JPH046604B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an article rental management device, and in particular, the present invention relates to an article rental management device, and in particular, a method for storing product information and rental information of rental articles registered in a rental management memory formed in an internal storage section. This invention relates to a lending management device that allows easy deletion.

[Prior Art] For example, when a book rental store or a record rental store lends out an item of almost regular size to the general public for a fee, the store clerk provides the item name or product code that specifies the rental item, the address and name of the borrower, and the rental date. Record it in a vote or notebook. If the item is returned, the rental record of the rental slip and notebook will be deleted.

However, if the clerk records the name and product code of each loaned item on the loan slip or notebook, the efficiency of the lending office work will decrease. A membership card with a membership number recorded on it is issued, and when an item is lent out, a barcode reader is used to read the product code of the barcode, and it is stored in a storage device along with the membership number keyed in, for example, from a keyboard, and when the item is returned, it can be returned to the item. A lending management device has been developed that erases lending information stored in a storage device by reading an attached bar code.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, even in the rental management device that manages the rental and return of articles using barcodes as described above, the following problems still occur. In other words, in general, software rental companies that rent out records, audio tapes, video tapes, etc. to the general public for a fee pay a certain amount to software supply companies such as record companies, movie companies, and TV companies, depending on the number of times the rentals are made or the amount of the loan. There is an obligation to pay copyright fees in proportion. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately record the number of loans and the loan amount.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned audio tapes and video tapes are easily subject to trends, and rental companies must always display the latest rental items on store shelves. Therefore, the items lent out are constantly replaced. In this case, it is necessary to display the rental item on the shelf and also register it in the storage device. However, since the storage capacity of the storage device is limited, it is necessary to delete old item rental information from the storage device. Generally, this deletion operation is performed by key-inputting the product code or product (title name) of the product to be deleted. However, the product code has multiple digits, and in order to enter the product name, it is necessary to input the coded katakana or alphabetic characters, which not only makes key operations complicated, but also makes key operation errors more likely.

Further, when the corresponding item is deleted from the storage section, lending information such as the number of times the item has been lent and the amount lent so far is also deleted, making it impossible to carry out strict lending management.

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to automatically perform predetermined deletion processing, including printing out rental information, when the business mode is set to deletion mode and an item is pulled out from the shelf. To provide a rental management device that can easily delete rental information of old items while maintaining the previous rental information and easily replace rental items while maintaining strict rental management. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] As shown in FIG. 1, the rental management device of the present invention includes a plurality of shelves 2 into which one item 1 to be rented is inserted, and a plurality of shelves 2 in each of these shelves. A detection device 3 is installed in the shelf and detects that an article has been inserted into the shelf.
A rental management memory 4 consisting of a plurality of tables each having a product information area for storing product information of the item, a rental information area for storing rental information, and a shelf number area for storing an insertion shelf number corresponding to each item. and,
A main body control device 5 is provided for writing and reading information to and from the lending management memory, and detection is made when a task selection means 6 that selects and sets a deletion task for product information recorded in the lending management memory selects a deletion task. When the device detects an operation to pull out the article from the shelf, the rental information printout means 7 prints out the rental information stored in the table corresponding to the shelf number of the shelf where the pullout operation occurred, and , the rental information and product information stored in the table corresponding to the shelf number of the shelf where the withdrawal operation occurred is cleared by the product information deletion means 8.

[Function] If the lending management device is configured in this way,
When deleting the product information and rental information of a rental item that has already been stored (registered) in the rental management memory, select the deletion job in the job selection means and pull out the item to be deleted from the shelf. acts, the rental information stored in the table of the relevant shelf is printed out, and the product information of the relevant article and the already printed rental information are cleared.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the lending management device of the embodiment. In this embodiment, a case will be explained in which the device is installed in a video rental shop that rents out video tapes to the general public for a fee. That is, numeral 21 in the figure is a rack having a large number of shelves 22 arranged on the front side, and a main body control device 23 is installed adjacent to this rack 21. Each shelf 2 provided in the rack 21
2 has a rectangular shape into which a videotape cassette 24 as an article is inserted with a slight gap in the longitudinal direction, and a micro switch as a detection device is attached to the abutment wall inside this shelf 22.
When the cassette 24 is inserted into the shelf 22 to its proper position, the microswitch is closed. Furthermore, a light emitting element and a light receiving element for data transmission are arranged on one side wall of the shelf 22. Further, an operation panel 25 is attached to the front surface of the main body control device 23.

In the cassette 24, as shown in FIG. 3, a window 26 for optical communication is provided near the corner of the side surface of the cassette case. An IC circuit 27 is disposed within the cassette 24 facing the window 26, and a light emitting element 28a and a light receiving element 28b are disposed on a PC board supporting the IC circuit 27. Furthermore, a battery 29 is provided adjacent to the PC board. Please note that these electronic components are located in the corners of the cassette case.
It does not interfere with tape running. and,
When the cassette 24 is properly inserted into the shelf 22, it faces a light emitting element and a light receiving element attached to the side wall of the shelf 22. Also, this IC circuit 27
The storage section inside stores product information consisting of the product code of the videotape in this cassette 24, a branch number used when there are multiple identical products, a title name, and a rental unit price indicating the rental fee for one time. There is.
Note that this product information is written in the video software management center. Then, the cassette 24 is supplied to the video rental store with the product information written thereon.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 25 includes a display section 3 that displays various messages and amounts.
1. Number keys 32 for entering numerical data such as product codes, set keys 34 used when entering numerical data, rental keys 35 to be pressed when lending a cassette, and keys for transmitting data to the host computer of the video software management center. transmission key 36,
A mode selection key 39 as a business selection means operated with a key for selecting and setting various business modes, and a printer 4 for printing lending slips, deletion reports, etc.
0 issuance port 41 etc. are arranged.

The mode selection key 39 is used for general lending/returning operations indicated in the [ON] position, [inspection] operations for printing out the lending information cumulatively registered in the lending management memory, and printing out the accumulated lending information. Clear the loan information that has already been output with [Aggregation]
You can select the [Registration/Delete] task for selectively registering product information in the lending management memory or deleting product information and lending information.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the main body control device 23. The CPU 42 connects to the ROM via the bus line.
43, RAM 44, input port 46 into which opening/closing information of each micro switch 45 provided in each shelf 22 is input, input/output to which light emitting element 47a and light receiving element 47b attached to the side wall of shelf 22 are connected. Port 48, keyboard 49 of operation panel 25
An input port 50 to which a key signal is input, an output port 51 to send data to the printer 40 or display unit 31, and a clock circuit 5 to measure the current date and time.
2. I/O for transmitting data such as rental information
Controls the interface 53. Note that this I/O interface 53 is MODEM54,
It is connected via a switch 55 to a host computer 56 of a video software management center.

Further, each of the electronic components described above is supplied with a driving voltage from a power supply circuit 58 connected to an AC power supply via a power switch 57.

In the RAM 44, as shown in FIG.
A rental management memory 59 is formed. This rental management memory 59 is stored on a shelf 22 formed in the rack 21.
Each table 60 includes a shelf number area 62 for storing the shelf number of the shelf 22, and product information including a product code, branch number, title name, and rental unit price. The product information area 63 stores the total number of loans lent to date, the total loan amount, the total arrears, the date and time of the loan if the loan is currently in progress, and the member number of the borrower if the loan is currently in progress. A lending information area 64 for storing information is formed.

Further, in the RAM 44, there are formed a loan days memory 65 for storing the number of days for one loan, and an overdue charge memory 66 for storing the overdue amount or overdue rate per day when the loan is returned after the loan deadline. ing.

The main body control section 23 of such a rental management device performs a process of deleting the product information and rental information of the cassette 24 stored in the rental management memory 59 in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. First, when the power switch 57 is turned on, predetermined initial processing is performed in S1.
Next, in S2, it is confirmed that the mode selection key 39 of the operation panel 25 is set to the [registration/deletion] mode, and a message prompting the user to select registration or deletion is displayed on the display section 31. Then, in S3, when [2] is entered with the number key 32, the deletion task is selected, and the display unit 31 is instructed to pull out the cassette 24 (video) to be deleted from the shelf 22. Display messages.

Then, at S4, switch the micro switch 4 on the shelf 22.
5 is opened or closed, it is determined that the task of deleting the cassette 24 inserted in that shelf 22, that is, the product information and rental information stored in the table 60 corresponding to the shelf number of that shelf 22, has started. . Then, each table 60 in the rental management memory 59 is searched using the shelf number of the micro switch 45 released in S5. When the table 60 of the relevant shelf number is specified in S6, that table 6
The product information and rental information stored in the product information area 63 and rental information area 64 of No. 0 are printed out on paper by the printer 40 as a deletion report and are ejected from the issuing port 41. After that, in S7, the product information and lending information in the corresponding table 60 are cleared (deleted). Then, a message indicating the completion of deletion is displayed on the display section 31, and the process of deleting one cassette 29 from the rental management memory 59 is completed. Then, the process returns to S4 and waits for the operation to pull out the next cassette 24 to be deleted from the shelf 22.

Note that the micro switch 45 is not opened in S4, but the product code of the cassette 24 to be deleted is entered in S8 using the number keys 32 of the operation panel 25, and then the cassette key 34 is not operated. If so, it is currently on loan,
It is determined that the information on the cassettes 24 that are not inserted into the shelves 22 is to be deleted. Then, each table 60 in the lending management memory 59 is searched using the product code input in S9. Then, in S10, a table 60 in which product information of the corresponding product code is stored
When searched, a branch number input instruction message is displayed on the display section 31. Then, when a branch number is input using the numeric key 32 and the set key 34, it is checked in S11 whether or not there is product information that matches the previously input product code with the currently input branch number. . If the table 60 exists, the table 60 storing the product information and rental information of the corresponding cassette 24 to be canceled has been identified, so the table 60 is stored in S6.
Then, in S7, the above-described deletion process is executed for the product information and rental information.

Note that if the corresponding product code is not retrieved in S10 or if the branch numbers do not match in S11, it is assumed that the product information and rental information of the corresponding cassette 24 were not registered in the rental memory 59 from the beginning. , or determine that it has already been deleted,
A message to that effect is displayed on the display section 31. Note that even if the product code or branch number is entered incorrectly, a message indicating that the corresponding cassette (video) is not available is displayed on the display section 31. Then, S via S4
Return to step 8 and enter the correct product code.

Note that with the product information of each cassette 24 registered in the rental management memory 59, the mode selection key 3 is pressed.
9 to the [ON] position, and place the cassette 24 on the shelf 2.
2, the fact that the corresponding cassette 24 has been rented out is registered in the rental information area 64 of the corresponding table 60. Furthermore, when the cassette 24 is inserted into the corresponding shelf 22, return information is registered in the rental information area 64. Therefore, rental and return management is possible.

In the lending management device configured in this way,
To delete the product information and rental information of the cassette 24 that have already been stored (registered) in the rental management memory 59, set the mode selection key 39 to the [registration/delete] mode, and press the numeric key 32 to select [2]. Simply pull out the corresponding cassette 24 from the shelf 22 with the number set, and the product information of the corresponding cassette 24, including the product code, branch number, title name, rental unit price, etc., as well as the total number of loans to date and the total loan amount. ,
Loan information consisting of total arrears is printed out as a deletion report. Then, the product information and lending information of the corresponding cassette 24 in the corresponding table 60 are cleared. In this way, by simply pulling out the cassette 24 to be deleted, the rental information up to the present time is printed out and deleted from the table 60. Therefore, compared to conventional devices, the cancellation operation can be simplified while maintaining accurate lending information. Also,
Key operation errors can be prevented during deletion operations.

In this embodiment, even if the cassette 24 is not actually on the shelf 22, it can be deleted by key-inputting the product code from the operation panel 25, as in the conventional device. In this case, if the cassette 24 is being lent, the month, date and time of the lent and the member number of the person lending the cassette are included in the lent information and printed out as a deletion report, so even if the cassette 24 is returned after deletion. It is possible to fully respond.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, when the business mode is set to the deletion mode and an item is pulled out from the shelf, a predetermined deletion process including printing out rental information is automatically executed. ing. Therefore, the rental information of old articles can be easily deleted while maintaining the previous rental information, and the rental articles can be easily replaced while maintaining strict rental management.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, Figs. 2 to 8 show a lending management device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire device, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the entire device. The figure is a perspective view showing the cassette, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the IC circuit built into the cassette, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the operation panel, Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the main body control device, and Figure 7 is a diagram showing the operation panel. 8 is a diagram showing the stored contents, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation. 21... rack, 22... shelf, 23... main body control device, 24... cassette, 25... operation panel, 27... IC circuit, 31... display section, 32...
...Number key, 35...Rent key, 39...Mode selection key, 40...Printer, 42...CPU,
44...RAM, 45...Micro switch, 5
7...Power switch, 59...Rental management memory,
60...Table, 62...Storage bin area, 63...
Product information area, 64...Rental information area.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of shelves into which one item to be lent is inserted, a detection device installed in each of these shelves to detect when the item is inserted into the shelf, and a detection device corresponding to each of the items. a rental management memory consisting of a plurality of tables having a product information area for storing product information of the article, a rental information area for storing rental information, and a storage bin area for storing insertion shelf numbers;
A main body control device that writes and reads information to and from the rental management memory, a task selection device that selects and sets a deletion task for product information recorded in the rental management memory, and a task selection device that selects and sets a deletion task for product information recorded in the lending management memory. rental information printout means for printing out rental information stored in a table corresponding to the shelf number of the shelf where the withdrawal operation occurred when the detection device detects an operation to pull out the article from the shelf in the state; A rental management device comprising a product information deletion means for clearing rental information and product information stored in a table corresponding to the shelf number of the shelf where the withdrawal operation has occurred.