JP4347711B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine capable of selling products using electronic money, and more particularly, to a change handling process when selling products.

  A conventional vending machine includes a coin mechanism for identifying and storing input coins and discharging change, a product selection button provided for each product, and a product selected by the product selection button. A product unloading device for unloading and a control device for controlling various devices. The product selection button is provided with a sellable lamp for displaying that the product corresponding to the product selection button can be sold. In this vending machine, when a user inserts a coin, a lamp capable of selling a product having a product amount equal to or less than the inserted amount is turned on. Then, when the product selection button whose saleable lamp is lit is pressed, the product corresponding to the button is carried out. Here, if the input amount exceeds the product amount, the difference between the input amount and the product amount is discharged as change after the product is carried out.

By the way, in recent years, vending machines capable of selling products not only with cash but also with electronic money using an IC card that functions as an electronic wallet have appeared. As one function of such a vending machine, there has been proposed a method of filling an IC card with change as electronic money when a product is sold in cash (Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-170151 A

  By the way, in the data read / write processing to the IC card, there is a case where an error occurs for some reason and writing or reading may fail. However, in the vending machine described in Patent Document 1, there is no processing for handling such an error. This is not done, and there is a problem that the user may not be able to receive change. However, since the vending machine described in Patent Document 1 uses a so-called contact type IC card that is connected to the IC card R / W unit on the vending machine side through the contact part, such a problem occurs. The rate is relatively small. However, in the case of a non-contact type IC card that functions as an electronic wallet that has been spreading in recent years, it is considered that the error rate is relatively higher than that of a contact type IC card. It becomes.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of performing appropriate merchandise sales while avoiding the situation where change cannot be delivered to a user. There is.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present application, an automatic machine comprising a coin mechanism for identifying and storing input coins and discharging a change, a product selection means for selecting a product for sale, and a product carry-out device for carrying out the stored product. In a vending machine, a product in which the amount of cash inserted using a contactless IC chip interface that reads and writes data to a contactless IC chip that functions as an electronic wallet and a coin mechanism is selected by the product selection means If the price is higher than the price of the product, the non-contact IC chip interface is controlled so that electronic money equivalent to the change between the input amount and the product price is deposited into the non-contact IC chip. If the deposit mechanism is processed normally by controlling the coin mechanism etc. to discharge the inserted cash if it cannot be processed normally Proposes what is characterized in that a control device for controlling the product unloading device to unload the selected product.

  According to the present invention, when the process of depositing the electronic money equivalent to the change into the non-contact IC chip fails, the process of returning the inserted cash is performed without carrying out the merchandise removal process. That is, when payment processing to the non-contact IC chip cannot be performed, the situation of occurrence of change itself is avoided by canceling the sale of the product itself. Thereby, the situation where change cannot be delivered is avoided, and appropriate merchandise sales are possible.

  In the present application, if the product discharge process cannot be processed normally, the control device deposits electronic money corresponding to the product price into the non-contact IC chip using the non-contact IC chip interface. We propose what is characterized by processing.

  In the present invention, in the case of failure to carry out the product, the product price can be returned to the user as electronic money, thus preventing the occurrence of a situation where the product is not provided despite the receipt of cash. it can.

  Furthermore, the present application proposes a method characterized in that the deposit information including the deposit amount to the non-contact IC chip and the sales information including the merchandise sales amount are stored in a predetermined storage means independently of each other.

  In this type of vending machine, the person who sells products using the vending machine is often different from the person who performs electronic money settlement operations. According to the present application, since the payment information to the non-contact IC chip is stored separately from the merchandise sales information, it is not necessary to classify the information according to each supplier, and the convenience is high. In addition, providing output means for outputting the deposit information and the sales information stored in the storage means makes it easier to confirm each information, thereby further improving convenience.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when it is impossible to deposit electronic money equivalent to a change to a non-contact IC chip, the situation itself of change occurrence is avoided by canceling the sale of the product itself. The Thereby, the situation where change cannot be delivered is avoided, and appropriate merchandise sales are possible.

  A vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of the vending machine, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the vending machine, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the vending machine.

  On the front surface of the vending machine 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sets of product samples 2 and product selection button units 3 provided in the vicinity of each product sample 2 are installed side by side. In addition, on the front surface of the vending machine 1, a coin mechanism 4, a bill burr 5, a display 6 comprising a 7-segment LED for displaying the number of items sold, the total amount of goods, etc., and a non-contact IC card 100 are communicated. The product outlet 8 is formed in the lower part of the front surface.

  The button unit 3 integrally includes a product selection button, a sellable lamp that indicates that the product can be sold and is configured by an LED, and a sold-out lamp that indicates that the product is sold out and is configured by an LED or the like. Formed.

  The coin mechanism 4 identifies the type of coin (coin) inserted from the insertion slot, notifies the control device 10 described later, and stores the inserted coin in the inserted coin storage unit. When the coin mechanism 4 transports the inserted coin to the purchase storage unit, the coin mechanism 4 first holds the coin at a temporary holding position in the coin mechanism. And if there is a storage instruction from the control device 10, the coins are stored in the inserted coin storage part. On the other hand, when there is a discharge instruction from the control device 10, the coin is discharged to the coin return port. In addition, the coin mechanism 4 stores coins for change in a change storage unit, and discharges a predetermined amount of change based on an instruction from the control device 10.

  The bill burr 5 identifies the type of bill (bill) inserted from the insertion slot, notifies the control device 10 described later, and stores the inserted bill in the bill storage unit. When the bill burr 5 conveys the inserted bill to the bill storage unit, the bill burr 5 first holds the bill at a temporary holding position in the bill burr. And if there exists a storage instruction | indication from the control apparatus 10, a banknote will be accommodated in the said banknote accommodating part. On the other hand, when there is a discharge instruction from the control device 10, the banknote is discharged from the insertion slot.

  The antenna 7 constitutes a part of a non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 that reads and writes data without contact with the non-contact IC card 100. The non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 emits radio waves from the antenna 7 and waits for a response from the non-contact IC card 100 when communication is enabled under the control of the control device 10 described later. The non-contact IC card 100 operates by supplying radio waves from the non-contact IC card reader / writer 9. Therefore, the communication between the non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 and the non-contact IC card 100 is performed in the state where the non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 can communicate with the user in the vicinity of the antenna 7. It is done when arranged. This user's action is called “holding”.

  A schematic block diagram of a control system of the vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 includes a coin mechanism 4, a bill burr 5, a non-contact card reader / writer 9, and a plurality of buttons (only one is shown in the figure for the sake of simplicity). A unit 3, a display 6, a product unloading device 20 for unloading stored products to the product outlet 8, and a printer 30 capable of outputting various forms are connected. In FIG. 2, for simplicity of explanation, only devices related to the gist of the present invention are shown, and for example, a cooling system such as a compressor is omitted.

  The control device 10 includes a storage unit 11 that stores various types of information. In the storage unit 11, as will be described later, deposit information including at least the deposit amount when electronic money equivalent to change is deposited into the non-contact IC card 100, sales information including the commodity price when the product is sold, Are stored independently of each other.

  Next, the operation of the vending machine according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, the operation when the coin mechanism 4 is out of change will be described.

  When the control device 10 detects the insertion of cash into the coin mechanism 4 or the bill burr 5 (step S1), the control device 10 turns on a sellable lamp corresponding to the product that can be purchased with the amount of money inserted (step S2). Next, when it is detected that any of the product selection buttons whose saleable lamps are lit is pressed (step S3), whether or not a change occurs due to the sale of the product corresponding to the product selection button, that is, the input amount is It is evaluated whether or not the price is higher than the product price (step S4).

  When change occurs, the control device 10 controls the non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 so as to deposit electronic money equivalent to the change into the non-contact IC card 100 (step S5). If the deposit process is not completed normally, the coin mechanism 4 and the bill validator 5 are controlled so as to return the inserted cash (steps S6 and S7). In addition, when the deposit process is not normally completed, for example, when the non-contact IC card 100 cannot be detected within a predetermined time, the non-contact IC card 100 can be detected within a predetermined time, but a communication error occurs. For example, there may be a case where payment cannot be made because the amount exceeds the limit.

  When no change occurs in step S4 and when the deposit process is normally completed in step S6, the control device 10 stores the deposit information including the deposit amount in the storage unit 11 and carries out the merchandise. The product carry-out device 20 is controlled (step S8). When the carry-out process is normally completed, the sales information including the sales amount is stored in the storage unit 11 and the process is terminated (step S9). On the other hand, when the carry-out process is not normally completed, the non-contact IC card reader / writer 9 is controlled so as to deposit the electronic money corresponding to the commodity price to the non-contact IC card 100 (step S10). At this time, the deposit information including the deposit amount is stored in the storage unit 11.

  With the above processing, even when there is no change in the coin mechanism 4, electronic money equivalent to the change can be deposited into the non-contact IC card 100. Can be lost. In particular, if the deposit process for the contactless IC card 100 of the electronic money equivalent to the change is unsuccessful, the input cash is returned without the product being taken out. Couldn't (can't do) "could be avoided. In addition, even if the merchandise unloading process fails, electronic money equivalent to the merchandise price can be deposited into the non-contact IC card 100. It was possible to avoid the situation of “I did not (I could not do)”.

  In addition, since the payment information for the non-contact IC card 100 is stored in the storage unit 11 independently of the merchandise sales information, it is not necessary to perform the classification process and the convenience is high. For example, payment information and merchandise sales information stored in the storage unit 11 can be output from the printer 30 separately. Also, the deposit information and the merchandise sales information stored in the storage unit 11 can be transmitted to the management computer via the network. Here, the deposit information may be transmitted to the management computer of the electronic money management company, and the merchandise sales information may be transmitted to the management computer of the vending machine management company.

  In the above embodiment, the operation when the coin mechanism 4 is out of change has been described. However, when the change is not out, the change is discharged from the coin mechanism 4 or the coin mechanism What is necessary is just to make a user select discharge | emission of change from 4 or payment to the non-contact IC card 100. FIG.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a post-product selection method for selecting a product after the insertion of cash has been described. However, the present invention can be implemented even with a product destination selection method in which cash is inserted after a product is selected first.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, a card in which a non-contact IC chip is embedded as an electronic money recording medium is illustrated, but the non-contact IC chip may be embedded in another. For example, the form which embeds a non-contact IC chip in a mobile phone, a wristwatch, PDA, a bracelet, a ring, etc. is mentioned.

Front view of vending machine Vending machine control block diagram Flow chart explaining operation of vending machine

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine, 2 ... Product sample, 3 ... Product selection button unit, 4 ... Coin mechanism, 5 ... Bill burr, 6 ... Display, 7 ... Antenna, 8 ... Product outlet, 9 ... Non-contact IC card reader, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Control apparatus, 11 ... Memory | storage part, 20 ... Commodity carry-out apparatus, 30 ... Printer, 100 ... Non-contact IC card.

Claims (4)

In a vending machine comprising a coin mechanism for identifying and storing input coins and discharging change, a product selection means for selecting sales products, and a product unloading device for unloading stored products,
A non-contact IC chip interface for reading and writing data to a non-contact IC chip that functions as an electronic wallet;
If the amount of cash inserted using a coin mechanism or the like is larger than the price of the sales product selected by the product selection means, electronic money corresponding to the change corresponding to the difference between the input amount and the product price is not The contactless IC chip interface is controlled to deposit the contact IC chip. If this deposit process cannot be processed normally, the coin mechanism is controlled to discharge the inserted cash, and the deposit process is normal. A vending machine comprising: a control device that controls the product carry-out device so that the selected product is carried out when the product is successfully processed. The control device performs processing for depositing electronic money corresponding to the product price to the non-contact IC chip using the non-contact IC chip interface when the product discharge process cannot be processed normally. The vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic payment according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein deposit information including a deposit amount to a non-contact IC chip and sales information including a merchandise sales amount are stored in a predetermined storage means independently of each other. Vending machine. The vending machine according to claim 3, further comprising output means for outputting the deposit information and the sales information stored in the storage means.

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