JPH08315222A - Prepaid card system for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To introduce an inexpensive prepaid card system. CONSTITUTION: A service charge collection agent system is utilized which provides a user with services of information, etc., from a service provider by using a telephone line 14 and in which a telephone line owner 16 collects the service charge from the user as an agency. A prepaid card for the telephone line that the telephone line owner issues is also utilized. And, the automatic vending machine 10 which is connected to the telephone line 14 vencls commodity the message call frequency corresponding to the price of the article is subtracted from the prepaid card from the telephone line, and the telephone line owner 16 pays the price of the article to the vendor 32 of the commodity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a card or the like in which the amount of money is recorded or recorded in advance, and when the product is purchased or a service is provided, the card is presented. It relates to a prepaid system that pays for products and services.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Like a gift certificate or a book coupon at a department store,
Conventionally, a prepaid card that is used to pay for the price of a product by purchasing these certificates in advance and presenting this certificate when purchasing the product has been used. recent years,
It is widely used to magnetically record the amount of money on this prepaid card, subtract the amount of money corresponding to these consideration when purchasing a product or receive a service, and record the remaining amount on the card again. For example, a prepaid card for a telephone line known as a telephone card of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation corresponds to this.

[0003]

When constructing such a prepaid card, particularly a prepaid purchase system using magnetic recording, when the issuer of the prepaid card, the seller of the article and the service provider are specified. Was limited to. In addition, a large amount of money is required to install a card reader to read the magnetic information recorded on the prepaid card and to record the information corresponding to the balance after payment, and to issue the prepaid card itself. There was a problem.

Also, there is a problem that different cards are issued to different sellers of goods and service providers, and that purchasers of goods and users of services must purchase different cards for different goods and services. It was

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a prepaid system which can be constructed by using a conventional facility with a relatively small investment.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a prepaid system for a vending machine according to the present invention uses a telephone line to provide a service from a provider who provides services such as information. A system that uses a service fee collection agent system in which the telephone line owner collects the service usage fee from the user on behalf of the user, and sells the product at a vending machine connected to the telephone line.
A system in which a frequency equivalent to the price of a sold product is deducted from a prepaid card for the phone line, and the phone line owner pays the price of this product to the seller of the product.

[0007]

The present invention has the above-mentioned structure, and by using the prepaid card for the telephone line, the seller can introduce the prepaid system without issuing a new card. .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the system of this embodiment. The vending machine 10 has a normal function which is now popular, which throws in coins or bills and sends out a desired product selected by a push button switch to an outlet. Further, a card reader 12 for reading magnetic information recorded on a prepaid card for a telephone line (hereinafter referred to as a telephone card) and rewriting this magnetic information is provided. Then, the card reader 12 is connected to the telephone line owner 16 via the telephone line 14.
(Hereinafter referred to as the line owner). Further, the telephone card is sold by the line owner 16. Further, the line owner 16 and a management company 18 such as a seller of the products of the vending machine 10 are also connected by a telephone line, and the management company 18 and the line owner 16 have a contract for a service charge collection agency service. This service fee collection agency service is, for example, a dial Q ² service performed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, and the telephone line owner, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, collects line usage fees and information provision fees as telephone fees, and then This is a service that deposits an amount equivalent to the information provision fee to the management company. The contract between the management company 18 and the line owner 16 mentioned above includes an information providing fee per unit call time. Therefore, the call time corresponds to the price of the product.

FIG. 2 shows details of the configuration of the card reader 12. A telephone line 14 and a line interface 20 for transmitting and receiving signals are provided, and signals are transmitted and received through the management company 18, the control unit 22 and the telephone line 14. Further, there is provided a card reading / writing unit 24 for reading the remaining frequency of the telephone card inserted by the purchaser and writing a new remaining frequency on the card according to the used frequency. Further, in order to inform the purchaser of the remaining frequency of the inserted card, a display output unit 26 is provided, and a signal indicating the remaining frequency is transmitted from here to a display unit (not shown). Further, a withdrawal signal receiving unit 28 for exchanging signals with the main body of the vending machine 10 and a sales instruction signal transmitting unit 3
0 is provided. The withdrawal signal receiving unit 28 receives a withdrawal signal corresponding to the price of the purchased product from the vending machine body 10 and transmits this signal to the control unit 22 as a frequency signal of the telephone card. Further, the sales instruction signal transmission unit 30 instructs the vending machine body 10 to send out the product selected by the purchaser to the outlet when the remaining frequency of the inserted telephone card is rewritten.

Next, the operation of the system of the present embodiment when a product is actually purchased will be described. The purchaser inserts a telephone card into the card reader 12 in order to purchase a product from the vending machine 10. The card reading / writing unit 24 of the card reader 12 reads the remaining frequency of the inserted telephone card and transmits it to the control unit 22. The control unit transmits this frequency information to the display output unit 26, and the purchaser is informed of the remaining frequency. This allows the purchaser to confirm whether this remaining frequency is sufficient to purchase the desired product. Then, the purchaser presses the push button switch corresponding to the desired product.

When this switch is pressed, the price of the product corresponding to this switch is sent to the withdrawal signal receiving unit 28 of the card reader 12, and the withdrawal signal receiving unit 28 outputs the frequency corresponding to the amount of the purchased product. The withdrawal frequency signal shown is sent to the control unit 22. Control unit 2
2 compares this withdrawal frequency with the remaining frequency of the inserted card, and if the withdrawal frequency is less than or equal to the remaining frequency of the card, dials the predetermined telephone number registered by the management company 18 to the line interface 20. You will be dialed automatically. When the management company 18 answers the telephone, the control unit 22 connects the line only for the time corresponding to the price of the product selected by the purchaser. As a result, the price of the product is paid to the management company in the form of information provision fee.
Further, during this call time, the control unit 22 sends information about the installation place of the vending machine and information about the sold product to the management company 18. At the same time, the control unit 22 instructs the card reading / writing unit 24 to subtract the frequency of the telephone card. The card reading / writing unit 24
The new frequency obtained by subtracting the withdrawal frequency from the remaining frequency of the telephone card is recorded in the telephone card.

When the rewriting of the card frequency is completed,
The control unit 22 instructs the sales instruction signal transmission unit 30 to transmit the sales instruction signal. The vending machine body 10 that has received the sale instruction signal sends the product selected by the purchaser with the push button switch to the outlet. On the other hand, the card reading / writing unit 24 ejects the telephone card whose frequency has been rewritten.

If the remaining frequency is less than the withdrawal frequency, the control unit 22 instructs the display output unit 26 to display the amount of money corresponding to this insufficient frequency. The buyer sees this and throws cash or the next card.
If the purchaser has neither cash nor the next telephone card, the purchaser performs a cancel operation, and the control unit 22 instructs the card reading / writing unit 24 to eject the telephone card.

On the other hand, when the insufficient amount of money is deposited in cash, the control unit 22 first instructs the management company 18 to dial and then to connect the line only for the time corresponding to the remaining frequency. Also in this case, the information about the installation location of the vending machine and the sold product is transmitted within the call time. At the same time, the control unit 22 instructs the card reading / writing unit 24 to rewrite the remaining card frequency to 0, and also instructs the sales instruction signal transmission unit 30 to send the sales instruction signal. The card reading / writing unit 24 ejects the telephone card when the frequency rewriting is completed.

When the frequency of the first telephone card is insufficient, the next telephone card can be inserted. When the second telephone card is inserted, the remaining frequency is read and it is determined whether or not the remaining amount is reached. When the shortage has been reached, the control unit 22 instructs the management company 18 to dial, and if it is successful, gives an instruction to connect the line for a time corresponding to the price of the product. Also in this case, the information about the installation location of the vending machine and the sold product is transmitted within the call time. Further, the control unit 22 gives an instruction to set the remaining frequency of the first card to 0 and an instruction to write the frequency obtained by subtracting the frequency of the shortage of the first card from the frequency of the second card. To do. Further, the control unit 22 instructs the sales instruction signal transmission unit 30 to send the sales instruction signal. Then, when the rewriting of the frequency of the telephone card is completed, this card is ejected.

As described above, the line owner 16 pays the product price to the management company 18 in the form of an information providing fee corresponding to this. If the management company 18 and the owner (seller) 32 of the vending machine 10 are different, the management company 18 further pays the seller 32 an amount corresponding to the information providing fee.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the prepaid card system can be introduced with a relatively small investment by using the telephone card and the service charge collection service of the telephone line owner. . In addition, since the cash in the vending machine 10 is lost or reduced, the possibility of being stolen is reduced. Also, if you only pay by telephone card,
There is no need to collect the money, and there is no need to prepare for change. Even when cash payment is also used, the effort required to collect the price and replenish the change is reduced.

Further, it is possible to grasp in real time the types and quantities of products sold in each vending machine and the types and quantities of products in stock, and it is possible to manage the goods in a timely manner.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, by using the prepaid card for the telephone line and the service charge collection agency service of the owner of the telephone line, the seller does not issue a new card. It is possible to introduce a prepaid system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system outline of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the details of the configuration of a card reader provided in the vending machine of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 vending machines, 12 card readers, 14 telephone lines, 16 telephone line owners, 18 management companies.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A service charge collection in which a service provided by a provider who provides information and the like is provided to a user by using a telephone line, and the telephone line owner collects the service use fee from the user on behalf of the user. A prepaid system for a vending machine that uses an agent system, in which a product is sold by a vending machine connected to a telephone line, and the frequency equivalent to the price of the sold product is deducted from the prepaid card for the telephone line. By the way, the telephone line owner pays the price of this product to the seller of the product, which is a prepaid system of a vending machine.