JPH06348921A - Automatic ticket vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the ticket vending machine which can return bills or a money amount card corresponding to inserted money if abnormality of the issue of a ticket is caused, eliminates the need for a clerk, and improves the usability of a user by returning received cash or a money amount card which has monetary value after putting its monetary value back to the original monetary value when abnormality of the issue of the ticket is caused. CONSTITUTION:When a main control part 29 detects abnormality of an issued ticket with signals from a ticket jamming detector 32 detecting the abnormality of the issued ticket in a ticket issuing mechanism 26, an encoding confirmation part 31, and a printing confirmation part 33, money or bills as much as the money that the user has inserted are discharged from a discharge opening to a receiving pan 14; and the issue of the ticket is interrupted and the inserted money is returned. When the money amount card A is inserted instead of the money and the main control part 29 similarly detects the abnormality of the issued ticket, a card part 23 writes the balance before the ticket is issued. Then the card part 23 sends the money amount card A on which the interruption of the issue of the ticket is printed out of a card insertion slot, so that the balance is returned to the user in the state at the time of the insertion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ticket vending machine which prints and issues tickets such as tickets for vehicles, entrance tickets for amusement parks, theaters, etc.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic ticket vending machine for tickets for transportation will be described below as an example. In recent years, for example, in the railway industry, an automatic ticket vending machine that prints and issues a ticket by a user's operation has become widespread along with labor saving in station operations. In this type of ticket vending machine, the user automatically enters a ticket by inserting a money card having a monetary value such as money or a prepaid card and selectively pressing the destination or fare button (amount button). Printing and issuance of tickets and change payments are made as necessary.

However, in such a ticket vending machine, when a currency or amount card is inserted and the amount button is pressed and then a ticket jam, an encoding error, or a printing abnormality occurs as an issuance abnormality for the issued ticket, According to the staff's response, that is, the operation of the staff panel or the operation of the remote monitoring panel, the inserted money and the amount card were returned to the customer.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, when a money or money card is inserted and the money button is pressed and then an issuance abnormality for the issued ticket occurs, it is inserted by a staff member. It removes the disadvantage that the money and amount card are returned to the customer, which is not convenient for the user.After inserting the money and amount card and pressing the amount button, an issue issuance to the issue ticket occurs. If you do, immediately
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ticket vending machine that can return money and money cards equivalent to the amount of money input, eliminates the need for staff, does not have to stop customers, and improves convenience for users.

[0005]

An automatic ticket vending machine according to the present invention is a cash accepting means for accepting cash, a judging means for judging the amount of cash accepted by the cash accepting means, and an accepting money amount judged by this judging means. Of the specifying means for specifying the amount of the ticket to be issued, the issuing means for issuing the ticket of the amount of money by the specifying means, the abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality by the issuing means, and when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting means, While canceling the issuance by the above-mentioned issuing means,
It is composed of processing means for returning the cash accepted by the cash accepting means.

The automatic ticket vending machine of the present invention has a receiving means for receiving a monetary value card, a reading means for reading the monetary value from the monetary card accepted by the receiving means, and a reading amount read by the reading means. A specifying means for specifying the monetary value of the issued ticket, an issuing means for issuing a monetary valued ticket by the specifying means, and the money read by the reading means when the ticket is issued by the issuing means. First processing means for deducting the monetary value of the issued ticket from the physical value and updating and recording the deducted monetary value in the monetary amount card, an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality by the issuing means, and When the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detecting means, the issuing of the ticket by the issuing means is stopped, and the monetary value is updated by the first processing means. And a second processing means for returning back the monetary value of over de.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned structure, a monetary value card having cash or monetary value is accepted, and the monetary value of the accepted cash or monetary value card is used to issue a ticket. When an abnormal issue occurs, the accepted cash or monetary value card is returned to its original monetary value and returned.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a customer service side of an automatic ticket vending machine for printing and selling ordinary tickets according to the present invention. On the service side, a display section 1 for displaying guidance and the amount of money to be paid, an attendant. Call button (push-button switch) 2, cancel button (push-button switch) 3 for canceling purchase, section fare of the release route is lit up and displayed based on the amount of money inserted, and an amount card (a card having a monetary value such as a prepaid card) A A plurality of variable display account buttons (push button switches with a built-in numeric display) 6 that light up and display the purchaseable content based on the balance of the amount of money, and an amount card issue button 1 that issues an amount card A of a predetermined amount
5, a condition button (push button switch) 7 for specifying the number of purchases, children's tickets, discount tickets, a card slot 9 from which the amount card A is ejected, and a coin into which a coin is inserted Inserting slot 10, a bill inserting slot 11 for inserting bills and discharging bills, a ticket issuing slot 12 for issuing a ticket, a coin discharging slot 1 for discharging coins and bills
3, the issued ticket, and the saucer 14 from which the change is released are respectively provided.

FIG. 1 shows the construction of an automatic ticket vending machine having the above-mentioned customer service surface. That is, the card slot 9 is connected to the card unit 23. Card part 2
3 has a card issuing function for reading and rewriting the magnetically recorded balance of the money card A inserted from the card slot 9 or for issuing a new money card A stored in a stacker (not shown). is there. The card unit 23 detects a card jam, an abnormality in magnetic recording, or the like when the money card A is issued.

The bill insertion slot 11 is connected to the bill inspection section 20. Further, the coin slot 10 is connected to the coin inspection unit 24, and the coin inspection unit 24 is connected to the change coin unit 25. As a result, the coins discriminated by the inspection section 24 are stored in the change section 25 as change and can be discharged from the discharge port 13. In addition to the change unit 25, a ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 is also connected to the ticket issuing port 12. The ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 includes a printing unit 27, an encoding unit 28, and
The ticket jam detector 31 includes an encode confirmation unit 32 and a print confirmation unit 33. The ticketing mechanism section 26 is
The ticket printed by the printing unit 27 using a thermal head (not shown) is sent to the encoding unit 28, and the encoding unit 28 records magnetic information for automatic ticket inspection on the magnetic recording unit (not shown) of the ticket. , Ticket ticket outlet 12 to saucer 1
No. 4 is released as a ticket. Also,
The ticket jam detector 31 detects clogging of the paper sheet by a paper sheet passage detector (not shown), and the encoding confirmation unit 32 reads the content recorded in the magnetic recording unit of the paper sheet by the encoding unit 28. The print confirmation unit 33 confirms whether or not the encoding is performed correctly by performing the operation, and the print confirmation unit 33 confirms whether or not the printing is performed by checking the driving state of the thermal head and the applied voltage of the thermal head. To do.

Then, the card unit 23 and the bill checking unit 2
The main control unit 29 controls 0, the money inspection unit 24, the change unit 25, the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26, the display unit 1, the condition button 7, and the variable display account button 6. The main controller 29 is mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits, and controls the entire ticket vending machine.

Next, the operation of issuing a ticket in the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. First, in order to purchase a ticket, the user inserts coins or bills having an amount equal to or exceeding the desired amount of the ticket from the coin insertion slot 10 and the bill insertion slot 11 (ST1). When coins or bills are inserted through these insertion ports, the coin inspection unit 24 and the bill discriminating unit 20 detect and discriminate the inserted coins or bills. The total amount of the discriminated currency is calculated by the main control unit 29, and the input amount is displayed on the display unit 1. Further, when money is inserted, the fare display of the variable display account button 6 is all turned off once, and then only the account button of the boarding ticket that can be purchased according to the inserted amount is displayed. For example, if the input amount is 200 yen, 2
Each segment fare that can be purchased for 00 yen is displayed, and if the input amount is 330 yen, all the segment fare that can be purchased for 330 yen are displayed. The user selects and presses one of the displayed variable display account buttons 6 (ST
2). When the variable display account button 6 is selected and pressed, only the variable display account button 6 that is selected and pressed is turned on by the control of the main control unit 29, and the other variable display account buttons 6 are turned off.

Then, the main control section 29 starts the operation of printing and issuing the ticket and sending out the change. That is, the face information is edited by the main control unit 29, the edited face information is printed on the paper sheet by the printing unit 27, and the printed paper sheet is sent to the encoding unit 28. The encoding unit 28 magnetically records magnetic information for automatic ticket gates, such as issuing date information, departure station information, arrival station information, and section (fare) information, on a magnetic recording unit formed on the back surface of the ticket. Then, the ticket is released from the ticket issuing port 12 to the tray 14.
At this time, if there is change, the change unit 25 operates, and change coins and bills are discharged from the outlet 13 to the tray 14. When the ticket issuance is completed in this way, the variable display account button 6 is turned off, and the state returns to the sale standby state.

Further, a ticket jam detector 31 for detecting an abnormality of the issued ticket in the ticket issuing mechanism section 26, an encoding confirmation section 32,
When the main control unit 29 detects an abnormality of the issued ticket by the signal from the print confirmation unit 33 (ST3), coins and bills of the amount inserted by the user are discharged from the outlet 13 to the tray 14. In this way, the issuing of the ticket is stopped, and the money inserted by the user is returned (ST4).

The user receives the returned money and uses another ticket vending machine (ST5). Also, instead of the above currency,
When the money card A is inserted (ST1), the money card A
Only the account buttons for tickets that can be purchased depending on the remaining amount of are displayed. For example, if the remaining amount is 200 yen, each segment fare up to 200 yen is displayed, and the remaining amount is 330
In case of yen, all segment fares that can be purchased for 330 yen are displayed.

Then, the user selects and presses one of the displayed variable display account buttons 6. When the variable display account button 6 is selected and pressed (ST2), only the variable display account button 6 that is selected and pressed is turned on by the control of the main control unit 29, and the other variable display account buttons 6 are turned off.

Then, the main control unit 29 uses the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 to start the printing and issuing of the ticket and the card sending operation. That is, the face information is edited by the main control unit 29, the edited face information is printed on the paper sheet by the printing unit 27, and the printed paper sheet is sent to the encoding unit 28. The encoding unit 28 magnetically records magnetic information for automatic ticket gates, such as issuing date information, departure station information, arrival station information, and section (fare) information, on a magnetic recording unit formed on the back surface of the ticket. Then, the ticket is released from the ticket issuing port 12 to the tray 14. At this time, the main control unit 29 displays the remaining amount after the purchase amount is deducted on the display unit 1.

Further, a new remaining amount is written in the storage unit (not shown) of the main control unit 29 by the card unit 23, and the card unit 23 inserts the amount card A on which the ticket sales history is printed into the card slot 9 To the outside.

That is, the print history (date not shown) such as date, time, departure station, used number, and remaining amount is printed on the amount card A, and the write head (not shown) shows date, time, Magnetic information such as the departure station, the number of the used device, and the balance is magnetically recorded. Then, the amount card A is ejected from the card slot 9.

When the ticket issuance is completed in this way, the variable display account button 6 is turned off, and the state returns to the sale standby state. Further, when the main control unit 29 detects an abnormality of the issued ticket by the signals from the ticket jam detector 31, the encode confirmation unit 32, and the print confirmation unit 33 that detect the abnormality of the issued ticket in the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 (ST3 ), The remaining amount before the issuance of the ticket is written by the card unit 23, and the card unit 23 sends out the amount card A printed with the ticket issuance cancellation from the card insertion slot 9 to the outside.

That is, the history of issuance cancellation, date, time, used machine number, balance, etc. is printed on the amount card A by the print unit (not shown), and further, date, time, use by the write head (not shown). Magnetic information such as machine number and balance is magnetically recorded. Then, the amount card A is ejected from the card slot 9.

The print content may be erased by printing a line on the print content corresponding to the content canceled by the write head. In addition, the processing of the card unit 23 is started after the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 has issued the ticket to some extent, so that the processing of the card unit 23 is not performed when the abnormality of the ticket issuing mechanism unit 26 is detected. It may be returned to.

In this way, the issuance of the boarding ticket is stopped, and the money card A inserted by the user is returned in the state in which the remaining amount was inserted (ST4). The user receives the returned amount card A and uses another ticket vending machine (ST5).

When purchasing a predetermined amount of money card A, the user first inserts coins or bills having an amount equal to or exceeding the desired amount of the ticket, in the coin slot 1.
0, it inserts from the bill insertion slot 11. When coins or bills are inserted through these insertion ports, the coin inspection unit 24 and the bill discriminating unit 20 detect and discriminate the inserted coins or bills.
The total amount of the discriminated currency is calculated by the main control unit 29, and the input amount is displayed on the display unit 1.

Then, when the money amount card issuing key 15 is turned on, a new money amount card A is issued in the card unit 23. At this time, when the card unit 23 detects an abnormality in the issuance of the money card A, the issuance of the money card A is stopped and the money inserted by the user is returned.

As described above, when purchasing a ticket,
When a ticket issuance is abnormal, the money and the card equivalent to the input amount are returned to the customer immediately, so no staff is required, and it is not necessary to stop the customer. Tickets can be purchased at other ticket vending machines, and its effect can be expected especially at unmanned corners.

In the above embodiments, the case of application to a ticket vending machine has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a commuter ticket, a meal ticket or a movie theater, an entrance ticket to a theater, etc. , Vending machines for other securities, or various vending machines that provide goods or services corresponding to a predetermined monetary value, such as food, beverage, and telephone services.

[0028]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
If you issue a coin or money card and press the money button and then an issue occurs on the issue ticket, you can immediately return the money or money card equivalent to the amount of money entered, no staff is required, and the customer is stopped. It is not necessary to provide an automatic ticket vending machine which improves convenience for users.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an automatic ticket vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a customer service side of the automatic ticket vending machine of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a ticket issuing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 ... Banknote inspection department, 23 ... Card department, 24 ... Money inspection department, 2
5 ... Change section, 26 ... Ticketing mechanism section, 27 ... Printing section, 28 ...
Encoding unit, 29 ... Main control unit, 31 ... Ticket jam detector, 32 ... Encoding confirmation unit, 33 ... Printing confirmation unit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cash accepting means for accepting cash, a judging means for judging the amount of cash accepted by the cash accepting means, and an amount of a ticket to be issued within the amount of money accepted by the judging means. Designating means, issuing means for issuing a ticket of the amount of money by this designating means, abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality by this issuing means, and when abnormality is detected by this abnormality detecting means, issuance by the issuing means is stopped. In addition, an automatic ticket vending machine comprising: a processing unit for returning the amount of cash received by the cash receiving unit. 2. A receiving means for receiving a money card having a monetary value, a reading means for reading the monetary value from the money card received by the receiving means, and an issue within the reading amount read by the reading means. Designating means for designating the monetary value of the ticket, issuing means for issuing the monetary valued ticket by the designating means, and the monetary value read by the reading means when the ticket is issued by the issuing means. First processing means for deducting the monetary value of the ticket issued from the card and updating and recording the deducted monetary value on the above-mentioned amount card, an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality by the issuing means, and this abnormality detection When an abnormality is detected by the means, the issuing of the ticket by the issuing means is stopped, and the monetary value of the monetary value card whose monetary value is updated by the first processing means. An automatic ticket vending machine comprising: a second processing means for returning the value to the original and returning the value. 3. A cash accepting means for accepting cash, a judging means for judging the amount of cash accepted by the cash accepting means, and an amount card having a monetary value within the amount of money accepted by the judging means. Instructing means for instructing issuance, issuing means for issuing an amount card having a monetary value by this designating means, abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality by this issuing means, and when an abnormality is detected by this abnormality detecting means, An amount card vending machine comprising: processing means for stopping the issuance of a ticket by the issuing means and for returning the amount of cash accepted by the cash accepting means.