JP3729219B2 - Information collection device for vending machines - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information collecting apparatus for a vending machine having an offline information connector unit for sending and receiving various types of information about the vending machine to an external device, and in particular, an offline / online converter is connected to the offline information connector unit. The present invention relates to a vending machine information collection device that enables online information collection with an inexpensive configuration.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a vending machine managed by collecting information by an external device, various information of the vending machine is transmitted / received to / from the external device offline, and various information of the vending machine is transmitted / received to / from the external device online. Things are known.
[0003]
In this case, dedicated hardware and software are required offline and online, respectively.
[0004]
That is, in vending machines that send and receive various types of information offline to external devices, dedicated hardware and software for sending and receiving information offline are provided in the main controller of the vending machine, and various types of information can be viewed online. In a vending machine that transmits and receives information to an external device, dedicated hardware and software for transmitting and receiving information online are provided in the main controller of the vending machine.
[0005]
For example, a vending machine that transmits and receives various types of information to an external device offline is conventionally configured as shown in FIG.
[0006]
That is, the vending machine 100 is connected to the vending machine controller 10 and the vending machine controller 10, and is connected to the coin mechanism 20 and the vending machine controller 10 that mainly perform coin processing such as identification, selection, and dispensing of the coins inserted. The banknote recognition machine 30 that performs banknote processing such as identification, sorting, and dispensing of inserted banknotes is connected to the vending machine controller 10, and is mainly connected to the vending machine controller 10 that carries goods etc. via the offline information connector 71. And an optical transmission / reception sensor 74 for offline communication for offline transmission / reception of information to / from a portable computer 200 as an external device.
[0007]
Here, the vending machine controller 10 controls the coin mechanism 20, the bill validator 30, and the transport terminal 40, and controls offline transmission / reception of information with the portable computer 200 using the optical transmission / reception sensor 74. Software is stored.
[0008]
The portable computer 200 is carried by an operator who replenishes merchandise, change, etc., and collects sales proceeds, etc., to the vending machine 100.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in recent years, personal computer communication and the like have become popular, and accordingly, modems for connecting telephone lines have become available at low cost. In collecting various types of information from vending machines, attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of information collection by collecting information online using this low-cost modem for connecting a telephone line. .
[0010]
However, in a conventional vending machine that sends and receives various types of information to an external device as shown in FIG. 7, for example, dedicated hardware for sending and receiving information offline, that is, an offline information connector 71. Optical transmission / reception sensor 74 and software, that is, software for controlling offline transmission / reception of information with portable computer 200 using optical transmission / reception sensor 74 stored in vending machine controller 10 is provided. In this case, it does not have a telephone line connection function, so even if you try to collect information online using a telephone line connection modem, you can replace it with a new vending machine or use a telephone line connection Requires hardware and software changes to enable use of modem It was the need for expensive expenses for this purpose.
[0011]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information collection device for a vending machine that enables online information collection at low cost using an existing vending machine having an offline information connector unit.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object,
In the vending machine information collection device having an offline information connector for sending and receiving various information of the vending machine to an external device,
An off-line / on-line conversion means for converting off-line information transmitted / received via the off-line information connector section to on-line information is connected to the off-line information connector section. The above-mentioned various information is transmitted / received online.
[0013]
Here, the offline / online conversion means is:
A first serial input / output circuit connected to the offline information connector section; a second serial input / output circuit connected to an offline information transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving information offline;
A third serial input / output circuit connected to an online information transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving information online;
Storage means for registering various setting information necessary for online information transmission and reception;
Information processing means for outputting the off-line information input / output via the first serial input / output circuit to the third serial input / output circuit as online information using various setting information registered in the storage means; It can comprise and can be comprised.
[0014]
Here, the offline information transmission / reception means includes:
An optical communication means for transmitting / receiving off-line information input / output via the first serial input / output circuit to the external device using an optical signal can be provided.
[0015]
The online information sending / receiving means includes:
The online information converted by the information conversion means is sent to the online management center device via a communication line, and is provided with a modem that receives information from the online management center device via the communication line. be able to.
[0016]
Here, the communication line is
It can be composed of a telephone line connected to a public network.
[0017]
In addition, the storage means
The setting information can be registered through the offline information transmission / reception means.
[0018]
The setting information includes
Including the telephone number of the center device and the calling time for the center device;
The information processing means includes
When the call time comes, it can be configured to automatically make a call to the center device based on the telephone number of the center device to send and receive the online information.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information collecting apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an information collecting apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, parts having the same functions as those of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used in FIG.
[0021]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an offline / online converter 50 is connected to the offline information connector 71 of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and the portable computer 200 is connected to the offline / online converter 50 via a connector 73. An optical transmission / reception sensor 74 for offline communication for transmitting and receiving information offline is connected, and a modem 60 for online communication is connected to the offline / online converter 50 via a connector 72. Connected to the center device (not shown) and a telephone line 75 for transmitting and receiving information via a public line network (not shown). Other configurations are the same as those of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG.
[0022]
That is, the vending machine 100 includes a vending machine controller 10, a coin mechanism 20 that mainly performs coin processing such as identification, sorting, and dispensing of coins that are inserted, and banknotes that are primarily identified, sorted, and dispensed. The bill discriminator 30 that performs processing and the transport terminal 40 that mainly transports commodities are provided. The vending machine controller 10 controls the coin mechanism 20, the bill discriminator 30, and the transport terminal 40, and an optical transmission / reception sensor 74. Software for controlling the offline transmission / reception of information to / from the portable computer 200 is stored.
[0023]
Here, the portable computer 200 operates as a normal offline terminal that transmits and receives various types of information to and from the vending machine controller 10 and also makes a call to a center device (not shown) for online transmission and reception of various types of information. The telephone number is registered in the offline / online converter 50.
[0024]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the offline / online converter 50 shown in FIG. That is, the offline / online converter 50 is used for offline communication for transmitting / receiving information offline to / from the central processing unit (CPU) 51 and the portable computer 200 that control the overall operation of the offline / online converter 50. The serial input / output circuit (SIO) 52 connected to the connector 73 to which the optical transmission / reception sensor 74 is connected, the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 53 connected to the offline information connector 71 connected to the vending machine controller 10, and online communication A serial input / output circuit (SIO) 54 connected via a interface (RS-232C) 58 to a connector 72 to which a modem 60 is connected, a control program for the central processing unit (CPU) 51, and the like are stored. Only memory (ROM) 55, this offline Random access memory (RAM) in which various information for operating the online / online converter 50, for example, a telephone number for making a call to a center device (not shown) for online transmission / reception of various information 56, a real-time clock generation circuit (RCT) 57 for generating a real-time clock, a random access memory (PAM) 56, and a backup battery 59 for backing up the real-time clock generation circuit (RCT) 57.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the offline / online converter 50 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a main flowchart showing the main operation of the offline / online converter 50. When the power of the offline / online converter 50 is turned on, an initialization process is first performed (step 101). In this initialization process,
1) Check random access memory (PAM) 56 as backup memory 2) Check various flags 3) Perform processing such as initialization of serial input / output circuits (SIO) 52, 53 and 54.
[0027]
In this initialization process, information required for online communication, for example, the telephone number and identification code (ID) of the center device, the current time, the calling time, etc. are not set in the random access memory (PAM) 56 Then, the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 52 is set in an operating state, and only the input from the portable computer 200 is received.
[0028]
Next, it is checked whether there is an input from the portable computer 200 (step 102). If there is an input from the portable computer 200 (YES in step 102), communication processing with the portable computer 200 (portable computer communication processing) (Step 110). Details of this portable computer communication process will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0029]
If there is no input from the portable computer 200 in step 102 (NO in step 102), information necessary for online communication in the random access memory (PAM) 56, for example, the telephone number and identification code (ID) of the center device Then, it is checked whether the current time, the calling time, etc. are initialized (step 103). If the information necessary for online communication is not already initialized in the random access memory (PAM) 56 (NO in step 103), step 102 is executed. Returning to FIG.
[0030]
If it is determined in step 103 that the information necessary for online communication has been initialized in the random access memory (PAM) 56 (YES in step 103), then the center device call for online communication is performed. It is checked whether it exists (step 104).
[0031]
If there is a center device call (YES in step 104), communication processing with the center device for online communication (center device communication processing) is performed (step 120). Details of the center device communication process will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0032]
If it is determined in step 104 that the center device is not called (NO in step 104), then the calling time at which the vending machine 100 communicates with the online center device (the vending machine calling time). ) (Step 105), and when the vending machine call time is reached (YES in step 105), the call processing (vending machine call processing) for the center device by the vending machine 100 is performed (step v). 130). Details of the vending machine call processing will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0033]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the portable computer communication process shown at step 110 in FIG.
[0034]
In FIG. 4, this portable computer communication process first checks whether it is an initial setting request necessary for online communication (step 111). If the initial setting request is YES (YES in step 111), information necessary for online communication, For example, data such as the telephone number (TEL) and identification code (ID) of the center device are input from the portable computer 200 via the optical transmission / reception sensor 74, the connector 73, and the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 52, and these data are input. The data is stored in a random access memory (PAM) 56 and is initialized (step 112).
[0035]
If it is determined in step 111 that the request is not an initial setting request necessary for online communication or if it is determined that the initial setting has been completed in step 112, then it is checked whether the request is an offline information request (offline information request) ( Step 113).
[0036]
Here, in the case of an offline information request (YES in step 113), sales information on the vending machine 100, etc. from the vending machine controller 10 of the vending machine 100 via the offline information connector 71 and the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 53. Are received (step 114), and the received latest vending machine information is transmitted to the portable computer 200 via the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 52, the connector 73, and the optical transmission / reception sensor 74 (step 115). ), The process returns to step 102 in FIG. 3 (step 116).
[0037]
If it is not an offline information request at step 113 (step 113), the process returns to step 102 of FIG. 3 (step 116).
[0038]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the center device communication process shown at step 120 in FIG.
[0039]
In FIG. 5, this center device communication process first checks whether or not there is an input time designation (vending machine information input time designation) of various information (vending machine information) related to the vending machine 100 (step 121). Here, when the vending machine information input time is not designated (NO in step 121), the vending machine 100 is related to the vending machine 100 from the vending machine controller 10 of the vending machine 100 via the offline information connector 71 and the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 53. Various information (vending machine information) is collected (step 122). Thereafter, the collected vending machine information is transmitted to the center apparatus via a serial input / output circuit (SIO) 54, an interface (RS-232C) 58, a modem 60 for online communication, a telephone line 75, and a public line network (not shown) ( Step 123) and return to Step 102 of FIG. 3 (Step 124).
[0040]
If the vending machine information input time is specified in step 121 (YES in step 121), the offline information connector 71, serial input / output circuit (SIO) from the vending machine controller 10 of the vending machine 100 is specified by this vending machine information input time specification. 53, the vending machine information collected through 53 is transmitted to the center device through the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 54, the interface (RS-232C) 58, the modem 60 for online communication, the telephone line 75, and the public line network (not shown). (Step 123), the process returns to Step 102 of FIG. 3 (Step 124).
[0041]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the vending machine calling process shown in step 130 in FIG.
[0042]
In FIG. 6, this vending machine calling process starts when the time specified by the vending machine information input time is reached when the vending machine information input time is specified. That is, first, various information (vending machine information) relating to the vending machine 100 is collected from the vending machine controller 10 of the vending machine 100 via the offline information connector 71 and the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 53 (step 131). Then, the modem 60 for online communication is activated via the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 54 and the interface (RS-232C) 58, and the collected vending machine information is transferred to the serial input / output circuit (SIO) 54, the interface (RS- 232C) 58, the modem 60 for online communication, the telephone line 75, and the public line network (not shown) are transmitted to the center apparatus (step 132), and the process returns to step 102 in FIG. 3 (step 133).
[0043]
That is, in this embodiment, when it takes time to collect the vending machine information and the waiting time of the center apparatus due to this is unacceptable, the vending machine information input time is designated using the portable computer 200, and the designated vending machine is designated. It is also possible to collect vending machine information at the information input time, and then activate the modem 60 for online communication to automatically call the center apparatus, and transmit the collected vending machine information to the center apparatus.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the offline information connector unit is connected to offline / online conversion means for converting offline information transmitted / received via the offline information connector unit into online information. Various information can be sent and received online with the online management center device via the conversion means, so online information gathering can be done at low cost without any major hardware or software changes. It has the effect of making it possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an information collecting apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the offline / online converter shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a main flowchart showing a main operation of the offline / online converter shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the portable computer communication process shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the center device communication process shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the vending machine call processing shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional vending machine that sends and receives various types of information to an external device offline.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vending machine controller 20 Coin mechanism 30 Banknote identification machine 40 Transfer terminal 50 Offline / online converter 51 Central processing unit (CPU)
52 Serial Input / Output Circuit (SIO)
53 Serial Input / Output Circuit (SIO)
54 Serial Input / Output Circuit (SIO)
55 Read-only memory (ROM)
56 Random Access Memory (PAM)
57 Real-time clock generator (RCT)
58 interface (RS-232C)
59 Backup Battery 60 Modem 71 for Online Communication Offline Information Connector 72 Connector 73 Connector 74 Optical Transmission / Reception Sensor 75 for Offline Communication Telephone Line 100 Vending Machine 200 Portable Computer

Claims (7)

In the vending machine information collection device having an offline information connector for sending and receiving various information of the vending machine to an external device,
An off-line / on-line conversion means for converting off-line information transmitted / received via the off-line information connector section to on-line information is connected to the off-line information connector section. An information collecting device for vending machines characterized in that the various types of information are sent and received online. The offline / online conversion means includes:
A first serial input / output circuit connected to the offline information connector unit;
A second serial input / output circuit connected to an offline information transmission / reception means for performing offline information transmission and reception;
A third serial input / output circuit connected to an online information transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving information online;
Storage means for registering setting information necessary for online information transmission and reception;
Information processing means for outputting off-line information input / output through the first serial input / output circuit as online information to the third serial input / output circuit using the setting information registered in the storage means; The information collecting device for a vending machine according to claim 1. The offline information transmission / reception means includes:
3. Information on a vending machine according to claim 2, further comprising optical communication means for transmitting / receiving off-line information input / output via said first serial input / output circuit to said external device using an optical signal. Collection device. The online information transmission / reception means includes:
A modem for transmitting the online information converted by the information conversion means to the online management center apparatus via a communication line and receiving information from the online management center apparatus via the communication line; An information collecting device for a vending machine according to claim 2. The communication line is
5. The information collecting apparatus for a vending machine according to claim 4, wherein the information collecting apparatus is a telephone line connected to a public network. The storage means
3. The information collection apparatus for a vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the setting information is registered through the offline information transmission / reception means. The setting information includes
Including the telephone number of the center device and the calling time for the center device;
The information processing means includes
3. The information collecting apparatus for a vending machine according to claim 2, wherein when the call time comes, the online information is transmitted and received by automatically calling the center apparatus based on the telephone number of the center apparatus.

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