JP5164773B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly, a vending machine suitable for performing product settlement using electronic information means in which a plurality of electronic money for purchasing products sold by the vending machine is stored. Related to the machine.

This type of vending machine enables settlement of merchandise using an IC card or mobile phone (electronic information means) that stores a plurality of electronic money for purchasing merchandise sold at the vending machine. Things are known.
And electronic information reading / writing means for reading / writing electronic money stored in the electronic information means, balance display means for displaying balance information of electronic money stored in the electronic information means, and a plurality of information stored in the electronic information means Electronic information selecting means for selectively selecting one of the electronic money, and firstly selecting the electronic money by operating the electronic information selecting means, and then secondly supplying the electronic information to the electronic information reading / writing means. A technique for displaying balance information of the selected electronic money on a balance display means by holding the information means (for example, see Patent Document 1) is disclosed.
Japanese Patent No. 3899218

However, in the above prior art, when it is desired to refer to all balance information of a plurality of electronic money, a series of operations of holding the electronic information means after selecting the electronic money must be performed a plurality of times. There is a problem that the convenience of the user is impaired.
In addition, in view of the fact that such electronic information means generally tend to be widely spread, and the types of electronic money are also increasing, the above-described conventional technology has caused the user's willingness to purchase due to the troublesome balance inquiry. This may lead to a decline and, in turn, may hinder the sales promotion of products sold by vending machines.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of improving convenience for a user and promoting sales of products.

  In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine according to claim 1 enables settlement of merchandise using electronic information means in which a plurality of electronic money for purchasing merchandise sold by the vending machine is stored. An electronic information read / write device that reads and writes electronic money stored in the electronic information device and a single electronic money selected from a plurality of electronic money stored in the electronic information device. Electronic information selection means; and balance display means for displaying balance information of electronic money stored in the electronic information means. First, the electronic information means is held over the electronic information read / write means, thereby allowing a plurality of electronic money balances to be displayed. By reading and storing the information and secondly operating the electronic information selection means, the balance information of the selected electronic money among the plurality of electronic money stored by the first operation is read. It is characterized in that displayed on the balance display means.

Further, in the invention of claim 2, in claim 1, there is provided product selection means for selecting a product sold by the vending machine, and the second operation is performed until the product is selected by the product selection means. It is characterized in that the balance information of a plurality of electronic money is cyclically displayed on the balance display means each time.
Further, in the invention of claim 3, in claim 1 or 2, it is determined whether or not all the balance information of the plurality of electronic money stored in the electronic information means has been read after the first operation, and the determination result It is characterized by providing an informing means for informing.

Furthermore, the invention of claim 4 is characterized in that in any one of claims 1 to 3, after the second operation, there is provided reset means for hiding the balance information of the electronic money displayed on the balance display means. It is said.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, identification information for identifying electronic money selected by the second operation is displayed on the balance display means.

  According to the vending machine of the present invention of claim 1, firstly, the electronic information means is read and stored by holding the electronic information means over the electronic information read / write means, and secondly the electronic information selection means. , The balance information of the selected electronic money among the plurality of electronic money stored by the first operation is displayed on the balance display means. As a result, when the electronic payment is made by using the electronic information means in which a plurality of electronic money is stored, the electronic information means is stored in the electronic information means only by passing the electronic information means once over the electronic information reading / writing means. All of the electronic money balance information can be read at once by the vending machine, and the balance information of a plurality of electronic money can be referred to only by operating the electronic information selection means. Therefore, when the user of the vending machine wants to refer to all the balances of the plurality of electronic money before purchasing the product, it is prevented that a series of operations of holding the electronic information means after selecting the electronic money is performed a plurality of times. Therefore, the convenience of the user of the vending machine can be improved, and as a result, sales of products in the vending machine can be promoted.

  According to the invention of claim 2, until a product is selected by the product selection means, the balance information of a plurality of electronic money is cyclically displayed on the balance display means every time the second operation is performed. As a result, the user of the vending machine first selects the product to purchase by checking the balance information of each electronic money and the sales amount of each product after holding the electronic information means once over the electronic information reading / writing means. Whether or not to actually purchase the product can be determined over time, so that the user's willingness to purchase can be increased, and further sales promotion of the product in the vending machine can be promoted.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 3, after the first operation, the notification means for determining whether or not all the balance information of the plurality of electronic money stored in the electronic information means has been read and notifying the determination result. Is provided. As a result, it is possible to immediately notify the user of the electronic money of the standard that is not handled by the vending machine or the reading failure when the electronic information means is held over the electronic information reading / writing means. This can be further improved.

  Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 4, it is provided with reset means for hiding the electronic money balance information displayed on the balance display means after the second operation. As a result, when the user leaves the vending machine after referring to the balance information of the electronic money, it is possible to prevent the balance information from being known to a third party. Can be secured.

  According to the invention of claim 5, identification information for identifying the electronic money selected by the second operation is displayed on the balance display means. This makes it easy for the user to recognize how much electronic money balance remains, particularly when the second operation is continuously performed to display the balance information of a plurality of electronic money on the balance display means. Therefore, user convenience can be further improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the entire vending machine according to the present embodiment.
At the front of the casing 2 which is the main body of the vending machine, there is a product display unit 4 for displaying products sold by the vending machine, and a product selection button for selecting a product by the vending machine user who is the product purchaser. (Product selection means) 6, a money insertion slot 8 for inserting money when purchasing a product, a product outlet 10 for taking out a product carried out from a vending machine, an electronic information means (IC card, not shown) used by a user A card reader / writer (electronic information read / write means) 12 is provided for transmitting / receiving electronic information to / from a mobile phone or the like (hereinafter referred to as a card).

  An IC chip is built in the card, and this IC chip has information on the balance of multiple types of electronic money for purchasing products from vending machines, an application consisting of multiple types of specifications and standards for handling each electronic money, In addition, application identification information (such as an application logo or name) is stored as electronic information. In addition, since these balance information and identification information are linked | related and handled for every application, hereafter it is named application information generically.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram of the card reader / writer 12. The card reader / writer 12 includes a holding unit (electronic information read / write means) 14 for reading / writing application information (electronic money) stored in the card, and one application among a plurality of application information (electronic money) stored in the card. Electronic money selection button (electronic information selection means) 16 for selectively selecting information (electronic money), balance display section (balance display means) 18 for displaying application information (balance information of electronic money) stored in the card Is provided. The card reader / writer 12 configured in this way supports reading of application information having different standards and specifications, for example, of about eight kinds.

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the control device of the vending machine. The holding unit 14, the electronic money selection button 16, the balance display unit 18, and the product selection button 6 are provided in the control device of the vending machine. Connected to the arithmetic control unit 20.
The holding unit 14 reads all of a plurality of pieces of application information stored in the card in a lump and stores them in the arithmetic control unit 20 when the card is held in a non-contact manner (first operation).

  The electronic money selection button 16 includes a left button and a right button with left and right arrows, and a plurality of applications stored in the arithmetic control unit 20 by pressing these buttons and performing a scroll operation (second operation). One application information of the information is selected and displayed on the balance display unit 18. Until a product is selected by the product selection button 6, each time the electronic money selection button 16 is operated, a plurality of pieces of application information are cyclically displayed on the balance display unit 18.

Hereinafter, the card balance reference sequence performed by the arithmetic control unit 20 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when this control is started, the process proceeds to S1 (S represents a step, the same shall apply hereinafter). In S1, it is determined whether or not a card is held over the holding unit 14, and the determination result is true ( If it is determined that the card is held over (Yes), the process proceeds to S2. If the determination result is false (No) and it is determined that the card is not held over, the process returns to S1 again.

In S2, the card application information is read through the holding unit 14, stored in the arithmetic control unit 20, and the process proceeds to S3.
In S3, it is determined whether all the application information of the card has been read. If it is determined that the determination result is true (Yes) and all the card information is read, the process proceeds to S4, and the determination result is false (No). If it is determined that all the card information has not been read, the process proceeds to S5.

In S5, the reading result indicating that all the card information has not been read is displayed on, for example, the balance display unit 18 or notified to the user by voice (notifying means), and this sequence is terminated. In addition, you may make it transfer to S4 so that the balance reference of only the card information which could be read after this alerting | reporting in S5 can be performed.
On the other hand, in S4, it is determined whether or not the product selection button 6 has been operated. If it is determined that the product selection button 6 has been operated because the determination result is true (Yes), the balance reference is not shown as being completed. This sequence is terminated in order to shift to the merchandise settlement sequence. If it is determined that the determination result is false (No) and the merchandise selection button 6 is not operated, the process proceeds to S6.

In S6, it is determined whether or not the electronic money selection button 16 has been operated. If it is determined that the determination result is true (Yes) and the electronic money selection button 16 has been operated, the process proceeds to S7, and the determination result is false. If it is determined that the electronic money selection button 16 is not operated in (No), the process proceeds to S8.
In S8, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed without operating the electronic money selection button 16, and it is determined that the determination result is true and the predetermined time has elapsed without operating the electronic money selection button 16. In this case, this sequence is terminated, and if it is determined that the determination result is false (No) and the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to S6.

On the other hand, in S7, the application information (electronic money balance information and application identification information) selected by operating the electronic money selection button 16 is displayed on the balance display unit 18, and the process proceeds to S9.
In S9, it is determined whether or not the electronic money selection button 16 is continuously scrolled. If the determination result is true and it is determined that the electronic money selection button 16 has been scrolled, the process proceeds to S10. If the result is false (No) and it is determined that the electronic money selection button 16 is not scrolled, the process proceeds to S11.

In S10, the application information (electronic money balance information and application identification information) of the Nth application selected by the scroll operation of the electronic money selection button 16 among the plurality of application information is displayed, and the process proceeds to S11.
In S11, when the electronic money selection button 16 is not scrolled, for example, when a predetermined time elapses, or when the next user holds the card over the holding unit 14 to use the vending machine, the balance display unit 18 The application information (electronic money balance information and application identification information) displayed in (1) is not displayed, the display is reset (reset means), and this sequence ends. Although not shown, even when the product selection button 6 is operated in steps S6 to S11, as in the case of step S4, it is assumed that the balance reference has been completed, and this sequence is used to shift to the product settlement sequence. Exit.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the product settlement of the vending machine is performed using a card in which a plurality of electronic money is stored by referring to the balance information of the card by the balance reference sequence as described above, By simply holding the card over the holding unit 14 once, all the balance information of the plurality of electronic money stored in the card is collectively read by the vending machine side, and only by operating the electronic money selection button 16, the plurality of electronic money can be read. Can be referred to. Therefore, when the user of the vending machine wants to refer to the balance of a plurality of electronic money before purchasing the product, it is prevented from performing a series of operations such as holding the card after selecting the electronic money multiple times. The convenience of the user of the vending machine can be improved, and as a result, sales of products in the vending machine can be promoted.

  Further, until a product is selected by the product selection button 6, each time the second operation is performed, the balance information of a plurality of electronic money is cyclically displayed on the balance display unit 18, so that the user first After holding the card over the holding unit 14 once, it takes time to select the product to be purchased and whether to actually purchase the product by checking the balance information of each electronic money and the sales amount of each product. Since it can be determined, the user's willingness to purchase can be increased, and further sales promotion of the product in the vending machine can be promoted.

  Furthermore, after the operation of holding the card over the holding unit 14 (first operation), notification means for determining whether or not all the balance information of the plurality of electronic money stored in the card has been read and notifying the determination result is provided. By providing it, it is possible to immediately notify the user of the electronic money of the standard that is not handled by the vending machine side or the reading failure when the card is held over the holding unit 14, thereby further improving the convenience for the user. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, after the operation of pressing the electronic money selection button 16 (second operation), the electronic money balance displayed on the balance display unit 18 is not provided so that the user can display the electronic money balance. Since it is possible to prevent the balance information from being known to a third party when, for example, the user leaves the vending machine after referring to the information, the reliability of the user with respect to the vending machine can be ensured.

  Further, by displaying identification information for identifying the electronic money selected by the operation of pressing the electronic money selection button 16 (second operation) on the balance display unit 18, in particular, the electronic money selection button 16 is continuously displayed. When the user presses and displays the balance information of a plurality of electronic money on the balance display unit 18, the user can easily recognize how much balance of electronic money is handled by which application, which is convenient for the user. Can be further improved.

The description of one embodiment of the present invention is finished above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the electronic information means is a non-contact type IC card or mobile phone with a built-in IC chip, but in the case of a non-contact type IC card, specifically, a credit card having a credit function or The present invention can be applied when using a prepaid prepaid card or the like, and can also be applied when using a mobile terminal that is not limited to a mobile phone.

  In the above case, the electronic information means is used offline by reading and writing the electronic information of the electronic money on the IC chip, but the portable terminal uses the electronic money online via the wireless LAN. In this case as well, the balance can be easily referred to when purchasing products with a vending machine in the same manner as described above to improve the convenience of the vending machine user. There is an effect that can be.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the block diagram which expanded and showed the card | curd dryer of FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the control apparatus of the vending machine of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the balance reference sequence performed in the calculation control part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

6 Product selection button (Product selection means)
14 Holding part (electronic information reading and writing means)
16 Electronic money selection button (electronic information selection means)
18 Balance display section (Balance display means)

Claims (5)

A vending machine capable of product settlement using electronic information means in which a plurality of electronic money for purchasing a product for sale at a vending machine is stored,
Electronic information read / write means for reading and writing the electronic money stored in the electronic information means;
Electronic information selection means for selectively selecting one of the plurality of electronic money stored in the electronic information means;
Balance display means for displaying balance information of the electronic money stored in the electronic information means,
First, by holding the electronic information means over the electronic information reading / writing means, the balance information of the plurality of electronic money is read and stored, and secondly, by operating the electronic information selection means, the first information A vending machine characterized by displaying balance information of the selected electronic money among the plurality of electronic money stored by operation on the balance display means. Comprising product selection means for selecting products for sale at the vending machine;
2. The balance information of the plurality of electronic money is cyclically displayed on the balance display unit each time the second operation is performed until a product is selected by the product selection unit. Vending machine.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that determines whether or not all balance information of the plurality of electronic money stored in the electronic information unit has been read after the first operation and notifies the determination result. Item 1 or 2 vending machine.   The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a reset unit that hides the balance information of the electronic money displayed on the balance display unit after the second operation.   5. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein identification information for identifying the electronic money selected by the second operation is displayed on the balance display means.

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