JP4447652B1 - Vending machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine system capable of displaying contents corresponding to the user's attributes (gender, age group) pinpoint to a user of the vending machine.
A liquid crystal display (12) and a CCD camera (14) for capturing a face image (16) of a nearby person are attached to the front of a vending machine (101). When the attribute analysis unit 17 analyzes the gender and age group, which are attributes of the neighbor, from the face image 16 of the neighbor taken by the CCD camera 14, the content distribution unit 18 externalizes the specific content corresponding to the attribute data. Obtained from the computer 15 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 12.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine system having an electronic signage function (digital signage) for displaying an advertisement on a monitor provided in a main body of the vending machine.

  In Japan, many vending machines are installed outdoors, and the products sold by the vending machines range from beverages, foods, tobacco, and the like. A vending machine technology is disclosed in which a display and a storage device are attached to a vending machine, and advertising content stored in the storage device is displayed on the display (electronic signboard) to meet the advertiser's expectations. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, the advertisements displayed on conventional vending machines are of almost the same type regardless of the gender and age of the vending machine user. Further, the number of advertisement contents stored in the storage device is constant, and in order to update the contents, the service person must travel to the place where the vending machine is installed. As a result, the appeal of advertising content to users of vending machines is low, and the current situation is not necessarily meeting the expectations of advertisers.

  Here, a technology is disclosed in which a storage device in which advertisement content is stored is an external computer on the network, and the storage device is accessed by a network connection unit mounted on the vending machine to acquire the advertisement content. (For example, see Patent Document 2). In this case, since the advertising content is updated via the network, it is possible to save time and effort for the service person on a business trip. However, since the advertising content is displayed regardless of the gender and age group of the vending machine user, the appeal to the user is low.

JP 2009-37341 A JP 2008-59091 A

  In view of the circumstances described above, the present invention provides a vending machine system that displays content corresponding to the attributes (gender, age group) of a neighbor on a monitor for a person approaching the vending machine. This is the issue.

The present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.
A product display unit that displays samples of products to be sold, an input unit that is operated to select the products to be purchased, a price settlement unit that settles the price of the products, and a product take-out unit that takes out the selected products are provided on the front The main body,
A wireless LAN base which can be connected which is connected with the installed in the communication network to the main body, and the information device Neighbor has you are within reach of radio waves from the body to the communication network by radio,
A monitor that is provided in the main body in the vicinity of the product display unit, displays predetermined characters and images, and is connected to the communication network via the wireless LAN base ;
A camera that is provided in the front of the main body in the vicinity of the monitor, and is incorporated so as to be able to photograph at least a face part of a neighbor standing on the front;
A human sensor that is attached to the main body and detects the proximity of the approaching person within a set distance from the main body to operate the camera;
Attribute analysis means for analyzing attributes such as gender and age of the neighbor from the image taken by the camera;
In a state in which the human sensor does not detect a proximity person, standby content unrelated to the attribute selected from contents stored in a web server connected to the communication network, and the human sensor Is detected from the content stored in the web server in a state in which the camera detects at least the face of the neighbor and the attribute analysis means analyzes the attributes of the neighbor. Content distribution means for displaying specific content corresponding to the attribute on the monitor via the wireless LAN base through the communication network ;
It is characterized by including.

  The vending machine system according to the present invention is configured as described above. For this reason, in addition to the function as a wireless LAN base, the function as an electronic signboard is exhibited. That is, during normal times (when there are no people around the vending machine), a predetermined content (standby content) is selected from a large number of contents stored in the external computer and displayed. Content stored on an external computer can be updated or added by the vending machine administrator accessing the external computer, so the administrator must travel to the vending machine location Not easy. When a person (proximity person) stands in front of the vending machine, the camera (for example, a CCD camera) photographs the proximity person, and the attribute analysis means extracts the attribute (gender, age group) of the proximity person from the face image. ). Then, the standby content is displayed by switching to the specific content corresponding to the attribute of the neighbor. As a result, content corresponding to the attribute of the neighbor can be displayed to the neighbor so that the appeal of the content is improved and the function as an electronic signboard is more efficiently exhibited. .

It has timekeeping means to keep the current time,
The information content distribution unit may transmit information corresponding to both the attribute data of the neighbor and the current time measured by the time measuring unit to the monitor for display. As a result, not only the attributes of the neighbors but also the contents corresponding to the time zone in which the vending machine is used are distributed, so that the appeal of the contents is further improved.

  The attribute analysis unit may analyze the attribute of the neighbor by comparing an image of the face portion of the neighbor taken by the camera with a face template image stored in advance.

  Further, the attribute analysis means includes facial contours in recognized facial image, size of facial organs such as eyes, nose, mouth and ears, presence or absence of skin wrinkles, spots or sagging in the face, The attribute of the neighbor may be analyzed by detecting at least one of the color, the hair color, the length, or the amount.

  The camera is preferably incorporated in the main body in a form that cannot be recognized by a person standing in front of it. As a result, the neighbor does not need to be aware that he / she has been photographed.

  The monitor displays standby content with no neighbors in front of the main body, and displays specific content corresponding to the attribute data with a neighbor standing in front of the main body. it can. That is, since different contents are displayed with and without the proximity, various contents can be displayed.

It is a front view of the vending machine 101 of the Example of this invention. It is a side view similarly. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a vending machine 101. FIG. (A) is the face image 16 of the neighbor, and (b) is the contour image 23 extracted from the face image 16. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vending machine 101. (A) is a block diagram of the vending machine 102 of 2nd Example, (b) is a flowchart which shows the effect | action.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the vending machine 101, and FIG. The face image 16 of the neighbor is shown, and (b) is the contour image 23 extracted from the face image 16.

  The vending machine 101 (main body) constituting the vending machine system of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the vending machine 101 is installed on the ground or floor, and is a box-type with an opening on the front (front) side, and a main body 1 that stocks goods (in the case of this embodiment, beverage). The door 2 is hinged to one side of the body 1 and closes the opening of the body 1 in the closed state. And the door part 2 can be opened and closed for replenishment / exchange of goods and maintenance of the main body part 1. On the front side of the door portion 2, a product display portion 3, a coin insertion slot 4, a bill insertion slot 5, a return lever 6, a change outlet 7, a commodity outlet 8 and the like are provided. The merchandise display section 3 is provided in three stages, each of which has a beverage container 9 as a product accommodated as a sample, and its front surface is covered with a transparent panel plate. Further, a user of the vending machine 101 (a person who intends to purchase a product of the vending machine 101. a neighbor) determines a product to be purchased at a position corresponding to each beverage container 9 in the product display unit 3. A push button switch 10 is provided.

  A wireless transmission / reception device 11 capable of transmitting radio waves for connecting to a communication network such as the Internet is attached to the upper surface of the main body 1. The wireless transmission / reception device 11 has a function as a wireless LAN base that enables connection to the Internet within a predetermined range of the vending machine 101. For this reason, a person who approaches the vending machine 101 regardless of whether or not he / she uses the vending machine 101 (hereinafter referred to as “neighbor”) is an information device (notebook computer, mobile phone, PDA) owned by the person. Etc.) can access the Internet.

  In the case of the vending machine 101 of this embodiment, a liquid crystal display 12 is attached to the left half of the uppermost product display section 3. Further, an advertisement space 13 is provided below the lowermost product display section 3 and on the side of the coin insertion slot 4. The advertising space 13 accommodates paper media such as advertising posters for beverages and advertising posters for the vending machine 101, for example. In addition, since the liquid crystal display 12 is attached to the door part 2, the accommodation capacity of goods is the same as the vending machine 101 to which the liquid crystal display 12 is not attached.

  A CCD camera 14 is mounted at a height position where the face of the near person is arranged slightly to the right of the door 2 of the vending machine 101 in the width direction (side closer to the coin slot 4). ing. The CCD camera 14 is for photographing a face portion of a close person, and has a cylindrical shape with an outer diameter of about several mm and a length of about 10 mm. Since the outer diameter of the CCD camera 14 is small, a proximity person can approach or use the vending machine 101 without noticing the presence of the CCD camera 14. The viewing angle θ of the CCD camera 14 is preferably set so that the face portion can be photographed in consideration of the assumed height of the neighboring person.

  The configuration of the vending machine 101 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the main unit 1 of the vending machine 101 includes a wireless transmission / reception device 11 for wirelessly connecting to an external computer 15 on the Internet, and a CCD camera 14 capable of photographing a face portion of a neighbor. Corresponding to the attribute data analyzed by the attribute analysis means 17 and the attribute analysis means 17 for analyzing the gender and the age group, which are the attributes of the neighbor, from the photographed face image 16 of the neighbor (see FIG. 4). Content distribution means 18 that distributes the content to be performed (specific content), a liquid crystal display 12 that displays the distributed content, and a computer 19 that controls the operation of each of the above devices.

  The external computer 15 is a web server on the Internet, for example, and stores a large number of contents including voice, images, or both. The external computer 15 can be accessed from the wireless transmission / reception device 11 of the vending machine 101 and can also be accessed from the management computer 21 by a third party (for example, an administrator of the vending machine 101). It is. For this reason, the administrator of the vending machine 101 can easily update a lot of contents stored in the external computer 15 and add / delete them regularly.

  The liquid crystal display 12 is installed on the door 2 of the vending machine 101. Since the display space for product samples is reduced by installing the liquid crystal display 12, the size of the liquid crystal display 12 is preferably about 20 inches at the maximum.

  As described above, the CCD camera 14 is attached to the substantially central portion of the door portion 2 of the vending machine 101. The CCD camera 14 is always operating. Then, the face portion of the person approaching the vending machine 101 is photographed. In the vending machine 101 of this embodiment, the CCD camera 14 is always operated. However, a proximity sensor or a human sensor (for example, an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays emitted by humans) is provided on the door 2 of the vending machine 101. ) And the CCD camera 14 may be operated after detecting that a person has approached the door 2 of the vending machine 101 within a set distance.

  The attribute analysis means 17 extracts characteristic items from the face image 16 of the neighbor extracted from the image photographed by the CCD camera 14, and analyzes the sex and age group of the neighbor. is there. As shown in FIG. 4A, the captured image includes a background image 22 of a passerby, a vehicle, and the like in addition to the face image 16 of the close person, so that the background image 22 To eliminate. In the face image 16, as features, the shape of the face outline, the size of the facial organs such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, the presence or absence of skin wrinkles, spots or sagging in the face, the skin color, Examples include hair color, length, or amount. As shown in (b) of FIG. 4, the face image 16 of the close person extracted from the image photographed by the CCD camera 14 is set as a contour line image 23 including only a contour line. Then, the gender of the neighbor is determined from the relative size of the facial organs 24 such as eyes, nose, mouth and ears in the contour image 23 and the length or amount of the hair 25, and wrinkles 26 and spots 27 in the contour image 23. The age group of neighbors is determined based on the number of. By comparing the photographed face image 16 of the proximity person with a face template image (not shown) stored in advance, the sex and age group of the proximity person may be determined.

  Note that the attribute analysis unit 17 is not necessarily provided in the main body 1. For example, it may be stored in the external computer 15 and accessed by the wireless transmission / reception device 11.

  The wireless transmission / reception apparatus 11 has a function of accessing the computer 19 of the vending machine 101 to the Internet, and a function of accessing an information device owned by a neighbor to the Internet. For this reason, the vending machine 101 according to the present embodiment serves as a wireless LAN base, and not only the user of the vending machine 101 but also an unspecified number of persons approach the periphery.

  The content distribution unit 18 has a function of distributing various types of content stored in the external computer 15. In a normal state (a state in which there are no neighbors around the vending machine 101), the content distribution unit 18 distributes the standby content. This standby content is selected regardless of the attributes of the neighbors of the vending machine 101, and is normal advertisement content, weather forecast, breaking news, surrounding area information, administrative communication matters, and the like. The standby content is randomly selected from various contents stored in the external computer 15 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 12. When the CCD camera 14 captures the face of the nearby person and the attribute analyzing unit 17 analyzes the attributes (gender, age group) of the nearby person, the content distributing unit 18 includes various contents stored in the external computer 15. The one corresponding to the attribute of the neighbor (for example, one that is considered to attract the neighbor's interest) is selected and distributed. Thereby, the neighbor visually recognizes the content that suits him. In other words, the content corresponding to the pinpoint is displayed to the neighbor. This content distribution means 18 may distribute the content stored in the storage device (not shown) of the main unit 1 without distributing the content stored in the external computer 15.

  The operation of each device described above is controlled by the computer 19. The computer 19 includes a CPU that controls the operation of each device, a storage device that temporarily stores a face image 16 of a neighbor photographed by the CCD camera 14 (none of which is shown). From the viewpoint of protecting personal information of the neighbor, it is desirable to delete the face image 16 of the neighbor taken by the CCD camera 14 after the attribute analysis process is completed.

  The operation of the vending machine 101 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power to the vending machine 101 is turned on, the computer 19 is activated to operate the wireless transmission / reception device 11, the liquid crystal display 12, the CCD camera 14, and the like, and is always connected to the external computer 15 by the wireless transmission / reception device 11 (step). S10). When it is determined that there are no neighbors around the vending machine 101, the content distribution unit 18 acquires (downloads) the standby content from the external computer 15 and displays it on the liquid crystal display 12 (step S20). The standby content is selected and displayed at random from the external computer 15, or is selected and displayed significantly according to the installation location and time of the vending machine 101, or the same content is repeatedly displayed. be able to.

  When the proximity person approaches the vending machine 101 (“Yes” in Step S), the CCD camera 14 captures an image of the face of the proximity person (Step S40). And the attribute analysis means 17 analyzes the attribute from the image | photographed face image 16 (step S50). Thereby, the gender and age group of a neighbor are discriminated. The time from when the CCD camera 14 captures the face portion of the neighbor and the attribute analysis means 17 analyzing the attribute is about 0.3 seconds.

  Next, the content distribution unit 18 selects and acquires content (specific content) corresponding to the attribute of the neighbor from the external computer 15 (step S60). Then, the computer 19 switches the display on the liquid crystal display 12 from the standby content to the specific content (step S70). Thereby, the content corresponding to the attribute of the neighbor can be displayed so that the neighbor can see it, and the appeal of the advertisement to the neighbor is improved. In addition, most of the neighbors do not notice that the content has been switched for themselves, and thus do not feel resistance to using the vending machine 101. As a result, there is a possibility that the sales of the product may decrease. Absent.

  As the specific content, for example, a plurality of specific contents can be displayed within a set time, or a single specific content can be repeatedly displayed a predetermined number of times. When the display of the specific content is completed (Yes in step S80), the computer 19 switches the display on the liquid crystal display 12 to the standby content (step S90). And the process from step S20 is repeated.

  Like the vending machine 102 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, the above-described vending machine 101 of the first embodiment is equipped with a time measuring means 28 for measuring the current time. Data on the time when the person approaches the vending machine 102 or uses the vending machine 102 may be acquired. Only the changed part of the flowchart at this time is shown in FIG. The attribute analysis unit 17 analyzes the attributes of the neighbor (step S50), and acquires data on the time when the neighbor purchased (utilized) the product (step S55). Then, the content distribution unit 18 selects content (specific content) corresponding to both the attribute of the neighbor and the use time (step S60), and displays the specific content on the liquid crystal display 12 (step S70). In this case, it is possible to further display the content corresponding to the neighbor in a pinpoint, and the appealing power of the advertisement to the neighbor is further improved.

  According to the present invention, a vending machine can be used as an electronic signboard (digital signage).

101,102 Vending machine 1 Main body (vending machine)
2 Door (vending machine)
3 Product Display Department 4 Coin slot (Price Settlement Department)
5 Banknote slot (Price settlement department)
7 Change Change Exit (Price Settlement Department)
8 Product outlet (product outlet)
10 Pushbutton switch (input section)
11 Wireless transceiver 12 Liquid crystal display (monitor)
14 CCD camera (camera)
16 Face image (face image)
17 Attribute analysis means 18 Content distribution means 28 Timekeeping means

Claims (6)

A product display unit that displays samples of products to be sold, an input unit that is operated to select the products to be purchased, a price settlement unit that settles the price of the products, and a product take-out unit that takes out the selected products are provided on the front The main body,
A wireless LAN base which can be connected which is connected with the installed in the communication network to the main body, and the information device Neighbor has you are within reach of radio waves from the body to the communication network by radio,
A monitor that is provided in the main body in the vicinity of the product display unit, displays predetermined characters and images, and is connected to the communication network via the wireless LAN base ;
A camera that is provided in the front of the main body in the vicinity of the monitor, and is incorporated so as to be able to photograph at least a face part of a neighbor standing on the front;
A human sensor that is attached to the main body and detects the proximity of the approaching person within a set distance from the main body to operate the camera;
Attribute analysis means for analyzing attributes such as gender and age of the neighbor from the image taken by the camera;
In a state in which the human sensor does not detect a proximity person, standby content unrelated to the attribute selected from contents stored in a web server connected to the communication network, and the human sensor Is detected from the content stored in the web server in a state in which the camera detects at least the face of the neighbor and the attribute analysis means analyzes the attributes of the neighbor. Content distribution means for displaying specific content corresponding to the attribute on the monitor via the wireless LAN base through the communication network ;
Vending machine system characterized by including. It has timekeeping means to keep the current time,
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the content distribution unit transmits and displays content corresponding to both the attribute data of the neighbor and the current time measured by the time measuring unit to the monitor. Machine system.   The attribute analysis unit analyzes the attribute of the neighbor by comparing an image of the face portion of the neighbor taken by the camera with a face template image stored in advance. Or the vending machine system of 2.   The attribute analysis means includes a facial contour line in the recognized facial image, the size of facial organs such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, the presence or absence of skin wrinkles, spots or sagging in the face, and the color of the skin. The vending machine system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of hair color, length, or amount is detected to analyze an attribute of a neighbor.   The vending machine system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the camera is incorporated in the main body in a form that cannot be recognized by a person standing in front of the main body.   The monitor displays standby content in a state where no neighbor is present on the front surface of the main body, and displays specific content corresponding to the attribute data in a state where a proximity person stands on the front surface of the main body. The vending machine system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that:

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