JP7175039B2 - PET bottle volume reduction device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a PET bottle volume reduction device and program.

There is known an empty bottle collector that issues a receipt corresponding to the payment of a return deposit for the bottle in response to acceptance of the empty bottle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-515801

As collection of the containers progresses, the containing section for containing the containers eventually becomes full. However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not have a function for efficiently assisting the replacement of replacement members such as storage bags in the storage section filled with collected containers. There has been a demand for a function that can efficiently replace

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to efficiently assist replacement of a replacement member in a container filled with articles collected by an article collecting device.

In order to solve the above problems, the PET bottle volume reduction device of the present invention has at least the following configurations. That is, determination means for determining whether or not the thrown-in PET bottle is a recoverable container, volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container, container housing section for housing the container after volume reduction, operation reception means, and display means for displaying the state of the apparatus and instruction information for an operator, wherein the PET bottle volume reduction apparatus performs processing associated with container insertion through the operation reception means and the operation reception means. and a maintenance mode in which the operation receiving means and the display means are caused to execute a process associated with collection of the container stored in the container storage unit, and the normal mode and the maintenance The mode can be switched, and in the normal mode, information to the effect that the label is to be removed is displayed on the display means, and in the maintenance mode, the information to the effect that bag replacement is accepted is displayed on the display means, and Information for confirming whether or not the replacement of the bag attached to the container storage section is completed is displayed on the display means, and furthermore, by operating the operation receiving means, the replacement of the bag is completed. It is characterized in that it is possible to accept the selection of whether or not there is .

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently assist replacement of a replacement member in a container filled with articles collected by an article collecting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the structural example of the PET bottle collection|recovery system in 1st Embodiment. 1A and 1B are a front view and a side view of a PET bottle collecting device according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the collection|recovery history information table in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a collection record web page in the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of how a store clerk operates the PET bottle recovery device when exchanging the storage bag in the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the member group rank information table in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the individual member rank information table in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of the guidance screen in this embodiment in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional structural example of the PET bottle collection|recovery apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the collection|recovery management server in 2nd Embodiment. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by the PET bottle collecting device and the collection management server in the second embodiment in response to one collection operation. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by a PET bottle collecting device and a collection management server according to a second embodiment in response to one contained article collection work. It is a figure which shows the example of a device main-body part of the PET bottle collection|recovery apparatus in 3rd Embodiment.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a PET bottle collection system (an example of an article collection device) according to this embodiment.
In this embodiment, a PET bottle collecting device 100 is installed for each of a plurality of stores ST. The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may be installed in the building of the store ST, or may be installed in a location facing the outdoors, such as under the eaves, on the premises of the store ST.

A store ST in the figure is, for example, an affiliated store in the same affiliated company. As a specific example, the store ST in the figure is a convenience store in the same series.

The PET bottle recovery device 100 functions as a collection facility for PET bottles as recycled products. A customer C who has gone to the store ST puts into the PET bottle recovery device 100 a PET bottle that has been emptied by drinking a beverage or the like. The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment stores the PET bottles after reducing the volume thereof.

Also, the PET bottle collecting device 100 is communicatively connected to the collection management server 200 via the network NT. The PET bottle collecting device 100 may communicate with the network NT via, for example, a mobile phone communication network. As a result, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can communicate wirelessly, and there is no need to connect a cable for a network.
Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which one PET bottle recovery device 100 is installed in one store ST, the number of PET bottle recovery devices 100 installed in one store ST is not particularly limited.

The collection management server 200 is a server that performs information processing regarding the collection of PET bottles by the PET bottle collection device 100 . The collection management server 200 is operated by a company that provides the PET bottle collection device 100, for example.
The collection management server 200 specifically manages collection history information indicating the history of collection of PET bottles in the PET bottle collection device 100 of each store ST. Then, the collection management server 200 uses the PET bottle collection device 100 to derive the customer C's track record (collection track record) regarding cooperation in collecting PET bottles, and notifies the customer C of the derived collection track record. Notification of the collection record to the customer C is performed by displaying information on the collection record on the customer terminal device 300 of the customer C. FIG.

The customer terminal device 300 is a terminal device owned by the customer C. As shown in FIG. The customer terminal device 300 may be, for example, a stationary or notebook personal computer, or a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or a mobile phone.
The customer terminal device 300 can communicate with the collection management server 200 via the network NT.

Moreover, the customer C in the figure is registered as a member of the store ST. A customer C who is a member of the store ST owns a membership card CD.
The card information recorded on the member card CD includes a member identifier. The member identifier is also a card identifier uniquely assigned to each member card CD. Since one membership card CD is provided for each member customer C, the card identifier unique to each membership card CD identifies the member customer C who is the owner of the membership card CD. It is treated as a unique member identifier.

The membership card CD can be used as a prepaid card for payment at the store ST. The member card CD can also be used as a point card. For example, when paying at a store ST, a customer who is a member presents a member card CD to a store clerk.
A store clerk causes a card reader of the POS register 400 to read the card information recorded in the member card CD when performing accounting according to the merchandise purchased by the customer by operating the POS register 400 installed in the store ST. perform an operation.

The POS register 400 executes accounting processing including merchandise registration processing for registering merchandise purchased by a customer and settlement processing according to the registered merchandise.
The POS register 400 transmits the read card information to the store management server 500 when the card information is read from the member card CD in the checkout process. As a result, the store management server 500 performs processing corresponding to, for example, payment from the prepaid balance, addition of points according to the payment amount, conversion of points to the prepaid balance, charging of the prepaid amount, and the like.
Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which one POS register 400 is installed in one store ST, the number of POS registers 400 installed in one store ST is not particularly limited.

The store management server 500 is a server that centrally manages the store ST. The store management server 500 is operated by the store ST.
The store management server 500 specifically manages prepaid balances, point balances, and the like for each member identifier. Also, the store management server 500 may manage, for example, information on products for each store ST.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an outline of the operation of the PET bottle collecting device 100 will be described. FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the PET bottle collecting device 100 as viewed from the front. FIG. 2(b) is a side view of the PET bottle collecting device 100 as viewed from the side.

In the standby state of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, the outer door of the article loading section is closed, and the inner door provided between the article loading section and the storage section is closed.
On the other hand, when collecting articles, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 determines whether or not the outer door of the article loading section is in an open state and the articles placed on the placement section of the article loading section can be collected. That is, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 determines whether or not the thrown-in article is a resin container such as a PET bottle and the container is empty. When it is determined that the container can be collected, the outer door is closed, the inner door provided between the article insertion section and the container is opened, and the container is collected by the container.
In addition, the PET bottle collecting device 100 of this embodiment includes a volume reduction mechanism. The PET bottle collecting device 100 can collect a large amount of reduced empty containers in a collection unit having a specified capacity by reducing the volume of the container by means of the volume reduction mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 2, the PET bottle collecting device 100 is provided with a container loading section 110 in the upper part of the device main body 100B, and an outer door 111 is provided outside the opening of the container loading section 110. there is A touch panel display section 1400 and a card reader 1500 are provided on the front side near the upper portion of the outer door 111 of the device main body section 100B. A luggage hook 100f is provided on the front side of the device main body 100B.
Various sensors are provided in the container loading section 110 for determining whether or not the loaded article can be collected. Examples of sensors include optical sensors, metal sensors, scales, imaging devices, and the like. The PET bottle collecting device 100 determines whether or not the thrown-in article can be collected, for example, using the outputs of these sensors. If it is determined that the PET bottle can be collected, the PET bottle that has been put in is stored after being reduced in volume by the volume reduction mechanism. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not recoverable, the customer is notified without reducing or containing the thrown-in article, and the thrown-in article is not taken out from the container throwing unit 110. Prompted.

Further, a passage 71 that communicates with the container storage section 140 is provided below the container insertion section 110 . Further, an inner door 112 is provided at a position where passage 71 communicates with placing portion 116 of container loading portion 110 and container holding portion 140 .

Further, the PET bottle collecting device 100 is provided with a volume reduction section 120 (volume reduction mechanism) between the inner door 112 and the container storage section 140 . When the inner door 112 is open, the volume reducing section 120 crushes the empty container A from the container loading section 110 to reduce the volume, and outputs the reduced container RA to the container storage section 140 below.
In addition, the device main body 100B of the PET bottle collecting device 100 has a drawer 100C in which the container housing portion 140 is placed, and is provided with a drawer handle 100e and a keyhole 100r on the front side. It is configured so that it can be inserted into the hole 100r and locked/unlocked.

Further, a translucent portion 100A (a translucent window) is provided on the front side of the apparatus main body portion 100B, more specifically, on the front side of the drawer 100C, so that empty containers stored in the container storage portion 140 can be viewed from the outside. is configured to be visible.

Further, a moving handle 100g used during transportation is provided on the side surface of the apparatus main body 100B.

Further, the device main body 100B has a cap insertion portion 108 on the front side, and a cap passage 72 is provided downward from the cap insertion portion 108 in the device main body so that a cap inserted into the cap insertion portion 108 can be a cap. It is configured to be accommodated in the cap accommodating portion 145 via the passage 72 for the cap.

Further, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is provided with a card reader 1500 capable of reading card information recorded on the membership card CD.

When a customer who is a member starts using the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, he or she performs an operation to cause the card reader 1500 to read his or her membership card CD. When the member card CD is read by the card reader 1500, the operation of the PET bottle collecting device 100 corresponding to one collection operation is started. The collection operation means that one or more PET bottles brought by the customer are collected by the PET bottle collection device 100 . In the case of a customer who does not have a membership card CD, for example, one collection operation may be started in response to an operation on the touch panel display section 1400 to instruct the start.
In one collection operation, the customer throws one PET bottle into the container throwing unit 110 of the PET bottle collection device 100, and when the put-in PET bottle is reduced in volume and accommodated, the next one As the PET bottles are thrown in, the PET bottles are stored one by one in the PET bottle collecting device 100.例文帳に追加
Then, when the customer finishes storing all the PET bottles brought in this time in the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, the customer can perform an operation for finishing, for example, on the touch panel display unit 1400. FIG. This completes one collection operation.

In response to the completion of one collection operation as described above, the PET bottle collection device 100 generates collection history information reflecting the result of the collection operation, and sends the generated collection history information to the collection management server 200. Send to In other words, transmission of collection history information from the PET bottle collection device 100 to the collection management server 200 is performed for each collection operation.
The collection management server 200 stores the collection history information received from each PET bottle collection device 100 in, for example, a collection history information table.

In addition, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 stores collection history information generated each time the collection operation is completed. As a result, collection history information is accumulated in the PET bottle collection device 100 every time the collection operation is performed.
After that, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may transmit collection history information accumulated since the previous transmission of the collection history information to the store management server 500 at predetermined collection history information transmission timing. That is, the transmission of the collection history information from the PET bottle collection device 100 to the store management server 500 may be performed at predetermined timing instead of every collection operation. Since the store management server 500 frequently communicates with, for example, the POS register 400 of the store ST, the communication load may become heavy depending on the time zone and circumstances. Therefore, the transmission of the collection history information from the PET bottle collection device 100 to the store management server 500 is performed, for example, at a time when the amount of communication with the POS register 400 is relatively low. 500 communication load can be leveled.
Alternatively, transmission of collection history information from the PET bottle collection device 100 to the store management server 500 may be performed for each collection operation. In this case, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can acquire the collection history information each time the collection operation is performed. In other words, in this case, it is possible to improve the real-time nature of acquisition of the collection history information of the PET bottle collection device 100 .

FIG. 3 shows an example of the contents of the collection history information table. One record (one line) in the collection history information table in FIG. 11 is the collection history information transmitted from the PET bottle collection device 100 corresponding to one collection operation.
One piece of collection history information includes areas of device identifier, store identifier, member identifier, collection date and time, number of collected bottles (an example of collected amount), and collected weight (an example of collected amount).

The device identifier area stores a device identifier that uniquely indicates the PET bottle collecting device 100 that is the source of the collection history information. The device identifier is information stored in the PET bottle collecting device 100 .

The store identifier area stores a store identifier that uniquely indicates the store ST where the PET bottle collecting device 100 that is the transmission source of the collection history information is installed. The device identifier is information stored in the PET bottle collecting device 100 . For example, when the store ST where the PET bottle recovery device 100 should be installed is determined, a store identifier indicating the store ST where the PET bottle recovery device 100 is to be installed is written to the PET bottle recovery device 100 .

The member identifier area stores the member identifier included in the card information read from the member card CD by the card reader of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, which is the sender of the collection history information, at the start of the corresponding collection operation.
In the case of collection history information corresponding to collection operations performed by customers who are not members, a predetermined value (null value) indicating that a significant value as a member identifier is not stored in the member identifier area, for example. may be stored.

The collection date and time area stores the collection date and time when the corresponding collection operation was performed. The collection date and time may be, for example, the time when the collection operation is started or the time when the collection operation is finished. Alternatively, the collection date and time may include both the time when the collection operation was started and the time when it was finished. The date and time of collection may be set in the PET bottle collecting device 100 and included in the collection history information transmitted by the PET bottle collecting device 100, for example.
Alternatively, for example, the collection management server 200 may set the date and time corresponding to the reception of the collection history information as the collection date and time. When the collection management server 200 sets the collection date and time in this manner, the collection history information transmitted by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may not include the collection date and time.

The collected number area stores the number of PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 in the corresponding collection operation (collected number). The number of collected bottles is obtained by counting the number of PET bottles that have been reduced in volume and stored by the PET bottle collecting device 100 during the collection operation.
The collected weight area stores the total weight (collected weight) of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 in the corresponding collection operation. The collected weight is obtained by measuring the weight of each PET bottle whose volume has been reduced and accommodated by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 during the collection operation, and accumulating the measured weight.

Note that the store management server 500 may also store the collection history information received from each PET bottle collection device 100 in the same way as the collection management server 200, using the structure of the collection history information table shown in FIG.

Returning to FIG. In the PET bottle collection system of the present embodiment, when the customer C, who is a member, uses the PET bottle collection device 100, the point of the member card is given in order to give a privilege for cooperating in the collection of the PET bottles. Add service (point addition service). The point addition service for using the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 is implemented by the store management server 500 that manages the member's points.
The store management server 500 performs the following processing for one member as a point addition service. The store management server 500 utilizes the collection history information about one member transmitted from each PET bottle collection device 100 among the collection history information stored by itself to determine the PET bottles collected by one member. A predetermined number of points are added each time the number of bottles increases (for example, 1 point is added for every 5 PET bottles).
In this manner, by adding points to the membership card CD according to the use of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 by the customer C who is a member, the customer C who is a member can obtain a practical advantage. As a result, the utilization of the PET bottle collecting device 100 by customers (collection operation) is encouraged.

In addition, the PET bottle recovery system of the present embodiment can target customers C who are members using the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 and can notify the customers C of the collection results. The mode of notifying the customer C of the collection record is performed, for example, as follows.

A customer C who is a member using the PET bottle collecting device 100 accesses the customer terminal device 300 to a web page for notifying collection results (recovery record web page), for example, by using the network connection function of the customer terminal device 300. Let
In the following description, the case where the collection management server 200 has a function as a web server that provides a collection record web page will be taken as an example.

FIG. 4A shows an example of an initial display mode of the collection record web page first displayed on the customer terminal device 300 when the customer terminal device 300 is made to access the collection record web page.
In the web page shown in the figure, an input box BX for inputting a member identifier and a search button BT are arranged. Customer C performs an operation of inputting his own member identifier into the input box BX. In this embodiment, the member identifier is, for example, a numeric string with a predetermined number of digits. Customer C can confirm his own member identifier by the number string of the member identifier written on the member card CD that he owns.

The customer C enters the member identifier in the input box BX and then operates the search button BT. In response to the operation of the search button BT, the customer terminal device 300 transmits to the collection management server 200 a collection record request including the member identifier entered in the input box BX.
Upon receiving the collection record request, the collection management server 200 uses the collection history information stored in the collection history information table to derive the collection record for the member indicated by the member identifier included in the collection record request.
In this case, the collection record includes, for example, the cumulative number of collected bottles (total number of collected bottles) for the member indicated by the member identifier whose collection history information is stored in the collection history information table, and the order based on the cumulative number of collected bottles. .
When the collection management server 200 derives the collection record for the customer C, the collection management server 200 transmits collection record information indicating the derived collection record to the customer terminal device 300 that sent the collection record request.
Upon receiving the collection record information, the customer terminal device 300 updates and displays the collection record web page according to the description of the collection record web page so that the content of the received collection record information is reflected.

FIG. 4(b) shows an example of a display mode of the updated web page for the customer C on the customer terminal device 300. As shown in FIG.
In the web page of FIG. 1, the cumulative number of collected bottles for the customer C is indicated in the cumulative number of collected bottles area AR1.
Also, the ranking of the customer C is indicated in the ranking area AR2. In the ranking area AR2 in the figure, the number of all members who have used the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 is indicated by the denominator, and the rank of customer C is indicated by the numerator. That is, in the ranking area AR2, the rank of the customer C among all the members who have used the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 is shown.
In order to display the order in the manner shown in the figure, for example, the total number of members who have used the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 should be included in the collection record information together with the order of the customer C. FIG.

By viewing the screen of the web page displayed in this way, the customer C can grasp how many PET bottles he or she has collected so far with the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 . Also, the customer C can grasp his own ranking based on the cumulative number of collected PET bottles.
In this way, the customer C as a member who uses the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can grasp his/her performance regarding PET bottle collection, so that the customer C can use the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 while being aware of the ranking. 100 are available. In this case, it is expected that the customer C will be more willing to use the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 because the intention to raise the ranking will work more easily.

In the above collection record notification mode, the customer C operates the web browser of the customer terminal device 300 or the like to access the collection record web page, and then performs an operation of inputting the member identifier. Some customers may perceive such operations as troublesome. Considering this, it is preferable to inform the customer C of the collection record more easily.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the customer C is also notified of the collection record in the following manner.

The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 causes the touch panel display unit 1400 to display a two-dimensional code used for accessing the collection record web page, for example, at the timing when one collection operation is completed. The displayed two-dimensional code is obtained from the URL (Uniform Resource Locator: an example of the notification location) of the collection record web page and the member information of the member card CD read by the card reader 1500 at the start of the collection operation by customer C. member identifier and Acquisition of the member identifier from the member information of the member card CD is an example of specifying the identification information.

If the customer wants to check his or her own collection record on the spot, the customer can use the code reader function of the customer terminal device 300 owned by the customer to read the two-dimensional code displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400. is read by the customer terminal device 300 .
The customer terminal device 300 that has read the two-dimensional code analyzes the read two-dimensional code and acquires the URL and the member identifier. The customer terminal device 300 accesses the acquired URL. The accessed web page is, for example, the initially displayed recovery performance web page shown in FIG. 4(a). The customer terminal device 300 inputs the member identifier acquired from the two-dimensional code to the accessed web page, and generates an operation (click) on the search button BT.
A collection performance request is transmitted from the customer terminal device 300 to the collection management server 200 in response to occurrence of an operation on the search button BT. The collection management server 200 derives the collection record and transmits the collection record information in response to the collection record request. The customer terminal device 300 updates the collection record web page so as to reflect the content of the received collection record, and displays the updated collection record web page.
As a result, in the customer terminal device 300, in response to the reading of the two-dimensional code, as shown in FIG. be done.
In this case, the customer C causes the customer terminal device 300 to display the collection record by simply performing a simple operation of causing the customer terminal device 300 to read the two-dimensional code on the spot where the collection operation is performed. can be confirmed.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In collecting PET bottles, a certain quality level is required as articles (collected articles) to be collected. Specifically, it is required that there is no residue in the PET bottle and that the cap and label have been removed.
However, it is not always the case that all customers will throw into the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 PET bottles that meet the quality standards as described above. PET bottles whose quality standards are not maintained are not desirable in that, for example, it takes time and effort to recycle them. For this reason, it is required to ensure that as many customers as possible adhere to the quality standards.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as will be described below, an attempt is made to increase the number of customers who keep the quality level of the PET bottles and throw them into the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 .

For example, when the PET bottles stored in the container storage section 140 are almost full, the store clerk takes out the PET bottles from the container storage section 140 to empty the container storage section 140 (recovery of stored articles). work) is performed.
Specifically, for example, the stored article recovery operation is performed as follows.
When the PET bottle collecting device 100 detects that the container storage unit 140 is full of PET bottles, the PET bottle recovery device 100 notifies that the container storage unit 140 is full.
For example, the PET bottle collecting device 100 counts the number of bottles stored in the container storage unit 140, and determines that the container storage unit 140 is full of PET bottles when the counted number reaches a certain value. You can
Alternatively, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may detect a state in which the container storage section 140 is full of PET bottles based on the output of a sensor provided corresponding to the container storage section 140, for example. For example, the sensor detects the presence of a PET bottle by means of a photocoupler at a position where the PET bottle is present when the container storage unit 140 is full (if the PET bottle is present, the diffused reflection of the PET bottle the amount of light received is reduced). Alternatively, the sensor may be, for example, a switch that detects contact with a plastic bottle at a location where the plastic bottle is present, corresponding to the container housing portion 140 being full.

Note that the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may detect that a predetermined state in which the container accommodating section 140 is nearly full is reached, and notify that the container accommodating section 140 is nearly full. good.

In detecting that the container storage section 140 has become full, or that the container storage section 140 is approaching fullness, as described above, the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 measures the capacity of the PET bottles ( That is, it may be configured to be able to detect the size of a PET bottle. In order to obtain such a configuration, for example, a sensor may be provided so as to detect the size of the PET bottle that has been thrown. Alternatively, the PET bottle collecting device 100 may be configured to be able to measure the weight of the put PET bottle. Based on the weight of the thrown PET bottle, the size of the PET bottle can be estimated. Alternatively, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may detect the size based on an image obtained by imaging the thrown-in PET bottle with an imaging device. The PET bottle collecting device 100 uses information on the size of the PET bottles together with the number of PET bottles stored in the container storage unit 140, for example, to improve the detection accuracy of when the container storage unit 140 is full. be able to.

Note that the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may also notify the user when it detects that a certain number or more of PET bottles corresponding to a large amount of PET bottles have been thrown in in one collection operation. . Even when a large number of PET bottles are thrown into the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 at once in this manner, the PET bottles may become full.
Further, the notification that a large amount of PET bottles have been thrown may be performed by the touch panel display unit 1400 of the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100, for example.
Alternatively, the notification that a large amount of PET bottles have been thrown in may be made by lighting a lighting device or a lighting device provided in the PET bottle collecting device 100 in a predetermined pattern.
Alternatively, the fact that a large amount of PET bottles have been thrown in may be notified to the store clerk at the POS register 400 through communication between the PET bottle collecting device 100 and the POS register 400 installed in the store ST or a host device. may be Alternatively, the notification that a large amount of PET bottles have been thrown may be made by a terminal owned by the salesclerk through communication between the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 and a terminal owned by the salesclerk. If the POS register 400 or a terminal possessed by the store clerk is notified, the store clerk can grasp the timing for collecting the stored articles without going to the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 .

In response to receiving the notification as described above, the store clerk at the store ST takes out the storage bag containing the PET bottle from the container storage section 140 and sets a new empty storage bag in the container storage section 140. Do the work. Such an operation is a stored article recovery operation. For the PET bottles that have been taken out and placed in the storage bag, a collecting company (recycling company), for example, periodically travels to the store ST with a transportation vehicle and comes to collect the PET bottles.
In this way, the store staff at the store ST appropriately performs the operation of collecting stored articles as part of their business. Therefore, the store clerk can see and confirm the quality of the PET bottles contained in the storage bag by himself when collecting the stored articles.
Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is designed to request the clerk to input the quality rank of the PET bottle (an example of quality-related information) when the clerk collects the stored articles. Inputting a quality rank corresponds to classifying for quality.

With reference to FIG. 5, an operation example performed by a clerk on the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 when exchanging the storage bag will be described.
The store clerk who wants to replace the storage bag performs a predetermined operation on the touch panel display unit 1400 of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 to display a work start confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 5(A).
On the work start confirmation screen shown in the figure, a dialog message is displayed to confirm with the store clerk whether or not the collection work of stored articles is to be started, and a "Yes" button BT11 and a "No" button BT12 are arranged. there is
When the store clerk intends to collect the stored articles from this point onwards, he or she operates the "Yes" button BT11. It should be noted that, for example, in the event that the work start confirmation screen is displayed unintentionally due to an operational error, etc., even though the work to collect the stored articles was not intended, the clerk can simply press the "No" button BT12. Just do it.

In response to the operation of the "Yes" button BT11 on the work start confirmation screen, the display on the touch panel display unit 1400 changes from the work start confirmation screen display of FIG. 5A to the opening/closing operation screen of FIG. 5B. transition to The store clerk can open the door (drawer 100C) of the container storage section 140 by operating the opening/closing operation screen. Note that FIG. 2 shows an example in which the drawer 100C is locked and unlocked by inserting a key into the keyhole 100r. As shown in the figure, in the configuration in which the drawer 100C is opened by unlocking by operating the opening/closing operation screen, for example, the locking/unlocking mechanism by the keyhole 100r may be omitted.

In response to the opening of the door of the container housing unit 140 by the operation on the opening/closing operation screen, the display on the touch panel display unit 1400 changes from the opening/closing operation screen of FIG. 5(B) to the rank of FIG. Transition to the input screen.
In the rank input screen shown in the figure, an A rank selection button BT21-1, a B rank selection button BT21-2, and a C rank selection button BT22-3 are arranged. In the following description, the A rank selection button BT21-1, the B rank selection button BT21-2, and the C rank selection button BT22-3 will be referred to as the rank selection button BT21 unless otherwise distinguished.
In this embodiment, as an example, the case where three levels of A rank, B rank, and C rank are set as the quality of the PET bottle will be described. The A rank corresponds to the quality of all the PET bottles contained in the storage bag, for example, a state in which the quality standard is observed. Rank B corresponds to, for example, a state in which labels, caps, etc., are not removed from at least some of the PET bottles contained in the storage bag. Rank C corresponds to, for example, a state in which at least some of the PET bottles contained in the storage bag have residues such as leftover liquid, cigarette butts, and other garbage. It should be noted that such a three-stage rank is an example, and the number of rank stages is not particularly limited.
The store clerk opens the drawer 100C of the PET bottle collecting device 100, takes out the storage bag from the container storage unit 140, checks the condition of the PET bottle in the storage bag, and ranks it as A, B, or C. Determine if applicable. The store clerk operates the rank selection button BT21 corresponding to the determined rank.

In response to the operation of the rank selection button BT21, the display on the touch panel display unit 1400 transitions from the rank input screen of FIG. 5(C) to the work completion confirmation screen of FIG. 5(D).
On the work end confirmation screen in the figure, a dialogue message for confirming with the store clerk whether or not it is okay to end the stored article collection work is displayed, and a "Yes" button BT31 and a "No" button BT32 are arranged. ing.
The store clerk operates the "yes" button BT31 when the stored article collection work may be ended. As a result, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 returns to the normal operation mode from, for example, the maintenance mode corresponding to the collection of stored articles.
In addition, if the collection of stored articles should not be finished because, for example, a new storage bag has been forgotten, the clerk operates the "No" button BT12 to maintain the maintenance mode and perform the necessary work. You can do it.

The PET bottle collecting device 100 that has finished collecting the stored articles as described above generates member group rank information (an example of user group correspondence information) corresponding to the current collected article collecting work, and generates the generated member group rank. Information is sent to the collection management server 200 .
The member group rank information includes the member identifier of the member who put in the PET bottle as the collected item that was in the storage bag taken out from the container storage unit 140 by the current collected item collection work, and the rank in the current collected item collection work. and information indicating the rank input by the operation on the input screen.

When the collection management server 200 receives the member group rank information transmitted from the PET bottle collection device 100 of each store ST, the received member group rank information is added to the member group rank information table and stored.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a member group rank information table stored by the collection management server 200. As shown in FIG. One record in the member group rank information table is member group rank information corresponding to one collected article collection work.
One piece of member group rank information includes a device identifier, store identifier, work date and time, group member list, and rank.

The device identifier area stores a device identifier that uniquely indicates the PET bottle collecting device 100 that is the source of the member group rank information.
The store identifier area stores a store identifier that uniquely indicates the store ST where the PET bottle collecting device 100 that is the transmission source of the member group rank information is installed.

The work date and time field stores the date and time (work date and time) when the current stored article collection work was performed. The work date and time may be, for example, the date and time when the PET bottle recovery device 100 transitions to the maintenance mode in response to the operation of the "Yes" button BT11 on the work start confirmation screen (FIG. 5A). Alternatively, the work date and time may be the date and time when the PET bottle collecting device 100 inputs the rank in accordance with the operation of the rank selection button BT21 on the rank input screen (FIG. 5(C)) for the collected article collection work this time. .

The intra-group member list area stores a member identifier (member list) for each member belonging to the user member group. In this embodiment, the number of members (that is, members who used the PET bottle recovery device 100) who put in the PET bottle that was in the storage bag taken out from the container storage unit 140 in response to the current stored article recovery work A set is treated as one user member group.
The PET bottle recovery device 100 collects from the member card CD for each recovery operation performed by the PET bottle recovery device 100 during the period from the end of the previous stored article recovery operation to the start of the current stored article recovery operation. The read member identifier is stored as user member information. The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 generates an in-group member list by using the member identifiers stored since the end of the previous collected article collection operation in response to the current collected article collection operation being performed.

The rank area indicates the rank input by operating the rank selection button BT21 on the rank input screen (FIG. 5(C)) in the current collected article collection work.

Such member group rank information is information in which the rank of the state of the PET bottle contained in the storage bag taken out by the collection operation of the stored articles is associated with the user member group.
In addition, such member group rank information indicates which rank the group unit corresponds to when the member using the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 is viewed as a group unit corresponding to one storage bag to be collected. It also shows whether it is a group of members who tend to throw in PET bottles that are in a state of being used. In other words, the member group rank information also indicates the result of evaluating the superiority as a user of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 for a group unit of members corresponding to one collection bag.

In the collection management server 200, member group rank information corresponding to the storage bag taken out in the collected goods collection work is accumulated every time the collected goods collection work is performed by the PET bottle collection device 100 of each store ST. go.
Therefore, the collection management server 200 determines the rank corresponding to each member based on the accumulated member group rank information. For this purpose, the collection management server 200 extracts ranks associated with the same member identifier from the accumulated member group rank information. Based on the extracted ranks, the collection management server 200 determines one of the three ranks as the rank of the member indicated by the corresponding member identifier. In determining the rank, for example, the results of statistical analysis of the extracted ranks according to a predetermined statistical method may be used.

In the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, the same member may throw in PET bottles multiple times corresponding to one storage bag. In such a case, the same member identifier is included multiple times in the intra-group member list of the member group rank information. In such a case, the collection management server 200 may extract the same number of ranks as the member identifiers included in the in-group member list from one member group rank information when judging the rank of the member.
As a specific example, if three member identifiers of a certain member are included in the group member list of member group rank information that stores "B" in the rank area, the collection management server 200 From the member group rank information, three B ranks are extracted corresponding to one member identifier.
Alternatively, the same plural member identifiers included in the intra-group member list of the member group rank information may be treated as one, and one rank may be extracted from the member group rank information.
In this way, when the same multiple member identifiers are included in the member list within the group of the member group rank information, whether to extract multiple ranks according to the number of member identifiers or to extract one rank is determined by It may be determined in consideration of the member's rank determination accuracy, processing load, and the like.

The member group rank information may include information about the number of collected bottles. For example, the member group rank information may include information indicating the total number of PET bottles collected by the corresponding stored article collection operation. Further, the member group rank information may include, for example, information indicating the number of PET bottles collected by corresponding stored article collection work for each member.

The collection management server 200 manages individual member rank information (an example of individual user correspondence information) in which each member identifier is associated with the rank determined based on the determination result of the rank corresponding to each member. The collection management server 200 stores individual member rank information according to the structure of an individual member rank information table containing one or more pieces of individual member rank information for each member.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an individual member rank information table stored by the collection management server 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, one piece of individual member rank information is information in which a rank is associated with each member identifier.
Also, as shown in the figure, the rank may be "not set" in addition to the A rank, B rank, and C rank. For example, in the case of a member who has used the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 less than a certain number of times, the number of extracted ranks is also small, so it may be difficult to obtain an appropriate rank determination result. Therefore, if the number of extracted ranks is less than a certain number for a member, the rank in the individual member rank information is set to "not set" without performing rank determination processing.

The collection management server 200 updates the individual member rank information table at a predetermined timing. For example, every time the collection management server 200 receives member group rank information from the PET bottle collection device 100 of a certain store ST, the collection management server 200 uses the currently accumulated member group rank information to generate individual member rank information. may be updated. The update changes the rank in the individual member rank information of a certain member. Further, by updating, individual member rank information corresponding to the new member is newly generated and added to the individual member rank information table in response to the first use of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 .

The individual member rank information managed by the collection management server 200 in this way indicates the superiority of each member as a user of the PET bottle collection apparatus 100 .
In other words, when the individual member rank information indicates that the member is ranked A, the corresponding member is the best user who throws into the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 PET bottles that satisfy the quality standard.
Further, when the individual member rank information indicates that the member is ranked B, the corresponding member is a user who is intermediate in terms of quality, such as those who tend not to remove caps and labels, for example.
Also, if the individual member rank information indicates C rank, the corresponding member is, for example, a poor user who throws in a PET bottle with residue inside.

The PET bottle collection system of the present embodiment utilizes the individual member rank information managed by the collection management server 200 as described above to provide excellent usage for members who use the PET bottle collection device 100 as follows. We will take measures to have them become a person (that is, to have PET bottles that meet the quality standards as much as possible).
As described above, when a member starts to use the PET bottle recovery device 100, the PET bottle recovery device 100 acquires the member identifier by performing an operation to cause the card reader 1500 to read his or her membership card CD. .
Therefore, the PET bottle collecting device 100 that has acquired the member identifier transmits an inquiry about the rank associated with the member identifier acquired from the member card CD to the collection management server 200 . The inquiry sent by the plastic bottle collecting device 100 includes the member identifier acquired from the member card CD. The collection management server 200 acquires the rank associated with the member identifier included in the received inquiry from the individual member rank information, and transmits a rank notification indicating the acquired rank to the PET bottle collection device 100.

The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment causes the touch panel display unit 1400 to display a guidance screen for guiding the member to the usage procedure when starting the collecting operation. After that, the PET bottle collecting device 100 changes the content of the guide screen displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400 according to the rank indicated by the received rank notification.

An example of the display mode of the guidance screen in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 displays the first guidance screen as shown in FIG. 8A at the timing when the collecting operation starts in response to reading the member identifier from the member card CD. The first guidance screen is an initial guidance screen that is first displayed to members who are users of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 .
If the rank indicated by the rank notification received in response to the current collection operation is A rank, the member who uses the PET bottle collection device 100 in response to the current collection operation is the most excellent member. It will be. It is presumed that such members will voluntarily supply PET bottles that meet the quality standards without requiring them to check the quality standards of the PET bottles. Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 in this case causes the outer door 111 to open without transitioning to the guidance screens shown in FIGS. Put the bottle in a state where it can be put in.

Further, if the rank indicated by the rank notification received in response to the current collection operation is B rank, the member who uses the PET bottle collection device 100 in response to the current collection operation will remove the labels and caps. It is a member who tends to throw in PET bottles without a lot. Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 in this case displays the first guidance screen in FIG. 8A for a certain period of time, and then displays a message prompting the user to meet the quality level as shown in FIG. 8B. display the second guide screen containing
A "next" button BT41 is arranged on the second guide screen in FIG. When the second guidance screen is displayed, the second guidance screen disappears and the outer door 111 does not open unless the "next" button BT41 is operated. Therefore, the member operates the "next" button BT41 in order to insert the PET bottle. When the "next" button BT41 is operated, the member sees the message displayed on the second guide screen. As a result, it is expected that the members will become conscious of the need to throw in PET bottles that meet the quality standards, and that the merits of users of the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 will be enhanced.

Also, if the rank indicated by the rank notification received in response to the current collection operation is C rank, the member using the PET bottle collection device 100 in response to the current collection operation will It is a member who is not excellent, such as throwing in a plastic bottle in a state. Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 in this case displays the first guidance screen of FIG. A third guide screen including a message giving a specific instruction is displayed.
A "next" button BT42 is arranged on the third guidance screen in the figure. Even when the third guidance screen is displayed, the third guidance screen is not cleared and the outer door 111 is not opened unless the "next" button BT42 is operated.
Accordingly, since the member operates the "Next" button BT42 in order to insert the PET bottle, the member sees the message displayed on the third guide screen. As a result, what is required to satisfy the quality standard of the PET bottles is presented to the member, so that the advantage of the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 as a user is enhanced. There is expected.

A functional configuration example of the PET bottle collecting device 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The PET bottle collecting device 100 shown in the figure includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1100, a storage unit 1200, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1300, a touch panel display unit 1400, a card reader 1500, a communication unit 1600, and a collection mechanism unit 1700. . These parts are connected via an internal bus.

The CPU 1100 executes various processes in the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 by executing programs. Various functions of the PET bottle collecting device 100 are realized by the processing of the CPU 1100 .

Storage unit 1200 is an auxiliary storage device that stores various data used by CPU 1100 . The storage unit 1200 stores, for example, programs to be executed by the CPU 1100, image data to be displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400, and the like.

The RAM 1300 is a main storage device in which programs and data read from the storage unit 1200 are expanded.

As shown in FIG. 2, the touch panel display section 1400 is provided on the device main body section 100B with its display surface exposed. A touch panel display unit 1400 displays an image under the control of the CPU 1100 . The touch panel display unit 1400 receives an operation performed on the display surface by an operating object such as a finger.

The card reader 1500 is provided in the apparatus main body 100B as shown in FIG. The card reader 1500 communicates with a member card CD within a communication range by a predetermined contactless communication method, for example, and reads member information from the member card CD of the communication destination.

The communication unit 1600 communicates via the network NT. As described above, the communication unit 1600 of this embodiment performs communication so as to be wirelessly connected to the network NT.

The recovery mechanism unit 1700 is a mechanism unit that performs operations related to volume reduction, accommodation, etc. of PET bottles as PET bottle recovery under the control of the CPU 1100 . Corresponding to FIG. 2, the collection mechanism section 1700 includes a container loading section 110, an outer door 111, an inner door 112, a volume reduction section 120, a container storage section 140, and the like.

A configuration example of the collection management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. A collection management server 200 shown in the figure includes a communication section 201 , a control section 202 and a storage section 203 .

The communication unit 201 communicates via the network NT.
The control unit 202 executes various controls in the collection management server 200 . The function of the control unit 202 is realized by the CPU of the collection management server 200 executing a program.

The storage unit 203 stores various information used by the control unit 202 . The storage unit 203 in the same figure stores a collection history information table 231 , a member group rank information table 232 and an individual member rank information table 233 .
The collection history information table 231 has the structure illustrated in FIG. The member group rank information table 232 has the structure illustrated in FIG. The individual member rank information table 233 has the structure illustrated in FIG.

With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11, an example of a processing procedure executed by the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 and the recovery management server 200 of the present embodiment in response to one recovery operation will be described.
First, an example of a processing procedure executed by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 will be described.
Step S101: The PET bottle collecting device 100 waits for a collection operation instruction operation to be performed. The collection operation instruction operation is an operation by the member to cause the card reader 1500 to read the member identifier recorded on the membership card CD when starting the collection operation.

Step S102: In response to the collection operation instructing operation, the PET bottle collecting device 100 acquires the member identifier read from the member card CD by the card reader 1500. FIG.

Step S103: The PET bottle collecting device 100 transmits to the collection management server 200 a rank inquiry including the member identifier acquired in step S102.
Step S104: The PET bottle collecting device 100 receives the rank notification transmitted from the collection management server 200 in response to the transmission of the rank inquiry in step S103. As described with reference to FIG. 8, the PET bottle collecting device 100 displays a guidance screen according to the rank indicated by the received rank notification.

Step S105: As described above, when the PET bottle collecting device 100 displays the first guidance screen according to the A rank, for example, the first guidance screen is displayed and the outer door 111 is opened at a predetermined timing. and By opening the outer door 111, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 starts an operation corresponding to the current collecting operation.
Further, when the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 displays the second guidance screen or the third guidance screen according to the B rank or the C rank, the "next" button BT41 on the second guidance screen or the third guidance screen In response to the operation of the "next" button BT41 or the "next" button BT42, the PET bottle collecting device 100 opens the outer door 111. , the operation corresponding to the collection operation of this time is started.

Step S106: The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 waits until the operation corresponding to the collecting operation started in step S105 is completed. For example, when the customer puts all the PET bottles brought in in the PET bottle collecting device 100, the touch panel display unit 1400 follows the guidance displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400 on the subsequent guidance screens. Perform an operation on the end button. In response to the operation of the end button, the operation corresponding to the collection operation that has been performed once is ended.

Step S107: The PET bottle collecting device 100 adds the member identifier obtained in step S102 to the member information stored in the storage unit 1200 in response to completion of the operation corresponding to the collecting operation. The user member information is a member identifier read from the member card CD for each recovery operation performed by the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 from the end of the last stored article recovery operation to the start of the next stored article recovery operation. is information indicating

Although not shown in the figure, in correspondence with the first embodiment, when the operation corresponding to the collection operation is completed, the PET bottle collection device 100 collects the read card information. may be transmitted to the collection management server 200 including the member identifier obtained from the collection history information. As described above, the collection history information has contents that reflect the results of the collection operation, and in addition to the member identifier, information such as the device identifier, store identifier, collection date and time, the number of collected bottles, and the collected weight is included. included.
In addition, in correspondence with the first embodiment, the PET bottle collecting device 100 displays a two-dimensional code obtained by encoding the member identifier obtained from the read card information and the URL of the collection record web page on the touch panel display unit 1400. may be displayed.

Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the collection management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
Step S201: When the collection management server 200 receives the rank inquiry sent from the PET bottle collection device 100, it searches the individual member rank information table 233 for the rank associated with the member identifier included in the received rank inquiry. do.
Step S202: The collection management server 200 transmits a rank notification indicating the rank retrieved in step S201 to the PET bottle collection device 100 that sent the rank inquiry.

An example of a processing procedure executed by the PET bottle collecting device 100 and the collection management server 200 for one collected article collection operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12 .
First, an example of a processing procedure executed by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 will be described.
Step S301: The PET bottle collecting device 100 waits for the stored article collection declaration operation to be performed. The stored article collection declaration operation is, for example, an operation for the "Yes" button BT11 on the work start confirmation screen (FIG. 5A) described with reference to FIG. 5A.

Step S302: The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 causes the touch panel display section 1400 to display an opening/closing operation screen (FIG. 5B) in response to the operation of declaring collection of stored articles. The PET bottle collecting device 100 performs control to open the door (drawer 100C) of the container storage section 140 according to the operation on the opening/closing operation screen.

Step S303: After the process of step S302, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 causes the touch panel display section 1400 to display the rank input screen (Fig. 5(C)).
Step S304: The PET bottle collecting device 100 accepts a rank input operation performed on the rank input screen, and inputs a rank corresponding to the operated rank selection button BT21.

Step S305: In response to the rank input operation, the PET bottle collecting device 100 causes the touch panel display section 1400 to display a work completion confirmation screen (FIG. 5(D)).
Step S306: The PET bottle collecting device 100 accepts an operation of declaring the end of work (an operation of the "Yes" button BT31) performed on the work end confirmation screen.
Step S307: In response to the operation of declaring the end of work on the work end confirmation screen, the PET bottle collecting device 100 transmits the member group rank information corresponding to the collection of the collected items to the collection management server 200. The member group rank information is information in which the rank input in step S304 is associated with the user member information stored in the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 at the time when the collected articles collection operation is started.
Step S308: The PET bottle collecting device 100 clears the user member information stored up to now. The user member information that has been stored up to now may be stored as the history of the user of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 without being cleared.
After step S308, for example, the maintenance mode corresponding to collection of stored articles is returned to the normal operation mode.

Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the collection management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
Step S401: When the collection management server 200 receives the member group rank information transmitted from the PET bottle collection device 100, the received member group rank information is added to the member group rank information table 232 and stored.

Step S402: The collection management server 200 updates the individual member rank information stored in the individual member rank information table 233 using the member group rank information table 232 including the member group rank information added in step S401. .

In the process shown in the figure, each time the member group rank information transmitted from the PET bottle collecting device 100 is received, that is, each time the PET bottle collecting device 100 collects the stored articles, the individual member rank information is collected. is being updated.
However, the collection management server 200 may update the individual member rank information at regular intervals. In this case, if the collection management server 200 receives the member group rank information while waiting for the timing to reach the timing when a certain period of time has passed since the last update of the individual member rank information, the received member group The rank information is stored in the member group rank information table 232. Then, the collection management server 200 uses the member group rank information stored in the member group rank information table 232 at that time to update the individual member rank information when a certain period of time has passed.
Alternatively, the collection management server 200 may update the individual member rank information each time the number of member group rank information added to the member group rank information table 232 reaches a predetermined number.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
For example, low-quality PET bottles with leftovers or foreign objects in them are a major hindrance to reuse. Lower-ranked members are more likely to use such low-quality PET bottles.
From this point of view, it can be considered that the use of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may be denied to members whose rank is below a certain level.

Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is configured to refuse use of members whose rank is below a certain level.
As a specific example, the PET bottle collecting device 100 of the present embodiment performs the following processing as step S104 in FIG. That is, when the rank indicated by the received rank notification is A rank or B rank, the PET bottle collecting device 100 displays a guidance screen corresponding to each rank. On the other hand, if the rank indicated by the received rank notification is C rank, for example, a guide screen including a message to the effect that the insertion of PET bottles cannot be accepted is displayed, and the member is allowed to insert PET bottles. Don't be broken. In this case, the operation corresponding to the collection operation after step S105 is not executed.
In the above-described second embodiment, the rank input operation by the clerk when collecting the stored items is the operation of the rank selection button BT21 arranged on the rank input screen (FIG. 5C) displayed on the touch panel display section 1400. It had been.
On the other hand, the rank input operation according to the present embodiment is not, for example, an operation of buttons displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400, but an operation of a predetermined key (button) physically provided on the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100. is performed as

FIG. 13 shows an example of the device main body 100B of the PET bottle collecting device 100 corresponding to this embodiment. In the figure, rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3 and an enter key KY2 are arranged above the position where the drawer 100C, the drawer handle 100e, etc. are arranged on the front surface of the apparatus main body 100B. Examples are shown.
Rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, and KY1-3 are keys for selecting A rank, B rank, and C rank, respectively. Rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3 themselves, or at positions corresponding to rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3, for example, assigned according to the corresponding ranks A predetermined color may be arranged.
When the rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, and KY1-3 are not particularly distinguished, they are referred to as rank input key KY1.
The confirm key KY2 is a key for confirming the rank selected by operating the rank input key KY1.

In this case, the clerk first checks the status of the PET bottles in the storage bag to determine the rank, and selects the rank by operating the rank input key KY1 corresponding to the determined rank. Next, the store clerk confirms the selection of the rank by operating the confirmation key KY2. Until the confirmation key KY2 is operated, the rank input operation KY can be operated any number of times, and the rank selection can be changed.
In the case of such an operation, from the time the rank is first determined by operating any rank input key KY1 until the selection of the rank is determined by operating the determination key KY2, which rank is currently being selected. It is preferable to indicate in a predetermined manner whether the For example, the rank being selected may be indicated by the operated rank input key KY1 itself or the issuing unit arranged corresponding to the rank input key KY1 emitting light. Alternatively, the touch panel display unit 1400 may display what rank is being selected.

In this way, if a key related to the rank input operation is physically provided, there is a possibility that the store clerk who is collecting the stored items may forget to perform the rank input operation. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the PET bottle collecting device 100 may not end the maintenance mode corresponding to the collection of stored articles unless the rank input operation is performed. At this time, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may have a controllable configuration so that the door (drawer 100C) of the container accommodating section 140 cannot be closed unless the rank input operation is performed.

Note that even when a rank input operation is performed as an operation on the screen displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400 as in the second embodiment, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 does not receive the container if the rank input operation is not performed. You may control so that the door (drawer 100C) of the part 140 cannot be closed.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the second embodiment described above, the rank input operation by the clerk when collecting the stored items is performed by operating the rank selection button BT21 arranged on the rank input screen (FIG. 5C) displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400. It was said.

On the other hand, the rank input operation in the present embodiment is not, for example, an operation for a button displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400, but an operation for a predetermined key (button) physically provided in the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100. done.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the device main body 100B of the PET bottle collecting device 100 corresponding to this embodiment. In the figure, rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3 and an enter key KY2 are arranged above the position where the drawer 100C, the drawer handle 100e, etc. are arranged on the front surface of the apparatus main body 100B. Examples are shown.
Rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, and KY1-3 are keys for selecting A rank, B rank, and C rank, respectively. Rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3 themselves, or at positions corresponding to rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, KY1-3, for example, assigned according to the corresponding ranks A predetermined color may be arranged.
When the rank input keys KY1-1, KY1-2, and KY1-3 are not particularly distinguished, they are referred to as rank input key KY1.
The confirm key KY2 is a key for confirming the rank selected by operating the rank input key KY1.

In this case, the clerk first checks the status of the PET bottles in the storage bag to determine the rank, and selects the rank by operating the rank input key KY1 corresponding to the determined rank. Next, the store clerk confirms the selection of the rank by operating the confirmation key KY2. Until the confirmation key KY2 is operated, the rank input operation KY can be operated any number of times, and the rank selection can be changed.

In the case of such an operation, from the time the rank is first determined by operating any rank input key KY1 until the selection of the rank is determined by operating the determination key KY2, which rank is currently being selected. It is preferable to indicate in a predetermined manner whether the For example, the rank being selected may be indicated by the operated rank input key KY1 itself or the issuing unit arranged corresponding to the rank input key KY1 emitting light. Alternatively, the touch panel display unit 1400 may display what rank is being selected.

In this way, if a key related to the rank input operation is physically provided, there is a possibility that the store clerk who is collecting the stored items may forget to perform the rank input operation. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the PET bottle collecting device 100 may not end the maintenance mode corresponding to the collection of stored articles unless the rank input operation is performed. At this time, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may have a controllable configuration so that the door (drawer 100C) of the container accommodating section 140 cannot be closed unless the rank input operation is performed.

Note that even when a rank input operation is performed as an operation on the screen displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400 as in the second embodiment, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 does not perform the rank input operation on the container storage unit 140. The door (drawer 100C) may be controlled so that it cannot be closed.
That is, in both the fourth embodiment and the second embodiment, the process corresponding to the procedure following the rank input operation may not be started when the rank input operation is not performed.

<Modification>
Next, a modified example of this embodiment will be described.
[First modification]
In the above example of the second embodiment, the rank input operation by the store clerk is performed when collecting the stored articles. In this modified example, the rank input operation by the store clerk is not limited to the case of the stored article collection work. The PET bottle collecting device 100 may accept a rank input operation performed at arbitrary timing, for example. Since a translucent part 100A (translucent window) is provided on the front side of the drawer 100C of the PET bottle collecting device 100, the state of the PET bottles in the storage bag can be visually recognized from the outside without opening the drawer 100C. It is possible.
In addition, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 notifies the clerk when it is detected that a certain number or more of PET bottles have been put in, which is treated as a large amount of PET bottles, in a single collection operation. It can be carried out. In response to the notification of the large amount of PET bottles being put in, the store clerk can perform a rank input operation after the collection operation corresponding to the large amount of PET bottles is completed (in this case, the container If there is room in the storage section 140, it is not necessary to collect the stored articles.)
When rank input is performed at such timing, a large proportion of the PET bottles collected will be occupied by a large amount of PET bottles thrown in by the first member, and the store clerk's judgment of the rank will also be put in a large amount. The quality of PET bottles is easily reflected. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of rank setting for the member group.

In the case of this modification, at the timing when the rank input operation is performed, the PET bottle collection device 100 displays user member information indicating the members who have used the PET bottle collection device 100 since the previous rank input operation until the present time. to the collection management server 200.
Under such a configuration, for example, it is possible to perform an operation of inputting a rank every time a member uses the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 and performs a collecting operation.

In addition, if it is possible to input the rank at any timing, the number of transmissions and receptions of the member group rank information will increase more than necessary, and the traffic of the communication network will increase. This may lead to an increase in processing load, etc. Therefore, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can be used in a predetermined situation, for example, when the stored article collection work is performed in response to the container storage unit 140 becoming full, and when a large amount of PET bottles are thrown in. You may be made to accept rank input operation by limiting to .

[Second modification]
In the above-described embodiment, when collecting the stored articles, the store clerk visually checks the PET bottles in the storage bag and performs the rank input operation to input the rank.
In this modified example, at least one of a sensor by an image pickup device that picks up an image of the storage bag in the container storage section 140, a sensor that senses an odor, and the like is provided. In addition, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, for example, in the maintenance mode corresponding to the work of collecting stored items, detects the pets in the storage bag based on the output of the sensor at a stage before the storage bag is taken out from the container storage unit 140. The quality of the bottle may be determined, and rank input processing may be performed according to the determined quality. In this case, the rank input operation by the store clerk can be omitted.

[Third Modification]
In this modified example, the PET bottle collecting device 100 is provided with at least one of a sensor for capturing an image of the PET bottle put into the container putting unit 110, a sensor for detecting an odor, and the like. The PET bottle collecting device 100 determines the quality of the PET bottles put into the container putting unit 110 based on the output of the sensor, and does not collect the PET bottles whose quality is determined to be below a certain level.
In addition, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of the present modified example may display a guidance screen or the like during the PET bottle collecting operation according to the rank of the member. As described above, when it is determined that the quality of the PET bottle is below a certain level, the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 displays a message to the effect that the PET bottle cannot be collected because the quality of the PET bottle is not good this time. The touch panel display unit 1400 is caused to display a guide screen including the above.

[Fourth Modification]
For example, if the customer who started using the PET bottle recovery device 100 is of C rank and there is a salesclerk near the PET bottle recovery device 100, the guidance screen displayed on the touch panel display unit 1400 will prompt the salesclerk to , it can be grasped that the member is C rank. In this case, the store clerk can instruct the member to throw in a PET bottle satisfying the quality standard if he or she is free.
In addition, as a result of the instruction by the store clerk as described above, a PET bottle corresponding to the A rank is thrown in instead of the PET bottle corresponding to the C rank. If the stored article collection work is performed in response to such a situation, there is a possibility that a rank higher than the C rank, such as the A rank, may be input even though the member is the C rank.
For example, it is unlikely that a C-ranked member will become an A-ranked member after receiving guidance from a store clerk. and the rank managed by the
Therefore, in such a case, for example, the store clerk may operate the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 to correct the rank of the member group rank information to, for example, C rank or B rank.
In other words, if for some reason it is clear that there is a mismatch between the quality of the PET bottles put in the storage bag and the quality of the member who put the PET bottles in, the staff can Correction of the rank in the group rank information may be made possible. Such correction of the rank in the member group rank information may be performed, for example, by the clerk's operation of the POS register 400 in the store ST, the host device, the terminal owned by the clerk, or the like.

[Fifth Modification]
The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 of this modified example may measure the time required for collection operation for each use by a member, and may store the member identifier and the required time as usage member information. The collection management server 200 determines the level of proficiency of the user in operating the PET bottle collection apparatus 100 based on the required time included in the received member information, and the determined level of proficiency is also the individual member rank of the member. Include in information.
The PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may present a guidance screen with contents according to the member's rank and display different guidance screens according to the proficiency level at the time of collection operation. For example, in the case of a member with a low proficiency level, a guide screen may be displayed that explains in detail how to operate the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 .

[Sixth Modification]
As described in the first embodiment, a point addition service is provided in which points are added to the member according to the number of PET bottles collected using the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, and the like.
As a modification, in such a point addition service, the rank of the member indicated by the individual member rank information in the second embodiment is reflected in point addition.
As a specific example, when one point is normally added for every five PET bottles collected, points are added to users whose rank is above a certain level, for example, one point is added for every three bottles collected. may be relaxed.
Alternatively, when one point is normally added for every five PET bottles collected, points are added in such a way that, for example, two points are added for every five bottles for a user whose rank is above a certain level. Conditions can be relaxed.
Further, for users whose rank is below a certain level, the conditions for adding points according to the use of the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 may be tightened so that it is difficult (or not possible) to add points.

[Seventh Modification]
In the configuration of the second embodiment, the collection management server 200 sets the rank for each member and manages the individual member rank information indicating the set rank. However, the configuration of the second embodiment may be configured so that one PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 completes the setting of the rank for each member and the management of individual member rank information indicating the set rank. . Alternatively, in the configuration of the second embodiment, for example, a plurality of PET bottle recovery devices 100 installed in one store (or, for example, in each of a plurality of stores in a certain area) communicate with each other. It may be made complete.

[Eighth modification]
The configuration of this embodiment is, for example, bottles, cans, plastic (styrofoam) food trays, paper containers such as milk cartons, etc. A system that collects items that require quality improvement as collection items, It may be applied to devices and the like.

<Summary of embodiment>
(1) As described above, in one aspect of the present embodiment, an article collection apparatus (for example, PET bottle collection apparatus 100) for collecting articles (for example, PET bottle) collects items according to their quality as collected items. This is an article collection system provided with quality-related information input means for inputting quality-related information (for example, information indicating rank, classification, etc.).
According to the above configuration, a quality rank can be set for each PET bottle collected by the PET bottle collecting device 100 of the present embodiment and placed in the storage bag by the PET bottle collecting device 100 . That is, the quality of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can be evaluated. By effectively using such evaluation results, it is possible to improve the quality of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100, for example, using the rank setting results.

(2) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system described in (1), wherein the quality-related information input by the quality-related information input means is performed at the timing when the collected article is taken out from the article collection device. configured to be
According to the above configuration, for example, when the PET bottles stored in the storage bag of the PET bottle recovery device 100 are full, the timing of taking out the PET bottles from the PET bottle recovery device 100 is adjusted. , it is possible to efficiently input the rank.

(3) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to (1) or (2), wherein the quality-related information is It is configured so that the processing corresponding to the next step of the input is not started.
According to the above configuration, it is possible not to proceed to the next step unless the rank input operation is performed. This prevents the store clerk from forgetting the rank input operation.

(4) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the quality-related information means selects from among a plurality of quality-related information candidates Enter one piece of quality-related information.
According to the above configuration, when performing an operation of inputting a rank, for example, the store clerk can simply select one level from a plurality of predetermined levels and perform the operation, and the operation can be performed easily.

(5) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the quality-related information input means inputs quality-related information to a touch panel. Input the quality-related information according to the input operation.
According to the above configuration, since the rank is input by operating the display on the touch panel, it is possible to improve the operability regarding the input of the rank. In addition, for example, since an operation screen corresponding to the input of the rank can be displayed in the flow of guidance display of the work of collecting the stored items in the storage bag, for example, the operation of inputting the rank can be appropriately guided according to the procedure of the work of collecting the stored items. can.

(6) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein a user identifier indicating a user who causes the article collection device to collect the article is provided. User identifier acquisition means for acquiring (for example, member identifier), quality-related information input by the quality-related information input means, and collected items corresponding to quality-related information input by the quality-related information input means a user group correspondence information output unit that outputs user group correspondence information associated with the user identifiers of one or more input users; an individual-user correspondence information management means for determining the corresponding quality-related information and managing the individual-user correspondence information in which the user identifier of the user to be judged is associated with the judged quality-related information; Prepare.
According to the above configuration, based on the input result of the rank corresponding to the quality of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting device 100, the rank indicating the individual superiority of each member who is the user of the PET bottle collecting device 100. can be set.

(7) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to (6), wherein when the user throws the article into the article collection device, the user throwing the article It further comprises a notification means for notifying guidance regarding the insertion of articles corresponding to the quality-related information indicated by the individual user correspondence information.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide appropriate guidance regarding the insertion of PET bottles into the PET bottle recovery apparatus 100 according to the rank of the member. As a result, an improvement in the quality of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collecting apparatus 100 can be expected.

(8) One aspect of the present embodiment is the article collection system according to (6) or (7), wherein the article collection is performed for a user associated with predetermined quality-related information in the individual user correspondence information. It further comprises use refusal means for controlling so that the use of the device is prohibited.
According to the above configuration, the quality of the PET bottles collected by the PET bottle collection device 100 is prevented by preventing the use of the PET bottle collection device 100 by members whose superiority as a user of the PET bottle collection device 100 is below a certain level. can be improved.

(9) One aspect of the present embodiment is an article collection apparatus including quality-related information input means for inputting quality-related information according to the quality of collected articles contained in the article collection apparatus for collecting articles.

(10) One aspect of the present embodiment is quality-related information input means for inputting quality-related information according to the quality of collected articles accommodated in an article collection apparatus for collecting articles, to a computer provided in an article collection system. It is a program for functioning as

A program for realizing the functions of the PET bottle collecting device 100, the collection management server 200, the customer terminal device 300, the POS register 400, the store management server 500, etc. is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, The program recorded in this recording medium is loaded into the computer system and executed, thereby performing the processes of the PET bottle collection device 100, the collection management server 200, the customer terminal device 300, the POS register 400, the store management server 500, etc. you can go Here, "loading and executing the program recorded on the recording medium into the computer system" includes installing the program in the computer system. The "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Also, the "computer system" may include a plurality of computer devices connected via a network including communication lines such as the Internet, WAN, LAN, and dedicated lines. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible discs, magneto-optical discs, ROMs and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard discs incorporated in computer systems. Thus, the recording medium storing the program may be a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Recording media also include internal or external recording media accessible from the distribution server for distributing the program. The program code stored in the recording medium of the distribution server may be different from the program code in a format executable by the terminal device. That is, as long as it can be downloaded from the distribution server and installed in a form that can be executed on the terminal device, the form stored in the distribution server does not matter. It should be noted that the program may be divided into a plurality of parts, and the divided programs may be downloaded at different timings and then merged in the terminal device, or the distribution servers that distribute the divided programs may be different. In addition, "computer-readable recording medium" is a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that acts as a server or client when the program is transmitted via a network, and retains the program for a certain period of time. It shall also include things. Further, the program may be for realizing part of the functions described above. Further, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above functions by combining with a program already recorded in the computer system.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 PET bottle recovery device 110 container input unit 111 outer door 112 inner door 116 placement unit 120 volume reduction unit 140 container storage unit 145 cap storage unit 200 collection management server 231 collection history information table, 232 member group rank information table, 233 individual member rank information table, 300 customer terminal device, 301 CPU, 302 storage unit, 303 RAM, 304 display unit, 305 operation unit, 306 imaging unit, 307 communication unit, 400 POS register, 500 Store Management Server 1100 CPU 1200 Storage Unit 1300 RAM 1400 Touch Panel Display Unit 1500 Card Reader 1600 Communication Unit 1700 Collection Mechanism Unit

Claims (4)

Judgment means for judging whether or not the thrown-in PET bottle is a recoverable container, volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container, a container housing section for housing the container after volume reduction, operation reception means, and a device A plastic bottle volume reduction device comprising display means for displaying a state and instruction information to an operator,
The PET bottle volume reduction apparatus has a normal mode in which the operation reception means and the display means execute a process associated with putting in a container, and a normal mode in which the operation reception means and the display means execute a process associated with collection of the container stored in the container storage unit. means and a maintenance mode to be executed by the display means, and can switch between the normal mode and the maintenance mode;
In the normal mode, information to the effect that the label is to be removed is displayed on the display means,
In the maintenance mode, information to the effect that the replacement of the bag is accepted is displayed on the display means, and information to the effect that it is confirmed whether or not the replacement of the bag attached to the container storage section is completed is displayed on the display. It is displayed on the means, and furthermore, by operating the operation receiving means, it is possible to receive a selection as to whether or not the replacement of the bag has been completed.
A PET bottle volume reduction device characterized by: Judgment means for judging whether or not the thrown-in PET bottle is a recoverable container, volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container, a container housing section for housing the container after volume reduction, operation reception means, and a device A plastic bottle volume reduction device comprising display means for displaying a state and instruction information to an operator,
The PET bottle volume reduction apparatus has a normal mode in which the operation reception means and the display means execute a process associated with putting in a container, and a normal mode in which the operation reception means and the display means execute a process associated with collection of the container stored in the container storage unit. means and a maintenance mode to be executed by the display means, and can switch between the normal mode and the maintenance mode;
In the normal mode, information to the effect that the cap is removed is displayed on the display means,
In the maintenance mode, information to the effect that the replacement of the bag is accepted is displayed on the display means, and information to the effect that it is confirmed whether or not the replacement of the bag attached to the container storage section is completed is displayed on the display. A PET bottle volume reduction apparatus, characterized in that it is displayed on the means, and further, it is possible to receive a selection as to whether or not the replacement of the bag has been completed by operating the operation receiving means . In the maintenance mode,
When the operation receiving means receives a bag replacement instruction,
3. The apparatus for reducing the volume of plastic bottles according to claim 1 , wherein the display means displays an external image of the apparatus for reducing the volume of plastic bottles and character information relating to exchange of bags . Judgment means for judging whether or not the thrown-in PET bottle is a recoverable container, volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container, a container housing section for housing the container after volume reduction, operation reception means, and a device and a display means for displaying the status and instruction information for the operator, and
a step of causing the operation receiving means and the display means to perform processing associated with container insertion;
A program for causing the operation receiving means and the display means to perform a process associated with collection of the container housed in the container housing unit,
The processing associated with throwing into the container includes a step of displaying information on the display means to remove the label or cap, and a step of determining whether or not the put-in PET bottle is a recoverable container,
The processing associated with the recovery of the container accommodated in the container accommodating portion includes the step of displaying information indicating that the exchange of the bag is accepted on the display means, and the completion of the replacement of the bag attached to the container accommodating portion. and a step of allowing the operation receiving means to accept a selection as to whether or not the replacement of the bag has been completed.
A program characterized by

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