JPH03154994A - Controller for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the communication time by collectively transmitting display data, push button data, or the like without adding address data peculiar to each slave control part in the collective communication mode. CONSTITUTION:Collective transmission data generated by a collective transmission data generating means 103 is transmitted from a master control part 100 to each slave control part 50. At this time, transmission data corresponding to the slave control part 50 is selected from transmitted collective transmission data based on peculiar address data by a transmission data selecting means 54 and is sent to a data processing means 55 in the slave control part 50. Since transmitted data is approximately simultaneously fetched into respective slave control parts 50 in the collective communication mode, the time required for data transmission is shortened.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is an automatic control system in which a master control unit centrally controls a plurality of slave control units each performing predetermined control via a serial transmission path. This invention relates to a control device for a vending machine.

[Prior Art] A control block diagram of this type of control device is shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 10 indicates a master control unit that controls each product selection button unit 20 (described later) as a slave control unit, and determines the transmission timing of the transmission data transmitted from each slave control unit to the master control unit using unique address data. a transmission timing determination means that determines based on the above, and determines whether the address data transmitted from the master control unit matches the unique address data stored in the storage means, and if they match, sets the communication mode to individual communication mode, and then , self-address determination means for transmitting the transmission data created by the transmission data creation means to the master control unit, and address data transmitted from the master control unit or address data for batch communication stored in the storage means. and if they match, set the communication mode to batch communication mode and transmit the transmission data to the master control unit at the transmission timing determined by the transmission timing determination unit; and for communicating with the master control unit. A control device for a vending machine, characterized in that it is equipped with a communication means.

(3) A control CPU 011 connected via a serial transmission path to a main CPU (not shown) that controls the entire vending machine, and a control CPU U, which is equipped with each of the means of claims 1 and 2.
A buffer 12 for connecting I and a serial transmission path from each product selection button unit 20, and a -4° clock circuit 13 for supplying a clock to the control CPU II. In the serial transmission path, Ll is a transmission path that transmits a synchronization clock to each product selection button unit 20, and Ll! , L3 are transmission paths for transmitting and receiving various data.

Product selection button unit 20 (20-1, 20-2゜2O-
n), in accordance with the display command from the master control unit 10, 21 is an LED 22 for indicating sales availability and L for indicating sold out.
Between the function of displaying the ED 23, detecting the ON of the product selection button 24, and transmitting it to the master control unit IO, the physical interface function to the serial transmission path, and the control CPU II of the master control unit 10. This is an LSI that has the function of controlling communication protocols.

25 is a clock circuit that supplies a clock for operating the LS 121, and 26 is an EEPROM that stores unique address data for identifying each product selection button unit 20.

Next, the communication procedure performed by the conventional control device having the above configuration will be described with reference to the time chart shown in FIG.

When displaying the LEDs 22 and 23 of each product selection button unit 20, the master control unit IO first transmits address data to the product selection button unit 20-1, and when the product selection button unit 20-1 receives the address,
This product selection button unit 20-1 becomes ready to receive data, and then by transmitting display data from the master control unit 10, the product selection button unit 20-1 becomes ready to receive data.
1 receives the display data, and based on this display data, the LED 22 for indicating sales availability or the LED 23 for indicating sold out
Control the lighting. In the next cycle, master control unit 1
Similarly, the address data and display data are transmitted from 0 to the product selection button unit 202, and in this way, all product selection button units have 2 bits for display data and 1 bit for push button data, as in the above control circuit. A total of 3 pins were lost due to unnecessary communication of data.

This invention was made in order to eliminate the problem of two pairs of hands, and its purpose is to provide a control device for a vending machine that can exchange data at high speed without the need to transmit individual address data. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine control device according to the first invention connects a plurality of slave control units 50, each of which performs a predetermined control, to a serial transmission path I7. This is a control device for a vending machine that is centrally controlled by a master control section 100 via a master control section 50, and the master control section 100: An address data creation means 101 that creates address data for communicating with the slave control units 50 all at once, and a transmission data creation unit 102 that creates data to be transmitted individually to each slave control unit 50. Similar communication control is performed using

On the other hand, the master control unit IO selects each product selection button unit 20.
When importing push button data without indicating the on or off state of the product selection button 24, first, the product selection button unit 20-1
By transmitting the address data stored in the EEP 110M26 to the master control unit 10, communication between the master control unit IO and the product selection button unit 20=1 is permitted, and the button is pressed from the product selection button unit 20-1. Data is transmitted, and similar communication control is performed for the product selection button unit l-20-2 and subsequent ones.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] As explained above, in the conventional control device, when communicating between the master control unit IO and each product selection button unit 20, it is necessary to send and receive address data. Therefore, especially when the number of product selection button units 20 is large, there is a problem that it takes time to communicate with all the product selection button units 20. Furthermore, while the unit of communication data is generally 7 bits or 8 bits, there is also a batch transmission data creation means 103 that creates data to be sent to all slave control units 50 at once, and serial transmission. Road 1. and a communication means 104 for communicating with each slave control section 50 via.

A storage means 51 for storing unique address data and address data for bulk communication; and determining whether the address data transmitted from the master control unit 100 matches the unique address data stored in the storage means 51; If they match, the mode is set to individual communication mode, and the self-address determination means 52 takes in the individual transmission data transmitted thereafter, and the address data transmitted from the master control unit 100 is set to the individual communication mode. Bulk communication determination means 53 that determines whether it matches the address data and, if it does, sets the batch communication mode.
and a transmission data selection means 54 that selects transmission data corresponding to the slave control unit 5o from among the 0 batch transmission data transmitted subsequently in the batch communication mode, based on unique address data; Means 54
or data processing means 55 for performing predetermined control based on the transmission data obtained by the address determination means 52, and communication means 56 for communicating with the master control unit +00. shall be.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine control device according to the second invention connects a plurality of slave control units 50, each of which performs a predetermined control, to a master control unit 50 via a serial transmission path.
This is a control device for a vending machine that performs centralized control at 00, and the master control unit +00 has: Unique address data for communicating with each slave control unit 50, and collective control with all slave control units 50. address data creation means 101 that creates address data for communication, and address data sent from the demaster control section 100 that is sent in batches from the slave control section 50 is stored in the storage section 51 in bulk. Determine whether it matches the address data for communication, and if it matches,
a batch communication determination means 53 for setting the communication mode to be a batch mode and transmitting the transmission data to the master control unit 100 at the transmission timing determined by the transmission timing determination unit 58; and a communication unit 56 for communicating with the master control unit 100. It is characterized by having the following.

[Operation] In the control device j according to the first invention, when transmitting data such as display data from the master control section 100 to the slave control section 50 individually, the address data creation means +
The individual transmission data created by the transmission data creation means 102 is transmitted to the slave control unit 50 side together with the individual address data created in step 01. Each slave control unit 5
On the 0 side, whether or not the individual address data transmitted first matches the unique address data stored in the storage means 51 is determined by each slave from its own address judgment 3-ta. Bulk transmission data reading means 105 for reading individual data for the control unit 5o
and communication means 104 for communicating with each slave control section 50 via a serial transmission path, and each slave control section 50 has a transmission data creation means for creating data to be transmitted to the master control section 100. 57, and storage means 5 for storing unique address data and address data for bulk communication.
I, a transmission timing determining means 58 that determines the transmission timing of the transmission data to be transmitted from each slave control unit 50 to the master control unit 100 based on each unique address data, and transmission from the master control unit +00. It is determined whether the received address data matches the unique address data stored in the storage means 51, and if they match, the mode is set to individual communication mode, and then the transmission data created by the transmission data creation means 57 is mastered. The self-address determination means 52 to be transmitted to the control section 100 and the slave control section 50 that has been determined and matched by the foot means 52 are in a communicable state, and the subsequently transmitted transmission data is captured by the self-address determination means 52. , data processing means 55
sent to.

On the other hand, when the address data for batch communication created by the address creation means lot is transmitted from the master control unit +00 in order to perform batch communication, each slave control unit 50 processes the address data for batch communication that has been sent. data and
The batch communication determining unit 53 determines whether or not the address data for batch communication stored in the storage unit 51 matches, but in this case, all the slave control units 50
Since both address data match, all slave control units enter the batch communication mode. Thereafter, the batch transmission data created by the batch transmission data creation means 103 is transmitted from the master control unit +00 to the slave control unit 50. At this time, each slave control unit 50 selects the corresponding transmission data from among the batch transmission data that has been transmitted based on the respective unique address data. and is sent to the data processing means 55. In this way, in the batch communication mode, the transmitted data is taken into each slave control section 50 almost simultaneously, so the time required for data transmission is shortened.

In the control device according to the second invention, when transmitting data indicating the on/off of a push button individually from the slave control unit 50 to the master control unit +00, first, the master control unit 10
0 transmits unique address data of the communication destination, and the slave control unit 50 corresponding to this address data receives ("
When this happens, the communication becomes possible, and the transmission data created by the transmission data creation means 57 is transmitted to the master control unit +00.

On the other hand, when transmitting data from each slave control section 50 to the master control section 100 in a batch, first,
Address data for bulk communication is transmitted from the master control unit +00, and by receiving this address data for bulk communication, a control program as described below is provided, and all product selections are performed from the master control unit side. Batch display data creation means (■) that creates display data to be sent to the button units 20 all at once] and batch push button data sent out all at once from the product selection button unit 20 side to each product selection button unit 20 A push button data reading means Q is provided which does not take out the corresponding push button data.

In addition, the LSI 21 of each product selection button unit 20 is also equipped with a predetermined control function, and the LSI 21 of each product selection button unit 20 is selected from among the batch display data sent from the master control unit 10 according to unique address data. In order to transmit the display data selection means M that captures the display data to be displayed and the push button data to be transmitted from each product selection button unit 20 as a batch of data,
and transmission timing determining means N for determining transmission timing based on each unique address data. In addition, the EEPROM 26' of each product selection button unit 20 stores unique address data.All slave control units 50 enter the batch communication mode, and thereafter, each slave control unit 50 transmits the transmission data to be transmitted. The timing is determined by the transmission timing determining means 58 based on each unique address data, and the transmission data is transmitted to the master control unit +00 according to this transmission timing. As a result, the transmission data in each slave control section 50 is transmitted as a batch of data, so that the communication time can be shortened.

If, as in the third invention, the components of the apparatus according to the first and second inventions are included, and the slave control section 50 is a product selection button unit, display data and push button data are unique to each other in the batch communication mode. Since the address data can be transmitted all at once without any delay, the communication time for data transmission and reception can be shortened.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the control device according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 3, and the same parts as in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals.

The control CPU II° of the master control unit 10 also stores address data for batch communication.

Next, the communication procedure performed by the control device shown in FIG. 3 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the time chart shown in FIG. 5.

In the first display data communication mode, in step S1, the master control unit 10 determines whether to perform the batch communication mode or the individual communication mode. Communication of display data is performed in the same procedure, but in the case of batch communication mode, in the next step S2, all product selection button units 2 are communicated from the master control unit 10 via the serial transmission path.
Send address data for bulk communication to 0.

On the product selection button unit 20 side, in step #l, all product selection button units 20 are in a receivable state by receiving the same address data as the address data for bulk communication stored in each EEPROM 26°. becomes. In the master control unit 10, the batch display data creation means P
, the pattern display data shown in Table 8 below has been created, and in the next step S3, the master control unit 10 sends the batch display data to all the product selection button units 20. Send. The timing for transmitting this display data is as follows:
This is done based on the synchronization clock sent from the master control unit IO to each product selection button unit 20 via the serial transmission path I71.

Display data 1 - In the display data listed below, product selection button unit) 2
0-1 for displaying available for sale, ED22 and LE for displaying sold out
"1" and "0" for D23 do not indicate lighting or turning off, and are one-hit data, and a total of 8 bits for units 1 to 4 are data - LEL 22 for displaying sales availability and LE1 22 for displaying sales, according to the captured display data. L for off display
E I) Controls the lighting of 23.

Next, the push button data communication mode will be described. In this case as well, it is determined in step S4 whether the master control unit 10 performs the batch communication mode or the individual communication mode, and in the case of the individual communication mode, the procedure is the same as in the conventional example, but the batch communication If it is a mote, the next step S5
Then, address data for batch communication is transmitted from the master control unit 10 to all product selection button units 20 via the serial transmission line. Product selection button unit 20
On the side, in step #4, each EEPr (0M26
By receiving the same address data as the address data for bulk communication stored in , all product selection button units 20 become ready for transmission.

In this batch push button data communication mode, the data to be sent from each product selection button unit 20 to the master control unit 10 is
One byte is one block of on or off state of the product selection button 24. Therefore, if the number of product selection button units 20 is 1 to 4, the display data will be 1 byte, and if the number of product selection button units 20 is 5 to 8, the display data will be 2 bytes, and the unit of communication data. Since 8-bit display data is sent for each byte, data communication can be performed at high speed.

Each product selection button unit 20 has each EEPROM 2
Based on the unique address data stored in step 6', the number of bits of data to be fetched from the serially transmitted batch display data is determined by each display data selection means M. In #2, 1
The th product selection button unit 20-1 selects the 1st and 2nd bits of 0 from the display data shown in the table above.
” and select the second product selection button unit 2.
0-2 is the 3rd and 4th bit data "0" and "
Import the display data of Pi. When all the product selection button units 20 have taken in the display data in this way, in the next step #3, the transmission timing of the push button data is determined based on the respective fixed area data, without indicating the status of each button. The transmission timing is determined by the transmission timing determining means N, and in step #5, the product selection button unit 20-1 transmits the push button data to the serial transmission line L at the l-th clock from the time when the address data for bulk communication is received.
3 to the slave control unit IO, and in the next second clock, push button data in the product selection button unit 202 is transmitted in the same way.

Therefore, the master control unit I
As shown in the vestibule, the individual push button data is serially transmitted as a set of data to the O, so data communication can be performed at high speed.

Push Button Data 2 10 Receives the batch push button data that was sent face-to-face, and determines the number of the push button data from the series order of the received batch push button data and 6 from the product selection button unit. This is determined by the reading means Q, and control for predetermined sales is performed based on the button push data.

Note that the use of the collective communication mote and the individual communication mote υ is such that, for example, displaying that the product is available for sale by inserting money is performed through the collective communication, and displaying that the product is sold out due to the product being sold out is performed using the individual communication.

"Effects of the Invention" - As explained, in the batch communication mode, the present invention transmits display data, push button data, etc. all at once without attaching address data unique to each slave control unit. Therefore, communication time can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a claim correspondence diagram of the vending machine control device which is the first invention, Figure 2 is a claim correspondence diagram of the vending machine control device which is the second invention, and Figure 3 is the claim correspondence diagram of the vending machine control device which is the second invention. A control block diagram showing an embodiment to which the invention and the second invention are applied, FIGS. 4 and 5 are a flowchart 1 and a time chart showing the control operation in the control device of FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a time chart showing the communication procedure performed by the apparatus shown in FIG. 6. 10.. Master control unit, 11. Control CPU, +2.. Buffer, 13.25.
Clock circuit, 20... Product selection button unit, 21' LSI, 22... LED for displaying sales availability. 23 - LED for displaying sold out, 24... push button, 26'-EEPROM.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A control device for a vending machine in which a plurality of slave control units each performing predetermined control are centrally controlled by a master control unit via a serial transmission line, and the master control unit: address data creation means for creating unique address data for communicating with the slave control unit of the slave control unit and address data for communicating with all the slave control units at once; A transmission data creation means for creating data to be transmitted; a batch transmission data creation means for creating data to be transmitted at once to all slave control units; and a means for communicating with each slave control unit via a serial transmission path. Each slave control unit is equipped with: storage means for storing unique address data and address data for batch communication; A self-address determination means that determines whether the address data matches the address data and, if it matches, enters the individual communication mode and captures the individual transmission data that will be transmitted thereafter; and a storage means that stores the address data transmitted from the master controller. A batch communication determination means that determines whether the address data matches the stored address data for batch communication, and if it matches, sets the batch communication mode; a transmission data selection means for selecting transmission data corresponding to the slave control unit based on unique address data; and a predetermined control based on the transmission data obtained by the transmission data selection means or the transmission data taken in by the address determination means. A control device for a vending machine, comprising: data processing means for performing the following steps; and communication means for communicating with a master control section. (2) A control device for a vending machine in which a plurality of slave control units each performing predetermined control are centrally controlled by a master control unit via a serial transmission line, wherein the master control unit: address data creation means for creating unique address data for communicating with the slave control unit and address data for communicating with all the slave control units at once; and data transmitted from the slave control unit at once. Each slave control unit is equipped with a batch transmission data reading means for reading individual data for each slave control unit from the inside, and a communication means for communicating with each slave control unit via a serial transmission line, and each slave control unit is; Transmission data creation means for creating data to be transmitted to the control unit; storage means for storing unique address data and address data for batch communication; transmission data from each slave control unit to the master control unit; Transmission timing determining means for determining the transmission timing of the transmission data based on respective unique address data; and determining whether the address data transmitted from the master control unit matches the unique address data stored in the storage means. self-address determination means that sets the individual communication mode if the transmission data creation means matches, and then transmits the transmission data created by the transmission data creation means to the master control unit; Determine whether the address data matches the address data for batch communication stored in the means, and if they match, set the batch communication mode and transmit the transmission data to the master control unit at the transmission timing determined by the transmission timing determination means. A control device for a vending machine, comprising a collective communication determination means and a communication means for communicating with a master control section. (3) In addition to each of the means of claims 1 and 2, the slave control section is a product selection button unit comprising a push button for product selection and a lamp for displaying whether or not the product can be sold, which is provided corresponding to the push button. The data transmitted from the master control section to the slave control section is display data for the display lamp, and the data transmitted from the slave control section to the master control section is push button data indicating the on/off state of the push button. Features of vending machine control device.