JPH0827858B2 - How to cancel the product selection right in a vending machine - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of canceling a product selection right in an automatic vending machine which sells a product based on an ID card or a prepaid card inserted in the machine.

Conventional technology Conventional vending machines that were able to sell food tickets and other products based on ID cards and prepaid cards
When the card is inserted into the machine, the information recorded on the card is read, and if it is determined that the card is valid, the card is returned and the vending machine is set to the sellable state. At this time, if the vending machine sells a plurality of types of products, the product selection button is put into an operable state and waits for the purchaser to press the button. At this time,
It is customary for the button to inform the purchaser of the selling state by, for example, turning on a built-in lamp. When the button is pressed, the sale process of the product is performed.

The problem to be solved by the invention is that in such a conventional case, when the purchaser who receives the returned card leaves without purchasing the product and without pressing the purchase cancel button. However, there is a problem that other people may purchase the product.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to prevent another person from purchasing a product instead of the product even if the person who inserts the card into the aircraft does not purchase the product. To do.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to an automatic vending machine that sells a plurality of products based on a card inserted in the machine, and if the card is inserted in the machine, information about Read the card and return it to the return slot, and set the vending machine to a sellable state, and then cancel the sellable state when the product selection button is not pressed within a predetermined time,
At that time, a predetermined time until canceling the selling state is set in advance, and thereafter, the time until the product selection button is pressed during a plurality of selling operations is stored, and the average value of the plurality of stored values is stored. The reference value for the time-up is set based on the above, and the set value for the predetermined time is corrected so as to approach the reference value for the time-up.

Function In this way, even if the purchaser who receives the returned card leaves without purchasing the product and without pressing the purchase cancel button, after the predetermined time has passed, Since the enabled state is canceled, it is possible to prevent a situation in which another person illegally purchases the product thereafter. Also, set the reference value for time-up based on the average value of the stored values until the product selection button is pressed during multiple sales operations, and set the sell-ready state so that it approaches the reference value for time-up. Since the set value of the predetermined time until cancellation is corrected, if the purchaser's operation level is quick, the predetermined time before canceling the selling state will be shortened accordingly, and the waiting time at the subsequent product purchaser And the operating efficiency of vending machines is improved.

Example FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic vending machine for carrying out the method of the present invention. Here, 1 is a control device such as a microcomputer.
The card information reading device 2 and a plurality of product selection buttons 3 are connected to the. This product selection button 3
When this is pressed, a product selection signal indicating that the product has been selected is output to the control device 1. In addition, the product selection button 3 has a built-in display lamp for displaying that the vending machine is in a sellable state. In addition, the control device 1 has a timer 4 which starts its operation when a ready-for-sale state is set up in which a card whose information has been read is returned.
Further, a memory 5 for storing a detected value of a time from when the selling state is set to when the product selection button 3 is pressed, and a product delivery device 6 for delivering the purchased product to the outside of the machine are connected. .

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

When the operation is started in step 11, the card is inserted in step 12, and in step 13, the data recorded on the card is read by the card information reading device. Next, in step 14, the validity of the card is determined.

When it is determined that the card is valid, the display lamp of the product selection button 3 is turned on as shown in step 15, and the vending machine is set to the sellable state. And the card is returned to the purchaser in step 16. Also, if the vending machine is set for sale, at the same time, step 17
At 4, the timer 4 is started.

Next, in step 18, it is determined whether or not the product selection button 3 has been pressed. If product selection button 3 is pressed,
In step 19, the time from when the vending machine is set to the selling state until the product selection button 3 is pressed is detected and stored in the memory 5, and the timer 4 is cleared. Then, in step 20, sales processing is performed, and the selected product is delivered from the product delivery device 6. After that, in step 21, the setting value of the timer 4 is corrected if necessary (details will be described later), and the operation ends in step 22.

If the product selection button 3 is not pressed in step 18, it is determined in step 23 whether or not the set time of the timer 4 has elapsed. Here, before the set time elapses,
Returning again to step 18, it is determined whether or not the product selection button 3 has been pressed. If it is determined in step 23 that the set time of the timer 4 has elapsed, it means that the purchase has not been made within this set time.
At 24, turn off the lamp of product selection button 3 and go to step 25.
After canceling the selling state at step 22, the process goes to step 22.

By doing this, if the vending machine is set to the sellable state after the validity of the card is judged in step 14, and the purchase is not made within the fixed time defined by the timer 4, Will be cancelled.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent others from illegally purchasing the product.

In step 14, the card is determined to be invalid,
If you cannot sell the product depending on the card,
Return the card in step 26 and step immediately
Up to 22.

Next, the correction operation of the set value of the timer 4 in step 21 will be described in detail. The timer 4 has its operating time set to, for example, 30 seconds as an initial setting at the time of factory shipment.
On the other hand, the memory 5 stores, for example, 100 times from the time when the product is set in the selling state to the time when the product selection button 3 is pressed in step 19. In step 21,
The control device 1 first calculates the average value of the data stored in the memory 5. This average value is generally about 10 to 12 seconds.

The controller 1 sets a value obtained by doubling this average value as a reference value for time-up, and compares this reference value with the set value of the timer 4. When the set value of the timer 4 is larger than the reference value, the set value of the timer 4 is changed to a small value by a constant value (for example, 1 second).

In this way, since the setting value of the timer 4 is corrected based on the average value of the time until the product selection button 3 is actually pressed, the purchase can be made, for example, as in a vending machine for meal tickets in the student cafeteria. In a vending machine installed in a place where the person's operation level is quick, the set value of the timer 4 is greatly corrected accordingly. This reduces the waiting time for subsequent product purchasers,
It becomes possible to operate the vending machine efficiently.

Further, since the set value of the timer 4 is not made to correspond to the reference value at a time but is corrected by a constant value,
It is possible to increase the number of samples that should finally serve as a criterion for judgment, and the correction accuracy is improved.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the purchase is not made within a predetermined time after the sale is set,
Since the selling state is canceled, even if the purchaser leaves without purchasing the product, it is possible to prevent others from illegally purchasing the product. Also, set the reference value for time-up based on the average value of the stored values of the time until the product selection button is pressed in multiple sales operations, and cancel the selling state so that it approaches the reference value for this time-up. Since the set value of the predetermined time until is corrected, if the purchaser's operation level is quick, the predetermined time before canceling the selling state can be shortened accordingly, so that the subsequent product purchase It is possible to reduce the waiting time in the person who is working and improve the operation efficiency of the vending machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an automatic vending machine for implementing the present invention. 1 ... Control device, 3 ... Product selection button, 4 ... Timer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic vending machine which sells a plurality of products based on a card inserted into the machine, and when the card is inserted into the machine, the information is read and the card is returned to the return slot, and the automatic vending machine is also provided. Is set to the saleable state, and then the saleable state is canceled when the product selection button is not pressed within the predetermined time, and a predetermined time until the saleable state is canceled is set in advance, After that, the time until the product selection button is pressed during multiple sales operations is memorized, the time-up reference value is set based on the average value of the plurality of stored values, and the time-up reference value is set. A method of canceling a product selection right in a vending machine, characterized in that the set value of the predetermined time is corrected so as to approach.