JP3728748B2 - Vending machine control system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a control system for a vending machine in which the operation of the vending machine is controlled by a basic program written in a storage means, and an additional program that can be operated in association with or independently of the basic program can be written. Is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in this type of vending machine, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-55474, a commodity sales operation is executed by a control device based on a control program written in an internal ROM. In addition to basic vending machine operations such as merchandise sales operations, the control program includes, for example, a display required by each vending machine installer or user (hereinafter referred to as a user). This includes display operations such as displaying pictures and characters, and operations that offer bonus items by lottery.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, since the contents of the program for controlling the vending machine differ depending on the user, the creation of the program in the manufacturer has been performed by incorporating almost all the requests from these users. For this reason, there is a problem that the development period is prolonged, the work efficiency is lowered, and the development cost is increased.
[0004]
Therefore, if the manufacturer creates a basic program related to the basic operation of the vending machine, and the programs that are required for each user are additionally created by the user, the program development efficiency can be improved. In addition to reducing costs and increasing the degree of freedom on the user side, benefits can be expected for both manufacturers and users.
[0005]
However, there is a risk that an additional program created freely by the user destroys the basic program itself of the vending machine and its data. When such a situation was reached, there was a problem that hindered the basic product sales operation of the vending machine.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the conventional technical problems, and it is possible to improve the program development efficiency and cost without impeding the operation of the vending machine. The control system of the machine is provided.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The vending machine control system according to the present invention is constructed from a storage means for storing a program and a control device for controlling the operation of the vending machine by a basic program written in the storage means. In the means, an additional program controlled by the basic program can be written, and the additional program has an authentication code for identifying the program, and the basic program stores the additional program based on the authentication code. characterized in that it regulates the operation.
[0008]
According to the present invention, in the vending machine control system constructed from the storage means holding the program and the control device for controlling the operation of the vending machine by the basic program written in the storage means, the storage means Since the additional program controlled by the basic program is writable, for example, apart from the basic program related to the basic operation of the vending machine, an operation desired by the user can be set as the additional program. .
[0009]
As a result, the program development period, efficiency, and development cost can be significantly improved, and the degree of freedom on the user side can be improved. In particular, according to the present invention, the additional program has an authentication code for identifying the program, and the basic program regulates the operation of the additional program based on the authentication code. It is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the operation of the basic program is obstructed by the additional program created according to the user's request.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows functional blocks of a control system for a vending machine according to the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a controller as a control device that controls the entire vending machine V, and is composed of a general-purpose microcomputer.
[0011]
The controller 1 communicates with a basic program for controlling the vending machine V, an additional program created by the user (may be created by the manufacturer at the request of the user), and an external setting device 8 to be described later. ROM2 as an internal storage means composed of, for example, an electrically readable / writable flash memory in which setting data relating to the communication protocol and the price of the product is written, and stores the product data and control data during operation The RAM 3 to be connected is connected.
[0012]
In addition, the controller 1 stores a money processing device 4 that processes money such as inserted money and inserted bills, a product selection button 5 for a customer to select a product, and a product 7 such as a can beverage. Infrared (IrDA) communication between the sales mechanism 6 for unloading a product from a product rack (not shown) and setting data such as the price of the product, or an external setting device 8 for setting the additional program described later An infrared interface 10 for transmitting and receiving data is connected. Reference numeral 9 denotes an infrared light receiving / emitting unit included in the infrared interface 10, which is attached to the outer surface of the vending machine V.
[0013]
On the other hand, the external setting device 8 is, for example, a portable portable computer used by a user. The external setting device 8 includes a controller 12 composed of a general-purpose microcomputer and a ROM 13 composed of a flash memory. An input operation keyboard 14, a liquid crystal display unit 16, and an infrared (IrDA) light receiving / emitting unit 17 are provided.
[0014]
The external setting device 8 has, in the ROM 13, a basic program for controlling the external setting device 8, the additional program to be set in the controller 1 of the vending machine V, and the same communication protocol as described above. .
[0015]
Here, the additional program is a program customized for the user created by the manufacturer at the request of the user, for example, to execute a display of a picture / character or provision of a bonus product performed by the user. It is a program. In this additional program, an authentication code as shown in FIG. 2 is stored.
[0016]
This authentication code includes an ID for identifying the additional program, a classification code, a use resource request, a basic program linkage request code, and the like. Then, the external setting device 8 transmits the additional program including the setting data to the controller 1 of the vending machine V via the infrared transmission / reception units 17 and 9 and the interface 10. When the controller 1 receives the additional program (including setting data), the controller 1 writes it in the ROM 2. As a result, the additional program created on the user side is stored in the vending machine V.
[0017]
Next, the control procedure of the additional program by the basic program will be described using the sequence of FIG. When the basic program written in the ROM 2 of the vending machine V executes the additional program written in the ROM 2 by the user as described above, an authentication code is first requested to the additional program.
[0018]
In response to an authentication code request from the basic program, the additional program sends the authentication code shown in FIG. 2 to the basic program. Then, the basic program executes control of the additional program as follows based on the authentication code sent from the additional program.
[0019]
That is, if the content of the additional program is related to the provision of the bonus product, control such as discharging the bonus product from the sales mechanism 6 is executed according to the procedure of the additional program after the sale of the product is completed. However, in this case, the basic program determines the authentication code from the additional program, rejects the operation according to the authentication code, restricts access to memory (RAM3, ROM2) (reading, writing, erasing, availability of hardware, etc.), The operation restriction of the additional program is executed.
[0020]
Such additional program operation restriction is performed, for example, by switching a flag determined before execution of each control operation. That is, the basic program switches the flag according to the authentication code sent from the additional program. Therefore, depending on the additional program, access rights to the ROM 2 and RAM 3 (for example, total data in the ROM 2) and other hardware controls are partially or completely restricted, and the hierarchy is performed.
[0021]
This makes it possible to avoid inconveniences such as destruction of data essential for the operation of the basic program by the additional program.
[0022]
In the embodiment, the additional program is set from the external setting device 8 to the controller 1 of the vending machine V using infrared rays. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the additional program may be written in the memory card and read. Further, an additional program may be sent to the controller 1 via the LAN.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the vending machine control system constructed from the storage means that holds the program and the control device that controls the operation of the vending machine by the basic program written in the storage means. Since the additional program controlled by the basic program can be written to the storage means, for example, an operation desired by the user is set as an additional program separately from the basic program related to the basic operation of the vending machine. It becomes possible.
[0024]
As a result, the program development period, efficiency, and development cost can be significantly improved, and the degree of freedom on the user side can be improved. In particular, according to the present invention, the additional program has an authentication code for identifying the program, and the basic program regulates the operation of the additional program based on the authentication code. It is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the operation of the basic program is obstructed by the additional program created according to the user's request.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a vending machine to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an authentication code of an additional program.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a control operation sequence of an additional program by a basic program.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Controller (control device)
2 ROM
3 RAM
4 Money Processing Device 5 Product Selection Button 6 Sales Mechanism 8 External Setting Device 9, 17 Infrared Transmit / Receive Unit 10 Interface 12 Controller 13 ROM
14 Keyboard V Vending machine

Claims (1)

In a vending machine control system constructed from storage means having a program and a control device that controls the operation of the vending machine by a basic program written in the storage means,
An additional program controlled by the basic program can be written in the storage means, and the additional program has an authentication code for identifying the program, and the basic program is based on the authentication code. And controlling the operation of the additional program .

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