JPH01128193A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To sell a commodity without using money by comparing a money amount equivalent to money amount data with the money amount of a selected commodity and recording a balance for which the commodity money amount is subtracted after paying out the commodity. CONSTITUTION: The authenticity of a prepaid card fed to a feeding port is judged by a card read/write unit 28, it is returned to the feeding port at the time of being judged as 'false' and the money amount data written in the card are read and displayed at an LED 34 as the balance in the case of 'true'. Then, when a push-button switch 36 for commodity selection is pressed, whether or not the balance of the card, that is the money amount equivalent to the money amount data, is more than the money amount of the pertinent commodity is judged. As the result, when the money amount data are more than the money amount of the commodity, a commodity send-out device 40 is operated and the commodity is sent out from a commodity take-out port. Then, a receipt on which the kind and the money amount of the sold commodity are printed is issued from a receipt take-out port by a receipt issuing device 44.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) This invention relates to a vending machine.

(Prior Art) Some conventional vending machines are capable of selling products of a specific industry using coins.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Conventional vending machines like this store coins, which not only poses a risk of the coins being stolen, but also only sells products from specific industries. could not.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can sell products without using money and can also sell products from different industries.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a cabinet having a card slot for inserting a card in which data including monetary data is recorded and a product outlet for taking out products, and a cabinet provided in the cabinet. , multiple storage sections for storing multiple types of products separately for each type of product, and a storage section provided in the cabinet in relation to the card slot, which stores the amount data of the card inserted into the card slot. a reading means for reading; a selection means provided on the front of the cabinet for selecting a desired product from a plurality of products stored in the storage section; and a selection means provided in association with the reading means and the selection means; a comparison means for comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data read by the reading means and the amount of the product selected by the selection means; provided in association with the comparison means, the plurality of storage units and the product takeout port; a product sending means for sending the selected product from the storage section to the product takeout port in response to the comparison means comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data to be greater than or equal to the amount of the selected product; In response to the comparing means comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data to be greater than or equal to the amount of the selected product, the product sending means determines the sales of the product sent out. The vending machine includes a recording means for recording each type.

(Operation) The amount data of the card inserted into the card slot of the cabinet is read by the reading means.

Furthermore, the comparison means compares the amount corresponding to the amount data with the amount of the product selected by the selection means. If the amount corresponding to the amount data is equal to or greater than the amount of the selected product, the selected product is delivered (sold) from the storage section to the product takeout port by the product delivery means. Furthermore, the recording means records the sales of the sold products for each type of product.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, products can be sold using cards, so products can be sold without using money. Therefore, there is no accumulation of coins in the vending machine, and there is no risk of the coins being stolen.

Furthermore, by storing products of different industries as multiple types of products in a plurality of storage units, it is possible to sell products of different industries. In this case, the sales of products in each industry can be managed based on the sales of products recorded by the recording means.

The above objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. This vending machine 10 includes a box-shaped cabinet 12. This cabinet 12 includes, for example, five cabinet parts 12a, 12b, 12C, 12d and 1
It has 2e.

For example, two storage sections 14a and 14b are provided within the left cabinet section 2a.

Products to be sold, such as soft drinks such as cider and cola, are stored in these storage sections 14a and 14b, respectively. Furthermore, the cabinet part 2a
A cooling device (not shown) is provided inside. Therefore, the products stored in the storage sections 14a and 14b are cooled by the cooling device.

Furthermore, product display sections 16a and 16b for displaying two types of products stored in storage sections 14a and 14b therein are formed side by side at the upper front surface of the cabinet section 12a. The product display section 16a includes a shelf 18a for placing product samples, and a price display label 20a for displaying the price of the product is attached below the shelf 18a. Further, a sold-out display lamp 22a is provided below the price display label 20a to indicate the sold-out state of the product by lighting it up. Similarly, the product display section 16b includes a shelf 18b for placing product samples, a price display label 20b is attached below the shelf 18b, and a price display label 20b is attached below the price display label 20b. An off indicator lamp 22b is provided.

Further, similarly to the cabinet section 12a, the cabinet sections 12b to 12e are provided with two storage sections 14C to 14j, for a total of eight storage sections 14C to 14j. Product display sections 16C to 16j are also formed on the upper front surfaces of these cabinet sections 12b to 12e. These product display sections 16c to 16j also include shelves 18C to 18j for placing sample products, respectively, and price display labels 20C to 20j are attached below the shelves 18C to 18j.
Sold out display lamps 22c to 22j are provided below these price display labels 20c to 20j.

In addition, the storage section 14C of the cabinet section 12b on the left side of the center
and 14d store foods such as sweets, and the storage portions 14g and 14h of the cabinet portion 12d on the right side of the center store luxury goods such as cigarettes. In addition, the storage section 14 of the central cabinet section 12C
Fresh foods such as vegetables and meat are stored in spaces e and 14f. Therefore, an air conditioner (not shown) is provided in the cabinet section 12C to maintain the freshness of the food. Further, food to be heated, such as Chinese steamed buns, is stored in storage sections 14i and 14j within the right cabinet section 12e. Therefore, a heating device (not shown) for heating the food is provided in the cabinet section 12e.

In this way, the storage units 142 to 14j store, for example, products of different industries. Furthermore, each storage section 142~
14j are each provided with, for example, a limit switch (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of a product stored therein.

On the other hand, in the front center part of the central cabinet part 12C,
Card slot 26 for inserting a prepaid card 24
is formed. This prepaid card 24 is produced by a known magnetic card issuing device or the like, and includes data such as authenticity data for determining the authenticity of the card and amount data corresponding to the amount for which the card was sold.
Written magnetically.

Furthermore, a card slot 2 is provided in the cabinet section 12C.
6, a card read/write unit 28 constituting reading means and rewriting means is provided. This card read/write unit 28 is equipped with a card output device for taking in the card 24 inserted into the card slot 26 or returning the loaded card 24 from the card slot 26. This is for reading data such as authenticity data and amount data written in 24 or rewriting the amount data.

Further, on the left side of the card slot 26, a card return push button switch 30 is provided for returning the card taken into the card read/write unit 28 to the card slot 26. In addition, this card return push button switch 3
A card return display lamp 32 is provided on the left side of the card slot 26 to indicate that the card has been returned to the card slot 26 by lighting up. Furthermore, a balance display LED 34 for displaying the balance corresponding to the amount data of the card 24 is provided above the card slot 26.

Further, above the card slot 26, 10 product selection push button switches 36 for selecting the product desired to purchase are arranged horizontally corresponding to the 10 types of products stored in the storage sections 148 to 14j. It is being

Furthermore, a product outlet 38 for taking out purchased products is formed at the lower front of the cabinet section 12C.

Further, a product delivery device 40 is provided in the cabinet 12, and the product outlet 38 and the storage sections 142 to 14j are communicated with each other via the product delivery device 40. The product delivery device 40 is for delivering sold products from the products stored in the storage units 14a to 14j to the product takeout port 38.

Further, a receipt outlet 42 is formed above the product outlet 38 for taking out a receipt on which the type of sold product, the price, etc. are printed. This receipt outlet 42
A receipt issuing device 44 for issuing such receipts is provided within the cabinet 12.

Furthermore, a microcomputer main body 100 is provided within the cabinet 12. This microcomputer body 100 includes a CPU, which will be described later.

It has built-in ROM, RAM, and a Fronpidisno Drive Unisoto that constitutes the recording means.

Next, the circuit configuration of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 2 and the like. The control circuit of this vending machine 10 is a CPU 102 included in a microcomputer main body 100.
including. CPUI O2 has input ink face 10
4, the output of the card read/write unit 28, a card return push button switch 30, a product selection push button switch 36, etc. are connected. Also, this CPUI
O2 is connected to a RAMI O6, a ROM 108 in which operating programs and the like are written, and a floppy disk drive unit 110. This front disk drive unit 110 acts as a recording means, and can write data to or read data from a floppy disk 110a used therein. On this floppy disk 110a, sales data such as the amount of the sold product can be recorded for each product.

The CPU 02 outputs the card read/write unit 28 via the output ink face 112.
input, card return display lamp 32, balance display LE
D34. A product delivery device 40, a receipt issuing device 44, and sold-out display lamps 22a to 22j are connected.

Next, the operation or operation of this vending machine 10 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

First, in the first step S1, the prepaid card 24 is inserted into the card slot 24 by the user.

In the next step S3, the inserted card 24 is read by the card read/write unit 28.

In step S5, the card read/write unit 28
The authenticity data of the card 24 is read.

Then, in step S7, the CPUI O2
It is determined whether the authenticity data is "true" or "false".

If it is determined that the authenticity data is "false", the process proceeds to step S9, and the card 24 is
The card is returned to the card slot 26 by the light unit 28. Furthermore, in step Sll, the card return display lamp 32 lights up, thereby indicating that the card 24 has been returned. And the next step 313
Then, it is determined whether or not the card 24 has been removed.
If the card 24 is removed, the process advances to step S15, and the card return display lamp 32 is turned off.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the authenticity data is "true" in step S7, the process advances to step S17.

In step S17, the card read/write unit 2
8, the amount data written on the card 24 is read.

In the next step S19, the amount corresponding to the read amount data is displayed as a balance on the remaining amount display LED 34.
will be displayed.

Further, in the next steps S21 and S23, if the card return push button switch 30 is pressed, the process proceeds to the above-mentioned step S9 and the card 24 is returned; If one of the push button switches 36 is pressed to select a product, the process advances to step S25.

In step S25, the presence or absence of the product selected in step S23 is detected. Note that such detection is always performed for not only the selected product but also all products by the glue mint switches (not shown) provided in the storage units 14a to 14j, and the sold-out product corresponding to the missing product is The display lamps 22a to 22j are also constantly lit. If the corresponding product is not available, follow step S above.
Return to 21. Also, if there is a corresponding product, step S2
Proceed to step 7.

In step S27, it is determined whether the balance of the card 24, ie, the amount corresponding to the amount data, is greater than or equal to the amount of the corresponding product. If the balance on the card 24 is less than the amount of the corresponding product, the process returns to step S21. on the other hand,
If the balance on the card 24 is equal to or greater than the amount of the corresponding product, the process advances to step S29.

In step S29, the product delivery device 40 is activated and the corresponding product is delivered to the product takeout port 38.

Then, in the next step S31, the floppy disk drive unit 110 drives the floppy disk 11.
In 0a, sales data such as the amount of purchased products is recorded for each product. Therefore, the floppy disk 110
If the sales data recorded in a is read by, for example, a host computer, the sales for each product can be determined. Then, the sales of the card 24 are distributed to the product suppliers of each industry according to the sales. Therefore, this vending machine 1
0 allows you to manage sales of products from different industries.

Furthermore, in the next step S33, the receipt issuing device 4
4, a receipt on which the type and price of the sold product are printed is issued from the receipt outlet 42.

Further, in step S35, the remaining amount is calculated by subtracting the amount of the corresponding product from the amount corresponding to the amount data of the card 24.

Then, in the next step S37, the amount data corresponding to the calculated balance is transferred to the card read/write unit 2.
8, the data is rewritten to the card 24 as new amount data. Then, return to step 519 above,
The amount corresponding to the new amount data is displayed as the remaining amount on the remaining amount display LED 34.

Here, if the user wishes to purchase more products, he or she may press the product selection push button switch 36, but if he or she wishes to return the card 24, he or she may press the card return push button switch 30.

In the above embodiment, the amount data on the card 24 is rewritten when the product is sold, but a punching machine may be provided to rewrite the amount data and punch a hole in the card 24. .

In the above-described embodiment, data such as product sales are recorded on the floppy disk l1'Oa by the floppy disk drive unit 110, but a printer may be provided in place of the floppy disk drive unit 110 to record product sales and other data. Data such as the following may also be printed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, data such as product sales is recorded on a floppy disk within the cabinet 12, but data such as product sales may be recorded or managed outside the cabinet 12 using, for example, a communication line. You may also do so.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, foods and luxury items are used as examples of products to be sold, but other than foods and luxury items, products such as stamps, weekly magazines, etc. can also be sold.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a vending machine having five cabinet sections and ten storage sections was explained as an example, but the number thereof can be changed arbitrarily. in this case,
It goes without saying that you can sell the same number of products as you have storage compartments.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of this embodiment. FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts for explaining the operation or operation of this embodiment, respectively. In the figure, 10 is a vending machine, 12 is a cabinet,
128 to 12d are cabinet parts, 14a to 14j are storage parts, 26 is a card slot, 28 is a card read/write unit, 36 is a push button switch for product selection, 38 is a product takeout port, 4o is a product delivery device, 100 is a The main body of the microcomputer, 102 is a CPU, 104 is an input ink office, 106 is a RAM, 108 is a ROM, 110 is a 7
0 is a disk drive unit, 110a is a floppy disk, and 112 is an output ink face. Patent applicant Keiaki Miyagawa Agent Patent attorney Oka 1) Kei Zen

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cabinet having a card slot for inserting a card in which data including monetary data is recorded and a product outlet for taking out products; a plurality of storage sections for separately storing different types of products; a reader provided in association with the card slot in the cabinet to read amount data of the card inserted into the card slot; means, a selection means provided on the front surface of the cabinet for selecting a desired product from a plurality of products stored in the storage section; provided in association with the reading means and the selection means;
Comparison means for comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data read by the reading means and the amount of the product selected by the selection means, related to the comparison means, the plurality of storage units, and the product takeout port; and in response to the comparing means comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data to be greater than or equal to the amount of the selected product, the selected product is removed from the storage section through the product extraction port. provided in association with a product sending means for sending the product to a customer, and the comparison means, in response to the comparison means comparing the amount corresponding to the amount data to be greater than or equal to the amount of the selected product. , a vending machine comprising recording means for recording sales of the products delivered by the product delivery means for each product type. 2 Furthermore, the comparison means is provided in association with the comparison means, and in response to the comparison that the amount corresponding to the amount data is greater than or equal to the amount of the selected product, the amount corresponding to the amount data is Remaining amount calculating means for calculating the remaining amount after deducting the amount of the selected product; Remaining amount calculating means provided in connection with the remaining amount calculating means and for rewriting the amount data on the card into amount data corresponding to the calculated remaining amount. A rewriting device, and a return device provided in the cabinet in association with the card slot for returning the card inserted into the card slot to the card slot. The vending machine described in paragraph 1. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the card includes a magnetic card, and the reading means and the rewriting means are constituted by a card read/write unit. 4. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recording means includes a floppy disk drive unit provided in association with the comparing means.