JPH0896050A - Selling system for reserved seat ticket vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a selling system for a reserved seat ticket vending machine in order to attain the quick issue of reserved seat tickets and also to attain the reduction of burden on a host device. CONSTITUTION: The reserved seat ticket vending machine 10 is provided with an input part 11 which performs the input of information, a communication control part 12 which performs the transfer of information to a host device 1, a ticket issue part 20 which issues a medium 3 as a reserved seat ticket, a main control part 30 which controls these parts 11, 12 and 20, and a means which stores the information. In such a constitution, the information on the seat reservation secured by the device 1 is temporarily stored in the machine 10 via the storage means. The new input information on the seat reservation is collated with the old information stored in the storage means. When these information are coincident with each other, no communication is performed with the device 1 and a reserved seat ticket is issued based on the information stored in the storage means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a designated ticket sales system for a customer-operated or staff-operated seat reservation ticket vending machine installed in a station or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a customer-operated or staff-operated seat reservation ticket vending machine has an input section for inputting information necessary for seat reservation, a host device for managing seat reservation, and a communication line. A communication control unit connected via the host device for exchanging information related to seat designation with the host device; a ticket issuing unit for recording information about seat designation on a medium and issuing it as a seat designation ticket; Some have a main control unit for controlling the above. When a seat is designated and a seat reservation ticket is issued by the vending machine, a customer or a staff member first inputs information necessary for seat designation from the input unit.
The input information communicates with the host device via the communication control unit, and the host device confirms the vacant seat and secures the seat based on the information. Then, the reserved seat designation information, that is, the information on which the seat has been designated is recorded on the medium by the ticket issuing unit, and this is issued as a seat designation ticket.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned sale machine, it is necessary to communicate with the host device every time the information necessary for seat designation is input. Therefore, it takes a certain amount of time for communication and processing to issue the seat reservation ticket. Further, for example, when the host device is connected to a plurality of vending machines, all of these vending machines communicate with the host device, so that communication is concentrated during a certain time zone (for example, a certain time before departure of a train). However, the load on the host device increases. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and provide a selling system for a seat reservation ticket vending machine that enables prompt issuance of a seat reservation ticket and reduction of the burden on the host device.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an input unit 11 for inputting information necessary for seat designation, a host device 1 for managing seat designation, and a communication line. A communication control unit 12 connected to the host device 1 for exchanging information regarding seat designation with the host device 1;
A seat reservation ticket including a ticket issuing unit 20 for recording information on seat designation on the medium 3 and issuing the medium 3 as a seat reservation ticket, and a main control unit 30 for controlling these. The vending machine 10 is provided with a means for temporarily storing the information on the seat designation in the vending machine 10.

In such a vending machine 10 as described above, the input section 11 provides information necessary for seat designation set by the input person (for example, a predetermined section and a predetermined number of seats) before the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket. Designated information) is input. Next, the communication control unit 12 communicates with the host device 1, and the seat is designated based on the input information. As a result of this communication, the storage means is in a state of temporarily storing the information for which the seat is designated in the vending machine 10. Next, when the information necessary for seat selection is newly input from the input unit 11 after the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket, the main control unit 30 compares the information with the information stored in the storage means. Then, it is determined whether these pieces of information match. When these pieces of information match, the ticket issuing unit 20 issues a seat reservation ticket based on the information stored in the storage means. If they do not match, the communication control unit 12 communicates with the host device 1, and the ticket issuing unit 20 issues a seat reservation ticket based on the newly input information as a result of this communication.

[0006] The storage means may be a ticket temporary holding section 21 provided in the ticket issuing section 20. The ticket temporary holding unit 21 is a medium 3 in which seat designation information is recorded.
For storing. Further, the storage unit may be a storage unit 31 provided in the main control unit 30. The storage unit 31 is formed by a storage device for storing the seat designation information.

[0007]

According to the above construction, the reservation of the seat based on the predetermined section and the number of pieces of seat designation information set in advance is secured by the communication with the host device 1 before the start of the sale of the seat designation ticket. The performed information is stored in the vending machine 10 by the storage means. Next, when the customer or the clerk inputs the information necessary for new seat designation after the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket, the main control unit 30 collates with the information stored in the storage means. If it is determined that these pieces of information match, that is, if the newly input seat designation information is stored in the vending machine 10 by the storage means, the communication control unit 12 communicates with the host device 1. Instead, the ticket issuing unit 20 issues a seat reservation ticket based on the stored information. If it is determined that these pieces of information do not match, the communication control unit 12 communicates with the host device 1, secures the seat designation based on the newly input information, and then confirms the seat designation ticket by the ticket issuing unit 20. Issued.

If the storage means is the temporary ticket holding unit 21, the ticket issuing unit 20 records in the medium 3 the information on the seat designation before the start of the sale of the seat designation ticket.
Are temporarily stored in the ticket temporary storage unit 21. When the information newly input after the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket and the information recorded on the medium 3 stored in the ticket temporary storage 21 match, the medium 3 is issued as the seat reservation ticket. It When the storage unit is the storage unit 31, the storage unit 31 stores information about seat designation before the start of the sale of the seat designation ticket. When the information newly input after the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket and the information stored in the storage unit 31 match, the stored seat reservation information is recorded in the medium 3 by the ticket issuing unit 20. Issued as a designated ticket.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A selling system for a seat reservation ticket vending machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
The block diagram showing an example of a structure of the said sale machine 10 is shown.
As shown in the figure, the vending machine 10 includes an input unit 11, a communication control unit 12, a display unit 13, a ticket issuing unit 20, and a main control unit 30 that controls these. The input unit 11 is a block for a customer or a staff member to input information necessary for seat designation, and is formed of, for example, a keyboard. The communication control unit 12 is a block for exchanging information regarding seat designation with the host device 1 that manages seat designation.
It is connected to the host device 1 via a communication line 2.
The display unit 13 is a block for visually confirming the information input by the customer or a staff member and the information transmitted and received through communication with the host device 1, and is configured by, for example, a CRT screen or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the construction of the ticket issuing section 20. The ticket issuing unit 20 is for recording information about seat designation on the medium 3 and issuing it as a seat designation ticket, and a ticket hopper 25 for accommodating the unprinted medium 3 as shown in the figure. It is composed of a magnetic encoding unit 22 for writing magnetic data on the medium 3, a printing unit 23 for performing a printing process on the medium 3, and a ticket ejecting unit 24 for ejecting the medium 3 as a seat reservation ticket. ing. Further, it is provided with a ticket collection stacker 26 for collecting the unnecessary medium 3, and a ticket temporary storage 21 for temporarily storing and storing the medium 3.

Further, a ticket hopper 25, a ticket collection stacker 26,
Magnetic encoding unit 22, printing unit 23, ticket temporary holding unit 2
1. Each block of the ticket ejecting unit 24 is a medium transport path 2 for transporting a medium 3 between the blocks as described below.
7 are linked together. The ticket hopper 25 is connected to the magnetic encoding unit 22 via a switching unit A27a for switching the feeding path of the medium 3. The switching unit A27a
Is also connected to the ticket collection stacker 26. The magnetic encoding unit 22 is connected to the printing unit 23, the printing unit 23 is connected to the ticket temporary holding unit 21 via the switching unit B27b, and the ticket temporary holding unit 21 is connected to the ticket discharging unit 24 via the switching unit C27c. Has been done. Further, the switching unit B27b and the switching unit C2
7c are connected by a medium transport path 27.

Next, a selling system for the seat reservation ticket vending machine having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 shows a flow chart showing an example of a selling system in the selling machine. The seat reservation ticket is released at a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes before the departure of the train).
0 transmits information necessary for seat designation of a predetermined number of seats set in a preset predetermined section to the host device 1 through the communication control unit 12 (step 101, step S below).
Abbreviated). The information necessary for the seat designation is set by the input person in advance and input through the input unit 11. However, by providing the main control unit 30 with a function of storing information input from the input unit 11, the host device 1
It is also possible to carry out the transmission of the information to the.

The host device 1 confirms the vacant seat and secures the seat based on the transmitted information necessary for seat designation (S102). When the seat reservation based on this information is secured, that is, when the seat is designated, the information regarding the seat designation is transmitted from the host device 1 to the communication control unit 12.
Is transmitted to the main control unit 30 via the, and the main control unit 30 gives a ticket issuing instruction to the ticket issuing unit 20 (S103). Upon receiving the ticket issuing instruction, the ticket issuing unit 20 feeds out the medium 3 from the ticket hopper 25, the magnetic encoding unit 22 writes the magnetic data in the medium 3, and the printing unit 23 performs the printing process on the medium 3. That is, the information of seat designation is recorded on the medium 3. Here, the medium 3 in which the seat-designated information is recorded is transported to the ticket temporary holding unit 21 via the switching unit B27b and temporarily stored (S104). In the above state, the normal operation state is set.

Next, when the customer or a staff member newly inputs information necessary for seat designation after the sale of the seat reservation ticket (S105), the main control unit 30 stores the information in the ticket temporary storage unit 21. The stored information of the medium 3 is collated (S106). When these pieces of information match, that is, when it is determined that the seat reservation ticket desired by the customer or the clerk is stored in the ticket temporary holding unit 21, the stored medium 3 is changed from the ticket temporary holding unit 21 to the switching unit. It is conveyed to the ticket ejection unit 24 via C27c (S107) and issued as a seat reservation ticket (S108). In this case, the communication control unit 12 does not communicate with the host device 1.

If the newly input information required for seat designation is different from the one stored in the ticket temporary holding unit 21, the information is transmitted to the host device 1 (S111), and the seat is designated by the host device 1. Is secured (S11
2), recording of the seat-designated information on the medium 3 by the ticket issuing unit 20 (S113) and ejection of the medium 3 (S)
114) is performed and issued as a seat reservation ticket (S1)
08). At this time, the medium 3 is directly transported from the printing unit 23 to the ticket ejecting unit 24 without passing through the ticket temporary storage unit 21 by switching between the switching unit B27b and the switching unit C27c.

Medium 3 stored in the ticket temporary holding section 21
When the train corresponding to the information for which the seat designation is performed has started, that is, when the medium 3 is no longer needed (S12
1), the medium 3 from the ticket temporary holding section 21 to the printing section 23,
The recording medium 3 is conveyed to the magnetic encoding unit 22 (S122), recording that the medium 3 is invalid (S123), and conveyed to the ticket collection stacker 26 by switching the switching unit A27a (S124). Then, the invalid information is transmitted to the host device 1 by the communication control unit 12, and the host device 1
The seats are changed to empty seats (return) and processed (S125).

When the stored seat-designated information matches the newly-entered seat information, the stored seat-designated information is stored without communicating with the host device 1. It is issued as a seat reservation ticket. In particular, when the storage means is the temporary ticket holding unit 21, the medium 3 is stored in a state in which the information of seat designation is recorded. Therefore, by transporting the stored medium 3 to the ticket ejecting unit 24, the stored information is issued as a seat reservation ticket. Therefore, the processing time at the time of issuing the seat reservation ticket can be shortened, and the seat reservation ticket can be quickly issued.

Next, an embodiment in which other storage means is used will be described. FIG. 4 shows a main controller 30 of another embodiment.
The block diagram of a structure of is shown. The same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in the figure, the main control unit 30 is a CPU (central processing unit) 32 including a microprocessor and each I / O interface unit for connecting to the input unit 11 or the input / output unit such as the communication control unit 12. 33 and a storage unit 31 for storing the information for which the seat is designated. This storage unit 31 is a RO
It is formed by a memory device such as M, RAM, or FDD device. When the main control unit 30 is configured in this way, the ticket issuing unit 20 connected to the main control unit 30 includes a ticket temporary holding unit 21, a ticket collection stacker 26, and a switching unit A27a for switching the transportation. Switching unit B27b, switching unit C27c
Shall not be provided. That is, the printing unit 23 is directly connected to the ticket ejection unit 24 by the medium transport path 27.

In the seat reservation ticket vending machine having the main control unit 30 as described above, the main control unit 30 specifies a predetermined number of seats in a predetermined section before the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket. Necessary information is transmitted to the host device 1 via the communication control unit 12. When the host device 1 secures the seat based on the information, the information on the seat designation is stored in the storage unit 31. Next, when the information for newly specifying the seat is input after the start of the sale of the seat reservation ticket, the main control unit 30 compares the information with the information stored in the storage unit 31. When these pieces of information match, the information stored in the storage unit 31 is recorded on the medium 3 by the ticket issuing unit 20 and issued as a seat reservation ticket.
At this time, the communication control unit 12 does not communicate with the host device 1, and the seat designation ticket is issued based on the seat designation information stored in the storage unit 31.

Even when the storage unit is the storage unit 31 as described above, the seat reservation ticket issuance is performed by issuing the stored information as the seat reservation ticket without communicating with the host device 1. It is possible to shorten the processing time. In this case, in particular, since the information is stored before recording the seat-designated information on the medium 3, the medium 3 may be collected in the ticket collection stacker 26 without being finally issued. There is no. Therefore, the running cost can be reduced.

In the embodiments described above, the ticket temporary holding unit 21 is set to one kind or the kind of information of seat designation to be reserved in advance is set. However, by making these necessary numbers, various kinds of seats can be obtained. It becomes possible to deal with designated tickets. Further, although the present embodiment has described the issuance of the seat reservation ticket for the train, it can be applied to various reservation operations, for example, issuance of a reservation ticket for the theater.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the information for which the seat is designated is stored in the vending machine by the storage means and the information matches the newly input information, the information is stored in the host device. The stored information is issued as a seat reservation ticket without communication. Therefore, since communication with the host device is not required, it is possible to shorten the processing time when issuing the seat reservation ticket. Further, by issuing the stored information as a seat reservation ticket, it is possible to prevent communication from being concentrated on the host device at a specific time. Therefore, the burden on the host device and the communication line can be reduced. That is, according to the present invention, when the seat designating information stored by the storage means and the newly input seat designating information match, the seat designating ticket can be quickly issued, and the host device and the communication line can be used. This has the effect of reducing the burden on the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a seat reservation ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a ticket issuing unit.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of a selling system in the seat reservation ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main control unit of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Host device 2 Communication line 3 Medium 10 Seat reservation ticket vending machine 11 Input section 12 Communication control section 20 Ticket issuing section 21 Ticket temporary holding section 30 Main control section 31 Storage section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting information necessary for seat designation, and a host device for managing seat designation are connected via a communication line to exchange information relating to seat designation with the host device. A communication control unit for recording a seat-designated information on a medium and issuing the medium as a seat-designating ticket, and controlling the input unit, the communication control unit, and the ticket-issuing unit. In the seat reservation ticket vending machine, which comprises a main control unit for carrying out the seat reservation, and is provided with a means for storing the information on the seat reservation, the seat reservation ticket is input by the input unit before the start of the sale. The information necessary for seat designation set by the person is input, then the communication control unit communicates with the host device, the seat is designated based on the input information, and the communication result is used to Storage means is seat finger Form a state of storing the performed information of to the launch aircraft, after launch of the seat ticket, when the information required for new seat assignment is inputted from the input unit, the main control unit,
It is determined whether the information and the information stored in the storage means match, and if they match, the ticket issuing unit issues a seat reservation ticket based on the information stored in the storage means. If they do not match, the communication control unit communicates with the host device, and as a result of the communication, the ticket issuing unit issues a seat reservation ticket based on the newly input information. Sale method for designated ticket vending machines. 2. The storage means is a ticket temporary holding section provided in the ticket issuing section, and the ticket temporary holding section is for storing a medium in which seat designation information is recorded. 2. The sale system for a seat reservation ticket vending machine according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The storage means is a storage unit provided in the main control unit, wherein the storage unit is for storing in a state of seat designation information. The method of sale in the seat reservation ticket vending machine according to claim 1.