JPH03231396A - Card type automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the automatic vending machine so that a user can purchase quickly and exactly a commodity by instructing a commodity concerned from commodity attribute information recorded in a card. CONSTITUTION:A host computer H analyzes transmitting data from an auto matic vending machine 1, and when it is recognized that the machine is in an unsaleable state, the computer retrieves the same commodity as a commodity which becomes unsaleable in its automatic vending machine, and also, informa tion of the automatic vending machine 1 being in its vicinity, and transmits a result of retrieval. The automatic vending machine 1 drives a display device 10, based on the result of retrieval transmitted from the host computer H, and displays location information of other saleable automatic vending machine 1 instead of its own unsaleable commodity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a card-type vending machine that controls the sale of products based on information read from a card by a reading device.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, cards used in this type of card-type vending machine include prepaid cards, in which price information is stored in advance on the card, and the price of the product is deducted each time a product is purchased, and cards with identification codes stored in advance. There are two types of cards: deferred payment type cards that store information on the card and charge the total purchase price of products within a predetermined period to the purchaser with the identification code.

Regardless of the card, it includes a card that stores the user's preferred product information and an indicator light on the product display section that corresponds to the product corresponding to the product information read by the vending machine's reading device. Some devices were equipped with means for displaying preferred products by lighting up.

This is in response to the diversification of products sold by vending machines.
Users can quickly find the product they like or want to purchase from the indicator lights that light up corresponding to each product in the product display area, and can accurately operate the switch to sell that product. This was taken into consideration.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the card-type vending machine according to the conventional technology described above, if a specific product corresponding to the product information stored on the card cannot be sold due to reasons such as being sold out, the user can When a product similar to a specific product can be sold, for example, a non-calorie beverage group for beverages, a low-tar group for tobacco, etc., and the user does not mind the above-mentioned similar product. Even if there were, there was a risk that the customer would give up on purchasing the similar product and miss out on a sales opportunity.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the first feature of the card-type vending machine according to the present invention is that it is provided with a product display means for indicating a corresponding product based on the product attribute information recorded on the card.

Furthermore, a second characteristic configuration is that a product display means is provided for indicating the specific product and other products having the same attributes as the specific product from the specific product information recorded on the card.

Further, it is preferable that the product display means indicates another product having the same attributes as the specific product only when the specific product is unsaleable.

[For production]

In other words, according to the first characteristic configuration, the product display means is configured to indicate products with common attributes based on the product attribute information read from the card by the reading device, so that the user can Even if a certain product is sold out among the products specified as desired to purchase, the user can take action to select another specified product. For example, in the case of a product or a beverage, the product attribute information includes <non-calorie drink>, <soft drink>, <coffee drink>, etc., and it is possible to sell a wide variety of products containing a mixture of these. In vending machines,
Among them, candidates for products that the user wishes to purchase are expressed using their attribute information and stored on the card.

According to the second characteristic configuration, based on the specific product information stored in the card, the product display means indicates other products having the same attributes as the product specified by the specific product information in the same way as the specific product. Therefore, even if a specific product stored in the card as a product desired by the user is sold out, the user can purchase another product with the same attributes as the specific product, that is, the product display means indicates Users can take action to select the next product they wish to purchase from among the available products.

Furthermore, in this case, if the instruction of a product with the same attributes as the specific product is limited to only when the specific product is sold out or cannot be sold for some reason, then when the specific product is available for sale, the Only the specific product is designated by the product display means, which saves the user the trouble of searching for the specific product among a plurality of designated products, and allows the user to purchase the product more quickly and accurately.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the card-type vending machine according to the present invention, when a user purchases a product from a vending machine that can sell a wide variety of products, for example, the user can Although it is possible to quickly and accurately select and purchase a product, even if the product is sold out or cannot be purchased for some reason, there is another product with the same attributes as the product that the user can purchase. Since the user can be given an opportunity to select the product they wish to purchase next or a new product that they are not aware of, it is now possible to increase sales opportunities.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a vending machine (1) for canned beverages is constructed by providing serpentine columns (3) on the front, back, left and right sides for storing a plurality of products separately.

The front panel (2) of the vending machine (1) has a sample shelf (4) for displaying samples of stored products, and a product corresponding to the product (4a) displayed on the sample shelf (4). A plurality of product selection buttons (5) for selecting items individually, a coin slot (8) for purchasing products, and a product takeout port (11) for dispensing selected products are provided.

At the bottom of the product selection button (5), a sold-out indicator light (6) is provided to indicate that the product is sold out, and a product indicator light (7) is provided to indicate that the product is available for sale according to the amount invested. , displays the sales availability status for each product.

The front panel (2) includes a liquid crystal display device (10) that displays various information such as product advertising messages for sales promotion, sales management information, and failure information, and the coin slot (10).
Instead of the coins inserted from 8), a reading device (hereinafter referred to as a card reading/writing device (9)) for selling products etc. via the card storage medium (9a) is provided. This consists of a vending machine.

The card-type storage medium (9a) is an IC card equipped with an internal readable/writable semiconductor memory, and has two types of sales cards: a prepayment type in which money is paid first and a deferred payment type in which payment is made in bulk later. Cards are classified into three types: sales information management cards that collect management information such as sales amount and quantity from the vending machine (1), and sales data setting cards that set various sales data such as product prices.

That is, the card reading/writing device (9)
When the IC card is inserted, data identifying the type of card is read from the IC card, and the above-mentioned processes, such as sales control and sales information management, are performed depending on the type of card.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit (C) of the vending machine (1) includes a coin processing unit (12) that tallies the money inserted through the coin slot (8), pays change, etc. , a product dispensing unit (13) that dispenses products from the column (3) to the product outlet (11), a product selection button operation unit (17), the coin processing unit (12) and the product Sales control unit (14) that controls the payout unit (13), etc.
The main part of the product sales mechanism (15) consisting of the card reading/writing device (9), the input/output operation part (21) for the interface, and the display for the interface via the interface part (16). Device (22)
, a printer (19) for printing out various management data such as sales information, and the like.

The operation unit (17) detects the operation of the product selection button (5) and controls the product display light (1) based on the amount information detected by the coin processing unit (12) and the card reading/writing device (9). 7) lighting control, the sales control section (
14) The lighting control of the sold-out indicator light (6) is performed based on the sold-out information of the product in the column (3) detected by step 14).

The plurality of vending machines (1) are connected online to a host computer (H) from each of the interface units (16) via an information transmission path (20) to form a vending machine system.

Various management data such as sales information, malfunction information, sold-out information, etc. in the vending machine (1) are transmitted through the information transmission path (20).
) to the host computer (H).

The vending machine system is placed in a certain area, such as on each floor of a building or an amusement park, and a plurality of vending machines (1) are centrally managed by the host computer (H).

Therefore, various management data of the vending machine (1) are as follows:
The information can be output in three forms: the information transmission path (20), the IC card, and the printer (19).

The operation of the control section (C) will be explained below based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, it is determined whether or not the host computer (H) is connected based on the presence or absence of received data from the host computer (H) (1101), and if there is received data, various sales information such as product price is determined according to that data. Perform the setting process <#102> Next, the vending machine (1)
Determine whether the sales mechanism (15) is normal or not, and if there is an abnormality, it will be detected that the sales mechanism (15) is in a state where it is impossible to sell. #103>
The name of the product that cannot be sold due to the abnormality and the abnormal condition are sent to the host computer (old <#104>).

Abnormalities in the sales mechanism (15) include, for example, the coin processing section (12) running out of change, the product dispensing section (13) being jammed with products, and the product transport mechanism (not shown). An abnormality in the mechanism for selling a product, such as a malfunction.

In other words, the control section (C) and step <#103> constitute an unsellable state detection means, and the interface section (16) and step <#104> constitute a transmission means.

The host computer (H) is connected to the vending machine (1).
) When it is recognized that the vending machine is unable to sell the product, it analyzes the data sent from the vending machine and recognizes that the vending machine is unable to sell the same product, or even other vending machines that can sell similar products. In (1), information on a vending machine (1) that is in the vicinity of the vending machine (1) that is in a non-selling state is searched, and the search results are returned to the vending machine (1) that is in a non-selling state. (not shown).

The vending machine (1) is connected to the host computer (H
) based on the search results sent from the display device (1).
0) to display location information of other vending machines (1) that can be sold in place of the unsold product.

The location information is displayed using characters or a map.

That is, the display device (10) serves as a presentation means for presenting location information of other vending machines (1) based on the data received from the host computer ()l).

Next, it is determined whether or not an IC card, which is the card type storage medium (9a), is inserted (1106), and if it is inserted, the security data etc. stored in the IC card are transferred to the card reading/writing device (9). to determine whether the card is valid or not.<#10
8>.

As a result, if the IC card is invalid, please return the IC card.
Return to ID step <#103>, and if valid, read the identification code that specifies the purpose and type of the IC card, and if it is a sales card, proceed to <#109>, and execute the sales control subroutine <#110> described later. Execute and return to step <#103>.

If the IC card is the sales information management card, <
9112>, write management information such as the sales amount and quantity of the vending machine (1) on the IC card<#11
3> If the IC card is not the sales information management card, it is determined that it is the sales data setting card, and various sales data such as product prices written in the IC card are read out #114 > After the processing is completed, the process returns to step <#103>.

If the IC card is not inserted in step <#106>, it is checked whether a coin has been inserted from the coin insertion slot (8), and if no coin has been inserted, the process returns to step <#103> and whether or not a coin has been inserted. If so, execute the sales control subroutine in step <#110> and go to step <#110>.
Return to #103>.

The sales control subroutine of step <#110> will be explained below based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step <#20D, it is determined whether the mode is card sales mode, that is, whether the mode is card sales mode using the sales card detected in step <#109> or using the coin detected in step <#107>. Determine whether it is in coin sales mode, and if it is in coin sales mode,
Turn on the product display light (7) corresponding to the product that can be sold with the inserted coin, and step <#204>.
Proceed to #205>.

If it is the card sales mode, the process proceeds to step <#202>, where the amount information stored in the sales card is read out, and the product attribute information is also read out.

If the product attribute information does not exist, proceed to step <#204> and turn on the product display light (7) corresponding to the product that can be sold with the price information #204>; if the product attribute information exists, proceed to step <#204>. , the product indicator light (7) corresponding to the product corresponding to its attribute, for example, the non-calorie drink group or the coffee drink group, is turned on <#203>.

That is, the product display light (7) and the control section (C) constitute a product display means that indicates a corresponding product based on the product attribute information recorded on the card.

To be more specific about the means attribute information, information indicating classification criteria for a plurality of products sold by the vending machine is coded and stored in the IC card. , temperature (hot/cold)
, ingredients (sugar content, etc.), etc.

The product selection button (5) corresponding to the product display light (7) lit in steps <#203> and <#204>
Waits for it to be operated, and when it is operated <#205>, payment processing is performed, that is, if it is in the card sales mode, amount information corresponding to the price of the sold product is obtained from the amount information stored in the IC card. If the mode is the coin sales mode, change is paid for the amount inserted from the coin slot (8) <#206>.

Next, the product selected with the product selection button (5) is transported from the column (3) to the product takeout port #207>
, to return the IC card <#208>.

[Another example]

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

In the previous embodiment, an IC card is used as the card-type storage medium, but this type of storage medium may also include a magnetic card, an optical card, or a composite card that appropriately combines these three types of storage media. You can.

In the previous embodiment, the product display light corresponding to the corresponding product is lit based on the product attribute information stored in the card, but all the products that can be sold are lit for the amount of money inserted in the card or coin. The corresponding product display light may be turned on, and the product display light corresponding to the product corresponding to the product attribute information may be blinked.

In the previous embodiment, product attribute information is stored in the card,
The product indicator light corresponding to the product corresponding to the attribute is lit, but instead of the product attribute information, the card stores specific product information that specifies a specific product, and the product is specified by the specific product information. Then, a product display light corresponding to another product having the same attributes as that product may be turned on.

Furthermore, only when the specific product is unsaleable, a product indicator light corresponding to another product that has the same attributes as the specific product may be turned on.

In the previous embodiment, a liquid crystal display device is used as a presentation means for presenting location information of other vending machines when a product cannot be sold due to a vending mechanism. It is not limited to (, C
Any display device such as RT can be used. Furthermore, the presentation means is not limited to display devices;
It may also be something that appeals to the sense of hearing, such as a speech synthesizer.

Further, the sales mechanism refers to all mechanisms for selling products, and is not limited to simply a coin processing section or a conveyance device.

For example, when a product cannot be sold due to a product being sold out at a location other than the sales organization, location information of other vending machines that have the product in stock may be displayed.

In the previous embodiment, a vending machine for canned beverages was described, but the vending machine may be for any other product such as cup beverages or cigarettes, and in that case, product attribute information may also be set separately for each product. For example, in the case of a cigarette vending machine, in addition to the price, there is also tar and nicotine content4.

In the previous embodiment, the location information of other vending machines is displayed at the time when the host computer's search results are received, but the timing of displaying the location information is not limited to this, and will be described below. It may be displayed at the appropriate timing.

In other words, a vending machine can be equipped with a human body detection sensor to display location information when it detects that a person is approaching, display location information when an IC card or coin is inserted, and further, It is conceivable to display location information when a product selection button is operated and the product corresponding to the product selection button is not available for sale.

Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of a card-type vending machine according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a control configuration diagram, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vending machine,
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the front panel, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the control section, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the same.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A card-type vending machine that controls the sale of products based on information read from a card by a reading device (9), which selects a corresponding product from product attribute information recorded on the card. A card-type vending machine equipped with a product display means for indicating instructions. 2. A card-type vending machine that controls the sale of products based on information read from the card by a reading device (9). A card-type vending machine provided with a product display means for indicating other equivalent products. 3. The card-type vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the product display means indicates another product having the same attributes as the specific product only when the specific product is unsaleable.