows one embodiment of coupon information. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining the operation of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 illustrates the overall operation of a coupon utilization system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

  Embodiments of a vending machine and a coupon use system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a coupon use system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This system is composed of a vending machine 100 and a server 200 on the center side, usually at a plurality of remote locations. The vending machine 100 and the server 200 on the center side are interconnected so that they can communicate with each other via a wireless or wired network. The plurality of vending machines 100 are basically isolated devices, and transmit information to the server 200 using the communication unit 116. The server 200 can receive various data transmitted from the vending machine 100 via the network.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The vending machine 100 can include an input unit 102, a bill identifying unit 104, a stacker 106, a memory 108, a control unit 110, a product providing unit 112, a display unit 114, and a communication unit 116.

  The input unit 102 includes a plurality of product selection buttons each incorporating a sellable lamp. The input unit 102 receives an input from the user with respect to the product selection button of the vending machine 100.

  The bill identifying unit 104 is based on all or part of the infrared transmission pattern portion, the copy check portion, and the micro character portion included in the print tangible object, or the print tangible object inserted into the bill insertion slot is a regular print tangible object, It is possible to identify whether it is a counterfeit printed material. When the printed tangible object is identified as forged, the bill identifying unit 104 discharges the forged printed tangible object from the bill insertion slot.

  The stacker 106 stores, in the banknote identification unit 104, a print tangible object identified as a regular print tangible object and a banknote.

  The memory 108 stores various data such as a control program, column information, and coupon information. The vending machine 100 includes a plurality of columns in the cabinet, and the columns individually store a plurality of types of products. The memory stores column information (column number, number of products paid out from each column) corresponding to the paid-out products. The memory 108 can further record the commodity price for each column and coupon information (expiration date, campaign number, etc.) recorded on the printed tangible material identified as legitimate. Regular printed tangibles are made of paper or plastic, and include service coupons, setting coupons, and deletion coupons. The memory 108 further corresponds to coupon information recorded in the service coupon and a product paid out using the service coupon when the printed tangible object inserted into the vending machine 100 is a service coupon. Column information can also be stored in association with each other.

  A service coupon is a coupon used for providing goods stored in a vending machine. 3, 4A and 4B show an embodiment of a service coupon. The service coupon can be distributed to an unspecified passerby at a station or on the road, or can be distributed to a specific person who satisfies certain conditions (age, sex, type of business, school, etc.). The person who receives the service coupon inserts the service coupon into the vending machine, and bears a part of the price of the product sold by the vending machine without inserting bills or coins. Thus, the corresponding product can be received. Normally, the service coupon is stored in the stacker after the product is provided, but based on the information recorded in the infrared transmission pattern portion, the service coupon can be discharged without being stored in the stacker so that it can be used repeatedly. In this case, the user can repeatedly use the service coupon within the expiration date.

A setting coupon is a coupon used for setting information on a new service coupon in a vending machine. The setting coupon is distributed in advance to an operator who performs a product replacement operation of the vending machine, an operation of acquiring information recorded in the vending machine, and the like. FIG. 5A shows one embodiment of a setting coupon. The operator who has received the setting coupon inserts the setting coupon into the vending machine. The controller 110 can store coupon information (expiration date, campaign number, etc.) recorded in the setting coupon in the memory 108 of the vending machine. For example, when a product provider performs a new campaign, a setting coupon is created in which a campaign number corresponding to the new campaign is recorded. The operator can store the coupon information of the setting coupon in the memory by inserting the created setting coupon into the vending machine.

  The deletion coupon is a coupon used to delete the coupon information of the setting coupon set in the vending machine from the memory. The coupon for deletion is distributed in advance to an operator who performs a product replacement operation of the vending machine, an operation of acquiring information recorded in the vending machine, and the like. FIG. 5B shows one embodiment of a deletion coupon. The operator who has received the deletion coupon inserts the deletion coupon into the vending machine. The control unit 110 compares the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in the memory with the coupon information recorded in the deletion coupon, and if they match, the setting coupon matches the coupon information recorded in the deletion coupon. Can be deleted from the memory 108 of the vending machine. For example, when the operator identifies that the printed tangible material collected from the stacker of the vending machine is not genuine, the information recorded in the corresponding vending machine and the counterfeit printed tangible material is identified. The operator can forcibly delete the problematic coupon information from the coupon information recorded in the memory with the deletion coupon for the corresponding vending machine. Thereby, even if the service coupon which recorded the coupon information corresponding to the information recorded on the coupon for deletion is inserted, a vending machine does not provide goods.

  The control unit 110 performs overall control of the vending machine such as reading and writing to the memory and input / output control. Connected to the control unit 110 are an input unit 102, a bill identifying unit 104, a stacker 106, a memory 108, a product providing unit 112, a display unit 114, and a communication unit 116. For example, when one of a plurality of product selection buttons included in the input unit 102 is pressed, the control unit 110 causes the product providing unit 112 to provide a product corresponding to the selected product selection button. In addition, when one of a plurality of product selection buttons is pressed, the control unit 110 stores column information indicating that a column corresponding to the selected product selection button has been selected in the memory.

  The product providing unit 112 carries out / provides the product corresponding to the selected product selection button to the takeout port.

The display unit 114 displays the total amount of bills and coins inserted, or displays a character “FREE”, for example, when a free service coupon is inserted into the bill recognition unit. Further, when the discount coupon is inserted into the bill identifying unit, the display unit 114 can display the discount amount recorded in the service coupon, for example, “C 30”. Further, the display unit 114 can turn on the bill cancellation lamp when the stacker 106 is full.
The communication unit 116 communicates with the server 200.
Although not shown, the vending machine 100 can include a coin insertion unit, a product display unit, a stacker for storing the inserted coins, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a service coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the service coupon may include the infrared transmission pattern portion 302, the copy check portion 304 to which the copy check copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is applied, the micro character portion 306, or a part thereof.

In the infrared transmission pattern portion 302, various types of information can be recorded by performing “hidden printing” that cannot be seen unless infrared rays are applied. For example, the infrared transmission pattern part can record the expiration date of the service coupon, the campaign number, the customer management number, and the coupon type (service coupon, setting coupon, deletion coupon). The infrared transmission pattern portion 302 is a simple pattern composed of a combination of a black bar and a space for the naked eye, but records information that cannot be seen unless infrared rays are applied. Therefore, when a service coupon is illegally copied, the illegally copied service coupon and the regular service coupon cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. Therefore, even if a bona fide user tries to use the coupon in a vending machine without knowing that it is an illegally copied service coupon, the vending machine will discharge such a coupon. May claim that the coupon cannot be used.

  In order to prevent such a claim from occurring, all or a part of the service coupon may include a copy check unit 304 on which a copy check copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is printed. Copy check pattern is a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern that has been devised to make it as inconspicuous as possible on the base paper. It is a tint block. In FIG. 3, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is exemplarily shown by a plurality of dots. When the service coupon printed with the copy-forgery-inhibited copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is copied, a copy-checking character that can clearly be determined as a copy, for example, a “COPY copy” character is printed together. Therefore, the user can easily discriminate between the illegally copied service coupon and the regular service coupon, and as a result, the use of the illegally copied service coupon can be prevented.

  Further, the service coupon can include a micro character portion 306. The micro character portion is a portion including a character printed by inserting a very small character into a line portion or a part of a design. Since micro characters cannot be copied with a low-resolution copier, the service coupons can be identified with the micro-character part, so that the service coupon is legitimate, the naked eye, or a magnifier. Use of coupons can be hindered.

  In order to prevent unauthorized copying of the front side of the service coupon on which the infrared transmission pattern portion 302 is printed, in FIG. 3, the micro character portion 304 and the copy check background pattern are provided on the front side of the service coupon. The same printing can be performed on the back side. Also, FIG. 3 is an example of a service coupon, but a setting coupon and a deletion coupon are also an infrared transmission pattern portion 302, a copy check portion 304 to which a copy check copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is applied, and a micro character. The part 306 can be printed.

  4A and 4B are diagrams showing a service coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows a service coupon for attracting customers. As shown in FIG. 4A, advertisements for areas where customers are to be attracted, coupon expiration dates, discount amounts, how to use coupons, etc. are printed on the front side of the coupons for attracting customers. The conditions, the map to the area you want to attract customers, access information, campaign information, issuer name, etc. are printed. Service coupons for attracting customers are coupons created to attract customers to a specific area. For example, when a new shopping mall is opened, it is distributed to many unspecified passers-by at stations near the shopping mall. Is a coupon. Since the service coupon includes a map up to the area where the customer wants to attract customers, the name of the shopping mall, and the like, the service coupon can be used for advertising in the area where the customer wants to attract customers. In addition, it can be applied to coupons distributed to customers who visit shopping malls for use in campaigns at specific shopping malls with bases throughout the country.

  FIG. 4B shows a general service coupon. An image of a product that can be provided as a coupon is printed on the front surface, and a usage condition of the coupon is printed on the back surface. General-purpose service coupons are used for multiple purposes. For example, it can be distributed to a specific customer group and used as a promotional gift. In addition, by printing advertisement information of new products on service coupons and setting them to pay only for specific beverages such as new products and premium brand products, only specific products for specified or unspecified people Can be used on a trial basis. Accordingly, the service coupon can be used for advertising the new product.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a setting coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. The setting coupon includes an infrared transmission pattern portion 502 in which a coupon type indicating that it is coupon information and a setting coupon is recorded. Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, an infrared transmission pattern in which repetitive use setting information that is set in the memory 108 of the vending machine so that the coupon information, the coupon type, and the service coupon can be used repeatedly is recorded in the setting coupon. Unit 502 may be provided. The repeatedly usable setting information is information for discharging a coupon once inserted into the vending machine 100 again after a predetermined process. Each time a new service coupon is planned to be issued, the operator inserts the setting coupon into the vending machine in order to make the new service coupon correspond to the vending machine. Then, the control unit 110 stores the coupon information (expiration date, discount amount, target product code, target campaign number, customer segment number, etc.) recorded in the setting coupon in the memory 108 of the vending machine, and then for setting The coupon is discharged from the vending machine. Therefore, the operator can make settings for a plurality of other vending machines using one setting coupon. When a service coupon in which information other than the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon is recorded is inserted, the service coupon is discharged by the vending machine.

  When the expiration date of the setting coupon stored in the memory expires, the vending machine automatically deletes coupon information related to the setting coupon from the memory 108. Therefore, the user cannot use the service coupon whose expiration date has expired. The memory can store coupon information related to a plurality of setting coupons. Therefore, for example, when registering a plurality of setting coupons including different customer segment numbers, the operator inserts a plurality of setting coupons into a vending machine and stores them in the memory. Thereby, when a service coupon having a different customer segment number is used (inserted into a bill insertion slot of a vending machine), it is possible to obtain in detail information on which customer segment provides which product. .

  FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a deletion coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention. The deletion coupon includes an infrared transmission pattern portion 504 that records coupon information and a coupon type indicating that it is a deletion coupon. The deletion coupon is when the operator recognizes that the counterfeit coupon is stored in the stack when the operator performs work such as replacing the product in the vending machine before the expiration date of the setting coupon inserted previously. , Used to forcibly / urgently delete information about the setting coupon from the memory 108. The control part 110 deletes the information regarding the coupon for a setting corresponding to the coupon information recorded on the coupon for deletion from the memory 108 of a vending machine, and discharges the coupon for deletion from a vending machine after that.

  6A to 6C show an embodiment of coupon information recorded in the infrared transmission pattern unit 302. The coupon information is, for example, information of a plurality of digits composed of numbers and alphabets. Numbers constituting the coupon information and the number of digits of the alphabet can be arbitrarily set.

  FIG. 6A shows that the coupon information is “12345” indicating a five-digit total number 402, “15” indicating the last two digits 404 of the year of issue, “3” indicating one-digit issue month 406, and “one-digit issue”. It shows that it is composed of “3” indicating the expiration month 408 of the month calculation. This indicates, for example, the campaign number 12345, which is issued in March 2015 and is valid until June 2015. By specifying the expiration month, the coupon availability period can be specified.

FIG. 6B shows that coupon information is “1” indicating a one-digit customer segment number 410, “0F” indicating a two-digit total number 412 and “30” indicating a two-digit discount fee 414, under the year of the year. “15” indicating a two-digit 416, “3” indicating a one-digit issue month 418, and “A” indicating an expiration month 420 calculated from the issue month. For example, this coupon is distributed to teenagers and can be used as a 30 yen discount coupon with campaign number 0F. It is issued in March 2015 and is valid until January 2016. It shows that. As described above, the coupon information (for example, a serial number or an expiration month starting from the issue month) can be composed of alphabets. As a result, for example, it is possible to specify 10 months later when the expiration date 420 of the issue month is A, 11 months after B, and 12 months after C.

  FIG. 6C shows that the coupon information is “01F30” indicating the five-digit total number 422, “15” indicating the last two digits 424 of the year of issue, “3” indicating the one-digit issue month 426, and “two-digit issue”. “15” indicating the date 428, “3” indicating the one-digit expiration date 430, and “30” indicating the two-digit expiration date 432. This indicates, for example, the coupon number 01F30, which is issued on March 15, 2015 and is valid until March 30, 2015.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the vending machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the process of each step in the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is merely an example, and the order of the process of each step may be changed as long as a similar result is obtained.

  First, in step S1, the banknote identification part 104 receives the printed tangible object inserted from the banknote insertion slot.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the bill identifying unit 104 determines whether the received printed tangible object is a regular one based on the presence or absence of the infrared transmission pattern unit. If it is not a regular printed tangible object, in step S15, the bill identifying unit 104 discharges the printed tangible object, for example, a forged printed tangible object.

  If it is a regular printed tangible object, in step S3, the control unit 110 determines whether the regular printed tangible object is a setting coupon based on the coupon type recorded in the infrared transmission pattern portion.

  When it is determined in step S3 that the printed tangible object is a setting coupon, the control unit 110 reads the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon in step S13 and stores the information in the memory 108. In step S14, the setting coupon is discharged from the bill insertion slot.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the printed tangible object is not a setting coupon, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, it is determined based on the coupon type recorded in the infrared transmission pattern portion whether the printed tangible object is a deletion coupon. If it is determined that the printed tangible object is not a deletion coupon, the process proceeds to step S5. The coupon determined not to be a deletion coupon in step S5 is a service coupon.

  In step S5, the control unit 110 reads the information recorded in the memory 108, and determines whether the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory matches the coupon information of the service coupon. If it does not match the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory 108, the control unit 110 causes the banknote identification unit 104 to discharge the received print tangible object in step S15.

  When the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory 108 in step S5 matches the coupon information of the service coupon, the type of service coupon is determined in step S6.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the service coupon is a free coupon that can provide the products of the vending machine free of charge, in step S7, the control unit 110 causes the display unit 114 to display, for example, the characters “Free”. The sales possible lamp of the target product in the input unit 102 is turned on. The input unit 102 can turn on a sellable lamp corresponding to the target product so that the user can make the coupon target product to be advertised stand out. Further, the control unit 110 can advertise a new product by displaying, for example, the characters “NEW” on the display unit 114. When the free coupon covers all products, the control unit 110 turns on a sellable lamp for all products.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the service coupon is a discount coupon, in step S8, the control unit 110 causes the display unit 114 to display a discount price, for example, “C 30”, and prompts the user. Specify the discount amount by discount coupon. Furthermore, the control unit 110 causes the input unit 102 to light a saleable lamp corresponding to the target product. The input unit 102 turns on a sellable lamp corresponding to a specific product so as to make the coupon target product stand out from the user. When the discount coupon covers all products, the control unit 110 turns on the sellable lamp for all products.

  Next, in step S <b> 9, the control unit 110 determines whether selection information from the user has been acquired for the product selection button with the saleable lamp turned on.

  And if the selection information from a user is acquired, in the case of a free coupon, the goods provision part 112 will provide the goods corresponding to this selection information in step S10. On the other hand, in the case of a discount coupon, in step S9, the control unit 110 first determines whether or not the balance of the discounted product corresponding to the selection information has been inserted by the user. When the balance is inserted, the process proceeds to step S10, and the product providing unit 112 provides the product corresponding to the selection information.

  Next, in step S <b> 11, the control unit 110 stores column information indicating which column of product is provided in the memory based on selection information from the user.

  Next, in step S <b> 12, the control unit 110 stores the printed material in the stacker 106. If the regular printed tangible object is a service coupon that can be used repeatedly, the printed tangible object is discharged from the vending machine without being stored in the stacker in step S12.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S4 that the printed tangible object is a coupon for deletion, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S <b> 16, the control unit 110 reads the coupon information described in the deletion coupon.

  Next, in step S <b> 17, the control unit 110 determines whether the coupon information described in the deletion coupon matches the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory 108. If the information does not match the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory 108, in step S20, the control unit 110 displays, for example, “ERROR” on the display unit 114, and the banknote identification unit 104 prints the print in step S15. The tangible object is discharged from the bill insertion slot. When it matches with the coupon information of the setting coupon recorded in the memory 108, the control unit 110 deletes information corresponding to the coupon information described in the deletion coupon from the memory 108 in step S18. In step S19, the deletion coupon is discharged from the bill insertion slot.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the overall operation of the coupon use system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  A setting coupon is distributed to the operator 800 in advance, and a service coupon is distributed in advance to an unspecified person such as a passerby or a person belonging to a specific customer segment. The server 200 may record coupon information regarding all service coupons before distribution in a memory before distributing service coupons.

  The operator 800 visits the vending machine periodically for maintenance such as product introduction into the vending machine. When visiting the vending machine, the operator 800 inserts a setting coupon in which the coupon information shown in FIG. 5A is recorded in the vending machine. After the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon is stored in the memory, the inserted setting coupon is discharged from the bill insertion slot. Accordingly, the operator can make settings for a plurality of vending machines using one setting coupon.

  On the other hand, a person who receives a service coupon distributed at a station or the like is attracted by an advertisement or a map described in the service coupon shown in FIG. 4A and visits the area described in the coupon. When a person visiting the area inserts a free service coupon into the vending machine, he / she can select and obtain his / her favorite product. The control unit 110 stores column information indicating which column of products has been selected using a free service coupon in the memory. The inserted service coupon is sequentially stored in the stacker.

  Usually, banknotes are stored in the stacker in addition to regular printed tangibles. In the case of using only banknotes, it is unlikely that the stacker for storing banknotes will be full before regular visits by the operator. However, in the case of vending machines where service coupons are available, the stacker is more likely to become full before regular visits by the operator. When the stacker is full, the display unit 114 turns on the bill stop lamp. Then, the communication unit 116 transmits an error signal to the server 200. When the server 200 receives the error signal, the server 200 identifies the corresponding vending machine, and transmits error information including error signal reception information and vending machine identification information to the operator 800. The operator 800 can visit the corresponding vending machine according to the error information and collect banknotes, coupons, and the like in the stacker.

  Furthermore, when visiting the vending machine, the operator 800 collects the banknotes stored in the stacker and the printed tangible material together with the input of products into the vending machine, acquisition of column information stored in the memory of the vending machine. . Then, the operator 800 extracts the column information and the like from the memory 108 and counts the number of collected service coupons, thereby acquiring the column information and the number of service coupons. The information is acquired by the server 200 when the operator inputs the information to the server 200 on the center side or transmits the information to the server 200 on the center side. As shown in FIG. 8, the operator 800 can deliver the collected service coupon and column information to the center.

  In the coupon use system of the present invention, the operator 800 identifies which product is provided using the service coupon based on the acquired column information, the number of collected service coupons, and the product price corresponding to each column. You can also. Further, the server 200 can calculate the total amount of each product provided by the service coupon for each vending machine.

Furthermore, in the coupon utilization system of the present invention, the server 200 distributes the service coupon based on the difference between the distributed service coupon and the service coupon actually used, that is, the number of service coupons stored in the stack of the vending machine. It is possible to calculate the advertising effect and customer attraction of the service coupon. For example, in the coupon usage system of the present invention, it is possible to grasp whether the person who received the service coupon actually visited the area described in the coupon information, or the person who received the service coupon tried a new product.

  Furthermore, in the coupon use system of the present invention, the memory 108 corresponds to the column information and each column by reading the coupon information of the collected service coupon and storing the storage order of the inserted service coupon. In addition to the product price, the number of inserted service coupons, the product paid out using the service coupon, and coupon information corresponding to the product can be stored. The server 200 receives this information from the operator, that is, column information, the product price corresponding to each column, the number of service coupons collected, the products paid out using the service coupon, and the coupon information corresponding to the products. Can be obtained. Alternatively, the server 200 can acquire these pieces of information by the communication unit 116 transmitting these pieces of information to the server 200 via a network (not shown). By using these pieces of information, in the coupon utilization system of the present invention, the server 200 can identify which coupon is used and which product is provided. As a result, the coupon use system of the present invention is based on the coupon information of the service coupons distributed and distributed for each customer segment, the customer segment using the service coupon, the product provided using the service coupon, the customer segment, Since the relationship can be derived, effective marketing can be performed. For example, when the coupon information of the service coupon includes the age, the service coupon is distributed to people of a specific age in advance. Since the server 200 can associate the used service coupon with the product provided by the used service coupon, the server 200 grasps which beverage the person using the distributed service coupon has selected by age. can do. For example, when the coupon information of the service coupon includes station information, a specific service coupon is distributed to passers-by of the corresponding station in advance. Therefore, the server 200 can grasp whether the person using the station has actually visited the area described in the coupon information. As a result, the effective range of the advertising effect by distributing the service coupon can be reduced. I can grasp it.

  Furthermore, the coupon utilization system of the present invention can also analyze what products have been selected depending on the installation environment of the vending machine (for example, in front of a station, residential area).

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims (16)

A method for causing a vending machine to provide a product using a printed tangible object that is not a banknote inserted in a banknote insertion slot,
Identifying whether the printed tangible material that is not a banknote is a regular printed tangible material;
When the print tangible that is not a banknote is a regular print tangible, the step of determining the type of the regular print tangible,
Providing the product when the determined regular printed tangible object is a service coupon used for providing the product;
A method comprising:   The regular print tangible is used to delete information related to the service coupon, a setting coupon used to correspond a new service coupon to the vending machine, and a setting coupon set in the vending machine. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is any one of the deleting coupons.   When the determined regular printed tangible object is a setting coupon used to correspond a new service coupon to a vending machine, the coupon information recorded in the coupon information of the setting coupon is stored in memory. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: The step of providing the product, when the determined regular print tangible is a service coupon,
Determining whether the coupon information of the service coupon matches the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in a memory;
The method according to claim 3, further comprising: obtaining product selection information by a user when the coupon information of the setting coupon matches, and providing a product based on the product selection information. . The step of providing the product, when the determined regular print tangible is a service coupon,
Determining whether the coupon information of the service coupon matches the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in a memory;
If it matches the coupon information of the setting coupon,
Determining the type of service coupon;
When the service coupon is a discount coupon, displaying a discount fee recorded in the coupon information of the discount coupon to the user;
Obtaining product selection information by a user;
Determining whether a price that is obtained by subtracting the discount fee from the price of the product corresponding to the product selection information is inserted by the user;
The method according to claim 3, further comprising: providing a product corresponding to the product selection information when a price minus the discount fee is input.   The service coupon is printed with at least one of an expiration date, a free or discounted amount, usage conditions, and information on an area where the vending machine is installed. the method of. When the expiration date of the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon stored in the memory has expired, the method further includes the step of deleting the coupon information of the setting coupon from the memory. The method according to claim 3.   When the determined regular printed tangible object is a deletion coupon used to delete the coupon information recorded in the setting coupon set in the vending machine, the coupon of the deletion coupon The method according to claim 3, comprising deleting the coupon information of the setting coupon stored in the memory from the memory based on the information.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the regular print tangible coupon information includes an expiration date and a campaign number. The regular printed tangible object has an infrared transmission pattern portion,
The method according to claim 1, wherein the bill identifying unit identifies whether the inserted printed tangible object is a regular coupon based on the infrared transmission pattern unit.   The method according to claim 10, wherein the regular print tangible object further includes a copy check unit or a micro character unit.   12. A vending machine, characterized in that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is carried out. A method executed in a system comprising a vending machine and a server communicatively connected to the vending machine,
The server stores coupon information relating to the service coupon before distribution to a user used for providing goods;
In the server, the coupon information of the service coupon before the distribution and the distributed service coupon inserted into the bill insertion slot of the vending machine are transmitted from the vending machine to the server, or to the server Calculating customer attraction by the distributed service coupon based on the inputted coupon information. The coupon information of the service coupon includes a customer segment number,
The server is transmitted from the vending machine to the server or inputted to the server regarding the service coupon inserted in the bill insertion slot of the vending machine among service coupons distributed to different customer segments. The method according to claim 13, wherein a customer segment using the service coupon is determined based on a customer segment number of the coupon information. A system that includes a vending machine and a server that is communicably connected to the vending machine, and uses a service coupon that is a printed tangible material that is not a banknote inserted into a banknote insertion slot of the vending machine,
The server stores coupon information related to the service coupon before distribution to a user used for providing products,
The vending machine transmits coupon information relating to the distributed service coupon inserted into the bill insertion slot of the vending machine to a server,
The server calculates a customer attraction by the distributed service coupon based on coupon information of the service coupon before distribution and coupon information of the distributed service coupon. The coupon information of the service coupon includes a customer segment number,
The vending machine transmits, to a server, coupon information related to a service coupon inserted in a bill insertion slot of a vending machine among service coupons distributed to different customer groups,
The system according to claim 15, wherein the server determines a customer layer using a service coupon based on a customer layer number of coupon information of a service coupon transmitted from the vending machine.