JP3152801B2 - Automatic ticket vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention, by the operation of the user, for example, tickets and amusement park rides, admission ticket, such as theater, own and automatic ticket vending machines to print issue a ticket, such as a meal ticket of the cafeteria
It relates to the dynamic ticketing method .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic ticket vending machine for a transportation ticket will be described below as an example. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, in the railway industry, with the labor saving of station operations, automatic ticket vending machines that print and issue tickets by user operations have become widespread. In this type of automatic ticket vending machine, when a user inserts an amount card having a monetary value such as money or a prepaid card, and selects and presses a destination or a price button (amount button), the passenger is automatically boarded. It prints tickets and pays out change if necessary.

[0003] However, in such a ticket vending machine, when a money card is inserted and the money button is pressed, if a ticket is jammed as an issue of an issued ticket, an encoding error or a printing error occurs, an attendant of a ticket vending machine is required. The respondent, that is, the operation of the staff panel or the operation of the remote monitoring panel, returned the inserted amount card to the customer.

[0004]

As described above, according to the present invention, when an issue of an issued ticket to an issued ticket occurs after the user inserts an amount card and presses an amount button, it is apparent that the apparatus is abnormal. Regardless, the inserted amount card is returned to the customer in response to the attendant, and there is a disadvantage that the convenience of the user is poor. The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages, and when the above-described ticketing abnormality occurs,
It is possible to return the amount card to the customer promptly, there is no need for a staff member, it is not necessary to stop the customer,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ticket vending machine with improved convenience for customers.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic ticket vending machine, comprising: receiving means for receiving an amount card on which a monetary value is recorded; and reading means for reading the monetary value from the amount card received by the receiving means. Card with
Section, an account designating means in which a section fare amount of a ticket that can be issued within the reading amount read by the reading means is designated, and a ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket of the account fare amount designated by the account designating means, Detecting abnormal operation of this ticket issuing means
The ticket issuing mechanism unit having the detecting unit and the card unit are configured to newly add the section fare amount of the ticket issued by the ticket issuing unit from the monetary value read by the reading unit to the amount card. comprising a first card processing means for recording a residual amount, when detecting abnormal operation of the ticketing means the detection means, the stop means stops issuing operation of the ticket issuing mechanism and the card unit, When the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing means, the first card processing is performed.
A second card processing means for rewriting the new remaining amount recorded by the first card processing means with the monetary value before the ticket is read by the reading means for the money card recorded and processed by the processing means ; , When the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing means,
And includes a printing unit that performs printing of the fact that it has discontinued the issuance of the ticket, and return means for returning the printing process has been amount of money card in this printing means.

[0006] vending machine of this invention comprises a receiving means for receiving the amount of money cards monetary value is recorded, the card unit from the amount card accepted by the receiving means and a reading means for reading the monetary value And an account specifying means for specifying a section fare amount of a ticket that can be issued within the read amount read by the reading means, a ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket of the account fare amount specified by the account specifying means,
Detecting means for detecting an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing means.
The ticketing mechanism unit and the card unit record a new remaining amount of the money card by subtracting the section fare of the ticket issued by the ticketing unit from the monetary value read by the reading unit. a first of the card processing unit, with respect to the amount card, and a first printing means for printing the release history of the ticket to be issued by the ticketing section, the abnormal operation of the ticketing means the detecting means When detected, the above ticketing mechanism
And stop means to stop the Department of issuing operation, also the card unit
When the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing means, the new remaining amount recorded by the first card processing means for the amount card recorded by the first card processing means is converted to A second card processing means for rewriting to a monetary value before the ticket is read by the reading means, and when the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing means,
With respect to the amount of money card, and a second printing means to kill print the release history that has been printed in the first printing unit, and a return means to return the peripheral printed amount of money card in the second printing means Have.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the card section and the ticketing mechanism as described above
In an automatic ticket vending machine with
New balance after successfully deducting the fare for the ticket
After the amount has been written, a ticketing error occurs in the ticketing mechanism.
I can no longer issue tickets for the deducted fee
The money card is in a reusable normal state
In order to recover the amount card
Normal to the card part where no abnormality has occurred to eliminate
For the amount card with the new remaining amount written in
Perform processing to restore the remaining amount and cancel or issue a ticket
The print processing is performed to indicate that the remaining amount
You.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a service surface of a ticket vending machine which prints, issues, and sells a normal ticket according to the present invention. A call button (push button switch) 2, a cancel button (push button switch) 3 for canceling the purchase, a section fare on the release route is lit and displayed based on the amount of money inserted, and a money card (a card having a monetary value such as a prepaid card) A A plurality of variable display account buttons (push button switches with a built-in numeric display) 6 for lighting and displaying the contents available for purchase based on the balance of the amount, and an amount card issuing button 1 for issuing an amount card A of a predetermined amount
5. Condition buttons (push button switch) 7 for designating the number of tickets to be purchased, a child ticket, and a discount ticket, a card slot 9 for inserting the amount card A and discharging the amount card A, and coins for inserting coins Insertion port 10, bill insertion slot 11 for inserting bills and discharging bills, ticket issuing slot 12 for issuing a ticket, ejection slot 1 for discharging coins and bills
3 and a tray 14 from which the issued ticket and change are released.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of an automatic ticket vending machine having the above-described service surface. That is, the card slot 9 is connected to the card section 23. Card part 2
Reference numeral 3 designates a card issuing function for reading or rewriting the magnetically recorded balance or the like of the amount card A inserted from the card slot 9 or for issuing a new amount card A stored in a stacker (not shown). is there. The card unit 23 detects a card jam, a magnetic recording abnormality, and the like when issuing the amount card A.

The bill insertion slot 11 is connected to a bill inspection section 20. The coin slot 10 is connected to a check unit 24, and a change unit 25 is connected to the check unit 24. Thus, the coins discriminated by the check unit 24 are stored in the change unit 25 as change, and can be discharged from the discharge port 13. In addition to the change section 25, a ticket issuing mechanism section 26 is also connected to the ticket issuing port 12. The ticketing mechanism unit 26 includes a printing unit 27, an encoding unit 28,
It includes a ticket jam detector 31, an encoding confirmation unit 32, and a print confirmation unit 33. The ticketing mechanism unit 26
The ticket printed by the printing unit 27 using the thermal head (not shown) is sent to the encoding unit 28, and the encoding unit 28 records the magnetic information for automatic ticket inspection in the magnetic recording unit (not shown) of the ticket. , From the ticket issuing port 12 to the saucer 1
4 as a ticket. Also,
The paper jam detector 31 detects a paper jam using a paper passage detector (not shown), and the encoding confirmation unit 32 reads the content recorded on the magnetic recording unit of the paper by the encoding unit 28. The print confirmation unit 33 confirms whether or not printing has been performed by checking the driving state of the thermal head and the applied voltage of the thermal head. Is what you do.

The card unit 23 and the banknote inspection unit 2
0, the check unit 24, the change unit 25, the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26, and the display unit 1, the condition button 7, and the variable display account button 6 are all controlled by the main control unit 29. The main control unit 29 is mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer and peripheral circuits thereof, and controls the entire automatic ticket vending machine.

Next, the operation of issuing a ticket in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, to purchase a ticket, a user inserts coins or bills having a value equal to or exceeding the desired ticket amount from the coin insertion slot 10 and the bill insertion slot 11 (ST1). When coins or bills are inserted through these slots, the checker 24 and the bill validator 20 detect and discriminate the inserted coins and bills. The total amount of these discriminated money is calculated by the main control unit 29, and the inserted amount is displayed on the display unit 1. Further, when money is inserted, all the fare displays of the variable display account button 6 are turned off once, and then only the account button of a ticket which can be purchased according to the inserted amount is displayed. For example, if the input amount is 200 yen, 2
Each section fare that can be purchased for 00 yen is displayed, and when the input amount is 330 yen, all the section fares that can be purchased for 330 yen are displayed. The user selects and presses one of the displayed variable display account buttons 6 (ST
2). When the variable display account button 6 is selected and pressed, only the variable display account button 6 selected and pressed is turned on by the control of the main control unit 29, and the other variable display account buttons 6 are turned off.

Then, the main control section 29 starts the operation of printing and issuing the ticket and sending the change. That is, the face information is edited by the main control unit 29, and the edited face information is printed on a note by the printing unit 27, and the printed note is sent to the encoding unit 28. The encoding unit 28 magnetically records magnetic information for automatic ticket gates, for example, issue date information, departure station information, arrival station information, section (fare) information, etc., in a magnetic recording unit formed on the back of the ticket. Then, the ticket is released from the ticket issuing port 12 to the tray 14 as a ticket.
At this time, if there is a change, the change unit 25 operates, and change coins and bills are discharged from the outlet 13 to the receiving tray 14. When the issuance of the ticket is completed, the variable display account button 6 is turned off and returns to the release standby state.

Further, a ticket jam detector 31 for detecting an abnormality of the issued ticket in the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26, an encode confirming unit 32,
When the main control unit 29 detects an abnormality in the issued ticket by the signal from the print confirmation unit 33 (ST3), coins and bills of the amount inserted by the user are discharged from the outlet 13 to the tray 14. Thus, the issuance of the ticket is stopped, and the money inserted by the user is returned (ST4).

The user receives the returned money and uses another ticket vending machine (ST5). Also, instead of the above currency,
When the amount card A is inserted (ST1), the amount card A
Only the account button of the ticket that can be purchased according to the remaining amount of money is displayed. For example, if the remaining amount is 200 yen, each section fare up to 200 yen is displayed, and the remaining amount is 330 yen.
In the case of yen, all section fares that can be purchased for 330 yen are displayed.

Then, the user selects and presses one of the displayed variable display account buttons 6. When the variable display account button 6 is selected and pressed (ST2), only the variable display account button 6 selected and pressed is turned on under the control of the main control unit 29, and the other variable display account buttons 6 are turned off.

Then, the main controller 29 uses the ticket issuing mechanism 26 to start printing and issuing a ticket and sending the card. That is, the face information is edited by the main control unit 29, and the edited face information is printed on a note by the printing unit 27, and the printed note is sent to the encoding unit 28. The encoding unit 28 magnetically records magnetic information for automatic ticket gates, for example, issue date information, departure station information, arrival station information, section (fare) information, etc., in a magnetic recording unit formed on the back of the ticket. Then, the ticket is released from the ticket issuing port 12 to the tray 14 as a ticket. At this time, the main control unit 29 displays on the display unit 1 the remaining amount after the purchase amount has been removed.

A new remaining amount is written by a card unit 23 into a storage unit (not shown) of the main control unit 29, and the card unit 23 inserts an amount card A on which a ticket sales history is printed into the card slot 9. From the outside.

That is, the printing section (not shown) prints the release history such as the date, the time, the departure station, the machine number used, and the balance on the money card A, and further writes the date, time, Magnetic information such as the departure station, the machine number used, and the balance is magnetically recorded. Thereafter, the amount card A is discharged from the card slot 9.

When the issuance of the ticket is completed, the variable display account button 6 is turned off and returns to the sale standby state. Further, when the main control unit 29 detects an abnormality of the issued ticket based on signals from the ticket jam detector 31, the encoding confirmation unit 32, and the print confirmation unit 33 for detecting abnormality of the issued ticket in the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 (ST3). ), The remaining amount before the issuance of the ticket is written by the card unit 23, and the card unit 23 sends out the amount card A on which the cancellation of the ticket is printed from the card slot 9 to the outside.

That is, the history of the issuance cancellation, date, time, number of the machine to be used, remaining balance, etc. is printed on the amount card A by a printing unit (not shown), and the date, time, and usage are written by a write head (not shown). Magnetic information such as the unit number and the balance is magnetically recorded. Thereafter, the amount card A is discharged from the card slot 9.

Further, the print content corresponding to the content stopped by the write head may be superimposed on the print content and printed to erase the print content. In addition, by starting the processing of the card section 23 after the issuance of the note paper to some extent by the ticket issuing mechanism section 26, the processing of the card section 23 is not performed when the abnormality of the ticket issuing mechanism section 26 is detected. It may be returned to.

The issuance of the ticket is stopped in this way, and the amount card A inserted by the user is returned with the remaining amount at the time of insertion (ST4). The user receives the returned amount card A and uses another ticket vending machine (ST5).

When purchasing a predetermined amount of money card A, the user first inserts a coin or a bill of an amount equal to or exceeding the desired ticket amount into the coin slot 1.
0, inserted from the bill insertion slot 11. When coins or bills are inserted through these slots, the checker 24 and the bill validator 20 detect and discriminate the inserted coins and bills.
The total amount of these discriminated money is calculated by the main control unit 29, and the inserted amount is displayed on the display unit 1.

Then, when the amount card issuing key 15 is entered, a new amount card A is issued in the card section 23. At this time, when the card unit 23 detects an abnormality with respect to the issuance of the amount card A, the issuance of the amount card A is stopped, and the money inserted by the user is returned.

As described above, when purchasing a ticket,
In the event of a ticket issue, the money and card equivalent to the input amount are immediately returned to the customer, eliminating the need for a clerk, eliminating the need to stop the user and returning the input amount. Therefore, a ticket can be purchased at another ticket vending machine, and the effect can be expected particularly at an unmanned corner.

In the above embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a ticket vending machine has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a commuter pass, a meal ticket or a movie theater, a theater entrance ticket, etc. The present invention can also be applied to vending machines for other securities or various vending machines for providing goods or services corresponding to a predetermined monetary value, such as food, beverage, and telephone services.

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when a ticketing abnormality occurs in the ticketing mechanism in a state where no abnormality has occurred in the card section, the operation of the entire apparatus is simply stopped and a staff member is stopped. Prior to canceling the ticketing error by taking measures, the remaining amount of the amount card is returned to the amount card that has been correctly processed by the card part that is operating normally before it is issued and returned. Therefore, it is possible to quickly return the amount card to the customer, eliminate the need for a clerk, stop the customer, and provide an automatic ticket vending machine with improved convenience for the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a ticket vending machine in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a customer service surface of the automatic ticket vending machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a ticket issuing operation;

[Explanation of symbols]

20: banknote inspection section, 23: card section, 24: check section, 2
5 change section, 26 ticketing mechanism section, 27 printing section, 28 section
Encoding unit, 29: Main control unit, 31: Ticket jam detector, 32: Encoding confirmation unit, 33: Printing confirmation unit.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card unit comprising: receiving means for receiving an amount card on which a monetary value is recorded; reading means for reading the monetary value from the amount card received by the receiving means; Account specifying means for specifying a section fare amount of a ticket that can be issued within the read amount, a ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket of the account fare amount specified by the account specifying means, and an operation abnormality of the ticket issuing means. A ticketing mechanism unit having detection means for detecting, and the card unit subtracts the section fare amount of the ticket issued by the ticketing means from the monetary value read by the reading means for the money card. A first card processing means for recording the new remaining amount, and a canceling means for canceling the issuing operation of the ticketing mechanism when the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticketing means. When the card unit detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing unit by the detecting unit, the card unit records the money card recorded by the first card processing unit by the first card processing unit. A second card processing unit for rewriting the new remaining amount to a monetary value before the ticket is read by the reading unit; and a second card processing unit for rewriting the money amount card when the detecting unit detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing unit. An automatic ticket vending machine comprising: printing means for printing that the issuance of a ticket has been canceled; and return means for returning the amount card printed by the printing means. 2. A card unit comprising: receiving means for receiving an amount card on which a monetary value is recorded; reading means for reading the monetary value from the amount card received by the receiving means; Account specifying means for specifying a section fare amount of a ticket that can be issued within the read amount, a ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket of the account fare amount specified by the account specifying means, and an operation abnormality of the ticket issuing means. A ticketing mechanism unit having detection means for detecting, and the card unit subtracts the section fare amount of the ticket issued by the ticketing means from the monetary value read by the reading means for the money card. First card processing means for recording the new remaining amount, and
First printing means for printing a release history of a ticket issued by the ticketing means, and stopping the issuing operation of the ticketing mechanism when the detecting means detects an abnormal operation of the ticketing means. Means, when the detecting means detects an abnormality in the operation of the ticket issuing means, the money card recorded by the first card processing means is recorded by the first card processing means. A second card processing unit for rewriting the new remaining amount to the monetary value before the ticket is read by the reading unit; and a second card processing unit for rewriting the money amount card when the detecting unit detects an abnormal operation of the ticket issuing unit. A second printing unit for erasing and printing the release history printed by the first printing unit; and a return unit for returning the amount card erased and printed by the second printing unit. Special Automatic ticket vending machines to be.